Oodles and Oodles of O's You Know...and X's

Okay, as promised, here is a rather detailed analysis of not only the flow of last nite's pre-season contest against the Nashville Predatory Creatures, but also of individual player's performances in the final home game of the "practice" season. Apologies are offered up in advance for the length and absurdity of this entry, but hey, I went to the game alone and took a lot of notes!

FIRST PERIOD:

-- early on the Thrash-boys struggled with their passing as well as their overall intensity. Rather than demonstrating a sharp focus on precision passing, I figure they may have been too caught up in getting up the ice quickly to put early pressure on NSH.

-- unfortunately for the Thrashers, the forwards seemed to struggle with the reception of passes onto their sticks and many potential break-outs were foiled with poor concentration or poor passing by the D-men...it's hard to say which unit was more to blame so we'll just say it was a rocky start and cohesion was lacking.

-- when the Thrash did make it up the ice and got the puck deep in the offensive zone (OZ), the top of the 1 - 2 - 2 attack (the 3 forwards) were allowing themselves to get too deep as their zeal to get into their cycle and pressure the D nearly cost them on the other end in the form of near odd-man rushes into their own zone; in short NSH is very good on the back-end and they sometimes make breaking out of the zone look like child's play.

-- by about the 13:30 mark of the first, the boys finally started to find their "jump" and consecutive successes in the face-off (F/O)circle led to good puck possession and eventually excellent fore-checking (FC) pressure in the NSH zone; on the other end, Mason looked to be in good position for mostly poor angle shots by the Predators.

-- GOAL BY NSH ON SHOT FROM BLUELINE THRU TRAFFIC: Ron Hainsey's rough nite began when he got himself turned around in the crease before a Marty Erat shot from the high slot found its way thru Ron's legs and past a completely helpless Chris Mason who could not move to his right since Hainsey was blocking his way at the right post.

-- after the first goal, the Thrash seemed a bit bewildered and stagnant, uninspired defense led to more pressure in the defensive zone (DZ); too often the Thrashers players didn't pressure the perimeter enough to prevent NSH from getting the puck to the top of the circle for a hard wind-up slapper...luckily, Mason was positionally sound.

-- finally the boys nearly got on the board thanks to the hard work of the Ladd-Little-Dawes line, which was probably the hardest working and most relentless all evening. After a brief cycle down low, Laddy kept the play alive along the wall by pushing it out to Brent Sopel who then made a slick cross-ice pass to the top of the opposite circle for a waiting Zach Bogosian. Zach one-timed it perfectly but the young Swedish netminder, Anders Lindback made a perfect read and made the save as he powered across the crease to the right pipe.

-- later on Ron Hainsey's ugly game reared its curly-locked head once again as his botched break-out attempt led to a near costly turnover in which the puck made its way to the point for a hard blast that missed the goal, but caromed perfectly back into the crease where Mason was able to make the save between his legs looking over his shoulder. Of course, Hainsey was there at the post to make Mason's save that much harder (the puck initially found its way thru Ron's legs before ricocheting off the boards)...OY VAY!

-- prior to the final 3 minutes of the 1st period, the "top" line of Modin-Antropov-Pettersson had managed to play some very nondescript hockey as there was little to no chemsitry among the trio; not to mention Modin looked quite a bit slower than Antropov who wasn't at top speed thanks to a cranky hip that was repaired surgically in the off-season. Enter Freddy P, the Super Fly, who's gnat-like determination and hustle paid dividends along the right boards in the form of a hooking penalty and the one and only power play of the game for the Thrash.

-- GOAL SCORED BY DAWES ON A REBOUND PUT-BACK OF AN ODUYA POINT BLAST: obviously credit goes to Johnny Oduya for placing his shot perfectly as the low, just-off-the-ice slapper found its way to the right pillow of Lindback who kicked it right to the stick of Nigel Dawes who easily deposited the loose change. However, the bulk of the credit should go to both Ladd and Bryan Little whose scrappy play along the right boards was critical in keeping the puck in the zone before Ladd corralled it and shuttled it to Oduya; at that point the NSH defense was out of position when the puck was quickly fired from the point.

END OF PERIOD -- SHOTS ON GOAL IN FAVOR OF ATL 10 to 9

See, I told you this would be absurdly long!! I'll be back in a few minutes (time for a beer!) with a briefer recap of periods 2 and 3 before giving you my Thrashers Three Stars of the game.

SECOND PERIOD:

-- Ben Eager was the victim of some over-exuberance at the end of the first period taking a silly cross-checking penalty with 9 seconds left before intermission. Thus the Thrashers started the 2nd on the penalty kill, one that they would kill off successfully -- the PK'ers were Pevs & Thorbs, Modin & Stewart and I believe Lits & Ladd at the end.

-- after the successful kill, the Thrashers managed to mount some fairly consistent pressure thanks in large part to better break-out passes from the DZ as well as better puck-handling by the forwards through the NZ...in other words, passes were on the tape and forwards were better able to move the puck with speed into the OZ. Craig Ramsay adjustments!

-- the best line of the early 2nd period was the Little Laddy line as they carried the play for a bit after a won F/O by Little. During the sequence, Bryan's blazing speed was on full display and resulted in a break-in along the left side and an attempted back-hand pass thru the slot that ended up on goal (weakly however); the ensuring OZ F/O was won by Little and some good cycling lead to a good look by FreddyMeyer from the blueline that missed the net, but the rebound was controlled and another SOG was registered.

-- unfortunately the above paragraph summarizes the best offensive pressure mounted by the Thrashers as a couple of penalties (back-to-back no less) stymied any momentum they had managed to muster at that point; first it was Chris Thorburn on a questionable tripping call and then Bogosian got caught slashing the puck-handler about 2 minutes after NSH cashed in the first PP opportunity.

-- in the second failed PK, the green Russian, Alex Burmistrov, was guilty of watching the puck a moment too long before it was passed to Erat in the left circle where he quickly snapped off a low wrister despite the futile swipe at the stick by Burmie; the puck scooted under a somewhat surprised Mason who may have been partially screened (by Ron Hainsey perhaps?) on the play. Regardless, the young center learned a valuable lesson about taking away the hash marks of the mid-slot on the PK.

-- luckily for the fans who made it out to Blueland for the evening, hope was not lost when down two goals midway through the 2nd period. First the line of Kane-Peverley-Stewart stormed down the ice on the ensuing center-ice F/O to record the next tally; Pevs received a pass in the NZ and from there the slick skater maneuvered his way craftily into the OZ where he first drew a hooking penalty before getting the puck behind the net to Kaner who quickly passed it to a waiting Meyer...before you could say "hellz yeah!", Meyer's laser-tracking rocket found a home under the crossbar "elbow" of the goal. Boom! Lead cut to one.

-- not long after the Meyer marker, 20 y/o Zach Bogosian made the play of the nite to help the Thrash knot the game at 3. Now with NSH playing their patented 1 - 2 - 2 trap (as opposed to their super-aggressive 2 - 1 - 2 forecheck press used to get the upper hand), the boys found it a bit easier to get their rushes thru the NZ as they were hitting the red line with top speed before making a quick diagonal pass or in Zach's case, zig-zagging thru the NZ like a Mini Cooper in The Italian Job before drawing the D-man far enough from the slot to thread a picture-perfect pass to a wide open Ben Eager streaking to the left side of the net where his quick wrist shot left no doubt denting the twine and tying the game at 3. Yup, hellz yeah!

-- there was a lot more back and forth action after the game was tied and things started to resemble a pond hockey game more than a typical Nashville Preda(bore) affair; by the end of the period, shots had jumped to 23 apiece with the edge going to NSH on the strength of their 5 PP shots on goal. So at full strength, the Thrash carried a lot of the play and mustered a favorable 13 to 9 SOG edge, which is quite impressive considering how difficult it can be to penetrate NSH's defense.

END OF PERIOD -- SCORE TIED AT 3 APIECE

Before moving on to the final period's notes, I just wanted to mention how well Oduya and Meyer played last nite. They weren't paired together, but they played extremely well throughout the game. Their respective partners, Bogosian and Enstrom, played well, but Johnny and Freddy stood out the most. Freddy M was decisive all nite long and his quickness helped him move the puck effortlessly out of the zone almost without fail. He had one balky pass at the DZ blueline but quickly recovered and batted the puck out of the zone.

As for Oduya, there was one particular play that grabbed my attention in which J.O. made a risky move to jump up to join the rush with the forwards. Oduya received the puck and tried to make a tricky feed into the middle of the zone, but the puck was intercepted and quickly outletted to Erat, who filled the spot Johnny vacated. Well, Oduya turned on a dime and then hit the after-burners in order to get back on the play. He skated so fast that he intercepted Erat with the puck AFTER he had received the pass on the tape and in stride. Of course Marty is no Zach Parise, but Oduya was absolutely moving on the play...great awareness and hustle!

THIRD PERIOD:

-- NSH carried the first 4 minutes of the 3rd with ramped up pressure and an even more aggressive 2 - 2 - 1 forechecking scheme that befuddled the Thrashers D-men, in particular Ron Hainsey and his unfortunate partner Brent Sopel; at one point Sopel did manage to collect the puck and wrist a beaut of a 2-line pass up the middle to a full-speeding Peverley, who then streaked into the OZ for a partial breakaway in which his angle forced him to go left a bit sooner than he wanted thus foiling his forehand to backhand, 5-hole shot attempt. Did I mention the problem wasn't Brent Sopel?

-- as play continued into the middle part of the stanza, there was some continued mis-communication among the D-men leading to poorly played pucks, turnovers and choice chances for the swarming Preds; at one point, even Mason committed a puck-handling gaffe in which he attempted to move the puck to the corner (and Ron Hainsey I'm pretty sure) with an errant pass that led directly to a good chance for NSH.

-- but there was some good play by the Thrashers as the Peverley & Kane show had launched into full bore; Kane was everywhere on the forecheck throwing hits and back-checking like a man possessed while Pevs was dispensing his unique brand of magic with the puck...oh, and Anthony Stewart was a gamer with a lot of energy, hitting and hustle.

-- however, the Preds would strike first on account of the very shaky defensive play that pretty much characterized the first 8 - 10 minutes of the 3rd; a weird play developed in which the D-men failed to move the puck decisively and the rubber wound up in enemy hands before a shot attempt from the point was blocked in traffic...the two veteran D-men (you know who they are) couldn't find the loose puck before it was snatched up by Marty Erat, who snapped a fluttering shot that somehow eluded the arm of a lunging Chris Mason.

-- the Thrashers responded once again to the adversity and attempted to mount a strong charge that nearly resulted in a game-tying goal; in particular, Kane had the grade-A chance of the game when somebody, probably Peverley, found a wide-open Kane streaking into the slot (third man high just like Coach Ramsay wants) for a point-blank shot from about 25 feet. Tragically, Kaner's wrister missed its overly precise target and the puck sailed high of the crossbar to the chorus of "oooohhhhssss" echoing high-above the sparsely filled lower bowl below. There would be other chances and near misses, but none quite as good as that one.

-- one last desperate attempt to save the day was launched with an empty net and a sixth attacker on the ice; consecutive F/O draws were won by first Little and then Peverley, both leading directly to Bogosian blasts from the right point, one that hit a stick and nearly caromed in and another head-hunter that sailed over the goal. The effort was valiant and they battled hard, but the hockey gods were not smiling on the Thrashers last nite. But then again, perhaps they should have played better in the first 10 minutes of the 3rd period!!

THREE-STARS -- FINALLY!!

3) Freddy Meyer - steady, decisive play all nite; heavy blasts from the point and the 2nd goal of the evening to start the rally in the 2nd period.

2) Johnny Oduya \ Evander Kane - a tie for this "star" as each of them showcased their superior play throughout the contest; Oduya was smooth and unflappable with the puck while Kaner was flying around both zones as if to prove a point to Jeremy Roenick before the buffoon could even make a disparaging remark about his prospects to be a great player.

1) Bryan Little - by far and away the fastest and strongest skater with the puck all evening long; Lits was a terror with his speed in the offensive zone and put tons of pressure on NSH defenders to stop him. Once his linemates become a little more familiar with his tendencies, Bryan may become a rising stud at the pivot. But for my $7 last nite, Little was the best all-around player on the ice in all zones and all facets of the game, save for the F/O circle where he was bested by Pevs, but who isn't most nites?

Thrashers Finally Score Some Goals in Pre-Season Loss to Preds

Well, it had to happen at some point and tonite was the nite the Thrashers finally broke through with some offensive production against a stingy Predators team that featured a regular season line-up save for the goaltender, who ostensibly is fighting for a chance to back up Pekka Rinne. The Thrashers found the back of the net 3 times, but came up short in a closely contested 4 to 3 loss, their 4th straight of the pre-season.

After the Thrashers fell behind midway through the first period, they battled back fiercely to knot the game at 1 when Nigel Dawes deposited a rebound off a Johnny Oduya blueline blast at the left door-step to put the finishing touch on a well-executed power play. However, the momentum swung back to the Preds in the early stages of the 2nd period as their relentless pressure caused some balky decisions by the Thrasher D as well as two penalties in the span of 3 and a half minutes.

The Preds made things look easy when up a man and quickly increased their lead to 3 to 1 on the strength of their back-to-back power plays. But the Thrashers responded immediately with 2 quick goals of their own in the span of 3 minutes to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Predators would control the puck in the first 8 minutes of the 3rd period and the sloppy defensive play of the Thrashers led to a goal by David Legwand. The Thrashers fought hard and had some good chances down the stretch, but couldn't tally the equalizer to force an extra period. Most notably, Evander Kane received a sweet feed from Rich Peverley for a wide-open look from the high slot, but his laser-like wrister misfired barely missing the corner of the goal.

After the game, our hard-working AJC beat writer, Chris Vivlamore, cornered big Ben Eager, who captured the essence of how I felt after the Thrashers allowed their sloppy play to cost them a win in the 3rd period: “It’s never fun to get behind, but we responded well and battled back to tie it up,” Eager said. “A bit of a sloppy goal at the end and it cost us a game. We have to tighten up a few things. We can’t be losing games in the third period like that." Preach it Brother Ben!

Overall, it was as solid effort for a team that is still tinkering with line combos in order to get meaningful looks at players who may not make it to the final Opening Night roster (Anthony Stewart, Alex Burmistrov, Freddy Pettersson and Nigel Dawes). But Coach Ramsay must be pleased with the gradual improvement in the last week or so as the boys in blue try to come together in a new system within a very condensed period of time. Vivlamore also queried Coach Ramsay in his post-game blog and Ramsay had this to say about the game:

"I truly believe that defensively we will be fine,” Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. “I can teach that. We have good people who can play. But scoring goals was an obvious problem and tonight we looked better. We are looking at how our people play and how they learn our system. We want to win every game but it hasn’t happened. We’ve been in them.”

While the defense does look to be very much improved, and a lot harder to score on thanks to a more earnest approach to blocking shots and harrassing would-be shooters, someone needs to send a telegram to Ron Hainsey asking him to awaken from his stupor. The highest-paid veteran D-man was absolutely dreadful tonite and seemed to struggle with his decision-making throughout the game. Perhaps some of it is unfamiliarity with his 3rd defensive partner -- this time Brent Sopel -- in as many games. However, he must be stronger on the puck and when he attempts to clear the puck from traffic or else the defensive unit will have a very noticeable weak link. Sopel is a very sound stay-at-home D-man and if Hainsey struggles playing with him, then I shudder to think what he may do with a less experienced partner.

I hate to single out Ron because I think that he has many very good attributes as a D-man, but if he doesn't figure out a way to make better use of his strengths without succumbing to his weaknesses, then he's going to be the target of a lot of Thrashers fans' scorn this season. But there were a few others who underwhelmed me this evening. However, I'm feeling pretty worn out at this late hour and I will cobble together a run-down of my best and worst from the game tomorrow when I'm feeling a bit more perky. Till then, have a good nite!

Byfuglien Battles Jeremy Roenick on the Radio!!

ATLANTA!! LISTEN UP NOW!!

<--- This cro-magnon hates you! And you should feel shame. Why do you even bother with the Thrashers? They suck so bad that they think they know better than the Stanley Cup champions by playing Dustin Byfuglien on the blueline instead of at power forward.

Well, if Don Waddell's decade of bumbling wasn't enough to convince you to run as far from Philips Arena as possible without looking back, then fear not because "Dustin-Y" Byfuglien is going to defend the honour of the city of Atlanta!

SO RISE UP ATL-IENS!!

Since this interview on XM radio's NHL Live show has the potential for some interesting counter-punching rebuttals to Mr. Roenick's inflammatory comments about the Thrashers and their decision to play Big Buff at HIS NATURAL POSITION, I'm going to live-blog this media-based donnybrook!

Tune in at precisely 1:21 PM EST. It will be a "brutally good time, eh?"

-- Watching some commercials now and it makes me wish I was home on my couch.

-- And here we go: Dustin is doing well. Per Dustin.

-- Talking about summer and Stanley Cup post-season activities. Says ATL is hot!

-- Bone of contention coming up re: his D-man vs. Forward debate

-- Big Buff wants to establish himself as a D-man. Came in as a D-man and wants to be a player that can be dominant on the blueline as well as forward.

-- Enjoys defense more than forward --> talking about making the transition mentally

-- Now on to training camp discussion: good first week, getting better and better each and every day, hardest working team is their goal every night.

-- Comparison of the west to the SE Div: can't be watching the puck too much against the talent in the SE. Gotta be prepared. Duh. Softball question popped up to center.

-- Adjustment to Craig Ramsay: still learning, but its been good, gotta get the old system outta your head. Still about seeing the ice and making good decisions.

-- Talking about his day with the Cup in northern Minny....come on guys, get to the good stuff!! Booooorrrrriiiiinnnngggg! Ain't this becoming a waste of internet bandwidth!!?

-- Talking about other sports he likes / liked when in Chicago and how it compares to ATL.

-- Are you going to miss the VAN Canucks? Chuckles and giggles ensue. Gonna have to find new buildings to "terrorize"...YES! I like it, bring it Buff!

-- Now asking about eating establishments...more fluff. Now back to the Cup stuff. Jesus H.

-- I'm now wishing Craig Ferguson was doing this interview instead of these sleep-inducing morons. Thanks for absolutely nothing guys! Do you read the internet??

Antro a Go-Go for the Morrow...

Hey kids! Guess what? Nikolai Antropov is going to grace us with his very large presence tomorrow evening down at the Ramsay Hockey Fun Park when the Preds come down from the hills to battle your pre-season Thrashers. How do I know? 'Cuz Chris Vivlamore of the AJC told me so. I'm not gonna bother posting a link cuz I'm just a lazy blogger who is out to destroy journalism and what's left of its integrity (wink, wink). At any rate, I am very exciting about seeing the "Big Nik-lipse" take the ice for the first time this season.

Which got me to thinking about potential line-ups for Wednesday nite. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you to death with another laborious read about how I conjured up lines for the next game. But I'm thinking it's a safe bet that we'll see this first line iteration against the Nashville Preda-bores...yeah, I said it!

Pain Train -- The Big Nik-lipse -- B-Litts (hey, that rhymes with "lipse!")

Anyway, we already know that Niclas Bergfors has good chemsitry with Mr. An-TROP-ov, but it's time to see if a Big Nik / Kaner combo can bear some first line fruit. And since Niclas Bergfors played last nite in the 'Ville, then I think it's safe to assume we'll see Bryan Little back at right-wing, since we seem to be a bit thin there right now. As for the other lines, I have no clue. I reckon Coach Ramsay will select his line-up carefully and thoughtfully so he can test a few more of his line chemsitry experiments before setting his roster in stone for the final two pre-season tilts.

Before I stumbled upon the aforementioned Nik-nugget, I was ruminating on the collected thoughts and carefully crafted hypothesizing of one, Ben Wright of the Blueland Blog. In his blog he relates three interesting points about the Opening Night roster and how certain pre-season phenomena are impacting our lives as we relish earnestly the beginning of the new season. In it he discusses the success of the "Freddy Mo-Pevs" line (or "Fred-Rich Pettersson" line as Ben likes to call it), Alexander Burmistrov's strong run at a pro contract and the emergence of Anthony Stewart as a wild-card roster possibility. I know!!! Yes, it could actually happen.

Why?? Because we are suddenly on the verge of becoming desperately thin on the right side of our forward line combos. Not to say that you can't have a lefty playing his off-wing, but that doesn't seem to be the desired look Rammer is looking to achieve. As illustrated by his discussions with the press, as well as his pre-season line-ups thus far, Ramsay seems to prefer a strategy in which wingers play on their natural side since his overall approach -- one of attacking with an aggressive forecheck as a team -- is better served without the risk of players trying to dangle through the neutral zone on their off wing.

But no matter how you slice it, there is a dearth of right-handed players in camp. Of the 20 forwards listed on the current roster, only 6 of them are right-handed and that's if you include Rich Peverley, whom everyone expects to play the pivot. And if Little and Chris Thorburn both play in the middle, then only Bergfors, Pettersson and Stewart remain as natural right-wingers to play on the right side. As a result, Stewart's energized and effective play thus far in the pre-season isn't the only basis for thinking he may have a shot at the final roster.

Humor me as I fancy an Opening Night line-up such as this:

Kaner - Antropov - Bergfors

Modin - Peverley - Pettersson

Ladd - Burmistrov - Little

Eager - Thorburn - Stewart

All 4 RW would be right-handed and all LW would be left-handed. Obviously, that is not a reason unto itself for assigning roster spots. And we all know that players end up on both sides of the ice especially on offense throughout a game. But when it comes to defensive support and assisting the D-men on break-outs from the defensive zone, Ramsay would probably prefer the above scenario as it shortens the distance of a chip-out or outlet pass from the wall if a wing is providing support. Not to mention the fact that a 4th line that weighs roughly 700 lbs can weigh heavily on the minds of opposing D-men as those three are barreling down on you for a loose puck in the corner.

At this point in time, it is anyone's guess as to whether Stewart, Nigel Dawes, Patrick Rissmiller or even Enver Lisin has the clearest edge for the final 4th line roster spot. But going on solely pre-season game performance, Anthony Stewart looks like the clear favorite right now. What do you think?

Canes Oust Thrashers 1 - 0 In "Smash-balls" Almost Thriller

In tonite's pre-season exhibition performance the Atlanta Thrashers gave a spirited effort, but came out on the short side of a 1 - 0 score. The Canes scored the only goal of the game on a somewhat botched D to D exchange behind the cage in which a loose puck somehow slipped through the grasp of an otherwise very sharp Chris Mason to a wide open Jeff Skinner, who slammed home the puck into a wide open net. In particular, it was an especially disappointing outcome for Zach Bogosian, who made the ill-advised pass towards a helpless Toby Enstrom. The puck didn't quite reach its destination and instead ended up in the back of the Thrashers net.

But tonite was indeed a glimpse of a new brand of "smash-balls" hockey (a term my girlfriend and I coined whilst watching the bombastically physical affair) in which the Thrashers demonstrated a strong will to back-check defensively and forecheck relentlessly when on the attack. The effort was strong from just about every Thrashers player on the ice, but the offensive chemsitry wasn't quite there. Although they had a few golden chances to score, the boys in blue couldn't capitalize on rebound chances or connect on passes when afforded a rare odd-man rush. But when the Thrashers got their best chances of the nite, goalie Cam Ward was more than up to the task.

Overall I, as well as the lovely K-belle, were particularly impressed with the dogged and fierce forechecking effort in which every Thrashers player, to a man, seemed more than pleased to greet their Carolina counterparts with a hard hit. And when Carolina did manage to mount a counter-attacking rush, the Thrashers blueline was very aggressive with active sticks in passing lanes and unafraid to block a shot when necessary. There were only a couple of instances in which the Thrashers were "hemmed in their zone", to quote Coach Ramsay, for a stretch of more than 25-30 seconds. At times, defense to offense break-outs were a bit sloppy, but as the game wore on, the Thrashers players seemed to be much more decisive with the puck in their own zone.

Lastly, before I get into a couple of quick-hitting comments on individual performances, I must mention that there is still much work to be done on the power play; getting more pucks on net with the man-advantage will be key as the Thrashers may struggle early on this season with offensive output. There were a couple of power plays in which the puck was passed decisively and effectively around the umbrella and a few bombs made their way to Cam Ward for juicy rebound chances. But alas, the Thrashers couldn't corral the loose pucks in time for grade-A chances. And there were a couple of blueline breakdowns leading directly to penalties that negated powerplays. However, I can't think of one odd-man rush allowed by the Thrashers, short-handed or when at full strength 5 on 5. The only ones I recall were when the teams skated 4 on 4, but the goalies were both stellar in those situations, especially Cam Ward.

Player by player analysis:

Dustin Byfuglien -- I was delightfully surprised at how poised and in control of the game he was on the blueline. I expected a couple of bad decisions or some inadequate skating, but don't recall anything of the sort. Buff was decisive with the puck, extremely active (and effective) with his long reach / stick and not afraid to bring the puck up the ice with a full head of steam. He seemed to gel very nicely with Johnny Oduya, who is as smooth as silk on the other side.

Brent Sopel -- despite a bit of a slow start in which "Sopes Star", as K-belle dubbed him, actually stumbled trying to shadow a Canes player behind the net, Brent was cool as a cucumber with the puck making several great outlet passes to clear the zone. His positioning was flawless and he never seemed to screen Mason. As always he was the consummate shot-blocker with 4 for the game. He seems like the perfect stabilizing addition to this dynamic blueline.

Zach Bogosian -- when we saw Zach on skates for the first time tonite, we both exclaimed "holy (crap)balls!" because we were startled by how big and mean he looks. Goodness gracious the kid has not only added 15-20 pounds this offseason, but he has seemingly grown another inch or two into a menacing heavyweight. And he had no problem dishing out the punishment with several heavy hits throughout the evening. I'm just not sure how the statistician only counted 3 hits on the evening for him. He was still a bit slow at times with his decisions and a couple of times his gaffes led to a quality chances for the Canes, one of which was deposited into the net.

Toby Enstrom -- not much to say here as he's simply a great skater who makes good decisions with the puck. Still gets pushed around a bit, but he seems to be in mid-season form. But I'm not sure about the Enstrom / Bogosian pairing due to Zach's untimely decision-making. Perhaps start Bogey with Sopel, who is so calm and positionally sound to take some of the pressure off of Zach until he really hits his stride. Noah Welch had his moments when he really put the squeeze on the opposition near his own net, but I just don't see him making this squad over the more diverse and skilled Freddy Meyer. Valabik is in trouble and Kulda will need to play in Chicago to get needed ice-time.

Alexander Burmistrov -- back-checking banshee who always seemed to magically appear at his own blueline to knock the puck away from a Canes' puck carrier or thwart a potential rush. This kid who shall heretofore be known as the "Burmese Python" -- because he strikes quickly to squeeze the puck right off your stick -- has a very good shot at making this team. He did not seem like a boy among men tonite. He is excellent defensively and he had a couple of near misses on the attack including one pseudo breakaway in which he got off a quick wrister that was partially deflected and may have hit the crossbar before going out of play. In one other particularly memorable play, Burmie got the puck deep, took it behind the net before getting leaned on by a D-man into the opposite corner. Alex refused to relinquish the puck and staved off the check and eventually drew a holding penalty on the surely frustrated Canes D-man.

Okay, due to the fact this is getting obnoxiously long -- tough to filter through all of the thoughts running through my head since it was my first look at a lot of new players tonite -- I will try to keep the comments to one-line brief descriptions or adjectives:

Freddy Modin -- a bit slow, but a true pro. Knows the game and doesn't make dumb plays.

Rich Peverley -- slick puck handling tonite, good speed through neutral zone and F/O wizard.

Freddy Pettersson -- hardest working player on the ice, not afraid to shoot and willing to go to the net for redirects and put-backs...too bad there weren't many.

Andrew Ladd -- seemed a bit off tonite, perhaps too slow for the top 6. Had a couple of good chances thanks to Bryan Little but couldn't convert.

Bryan Little -- fast as usual, good puck sense and hard working at both ends, seems to be getting more comfortable in the F/O circle where he was a respectable 7 of 16 in draws.

Ben Eager -- big, fast freight-train of a human who loves to hit, drew an instigator on Tim Gleason and was, well, eager to throw-down in defense of his mates and his honor.

Chris Thorburn -- looked completely comfortable at the pivot making good decisions with the puck and even making a few deft passes to Eager and Stewart for chances. As usual, very good on the penalty kill. Solid.

Niclas Bergfors -- seemed to be the most sluggish on his skates, perhaps a bit too much idle time in Sweden waiting for his deal. He "efforted" at times, but got gassed a bit prematurely on the back-check. Had zero chemistry with Riley Holzapfel, but worked a pretty give and go with Burmie for a good look that nearly led to a goal.

Machacek & Holzapfel -- the effort was there, but they are simply outclassed for this level. Machacek can be an effective cal-up in the event of injury, but time to cut bait with "wood apple" I'm afraid to say. Anthony Stewart was good on the forecheck and dished out some punishing hits, he even dropped the gloves off a face-off, but without any finishing touch, don't see him as anything as an injury call-up, God forbid.

All in all, a very rousing and entertaining nite of hockey at the Bulb. The effort was there most of the nite and the Thrashers had more stretches of dominant puck possession than the Canes. And the "shot clock" confirmed it as they led in shots for the nite to the tune of 32 to 29. At one point midway through the 2nd period, the shots were 17 to 9 in favor of the T-birds, but a couple of penalties thwarted their momentum. Still a lot to "polish up" for the regular season, but already the boys seem to be gaining a level of comfort within Coach Ramsay's "smash-balls" system! If nothing else, the rest of the NHL is not going to enjoy a "polite" reception from the boys in blue anymore as long as Coach Ramsay is around.

Mace In Your Face!!! Chris Mason Gets First Start as a Thrasher Bird

@ajcthrashers (Chris Vivlamore):
Chris Mason will play entire game in goal for Thrashers vs. Hurricanes tonight.

In addition to that, Ben Wright of the Blueland Blog has posted a "line-up" card consisting of 23 players whom Coach Ramsay can choose from to ice a 20-man line-up for this evening's contest against the Canes. Ben just informed us that the Canes plan on using a veteran-laden roster (Staal, Samsonov, Cole, Pitkanen, Corvo, Ward etc) tonite so we can expect a fairly experienced line-up from the Thrashers too. Let's hazard a guess as to who will play, shall we?

After looking back on Tuesday night's box score, coupled with my recollection of written reports about the Columbus debacle, I've cobbled together what I think tonite's line-up will be.

Of the 4 LW who took the ice on Tuesday night, 3 of them are either not on the roster card for tonite or have been re-assigned already (Danick Paquette). With both Evander Kane and Nigel Dawes sitting this one out, there is no doubt that the following left-wings will get to play their first game tonite: Andrew Ladd, Freddy Modin, and Enver Lisin whom the coaches surely want to assess before making some hard roster-related decisions early next week. Former Blackhawk Ben Eager would be the logical choice to get the other LW slot available.

In addition, the coaches will likely continue their survey of several players who have made a return to the center position, namely Bryan Little, Chris Thorburn and Patrick Rissmiller. However, since there is dearth of top-6 experience up the middle on this list, my gut tells me Rissmiller could be a late scratch. Surely Alexander Burmistrov will suit up at the pivot tonite as it is important to get the 1st round pick as much playing time as possible early on. Logic says to play Little with Pettersson again since they gelled so well together on Tuesday nite, but I suspect Ramsay may want to mix it up a bit instead.

I'm thinking that Rissmiller, Riley Holzapfel, Spencer Machacek and Anthony Stewart are on the roster card because the coaches want to get one last look at them before sending them down to the farm in Chicago. Even though I would prefer not having to watch any of those 4 players, each of them stands to get one final chance to make an impression playing with more experienced players. But since Stewart and Rissmiller played reasonably well on Tuesday nite, I'm going to predict that they both sit tonite in favor of Holzapfel (C) and Freddy Pettersson (RW), who may even get a chance to play with countryman Freddy Modin.

Lastly, it stands to reason that right-wings Niclas Bergfors and Rich Peverley will get their first taste of "live bullet" action, which leaves 2 openings to fill from 3 players (Freddy P, Stewart or Machacek). I think Machacek needs this game to show what he's capable of and therefore Anthony Stewart sits in favor of playing Monday nite in Nashville. Thorburn will likely play the pivot between Machacek and LW Ben Eager while the more proven Rissmiller sits so Riley Holzapfel can bore us with his lackluster play one final time. Riley will have a chance to play between two good players I think so look for a line combo of Modin-Holzapfel-Pettersson.

Finally, based on all of the crap I typed above, probably for no good reason (but isn't it fun to play the role of Coach Ramsay?), I see our forward line combos shaping up like this:

Ladd - Burmistrov - Bergfors

Modin (Lisin scratched) - Little - Peverley

Rissmiller (for Modin) - Holzapfel - Pettersson

Eager - Thorburn - Machacek

UPDATE: Well, I couldn't really be more wrong with respect to tonite's line-up but it was a fun exercise to help idle away some time on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Here is the actual line combos for the forwards as I actually got the defensive pairings correct:

Ladd -- Little -- Machacek
Modin -- Peverley -- Freddy P
Holzapfel -- Burma -- Bergfors
Eager -- Thorbs -- Stewart

Thanks to Chris Vivlamore for giving us all the scoopage!! Should be fun watching these players play together in the exhibition game tonite. Oh, and there is a sobering injury update on Antropov and Slater contained within.

Defensive corps should look like this:

Enstrom & Bogosian

Oduya & Byfuglien

Welch & Sopel

We already know Mason is starting in goal and Vivlamore told us that Mace is expected to play the entire game. So let's hope we don't see Opie coming in midway through the first or second period because Mason is as rusty as Pavelec seemed to be Tuesday nite.

There you have it, let's drop the freakin' puck!!

A Dash of Russian, Heavy on the Swedes

Indeed! I have been conspicuously absent (as if I have hundreds of adoring readers!) from the blog due to a recent vacation and then a post-vacation hangover of sorts -- too much fun crammed into a short period of time for sure. Thus it is high-time I get back into the game so I give unto you this little newsworthy nugget o' news from the tweety box (and the Grand Kamalian, Dan "the man" Kamal, THE radio voice of the Thrashers):

@dankamal: Pettersson & Burmistrov get their 2nd straight pre-season start tomorrow night vs. CAR. D-pairings are Toby-Bogey, Oduya-Buff, Welch-Sopel.

Thank the good Lord, and Craig Ramsay, for the presence of some veteran D-men for this pre-season hockey tilt! Should be interesting...can't wait to see for myself!!

Okay kids, there hasn't been any additional update on the line-up for tomorrow's game against the Canes as I thought there might be. Thusly, I don't know what else to write about. Well, there are things about which I'd like to write, but right now is not really the time. I was hoping to discuss some of the line combos for tomorrow and who might be playing center, but alas we shall have to wait. Until then, see how creeped out you can be at the sight of this "yoga" video:

Reports NOT Exaggerated, "Freddy P" IS a Dope, Sly Swede

I know, I know, I keep telling myself the same thing! That it's just a 4 vs 4 scrimmage featuring mostly young kids between the ages of 18 and 20 who don't yet have any "pro" experience. But it's really hard to suppress one's excitement when it comes to the skills and abilities of the player known as "Fly" (Fredrik Pettersson) back home in Sweden. Not to stereotype, but Swedes seem like a fairly conservative lot who aren't prone to slapping monkiers on players without justification. But I digress.

My trek up I-85 was well worth the time as I, as well as a few dozen other observers, were rewarded with some very enlivened, not to mention entertaining, hockey action. There were several players, mostly forwards, who jumped out at me. But I must admit that, going into this, I was much more focused on the play of forwards such as Burmistrov, Cormier, Pettersson and Esposito. And I forgot to bring my list of jersey numbers for lesser known players whom I planned to observe closely. Regardless, it is much harder to gauge the abilities of a D-man prospect due to the nature of the exercise as 4 on 4 hockey is a slightly more organized form of "pond hockey."

However, with that in mind, one can still glean some useful information with respect to the subtle gradations of talent of the various prospects. First and foremost is this: FREDDY PETTERSSON IS NOT A PROSPECT. He's a bona fide talent who's experience playing pro hockey in Sweden has prepared him well for his emergence as a legitimate threat to not only crack the roster in Atlanta, but also the starting line-up. Without a doubt, he possesses the requisite puck skills, relentless motor and pure SPEED -- the kind of speed in which his top gear makes you think he may just skate through the end boards until that split instant when he turns on a dime and glides around the net with ease -- to play in the NHL.

In fact, the play of the day was turned in by the sly, shifty Swedish blur. Pettersson's 2nd goal of the game was hockey poetry in motion. As he streaked across the blueline on the right side of the ice with speed, the jitter-bug forward throttled down into a lower gear as he feigned a big wind-up for a hard slapper, which completely froze his defensive counterpart, then turned on the after-burners driving hard to the cage, but continuing behind the net only to emerge at the opposite pipe so quickly that goalie Ed Pasquale could not get his skate to the post to thwart Freddy's gorgeous wrap-around stuff job. In other words, he completely schooled the defense and made a very hard wrap-around play look incredibly easy. And Pettersson's first goal wasn't exactly boring either as he flashed a little "shake and bake" stick-handling move to free himself of a would-be defender (Julian Melchiori I think) before pulling up at the right circle to rip a laser-like wrister between the goalie's pad and glove hand for a sweet unassisted tally.

So as you can see I am quite exuberant at the prospect of Freddy Pettersson making a story-book run at not only a roster spot, but also a starting role in which his superlative hockey skills are given a chance to shine. But wait, it's only a glorified scrimmage against merely boys, right? I realize I should know better and temper my enthusiasm with a dose of realistic caution, but once you see Freddy P live and in the flesh, you will understand why I'm so giddy about him.

Well enough about Freddy P, time to move on to the other prospects, right!? Here is a player by player run down of the other notable performances:

Burmistrov(C) -- played a very solid two way game showing flashes of speed and stick-handling aplomb; feathered a nifty pass to Danick Paquette in a transition 2 on 1 scenario to set up a quick-hitting one-timer that found a home underneath the crossbar; later D.P. would return the favor with a pretty pass of his own to Burmie, who had no problem depositing the easy tap-in from the slot.

Cormier(C/F) -- certainly never flashy, but always seems to be around the puck; he's strong on the puck and not deterred easily when its on his stick; his personal hi-lite goal came later on when he made a strong, power forward drive to the net from the right wing in which he beat the goalie with a deft wrister from the low circle; he had a couple of big hits as well.

Paquette(F) -- sleeper of the whole camp in my opinion; can't say enough about how he has improved from last summer to this one; always tough as nails and a fearless forechecker, Dannick has added some offensive flair to his game, which is much better now thanks to much-improved skating stride; had the two connections with Burma (who would make anyone better), but also took the shot that led to the first goal of the game, a put-back stuff by Sebastian Owuya.

Esposito(C) -- didn't do much offensively, but it wasn't from a lack of confidence on his skates; the off-season rehab and summer training with Zach Bogosian has certainly paid dividends as he looked strong on his skates and fairly nimble turning in the corners; he also exhibited good hustle on the back-check despite not enjoying very many offensive chances.

Kozek(F) -- this college kid (Univ of North Dakota) never gets much fanfare, but always seems to make himself noticed on the ice with his hustle and scrappy, balls-to-the-wall effort; showed good speed on the rush with his head up and managed to squeeze off a couple of decent wristers on account of his speed to the outside.

Owuya(D) -- very good skater who is not afraid to pinch-in and crash the net when the opportunity presents itself; he had a couple of big hits and also converted the 4th goal for the blue team with a strong finish off a feed from #72, Jonathan Johansson. I believe he converted the first goal of the game, but Ben Wright is reporting that it was Ivan Telegin. But I'm pretty sure Burmistrov was on the ice with Paquette, his usual pairing mate, though Owuya was also out there and involved in the offensive flurry.

Aliu(F) -- strong skater who is not afraid to mix it up along the boards, but he doesn't seem to be reckless in his pursuit of the big hit; had a nice hi-lite reel goal of his own when he received a quick feed for a breakaway in which he made a sweet, fore-hand to back-hand deke before flipping the puck up over the goalie's stick and shoulder for the goal; has the stuff to become a bonafide power forward at the NHL level.

Sol(D) -- probably had the strongest game of the defensman, but admittedly I did not pay close enough attention to the D-men throughout the game. But I did notice big #52 involved in many plays which required a decisive and accurate outlet pass to get the play going the other way.

As for other D-men, I did notice a few things: how big, yet mobile big Ben Chiarot is; how fluid a skater Julian Melchiori is; and of course Paul Postma is smooth like butter. But honestly, I was too caught up in trying to follow the puck and document transition plays that led to goals. Overall though I did not get the feeling the D-men were getting abused; our prospects possess a lot of speed and any young D-man prospect would have struggled to stand out yesterday during the hi-octane, wide-open scrimmage.

POST-SCRIPT: One last thing! I had the pleasure of "bumping into" Chris Thorburn as I made my way out of the rink to go to my car. We ended up chatting a bit longer than I expected as I figured he'd make a bee-line right to his car after my initial question. But without going into to detail (this post is long enough!), I will say that Chris could not have been friendlier in answering my questions and chatting it up like he knew me from Adam. It just reinforces all the more why I love the game of hockey and being around these really classy and hard-working athletes. Thorburn's self-deprecation and easy-going manner helps you see that these guys just seem to "get it" when it comes to interacting with their fans.

"Oh Jesus!" What Was That? Oh, Just a Scandinavian Scat Cat!!

Sincerest apologies for the temporary hiatus from blogging, but I'm back to post a primer for my visit to Doo-luth, where I'll finally get a taste of hockey action at Thrashers' Rookie Camp -- the final prelude to the real "big boy" Training Camp slated to start on Saturday, September 18th. I'd like to say I was re-charging the batteries, but that'd be a lie. I was simply being lazy and spending too much time debating the good folks over at Billy T's "Iceman" Blog at AJC.com.

The new season is really starting to rev-up as the activity in Duluth moves from "easing-in-casually" (in the form of informal pre-camp workouts) to "ludicrous speed" in the span of a week. Thusly, we better gird our loins thoughtfully and wisely before the rocket launches for real on Friday night, October 8th. The pre-season "foretaste of the feast to come" is upon us and the boys, literally in this case, of winter are sharpening their skates and stoking their inner-fires for a chance to graduate to Big Boy Camp. I don't know about you, but I couldn't be more excited.

Already the action has been fast-paced and frenzied as reports from Duluth's all-rookie affair are trickling in from the interwebs and twitterverse. A group of about 24 young prospects, some seasoned more than others, are squaring off in a blue vs. white scrimmage of wills. So far it appears as though the more-seasoned players are making the biggest impressions, as they should. Most notably the mature Russian D-man, Andrey Zubarev, and Swedish Elite League sensation, Freddy "the Fly" Pettersson, are making their presence felt. And in the case of the Scandinavian "scat-cat" (stick tap to my lovely girlfriend K-belle of "blogtastico!" fame) Freddy Pettersson, the impression being made is an indelible, if not somewhat painful one. Just check out this sampling of tweets, blog comments and message board musings:

@Falconer18 of BirdWatcher's Anonymous fame tweets:
"Game One: @BWA_timmyf has some notes on the first rookie scrimmage. (Hint: he loved Pettersson)"

@BenThrashers of the esteemed Blueland Blog teases:
"Today's rookie camp scrimmage recap: http://bit.ly/bzalOQ Fredrik Pettersson stole the show."

BWA blogger, "timmyf", went on to write in his game recap:

"He didn't score a goal, but that's about the only thing you can hold against prospect Fredrik Pettersson. I got a chance to see him for the first time today and came away thoroughly impressed. He was all over the ice skating circles around the rest of the prospects. He also had several good hits. I was watching from the Breakaway Grill within earshot of Rick Dudley and Craig Ramsay. Dudley was frequently making comments about Pettersson, but more telling were his exclamations: "Oh Jesus!" at one point after Pettersson landed a big hit. "Look at this kid!"

Thrashers' fan "Tween_the_Pipes" gave us this perspective:

"In my opinion, the stand out in this scrimmage was Fredrik Pettersson. By all of his actions it appeared that he wants to make this team beyond all the other players. Zubarev played solid defense. Cormier looked uninspired. I didn't even notice Burmistrov. But Pettersson was a wild man. When I think Swede player I think speed & skill. But this guy has much more. The young man was all over the ice hitting, forechecking. In this one game he looked like the most complete package to me. He took one needless Boarding penalty. But I just chalked it up to his aggressive play. For 5'10" & 183 lbs. Pettersson stood above the 6'3" guys with his desire. Can you tell that Iwas impressed?"

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Freddy "the Fly" came to Duluth inspired. In fact, he seems to be on a mission to prove that Dudley was spot-on in his World Championships Tournament assessment that F.P. was more than deserving of an opportunity to crack an NHL roster. Let's just hope he doesn't crack any skulls with his hard-hitting along the way at rookie camp! But by all accounts I've seen, Freddy is beyond fierce and he is poised to make a serious push deep into Training Camp and perhaps even into the Opening Night line-up.

When we signed Pettersson last June, I wrote a somewhat prophetic blog about Freddy's prospects as a prospect and my corresponding excitement over finding a potential diamond in Swedish rough. Pettersson has worked hard to get here, and his success in the Swedish Elite League may very well be a harbinger of good things to come. I have seen some footage of his play as a member of the Frolunda Indians on the you-tube device and I came away very impressed. In fact, his one-timer is eerily reminiscent of another right-handed shot belonging to a very wealthy Russian living in Hoboken, NJ. But Freddy brings a grit and aggressive style to the ice that some might even consider a bit reckless for his frame.

Pettersson potted 20 goals in 55 games last season for the Indians in the relatively low-scoring SEL. But even more impressive is the fact that he has managed to step up his offensive output in the playoffs scoring .42 goals per game -- 10 goals in 24 games -- as opposed to his rate of .21 during his 3 regular seasons. And if you haven't listened to his interview on Thrashers TV or read his Q&A with Ben Wright at the Blueland Blog, then you are really missing out on a charismatic and charming individual who is not afraid to mix things up in the kitchen as well as on the ice!

Consider yourself forewarned of this blogger's crush on one Fredrik Pettersson, the 21st century Renaissance man. Here are some youtube videos that may help you form your very own Cam Neely-sized man-crush:

Pettersson's hat-trick in outdoor game (two after the 1:40 mark):

Pettersson practicing his one-timer...look familiar??

Another game video (go to :34 sec mark for Hyper-Fly):

Can Freddy Modin be THAT Guy?

You know, the guy Duds was talking about. That guy our general manager, Rick Dudley, told us he was thinking about signing when pressed about the issue of replacing all the goals scored by once-upon-a-time Russians. You know, that guy. That guy who is capable of scoring somewhere in the realm of 15-25 goals all the while providing veteran leadership on the ice, along the bench and in the clubhouse room? Yeah, THAAAT guy.

Thrashers fans everywhere are debating -- and in some cases chastising -- the Labor Day move by Dudley to bring in the venerable Swede to bolster the team's offensive corps, which still appears to be a bit short on scoring. The burning question right now is: "can the big guy still bring it?" After 3 fitful -- and for Fredrik Modin, extremely frustrating -- seasons of intermittent injuries and rehab therapy, can "Freddy Mo" still produce?

Looking back on Modin's career, there was a time when the 6' 4", 220 lbs of strong-skating Swede was on the verge of becoming a pre-eminent power forward in the NHL. During the most productive stretch of his career -- a 7-year period between 1999 and 2007 -- Modin scored 167 goals or an average of nearly 24 per season. During that span he appeared in 445 games, playing in at least 76 games every season save for one (2001-'02), which coincidentally was his lowest year of output (.38 PPG) since his rookie season in 1996-'97.

While Modin has experienced some highs and lows -- a high of 31 goals in 2005-'06 and a low of 14 goals in 2001-'02 -- he has been fairly consistent in his rate of production for those 7 years. Other than the injury-marred season of 2001-'02, his points per game rate never dipped below .526 during that period. He even posted a PPG rate of .60 or better in 4 of those 7 years. And it is no coincidence that his four highest goal-scoring seasons were those same 4 years of .60 or better PPG production.

Unfortunately, age and injuries caught up with the left-winger and slowed his production to that of a 4th line grinder. In mid-October of 2007, shortly after his 33rd birthday, Modin suffered his first in a rash of injuries that ruined his year. First it was a groin pull and then a recurring series of back spasms sidelined him for 2.5 months and 35 missed games. When he came back from the bad back, he then experienced nagging hamstring and groin issues (as well as the flu!) that kept him out of another 10 games. All in all, he missed 59 games in that lost year.

In the subsequent season (2008-'09), Modin had a difficult time finding any semblance of consistency. Despite a relatively healthy start, Modin could only manage to produce 2 goals and 7 assists (with a -9) in his first 17 games played. He briefly caught fire in early December scoring 5 goals in 7 games played. But he quickly cooled, suffering this time back-to-back goal-less streaks of 8 and 13 games during a long winter of futility. After that, the injury bug bit him again as a knee-injury cost him 25 more games between 2/16/09 and the end of the season.

Needless to say, the 2009-'10 season was one to forget even though he managed to play in 44 contests split between Columbus and playoff-bound Los Angeles. He saw his ice-time reduced significantly though as he logged mostly 3rd line minutes for both teams. After averaging close to 17 minutes per game in the previous two seasons, he only played about 14:45 minutes per game last year. Thusly, Modin never hit stride and potted only 5 goals total for the season. However, he flashed a glimpse of his former self during the playoffs when he banged home 3 goals in six contests against Vancouver.

Apparently that was enough evidence to convince Rick Dudley that Mr. Modin had something left in the proverbial gas tank. But is that tank even half full? If so, Freddy might be able to post 10-15 goals playing moderate -- heavy on occasion -- 3rd line minutes as well as 2nd unit power play duty. For his career, 46 of his 225 goals are on the PP (20.4%), including 6 in the last 3 injury-plagued campaigns. Prior to that, 23 of his 82 (28.0%) goals came with the man advantage. Make no mistake, Modin is a closer. He seals the deal on the PP using his unique blend of size, skill and deft touch. If healthy, Modin can most certainly provide a lift to a Thrashers PP that struggled mightily after the departure of Ilya Kovalchuk.

A LOOK AT MODIN, BY THE NUMBERS:

Cup Year: 57 pts in 82 gms (29 goals - 5 PP) / .695 PPG / 14.1 shooting %

'05-2006: 54 pts in 77 gms (31 goals - 12 PP) / .701 PPG / 14.0 shooting %

'06-2007: 42 pts in 79 gms (22 goals - 6 PP) / .562 PPG / 10.0 shooting %

'07-2008: 12 pts in 23 games (6 goals - 2 PP) / .523 PPG / 14.6 shooting %

'08-2009: 25 pts in 50 games (9 goals - 2 PP) / .500 PPG / 8.0 shooting %

'09-2010: 11 pts in 44 games (5 goals - 2 PP) / .250 PPG / 7.5 shooting %

HOW HE DO IT? MODIN'S METHOD - LAST 40 GOALS:

Medium / long-range slapper from top of circle or just inside - 2 of 40 (5%)

Open ice breakaway or hard drive to net in transition - 4 of 40 (10%)

Rebound put-back or loose change deposit at goalmouth - 12 of 40 (30%)

Re-directed shot on PP or tap-in / re-directed pass - 8 of 40 (20%)

Wrister or 1-timer in slot, at bottom or below the circle - 11 of 40 (27.5%)

Wrister or 1-timer at face-off dot or above / at top of circle - 3 of 40 (7.5%)

The sample size of my "study" is large enough to begin to understand how Modin operates. 50-60% of his goals come from in tight, at the crease or in the slot off a quick feed. He still has very good hands and cannot be knocked off a loose puck easily. Give him the puck in the right place at the bottom of the circle or in the slot and he'll score it. He has a cannon of a shot, but his snap-shot is even more lethal than his slapper. And finally, his long reach helps him get to loose pucks that D-men cannot handle easily.

Assuming his legs and groin are healed, Modin may very well be capable of cracking the 15-20 goal plateau playing in a system -- one with which he should be familiar from his time with Coach Ramsay in Tampa -- that should be a bit more offense-friendly than the one he didn't much enjoy in Columbus. I can certainly understand the bewilderment and puzzled disbelief this UFA signing has caused, but should the soon-to-be 36 year-old manage to stay healthy, I don't see why Freddy Modin can't resurrect his career, which deserves a better ending by the way, here in the city of Atlanta -- a city that once raised itself up from fiery, smoky ruins. Hopefully for the citizens of Blueland, Freddy Modin doesn't go down in flames.

Modin lämnar Kings för Atlanta Trashers

Okay, if you know what this means, then feel free to click on this link and peruse the Aftonbladet for all of the scuttlebutt. But for those of you who only speak English, it looks as though the T-birds have added another Swede to the roster before training camp. And before you get too excited, Modin is 35 years of age and hardly an upgrade to our current line-up.

However, his experience and crafty skill-set may be able to help the team in spot minutes as the 13th forward. But unless he has spent the last two months "soaking" in a fancy hyperbaric chamber to rescusitate his banged-up body, his contract to play in Atlanta is probably nothing more than insurance in case some of our young "chitlins" don't pan out at camp. Get it? Just a little bit of cooking humor to slake your appetite for delectable Thrashers' news nuggets. THIS, I DO FOR YOU.

In the meantime, I'll go back to pining for more Matthew Modine in Hollywood produced films. Oh tell me where have the greats gone?

And this just lifted off the buffet of tweets du jour...enjoy this yummy morsel of James Mirtle reportage:

@mirtle: "There are reports overseas that Fredrik Modin is close to or has a deal with Atlanta."

Well then, it MUST be true!

Lastly, hat tip to aaronb of Bird Watchers (not-so)Anonymous for breaking the news on their blog here in the States.