Sport-scan daily brief

“I’ve got to play both ends of the ice and have to play physically. I’m a big guy and this team needs size, so I’ve got to be finishing every check and chipping in offensively.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.19.2013

717231 Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames re-assign 19 players to AHL, junior

By RANDY SPORTAK,First posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013

As first impressions go, Emile Poirier made a good one with the Calgary Flames.

Not enough to make the NHL team, but Poirier — the right winger chosen 22nd overall in this year’s draft — netted one goal and one assist over the course of three pre-season games and asserted himself well before being sent back to the Gatineau Olympiques, of the QMJHL, among the first wave of cuts Wednesday.

“We’re very pleased with him — no issues there,” Flames GM Jay Feaster said. “He came in and did a good job. He’s not looked out of place, but he’s not ready to play in the NHL at this time.

“We think that it’s the right thing to do from a timing perspective. He’s had a good rookie camp, had a good main camp. He needs to work on his conditioning — that’s an area we’ve identified for him where he has to take the next step — but he’s a good first-round pick.

“We’re happy, but the time is now for him to go back and get with his junior team.”

Poirier, the second of Calgary’s three first-round selections in the 2013 NHL Draft, was one of 19 players assigned either to the AHL Abbotsford Heat or back to the junior ranks.

Left-winger Morgan Klimchuk, the 28th overall pick who wasn’t able to fully participate in camp due to an abdominal injury, was sent to the WHL’s Regina Pats.

Centre Sean Monahan, the No. 6 pick in the 2013 draft, is among the 38 players who remain in Calgary’s camp.

Also returned to junior were: D Ryan Culkin (Quebec, QMJHL), RW Coda Gordon (Swift Current, WHL), D Brett Kulak (Vancouver, WHL) and D Eric Roy (Brandon, WHL).

Thirteen players were sent to the club’s top minor-league affiliate in time for camp to open in Abbotsford Friday.

A pair of goalies — Joni Ortio and first-year pro Laurent Brossoit — were joined by defencemen Mark Cundari, Brady Lamb, James Martin and Zach McKelvie, and forwards Carter Bancks, Paul Byron, David Eddy, Turner Elson, Ben Hanowski, Brett Olson and ’08 first-round draft choice Greg Nemisz.

Cundari is likely the biggest surprise based on how he finished the season, with three points in four NHL games, but Feaster said it’s a case of the club knowing what they have in the 23-year-old blueliner acquired in the Jay Bouwmeester deal, while they have so many other defencemen to get a true read on over the next week.

“We have a lot of defencemen here and we have a lot of defencemen we have to make decisions on. He played a good game (Tuesday) and was not as good in the game in Saskatoon (the night before) — we talked to him about that,” Feaster said of Cundari. “We think he’s a guy who’ll be in the mix for us, but right now he’s not in the mix and we only have two pre-season games left.

“I told him there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll play games for us this year, be we’ve got other guys we’ve got to make decisions on.”

The moves leave the Flames with three goalies, 13 defencemen and 22 forwards. Calgary has two more pre-season games remaining and will open the 2013-14 season Oct. 3 at the Washington Capitals.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.19.2013

717232 Carolina Hurricanes

Bellemore’s time may be coming soon

By Luke DeCock

RALEIGH — If Brett Bellemore was of a certain mind, he might take many of the Carolina Hurricanes’ offseason moves as statements of a lack of confidence in him.

First, they traded for Andrej Sekera. Then they signed Mike Komisarek. And when Joni Pitkanen was declared out for the season, they went out and grabbed Ron Hainsey. It was all designed to bolster a blue line that looked decidedly shaky last season, but it had the secondary effect of keeping Bellemore eighth on the depth chart.

It was no reflection on Bellemore, who may yet be worthy of a bigger role before the season is out.

At 25, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman is just starting to come into his own. The eight NHL games he played last season are far more than would have been expected of a sixth-round draft pick. And Bellemore showed Wednesday night in the Hurricanes’ preseason opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a 5-4 loss, that he can be counted upon when needed.

That’s something Jeff Daniels, Bellemore’s coach for the past four seasons in the AHL, figured out a while back.

“He’s gotten stronger and a little more confident with the puck,” Daniels said. “He’s always had that long reach and good hockey sense defensively. He’s learning to use his body more. Some stuff just takes time.”

The less the Hurricanes are relying on Bellemore, and to a lesser extent Ryan Murphy in the seventh slot, the better off they’ll be. Bellemore may not be ready for a regular role yet, but he’s an option, either as the last man on the NHL roster or as a top-pairing defenseman in Charlotte: big, strong, willing to be physical.

If he continues to hone his overall game, there may be a bigger role for him here, and he offered hints of that Wednesday.

On a night when the defensive coverage was less than stellar in front of Cam Ward, Bellemore stood out for his effectiveness ahead of some of his more veteran teammates. At one point, he even directed Jeff Skinner into proper defensive position.

Bellemore also stands out because he has a chance to be the first NHL defenseman developed through the Hurricanes’ system in more than a decade. Justin Faulk didn’t need any seasoning in the minors, and Murphy won’t get much either. Bellemore has taken time to make it this far, and the question now is whether he can make the next step.

“You have to watch him for an extended period of time to appreciate him,” Daniels said. “He may not look pretty out there, but at the end of the night he gets it done.”

In many ways, he’s the opposite of his fellow rookie Murphy, in size, skill, style and opportunity.

Murphy, the 5-11, 185-pound first-round pick is an offensive dynamo whose raw talent makes up for his lack of stature. Since he was taken 12th overall in 2011, the Hurricanes have given Murphy every opportunity, calling him up from his junior team for a four-game stint last winter, making him the subject of an in-house documentary this summer.

Bellemore has none of that skill, but you can’t teach size, either. He has been given nothing. He was sent back to play an extra year of junior hockey. He spent four long seasons in the AHL before getting his first sniff at the NHL. (Only Nicolas Blanchard has a longer tenure with the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate.) Whatever opportunities Bellemore is getting now, he has earned.

For some players, it just takes a little longer – both to figure it out and to be properly appreciated.

News Observer LOADED: 09.19.2013

717233 Carolina Hurricanes

Muller says Canes not physical enough in loss to Columbus

Published: September 18, 2013 Updated 57 minutes ago

By Chip Alexander

RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes, at long last, played a preseason exhibition game Wednesday.

They didn’t win it, as the Columbus Blue Jackets surged in the third period for a 5-4 victory at PNC Arena. Nor did the Canes play with the same feistiness that they had in some of their team scrimmages.

Canes coach Kirk Muller liked some things in the preseason opener. Then again, he didn’t like some things.

“I think for the first game I was expecting a little more bite to our game,” Muller said. “When I say playing hard, it’s not just physically finishing checks. I thought we had a group tonight that we could have been tougher to play against.”

Alexander Semin scored a pair of goals and Eric Staal and Jeremy Welsh each had a goal for the Canes. It also was the first NHL action for Elias Lindholm, Carolina’s first-round draft pick this year and the first NHL game in net for goaltender Cam Ward since his knee injury in early March.

Muller was pleased with the play of Lindholm, who centered a line with Jeff Skinner and Nathan Gerbe on the wings. Lindholm suffered a shoulder injury at the team’s prospects camp in July, setting back his conditioning, but played 16 minutes Wednesday and was used both on the power play and penalty kill.

“I thought the game was his best performance, compared to the practices,” Muller said. “He’s smart, he’s good in traffic, makes little plays. He definitely understands the game, both with the puck and without.”

Ward is coming off a third-degree knee sprain and the pre-game plan was for him to play two periods Wednesday, then make a decision on the third. He finished it out, closing with 26 saves.

Marian Gaborik scored twice and had an assist for Columbus, which was playing its fourth preseason game and is 3-1. The Blue Jackets trailed 4-2 in the second period but rallied as Ryan Johansen scored a power-play goal and Gaborik and Sean Collins then had goals in the third.

Collins’ goal, at 6 minutes, 26 seconds of the final period, was the winner as Brandon Dubinsky notched the third of his three assists.

The Canes outshot Columbus 15-7 in the first period, only to trail 2-1. Semin scored a power-play goal, but Boone Jenner and then Gaborik found openings in the offensive zone to rip shots past Ward.

“Guys were working hard, everyone’s back (defensively), it’s just we need to do a better job of sorting out when we get back,” Skinner said.

Early in the second, Welsh went top-shelf to beat goalie Curtis McElhinney and tie the score. Semin ripped another shot from the circle and Staal scored off a rebound for a 4-2 lead.

But Muller said some old habits then resurfaced: long shifts, turnovers, some mental lapses. The Blue Jackets kept pushing the pace while Mike McKenna replaced McElhinney in net and stopped all 12 shots.

“A couple of their skill players were able to generate some offense … but it was the same on the other end, too,” said Canes defenseman Jay Harrison, who had two assists. “We’ll sort that out.”

It was the first matchup between the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets as new NHL Metropolitan Division rivals, albeit a preseason game. Hybrid icing calls were made and the Canes also were stung by a new NHL rule that prohibits players from tucking in their jerseys -- Semin was called for a delay-of-game penalty late in the second.

The Canes were among the last NHL teams to play a preseason game but will catch up quickly with road games each of the next three days -- Thursday in Buffalo, then two against Montreal. As Harrison put it, “It’s a start.”

NOTE: The Canes made 12 training camp cuts, trimming the roster to 35.

Headed to the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) training camp are: forwards Victor Rask, Justin Shugg, Brody Sutter and Brendan Woods; defensemen Danny Biega, Mark Flood, Austin Levi, Keegan Lowe, Rasmus Rissanen and Beau Schmitz; and goalie Mike Murphy.

Forward Brock McGinn was sent back to his junior team, the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

News Observer LOADED: 09.19.2013

717234 Chicago Blackhawks

Crawford making adjustments

Blackhawks goalie dealing with shorter pads, shallower nets and a new goaltending coach

By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

It is a training camp of adjustments for Corey Crawford.

The Blackhawks goaltender is dealing with shorter pads, shallower nets and perhaps the biggest adjustment of all, a new goaltending coach.

Stephane Waite, the only goalie coach Crawford had worked with during his previous three-plus seasons with the Hawks, left the organization to join the Canadiens in the same position and was replaced by Steve Weeks.

Crawford said he and Weeks "haven't gotten a ton of time so far — only a couple of practices." But so far so good.

"He seems good — almost the same as Steph," Crawford said. "(Weeks) likes to put the work in. We'll see once we get into the season what kind of drills he likes to do.

"I'd never met him before. I talked to him this summer for a little bit. I don't think he's going to try to change anything, maybe little adjustments here and there. If he sees something, if I'm too deep or overaggressive in certain situations, just little things like that to try. Communication has been pretty good."

It will take some time for the duo to develop the rapport Crawford shared with Waite.

"We worked well together," Crawford, 28, said. "I knew exactly what I was getting out of Steph and I could rely on him to see things that needed adjustment or to tell me I was fine and to keep playing. It's always tough to lose someone you're comfortable with ... but that's sports. You have to move on."

Rules changes this season meant Crawford lost two inches from his pads and the veteran, who along with Ray Emery captured the William B. Jennings Trophy for the top goaltending in the NHL in 2013, said the only impact will be with shots to the five-hole (between his pads) and he said he doesn't expect that will be a problem.

Another change, which was not as highly publicized, is to the net itself. The depth of the goal has been reduced from 44 inches to 40, meaning there will be more room behind the net for offensive players to roam and attempt wraparounds.

"I haven't really faced too many wraparounds," said Crawford, who had no trouble with any adjustments during a 19-save shutout of the Red Wings on Tuesday night in the Hawks' exhibition opener. "I'm sure those plays will come in a little bit quicker. Sometimes that might make a difference. I just have to be aware around the net for guys trying to wrap it."

Coach Joel Quenneville also said it remains to be seen what effect the shallower nets will have this season.

"It's too early to get a good read on that," he said. "You'll probably see a little bit more quick plays behind the net that could lead to goals or more scoring chances."

Hearing looming: Red Wings winger Teemu Pulkkinen will have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL on Thursday to review a boarding incident on Hawks defenseman Michael Kostka during Tuesday's game.

Early in the first period at the United Center, Pulkkinen shoved Kostka into the boards and was assessed a five-minute boarding penalty and game misconduct. Kostka was facedown on the ice for several moments before slowly making his way to the Hawks' dressing room. Kostka did not return to the game.

"I saw exactly what happened," Quenneville said of the hit after the game. "I thought it was very dangerous."

The hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety will be in the league's offices in New York, which means any possible suspension could exceed five games. Telephone hearings are held for disciplinary hearings that could result in suspensions of five games or fewer.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 09.19.2013

717235 Chicago Blackhawks

Red Wing faces hearing for hit on Blackhawks' Kostka

By Chris Kuc

Detroit Red Wings winger Teemu Pulkkinen will have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL on Thursday to review a boarding incident on the Chicago Blackhawks' Michael Kostka during Tuesday night's exhibition game.

Early in the first period at the United Center, Pulkkinen drove Kostka into the boards and was assessed a five-minute boarding penalty and game misconduct. Kostka was face down on the ice for several moments before slowly making his way to the Hawks' dressing room.

"I saw exactly what happened," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said of the hit after the game. "I thought it was very dangerous."

Kostka did not return to the game the Hawks eventually won 2-0.

"He's not bad but he couldn't play," Quenneville said. "We'll have a better assessment (Wednesday)."

The hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety will take place in the league's offices in New York, which means any suspension could exceed five games. Telephone hearings are held for possible disciplinary hearings that would last five games or fewer.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 09.19.2013

717236 Chicago Blackhawks

Brookbank among several vying for role as 7th defenseman

BY MARK LAZERUS Staff Reporter September 18, 2013 8:58PM

Don’t cry for Sheldon Brookbank, the odd man out for all but one game of the Blackhawks’ run through the playoffs last spring. After all, he’s a Stanley Cup champion.

“The way I looked at it, I was the seventh defenseman on the best team in the world,” Brookbank said. “There are worse things. You could be a top-four defenseman on the worst team in the league.”

Don’t get Brookbank wrong. He would have loved to have played every game of the playoffs, as Michal Rozsival did, or even to have continued his regular-season platoon with Rozsival. As coach Joel Quenneville repeatedly pointed out throughout the season and the playoffs, Brookbank probably deserved to be an everyday player, even though he admitted “it wasn’t my best year as a player in this league.”

But, on arguably the top defense in the league, spots are hard to come by. Brookbank was a key contributor during the regular season and a veteran presence in the locker room and practices throughout the playoffs. And while his job likely is secure for another year — he’s got a year left on his contract at $1.3 million, and he adds an enforcer element that the rest of the defensive corps does not — he knows there are several guys who would love nothing more than to leave camp as the seventh defenseman on the best team in the world.

“This is my seventh year now in the NHL, and every year there’s competition,” Brookbank said. “You don’t take anything for granted. You still have to earn your spot and make the team out of camp.”

On the other side of the equation are guys like Ryan Stanton, Theo Peckham, Mike Kostka and Adam Clendening, who all possibly could have NHL jobs next month if they were in shallower organizations.

Stanton was a black ace during the playoffs, called up after his third — and best — full season in Rockford. He had 25 points in 73 games and was a plus-16. Understandably, the Hawks are very high on Stanton, and at 24, he’s more than paid his dues. But he knows there’s simply not a lot of room for upward mobility in the Hawks organization.

“It’s obviously a bit [frustrating], but they’re all good D-men and I’ve got nothing against any of them,” Stanton said. “And you can’t be mad at management for signing back a D-corps like that, one that just won you the Stanley Cup. I just need to keep my head down and try my hardest, and try to make some decisions hard on them.”

While Stanton and Clendening try to break into the NHL for good, Peckham and Kostka are trying to stay there. Peckham — a big-hitting enforcer-type — has spent part of each of the last seven seasons with the Edmonton Oilers but played just four games last year. Kostka (injured Tuesday night when he was boarded by Detroit’s Teemu Pulkkinen, who faces an in-person hearing with the league and a likely suspension for the hit) appeared in 35 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.

Signing with the Hawks didn’t help their chances, but the opportunity to tryout for one of the top teams in the league was hard to pass up.

“Last year was a pretty disappointing year for me, and I just want to show that I belong,” said Peckham, 25. “I think I can play at this level.”

Of course, the level isn’t the problem. It’s the team. Quenneville loves to talk about “organizational depth” and clearly believes in the old hockey axiom that you can never have too many defensemen. So Stanton and Peckham and a host of other intriguing blue-liners will spend the week auditioning for one of the most coveted understudy roles in hockey. And Brookbank will be doing everything he can to keep it.

“We like tough decisions,” Quenneville said. “It’s a good problem to have.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 09.19.2013

717237 Chicago Blackhawks

For Hawks’ Smith, the time is now

By Tim Sassone

For Ben Smith, the time is now.

After three years of trying to crack the Blackhawks' lineup without success since his memorable first-round playoff series against Vancouver in 2011 when he scored 3 goals in seven games — including the Game 6 winner in overtime — Smith is through messing around.

Crawford slaps aside worries about new pads

"I'm 25 years old now, and for me that gives me a little more motivation that it's time to make this happen," Smith said. "I'm going to work every day toward that goal."

After a so-so start to his camp, Smith scored 1 of the Hawks' goals in Tuesday's 2-0 exhibition win over Detroit. Smith planted himself in front of goalie Jonas Gústavsson and tipped in a shot by Jimmy Hayes, one of his competitors for a roster spot.

"This is going to come down to who's the most consistent, who's playing hardest every night, and who's working hardest every day," Smith said. "This was a step up from how it's been, but it's still nowhere near where it needs to be. It's a process, but now I've got to just try to build off that on Thursday (against Pittsburgh at the United Center)."

Smith, Hayes, Jeremy Morin and Brandon Pirri are competing for the few jobs available at forward. While they're all friends, Smith says business is business.

"We're all buddies. We've all been playing together the last two or three years at Rockford," Smith said. "You have to understand that it's a competition and you can't get mad at a guy for trying his best and working his hardest because he's just trying to win a job.

"You really just have to worry about yourself. It's a business and we know those decisions aren't being made by us so that makes it a little less awkward. All we can do is play the best we can."

It might not come down to who played the best. The jobs might go to players who fit a certain need, such as a penalty killer to replace the departed Michael Frolik.

"Could it be the best players or most useful players? That's a good question," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We'll see how that sorts out.

"We're still looking for a guy to play with (Marcus) Kruger in that penalty-killing role so that's something we'll visit as we go along."

Quenneville used rookie Joakim Nordstrom with Kruger against the Red Wings.

"They've got a little relationship and rapport there, those two guys being from Sweden," Quenneville said. "Krugs is easy to play with."

Smith has killed penalties at Rockford and is ready to do it up here.

"I'm willing to work at it," Smith said. "All the guys have said it — whatever we're asked to do. We want to be here on the squad and part of this winning tradition that they've grown here for the last four, five, six years."

As for his goal on Tuesday, it came from the so-called dirty area in front of the net.

"It was a nice play by Jimmy Hayes there," Smith said. "He had the puck and had nice patience and I just tried to get in front of the net and plant my butt, get body position and I was able to deflect it."

Quenneville said it's easy to root for someone who plays as hard as Smith.

"That's Benny's bread and butter," Quenneville said. "He's got a quick stick at the net and seems to find himself in that position a lot.

"His camp's been OK. We think Benny is one of those players you find a way to utilize because he's effective in a lot of different ways and in different areas. He's a competitive kid, and you always root for him."

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 09.19.2013

717238 Chicago Blackhawks

Crawford slaps aside worries about new pads

By Tim Sassone

Coming off a Stanley Cup championship, Corey Crawford has a lot of things on his mind, but the NHL's mandate to shorten goalie pads by two inches isn't one of them.