Sport-scan daily brief

“He was outstanding for us,” Prendergast said.

“He’s sort of a kid that sort of flew under the radar all year up in Rimouski. He was a late pick for the prospects game (in Halifax in January). He played great there.

“I can understand why they relied on him a lot down the stretch. He’s a kid that doesn’t feel the pressure and when the pressure does come he wants it.”

The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Desrosiers excels most under pressure, said Serge Beausoleil, the Océanic’s head coach.

“I would say he’s a money player,” Beausoleil said.

“Already we see at 17-, 18-years old, when it counts he raises his game a notch.” (Desrosiers turns 18 in August.)

In 43 games this past season with the Océanic, Desrosiers posted a 3.07 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He missed 13 games in February with a knee sprain.

He’s very athletic, energetic in front of the net and positions himself well, Beausoleil said. Staying focused is one of the things he can improve on, the coach added.

When he started in minor hockey at 6, Desrosiers played defence. About 18 months later, he strapped on goalie pads when his team’s goaltender got fed up after two games and Desrosiers’s father, who was the coach, asked his son if he wanted to play in net.

Desrosiers’s favourite goalie is Canadiens netminder Carey Price, who he says is always in control and calm.

Desrosiers’s parents, brother and friends will be with him at the draft in Newark, N.J. He isn’t the only elite athlete in his family. His 15-year-old brother, Jérôme, is on Canada’s national cadet basketball team.

Desrosiers had interviews with 18 teams during the NHL Scouting Combine in Toronto. He also attended the Canadiens’ combine at the team’s training facility in Brossard on June 5 as well as combines held by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.

The goalie can’t wait for the draft. A Habs fan since he was a child, Desrosiers wants to be drafted by his favourite team.

“It’s not me who decides,” he said.

“But if it happens, I’ll be the happiest guy in the world.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.30.2013

683024 Montreal Canadiens

Habs’ first draft pick will be up in air

By Pat Hickey, THE GAZETTEJune 29, 2013

NEWARK, N.J. — A year ago, the Canadiens’ first-round draft choice was predictable.

Scouting guru Trevor Timmins zeroed in on Alex Galchenyuk early in the process and he was available with the third overall selection.

The Canadiens are slated to draft 25th in the first round Sunday and there is no consensus on which way Montreal will go.

Talk to pundits and fans and they see the Canadiens addressing such needs as a forward with some size or depth at the goaltending position. And, as always, it will be seen as a bonus if the Canadiens can dip into what is an especially strong crop of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League prospects and grab a francophone.

As for Timmins and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, their stance is that the Canadiens will select the best player available, even if he is an undersized defenceman who can’t speak either of Canada’s official languages.

Those who dare to engage in mock drafts are all over the map when trying to identify the Canadiens’ first-round pick. That’s to be expected because the pundits are faced with the same problem the Canadiens have — it’s impossible to predict who will still be on the board at No. 25.

In checking out eight draft lists, we found the Canadiens picking seven different players.

The only player to be mentioned twice is from the QMJHL, but right winger Valentin Zykov’s first language is Russian. Zykov, a classic power forward, was named the offensive rookie of the year in the Q and became a fan favourite in Baie Comeau. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is a hybrid with European skills and North American grit. He is rated eighth among North American skaters by Central Scouting, but TSN’s Craig Button and Steve Hoffner of nhl.com believe he’ll be around when the Canadiens pick.

The Hockey News likes Halifax goaltender Zach Fucale as the Canadiens’ pick. Montreal has drafted only two goalies since they made Carey Price the fifth overall pick in 2005 and neither of them went higher than the fourth round. The 6-foot, 175-pound Fucale is the top-rated North American goaltender, but Marc Bergevin is on record as saying it’s difficult to evaluate young goalies and the Canadiens are more likely to look for a goalie in the later rounds.

The Hockey Writers has Windsor Spitfires forward Kerby Rychel in the 25th spot. The Canadiens have seen a lot of the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder because he played on a line with 2012 Montreal draft pick Brady Vail. The Canadiens also followed up on the NHL combine in Toronto by inviting Rychel to their own combine a week later. Rychel has a strong work ethic that he inherited from his father, former NHL player Warren Rychel. He has had back-to-back 40-goal seasons on a bad Windsor team. Rychel needs to work on his skating, but he is a strong, aggressive player who is a projected as a two-way power forward.

Kyle Woodlief’s mock draft for USA Today has the Canadiens picking long-shot Chicoutimi left winger Émile Poirier, but the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is more likely to be a target for Montreal with one of their early second-round choices. Poirier has good instincts and plays at both ends of the ice, but he isn’t a physical player.

Adam Kimmelman of nhl.com sees the Canadiens looking to Sweden for centre Alexander Wenneberg. The 6-foot, 175-pound centre played against men with Djurgarden in the Swedish second division and had 14 goals and 18 assists in 46 games. He’s a skilled two-way player with good acceleration and those are assets the Canadiens see as valuable.

The third member of the nhl.com crew, Mike Morreale, sees the Canadiens picking Owen Sound defenceman Chris Bigras. His stock has been rising after a solid season in the OHL and gold-medal performances at the Ivan Hlinka and IIHF under-18 championships. But this is another player who could be around early in the second round. Bigras is a star in the classroom and that’s evident in his heady play on the ice. He’s a shutdown defenceman, but many believe the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has an offence upside.

Yahoo.com likes Laurent Dauphin from Chicoutimi and he fits the profile of several current Canadiens. He has skill and quickness and he doesn’t mind going into the dirty areas. The rub is that at 6-foot and 166 pounds, he’s not very strong and he gets knocked down a lot. His stock went up when he was a last-minute addition to the lineup for the CHL Top Prospects game. He scored a goal and an assist and was the game’s most valuable player.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.30.2013

683025 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators GM David Poile says Olympic job won't overtax him

Jun. 29, 2013 |

Written by

Josh Cooper

The Tennessean

NEW YORK — Predators general manager David Poile does not believe his new role as general manager of the 2014 U.S. Olympic hockey team will sap his drive and commitment to his Nashville job.

“I think this just gives you more energy,” Poile said Saturday at a news conference introducing him for the Team USA position. “All these experiences, I hope, are giving me more expertise in making decisions.”

In the next few months, Poile will have two daunting tasks. One will be to guide the United States to a gold medal in Sochi. The other will be to retool his Predators roster to avoid a repeat of the 2013 season in which Nashville finished 27th out of 30 teams.

Poile’s associate general manager for Team USA will be Ray Shero, the Penguins general manager who used to be Poile’s assistant.

“I’m looking at it for all of us, it enhances our knowledge of hockey as hockey people,” Poile said.

Smith on short list? Poile indicated that Nashville forward Craig Smith could be high on the list of players Poile will look to add to the Team USA roster. Smith has played on U.S. world championship squads each of the past three years.

“He’s on USA advisory committee’s radar because of how well he has played (at the world championships),” Poile said.

Wilson off list: Predators forward Colin Wilson might not be on this short list because of an injury. Wilson had double shoulder stabilization procedures this offseason and might not be able to participate in the Team USA orientation camp, tentatively set for late August.

“It might be a little bit different in that he might have to play his way onto the team based on his play in the early part of the season,” Poile said.

Tennessean LOADED: 06.30.2013

683026 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators try to pick their next star

NHL draft has talent at the top for many positions

Jun. 30, 2013 |

Written by

Josh Cooper

NEW YORK — Predators general manager David Poile was asked if he felt pressure about today’s NHL entry draft.

“It’s not pressure, it’s stress,” Poile said. “It’s usual. There’s always stress in this business.”

No matter what he calls it, Poile faces one of the more crucial days in his tenure in Nashville today. The Predators hold the fourth selection, their highest pick since they took David Legwand No. 2 overall in 1998. And coming off a disastrous 2013, Nashville needs to find a franchise-type player who can act as a cornerstone to help push the Predators out of their funk.

“It’s really exciting because we know we’re going to get a good player,” Poile said. “To me, it looks like we can get a defenseman, a winger or a centerman. That takes your team in three different directions.”

This is considered a prime year to pick high in the draft. The talent level in 2013 is deemed by many analysts as the best since 2003. That year every player in the first round played at least two NHL games. The Predators set themselves up nicely by picking cornerstone defensemen Ryan Suter (seventh), Kevin Klein (37th) and Shea Weber (49th).

The years those three were in Nashville, the Predators made the playoffs six of seven seasons.

The Predators are likely to get defenseman Seth Jones, center Nathan MacKinnon, left wing Jonathan Drouin or center Aleksander Barkov. All four are considered franchise-type players who could play next season for Nashville.

“They’re all different, different positions. They all bring something different to the table, but they all in their own way are outstanding players,” Poile said.

Colorado owns the No. 1 pick and has said it will take MacKinnon — absent of a trade.

The 6-foot-3 Barkov has become a hot commodity mostly because of his size and position. He’s a big, strong two-way center, and recent Stanley Cup champions, such as Chicago (2010, 2013) and Los Angeles (2012), have been anchored by players like Barkov.

The 6-foot-4 Jones is considered by many to be the top player in the draft, but teams seem hesitant to pick a defenseman that early. That’s why he could fall to Nashville.

Drouin is a skilled offensive winger who could help the Predators immediately. The only issue with him is he is listed at 5-foot-11 and doesn’t quite fulfill Nashville’s offseason game plan to get bigger and stronger.

“I’m not going to be comfortable until I know who we get at four,” Poile said. “It’s getting a little tense. There’s stuff written every day, but having said that it matters, but it doesn’t matter. That’s not something I’m going to be able to control.”

Nashville could trade the pick, but Poile made that sound unlikely Saturday, saying, “I doubt there’s going to be an opportunity to move up. I doubt I have any interest in moving back.”

The Predators took a major step back last season, finishing 27th out of 30 teams. Nashville had made the playoffs seven of the previous eight seasons.

Poile and coach Barry Trotz have vowed to make some changes to get the Predators moving back in the right direction.

Since 2005, only one Predators first-round pick — forward Colin Wilson — has played a full NHL season. Nashville has traded its first-round pick the past two years, though it recouped some of those losses by trading for Filip Forsberg at the 2013 trading deadline. The Capitals took Forsberg 11th overall in 2012.

Nashville’s most recent first-round pick selected by the team was Austin Watson, who has six games of NHL experience and notched 37 points in 72 games in his first professional season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League in 2013.

The most recent Hockey News organizational prospect rankings (which did not include Forsberg on Nashville) listed the Predators at 26th.

That all adds up to a team that needs to hit and hit big today with its first-round pick.

“I’m in a position that whoever is left, that’s who we’re going to take,” Poile said. “We’re going to be happy because the players are really good. I just don’t know the order.”

Top Five Predators draft picks of all time

1. Shea Weber,

49th overall in 2003

The Predators knew before the draft that they would take Weber, believing they were the only team that high on him. They were right, and Nashville got its captain and franchise defenseman deep into the second round.

2. Pekka Rinne,

258th

overall in 2004

3. Ryan Suter, seventh overall in 2003

Although Suter left last offseason by free agency, his contributions to the Predators as Weber’s defense partner helped the team to consecutive Western Conference semifinal appearances.

4. Martin Erat,

191st overall in 1999

Erat has the fifth-most points of players picked in the 1999 draft. Despite being traded this past season, he also has the second-most points in franchise history and played 723 games in a Predators uniform.

5. Scott Hartnell, sixth overall in 2000

Hartnell has had his most success with the Flyers after a 2007 trade. He has turned into one of the top power forwards in the NHL and scored 37 goals two seasons ago.

NHL DRAFT

• When: 2 p.m. Sunday

TV: NBC SN

Tennessean LOADED: 06.30.2013

683027 New Jersey Devils

For the No. 1 Pick, the Avalanche May Set Aside Sentiment

By JEFF Z. KLEIN

Published: June 29, 2013

Sunday’s N.H.L. draft at Prudential Center in Newark will begin either like a fairy tale, or like a fairy tale overturned. It all depends on whether the Colorado Avalanche take defenseman Seth Jones with the first overall pick or choose the talented center Nathan MacKinnon instead.

Certainly Jones, 18, is the sentimental choice for Colorado. He sat along the glass with his mother and brothers as the Avalanche won Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup finals in Denver. They received those choice tickets because Seth’s father, Popeye Jones, was playing for the N.B.A.’s Denver Nuggets and had asked the Avalanche captain Joe Sakic for advice on nurturing Seth’s hockey obsession. So there young Seth was, looking on as Sakic lifted the Stanley Cup, a sight Jones recalled a dozen years later as “unbelievable.”

Jones went on to become a 6-foot-4, puck-moving defenseman who starred for the gold-medal-winning United States world junior team, a player called “already the complete package” by B. J. MacDonald of N.H.L. Central Scouting. He could also be the first player of African-American heritage to be taken No. 1 over all.

Sakic is now the Avalanche’s new head of hockey operations, and the club’s new coach is Patrick Roy, the starting goaltender from that 2001 team. Yet despite Jones’s Avalanche connections and the club’s need for a defenseman of his caliber, Sakic and Roy have repeatedly said they are leaning toward taking a forward with their No. 1 pick. As recently as Thursday, Sakic indicated that MacKinnon, who turns 18 on Sept. 1, would be their man.

MacKinnon’s stock has risen over that of Jones since the Memorial Cup final last May, when MacKinnon’s hat trick powered the Halifax Mooseheads past Jones’s Portland Winterhawks for the Canadian Hockey League championship.

MacKinnon’s story has a fairy tale quality as well. He comes from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Sidney Crosby’s hometown. When MacKinnon was 7 or 8 and Crosby was 15, their paths crossed in an airport. Young Nathan posed for a photo with Crosby. Now MacKinnon, who scored 75 points in 44 regular-season games and 13 points in four Memorial Cup games, poses for photos with children, and he will be posing for more at the draft.

After Colorado chooses, Florida has the No. 2 pick, unless trades change the draft order. Tampa Bay is No. 3, then Nashville, Carolina, Calgary, Edmonton, Buffalo, the Devils and Dallas complete the first 10.

Whoever is chosen by Phoenix with the No. 12 pick might play in Seattle or Quebec when training camp opens in September. N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the City Council of Glendale, Ariz., must decide by Tuesday whether to approve an arena lease deal with a prospective buyer for the club. If there is no deal, Bettman said Thursday, “I don’t think the Coyotes will be playing there anymore.”

Other players expected to go high on Sunday include MacKinnon’s high-scoring Halifax linemate Jonathan Drouin (105 points in 49 games); Sault Ste. Marie defenseman Darnell Nurse, the son of the former Canadian Football League wide receiver Richard Nurse, who encouraged him to play hockey because he said it was safer than football; and the Finnish-Russian center Aleksander Barkov, whose 48 points in 53 games last season for Tappara Tampere made him the ninth-leading scorer in Finland’s top league.

Also expected to go in the first round are the 5-9 London forward Max Domi, who resembles his father, the N.H.L. brawler Tie Domi, but is a skill player with 87 points in 64 games, and Windsor forward Kerby Rychel, son of the former N.H.L. player Warren Rychel, whose 40 goals, 94 penalty minutes and 8 fights last season mark him as a skill player and an enforcer.

A player to watch in the later rounds is goalie Anthony Brodeur, son of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Anthony, who will play next season for Gatineau of the Quebec junior league, was born 16 days before his father won his first Stanley Cup in 1995.

The Islanders pick 15th in the one-day draft, shortened from the usual two days because of the lockout that delayed many late-season events. Because of previous trades, the Rangers do not have a pick until the third round.

A version of this article appeared in print on June 30, 2013,

New York Times LOADED: 06.30.2013

683028 New Jersey Devils

Hockey: NJ hopefuls in line to be selected at 2013 NHL Draft

By John Christian Hageny/For The Star-Ledger

on June 30, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Bobby Sanguinetti remembers it like it was yesterday: “With the 21st pick in the 2006 NHL draft, the New York Rangers select, from Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League...”

For Sanguinetti, who played locally for Lawrenceville and gained notoriety as a member of the N.J. Rockets' 2001 Tier 1 pee-wee National championship team, those words reverberated on the sound system at the 2006 National Hockey League amateur draft at GM Place in Vancouver still ring in his ears.

“An awesome day with all my family,” Sanguinetti, who was born in Trenton and grew up in nearby Lumberton, said. "Going in you don't know where you're going, what city you'll be playing for... Being a Rangers fan growing up -- it was a dream come true.”

The eyes and ears of the next generation will be looking to fulfill their destiny as the three-time Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, for the first time in franchise history, host the 2013 NHL draft at The Prudential Center this afternoon in Newark.

For the first time since Sanguinetti's name was called in '06, all seven rounds of the draft will be held the same day.

The Devils promise to deliver a first-rate experience with 2013 NHL Draft FanFest, presented by Stronger than the Storm, set for Championship Plaza on Market and Mulberry Street at 10:30 a.m. Doors open at 2 p.m. with the draft to commence at 3.

Sanguinetti, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2012-13 with the Carolina Hurricanes, has helped break the ice for local New Jersey hockey, which has seen a total of 11 players with ties to the state drafted by NHL clubs over the last seven years.

Notable selections, James van Riemsdyk of Christian Brothers-Lincroft (Philadelphia, 2007), John Carlson of St. Joseph-Metuchen (Washington, 2008), Kyle Palmieri of St. Peter's Prep-Jersey City (Anaheim, 2009), Kenny Agostino of Delbarton-Morristown (Pittsburgh, 2010) and John Gaudreau of Gloucester Catholic (Calgary, 2011) have paved the way for tomorrow's stars.

The impact of grass roots ice hockey in the Garden State has been felt world-wide.

Gaudreau played a pivotal role in leading the United States to a Gold Medal at the 2013 World Junior championships in January, and Agostino, along with fellow Delbarton alumnus Matt Killian and Charles Orzetti, carried Yale to the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four National championship in April.

“It is quite a statement for New Jersey,” coach John Kovacs, a 26-year veteran between Mendham and Morris Knolls, said. “New Jersey high school hockey has really exploded in recent years.”

So what can New Jersey expect from its brethren at the 2013 NHL draft?

Typically, NHL General Managers hold their cards pretty close to their chest. While it is not uncommon for teams to reach out to potential draft picks prior to draft date, a whirlwind of trades and transactions throughout the day alter even the best of intentions.

Delbarton coach Bruce Shatel, who engineered his sixth straight NJSIAA Non-Public title in March, has witnessed several NHL teams court his players. One such player may be John Baiocco, the 2013 Star-Ledger Player of the Year, a potential late-round candidate.

The Next Ones: NHL Draft - John Baiocco

"He's got a bright future whether he gets drafted or not,” Shatel said. “His quick-strike is second to none. We knew he was going to be a star from day one."

In what is considered to be one of the deepest drafts in a decade, two additional prospects who have risen NHL draft boards with local ties are Adam Erne, a Connecticut native and projected first-round selection who played for the N.J. Rockets, and Matawan native Connor Clifton (Christian Brothers).

"He's going to drafted in the same building he played junior hockey," Rockets' coach Bob Thornton said of Erne. "He'll be in the NHL one day."

Star Ledger LOADED: 06.30.2013

683029 New Jersey Devils

Politi: Seth Jones, top NHL Draft prospect, is an inspiration to Newark's young hockey players

By Steve Politi/Star-Ledger Columnist

on June 30, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Alicia Gibson heard the disbelief in the voices of other moms, and truth be told, she had started to wonder, too.

Her son had picked hockey — ice hockey! — as his favorite sport, and now she was spending her weekends, wrapped in a blanket, watching young Ty’re Reeves skate around in downtown Newark.

"Everyone is like, ‘He plays what? That’s not a sport for black people!’ " Gibson said with a laugh.

More proof to the contrary is coming today. The NHL Draft will take place at the Prudential Center, and if the projections are accurate, two black players will be chosen in the top 10 picks — with one, defenseman Seth Jones, expected to go first or second overall.

It will be a major moment for the sport and for the city acting as host. Ten years ago, no one could have imagined that the draft would come to Newark. But, 10 years from now, no one should doubt that an NHL draftee might come from Newark.