Sport-scan daily brief

The new look is a drastic departure from the kits the Americans wore in Vancouver in 2010. The blue jerseys featured “USA” across the chest with a white stripe and a red bottom, while the white jerseys featured “USA” diagonally across the chest with blue and red touches in a nod to the 1980 gold medal-wining team’s sweaters.

This update for the 2014 Sochi Olympics has some nice touches — “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” is written inside the neckline and there is a reference to the Americans’ Olympic gold medals in 1960 and 1980 in the collar — but the less-is-more concept was clearly lost on the designer.

New York Daily News LOADED: 08.28.2013

715904 NHL

Team USA wants 2014 Olympic roster to be full of fast, young talented players

Published: August 27, 2013 8:43 PM

By STEVE ZIPAY

ARLINGTON, Va. - For two days, 48 invitees to USA Hockey's Olympic orientation camp watched game video, held team meetings and dinners, heard tales from U.S. Navy SEALS and attended a Washington Nationals game. In Calgary, Team Canada's mix of All-Stars and hopefuls played ball hockey on covered ice.

"I think that means we're still marginally ahead," joked Dan Bylsma, the Penguins coach who will lead the U.S. squad in Sochi, Russia, next February.

Whatever edge, if any, that the Americans -- who won the silver medal in 2010 -- have at this oh-so-early juncture, will be evened in due course.

On paper, Canada, which won the gold in 2010, is potent and deep. The host Russians should be dangerous offensively, and the Swedes are expected to be strong, especially on the larger, more familiar international ice.

And not only has the U.S. team fared poorly overseas -- in Nagano in 1998, they lost in the quarterfinals to the Czech Republic and again were eliminated in the quarters in Torino in 2006, this time by Finland.

This time, the U.S. management is planning to retool with more speed, but the final 25-man roster, to be announced Jan. 1, will have just one practice together before playing Slovakia in the preliminary round of Feb. 13 and another before facing Russia on Feb. 15.

Neither the U.S. or Canadian teams, who will be composed of NHL players, have taken the ice because of the high cost of insuring players' salaries before the NHL season begins. So the first three months of the season will essentially be open tryouts for candidates fighting for spots.

After camp drew to a close with the unveiling of blue team jerseys Tuesday, U.S. general manager David Poile, who holds the same position with the Nashville Predators, estimated that at least half the spots were locked up, mostly with returnees from 2010, but that the final roster likely would be infused with younger talent.

"We haven't won any medals in Europe. We have to make some adjustments: the coach, the systems and the type of players we take over," Poile said. "We told the group that their body of work was really important but what they do in October, November, December, will be the deciding factor. It's not going to be easy. We told the players that this is going to be the toughest team you've ever, ever made. We've never had the depth and quality we presently have."

On top of everything, Team USA, whose candidates include Rangers Ryan Callahan, Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan and Islander Kyle Okposo, won't be considered an underdog.

Zach Parise, a former Devils winger who now skates with the Wild, said, "We're not going to surprise anyone anymore."

Newsday LOADED: 08.28.2013

715905 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil says summer fun over, time to get back to business

By Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun

First posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 11:10 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 11:35 PM EDT

OTTAWA - It’s been a wonderful summer for Chris Neil.

There’s been plenty of time to just get away, kicking back with his wife Caitlin and daughter Haley Jean at the family’s summer home near Calabogie Lake, about an hour outside of Ottawa.

It gives players like Neil a time to refresh, rejuvenate and get ready for the rigours of another NHL season.

“You have to be able to separate your work from home and in the summer you’re able to do it,” said the 34-year-old Senators winger who skates with a group of NHLers most weekday mornings at the Bell Sensplex. “Being away from the rink is sometimes a good thing.

“In summer, when you have kids, you’re able to spend a lot of time with them, get them into sports programs. You’re able to watch them play some soccer or take them to hockey camps. Summer is great for family time. We’re gone so much during the season, we miss so much of that.

“We’re able to spend a lot of time at the cottage. It’s my little piece of paradise — just relax, sit by the water and enjoy. You’re able to get your mind off everything and relax. Sometimes that heals the body better than anything.”

Along with the fun and sun, it’s a hockey player’s responsibility to stay in shape.

“You can work out in the gym, but it gets to be a long summer. Workouts drag on a bit near the end,” said Neil. “When it gets close to camp, you want to get back playing games. You want to get back at it as soon as you can. You want to get back to your routine.”

As camp draws closer — three weeks away — the Senators are getting their minds on hockey again. Talk will shift from the departure of captain Daniel Alfredsson to the battles for roster spots and the presence of veteran newcomers Bobby Ryan and Clark MacArthur.

There will also be talk of who will be the next team captain, a role that has to include Neil in the conversation.

The team proved its resilience last season after crippling injuries to Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza. It proved it’s a contender for years to come.

“It’s going to be a different year, after losing an elite player like Alfie,” said Neil. “It’s going to be a different make up. It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.

“We did it last year. We went periods without some of our elite players. Other guys had an opportunity to step up. It made us a better team all around.

“Coming into camp, we want to get back into the playoffs. Once you get there, anything can happen. We’ve seen it time and time again through the years. Carolina was in the finals, Edmonton, the list goes on. You make the playoffs, you give yourself an opportunity to win.

“Hopefully we can move up in the standings a bit. It’s a long grind and we’re up for the challenge.”

That challenge begins soon enough.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.28.2013

715906 Ottawa Senators

It has been a summer of change for Bobby Ryan

By Rob Longley ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 06:32 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 06:35 PM EDT

ARLINGTON, VA. - Welcome to the Battle of Ontario, Bobby Ryan.

The newest Ottawa Senator has had a busier summer than he expected after getting dealt to the Canadian capital from the Anaheim Ducks. But the change of scenery from Southern California to Eastern Ontario is just part of the adjustment.

Not only is he moving to a new team, new town and new country, but a building he has only visited once in his six NHL seasons.

“It’s going to feel weird,” Ryan said. “Almost 400 games in the league and I’ve been to Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto all once,” Ryan said. “One time.

“I’m looking forward to being in new buildings. It’s an exciting time for me.”

Oh, and that game in Ottawa? Ryan scored the shootout winner.

“I had to let some of the boys know that. The one time I was in there, it was a good night. Then I turned around and threw up a minus-4 in Toronto.”

Ryan seems genuinely enthused about a fresh start on a team where he will carry much of the star power.

“I’ve always been a Jason Spezza fan from afar so being a teammate is something I’m looking forward to,” Ryan said. “It’s more excitement than anything for me.”

WHAT ABOUT JAKE?

Among the many young players invited to the camp was Toronto blueliner, Jake Gardiner, a long-shot to make the team but certainly a prospect for future big international events.

That said, his skating and puck-handling abilities are suited to Olympic-size ice and he will have the opportunity to play his way into the mix.

“He has the skill set this team could use if he comes out of the gate (in the NHL season) strong,” director of player personnel, Brian Burke said. “We’ve given nobody assurances that they are on the team. He’s got the skill level and temperament to do it.”

Gardiner is coming off a bizarre sophomore season in the NHL, one in which Leafs coach Randy Carlyle didn’t start using him until late. He responded with a strong finish and solid playoffs.

“Getting back in the lineup is always nice,” Gardiner said of the frustrations of his tenure in the doghouse. “The confidence (Carlyle) had in me was great. At the end of the season, he pretty much said bring the same thing you did in the playoffs and just carry it over. He thinks I can be a big part of the team and a difference maker as long as I do that.”

NO STANDING PAT

Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane may be one of the few to take a positive out of last year’s lockout thanks to his stint playing on Olympic-size ice in the Swiss Elite League.

“I know going over there to Switzerland to play for a couple of months, you almost learn to like it,” Kane said. “There’s time and space for offensive guys to make plays. I think one of the things I learned there early is that after you make a move or two you have a little more time than you think instead of having to get a quick shot off.

“It’s different though. You definitely have to adjust.”

While much is being made of the ice surface, the Americans have been emphasizing some of the other trappings of a foreign games.

“Time zone change, coming off the NHL season, travelling, going to a country where you are not as comfortable and don’t speak the language ... things are a little bit unfamiliar,” goalie candidate Ryan Miller said. “Vancouver probably seemed like a cakewalk compared to what it could be in Russia. We’re going to have to lean on each other quite a bit.”

JVR EYES QUICK START

Like many of the potential forwards, a strong start to the season may be be necessary for Maple Leafs’ James van Riemsdyk to make his Olympic debut. But much like linemate Phil Kessel, van Reimsdyk had a strong playoff series, something to build on going foward.

“I have to get off to a quick start and hopefully there’s a role for me on the team somewhere,” van Riemsdyk said.

As for the Leafs, van Riemsdyk says the team has to build off the playoff appearance last spring.

“From Day 1 last year, we had guys buying in for the good of the team,” van Riemsdyk said. “We’re going to have to continue to do that this year now that the bar has been raised.

“The changes (in the off-season) have been good. If there’s Randy Carlyle-type players (David Clarkson and David Bolland) fit that mould.

“Clarkson is strong on the puck, physical and takes care of details. The same thing with Bolland — he’s won two Stanley Cups, knows what it takes and is a tough guy to play against.”

QUICK HITS

Two of the biggest challenges U.S. coach Dan Bylsma will face are from what he sees in his dressing room in Pittsburgh on a daily basis — Sidney Crosby with Canada and Evgeni Malkin with the host Russian squad. So does anyone have an advantage from that dynamic? “Crosby and Malkin know more about me as a coach than I know about them as players.” ... Burke was part of a U.S. crew that visited Sochi to get the lay of the land and the GM from the 2010 team came away impressed. “I think it’s the best setup ever in the history of the Olympic Games,” Burke said. “By a mile.” ... Bylsma outlined the projected roster breakdown for Sochi at 14 forwards, eight defence and three goalies ... Question about the U.S. uniforms unveiled on Tuesday: What were they thinking?

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.28.2013

715907 Philadelphia Flyers

Growth spurt in USA hockey

FRANK SERAVALLI, Daily News Staff Writer seravaf@phillynews.com

Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 12:16 AM

ARLINGTON, Va. - Peter Laviolette said it finally hit him one day while he was coaching the Carolina Hurricanes.

Laviolette was driving through his suburban North Carolina neighborhood, not long after the 'Canes won the Stanley Cup in 2006, when he began to notice hockey nets in driveways. And dings from puck marks covering garage doors.

Laviolette, Team USA's assistant coach for February's Winter Games, is from Massachusetts. Head coach Dan Bylsma is from Michigan. USA's chief scout, Brian Burke, hails from Minnesota.

It used to be that all of Team USA's roster was culled from the "Three M's."

Not anymore. Over the last 10 to 15 years, USA Hockey's talent pool has expanded greatly - and the 48-man roster attending this week's Olympic orientation camp in suburban Virginia bears that out.

Bobby Ryan (Cherry Hill) and James van Riemsdyk (Middletown) are both from New Jersey. Seth Jones, 18, was born in Texas and raised in Colorado. Brandon Saad and John Gibson, both 20, are from Pittsburgh. Beau Bennett, 21, was born and raised in California.

Players from 13 different states are represented at the Olympic camp. In the national development program, comprised of the nation's top 16- and 17-year-olds, more than 35 states have sent players.

"The pool has expanded and the players are terrific," Laviolette said. "It really has come a long way. I think that's really a credit to USA Hockey's efforts in grass-roots building and the NHL's influence in southern and western markets."

Hockey is Canada's sport. No one can or will dispute that. Yet, many Canadians at the top levels of the game quickly recognize that the USA will soon be the world leader in producing NHL talent.

In 1976, approximately 91 percent of all NHL players were born in Canada. That figure was down to just 51.6 percent last season as the USA climbed to an all-time high of 23.9 percent. Players born in Russia (3.6 percent), Sweden (6.8 percent), Czech Republic (4.4 percent) and Finland (3 percent) have all been losing NHL jobs to Americans.

The last generation of great American players - Chris Chelios, Tony Amonte, Jeremy Roenick, Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk - are considered the "golden age" of American hockey. Yet, with this deepening talent pool, many believe Team USA's best days are in the future. And many are hoping that starts in Sochi at the Olympics, where the Americans are often overlooked.

Giroux's absence

Despite being one of the 47 players invited to Hockey Canada's Olympic orientation camp, Claude Giroux was one of two to skip the party, choosing instead to continue rehabbing his surgically repaired right index finger.

His absence, though, has apparently rankled some of Team Canada's brass. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Monday that Giroux's decision to skip the camp left general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Mike Babcock "extremely disappointed."

Since no players were allowed to participate in on-ice activities due to sky-high insurance costs for the 3-day camp, Hockey Canada saw no reason why Giroux could not make the trip to Calgary. Canada conducted team-building activities and even walked through mock lines on a dry rink.

Giroux, 25, is still considered one of the "locks" for Team Canada and likely will play among his country's top two lines. He says his finger will be healed in time to suit up for the Flyers in the preseason.

Home for Bryz?

Ilya Bryzgalov's name was conspicuously absent from Russia's Olympic evaluation camp last weekend, held in Sochi at the site of the 2014 Winter Games. Bryzgalov, 33, was not one of the five goaltenders invited by the Russian Federation. Former teammate and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky was included.

However, Bryzgalov may be inching closer to finding a home for next season. He has remained unsigned since the Flyers decided to part ways with him on June 25 with a $23 million buyout. According to reports, KHL club CSKA Moscow general manager Sergei Federov extended a standing offer to Bryzgalov. It is unclear whether Bryzgalov will accept the offer from the famous Central Red Army club or even if he will play next season.

Quotable

"It's crazy. If you start taking out everything [dangerous], we'll just be wrapped in bubble wrap and sleeping at the rink, I guess, right?"

- Peter Laviolette, on the risk of injury to players in everyday life, like Claude Giroux's playing golf last week in Canada.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.28.2013

715908 Philadelphia Flyers

Timonen: 'I'm not sure' if this is my last season

Tim Panaccio

It’s been an unusually long offseason for the Flyers – four months long now - and it’s given Kimmo Timonen time to reflect on many things, including how much is left in his Finnish tank.

Apparently, more than we thought.

“I’m not sure if this is going to be my last year,” the Flyers defenseman said on Tuesday. “I am going to take the approach of, ‘how do I feel?’ If I can still play at the level I’ve accomplished over the years, and enjoy it, I don’t see why not play one more year [after this season]. That will be my approach.

“If I stay healthy and play at the level I want, then I’ll go one more year. We’ll see.”

Timonen re-signed a one-year contract worth $6 million last season. Assumptions were this would be his last year as a Flyer.

The 38-year-old defenseman will be entering his 15th NHL season this fall. He looked good skating with 21 other players (Flyers, Phantoms, others) Tuesday at Skate Zone.

They’re working out on their own until training camp opens on Sept. 12.

A one-time Iron Man who played 248 consecutive games, Timonen missed the final three games of last season with a compression fracture in his right foot. The fracture healed without surgery. He says he feels very comfortable on the ice.

He originally suffered the injury on Feb. 16 while blocking a shot in Montreal, yet played through pain the remainder of the season until the very end when the club forced him to shut down, fearing the fracture would worsen.

Because the Flyers didn’t make the playoffs, Timonen has had far more time to heal a body that has incurred some pretty serious injuries during his time with the Flyers.

Since 2008, he’s had a concussion, a chip fracture to his ankle, a broken toe, injuries to both feet that did not require surgery, a hip flexor and herniated disk surgery.

Defensemen who log his kind of ice time – almost 22 minutes a game - are fair game for broken bones and back ailments.

“It depends how you play, and especially, if you play a lot of penalty kill time,” Timonen said. “The puck hits you even when you don’t want it to find you. And you have to block shots on the PK.”

Although Timonen has never worn fenders, which fit over the top portion of the skate to protect the more vulnerable area of the foot under a skate's laces, he said he will consider wearing them this season simply because he’s been hit so often with pucks.

He also plans to play for Finland at the Sochi Olympics if chosen.

“This might not be my last year in the NHL, but it would definitely be my last Olympics,” he said.

So, how will Timonen really know whether to hang up his skates after the 2013-14 season?

“I’ll know if I’m struggling or can’t get to the level of my play or a bunch of injuries comes along,” Timonen said. “You never know what will happen, but those things factor in to whether this is my last year.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.28.2013

715909 Pittsburgh Penguins

Olympic challenge daunting, exciting for Penguins coach Bylsma

August 28, 2013 12:08 am

By J. Brady McCollough / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Before players arrived Sunday at the USA Hockey Olympic orientation camp, coach Dan Bylsma had divided them into two teams of 24, each named after a year in which Team USA won the gold medal.

Tuesday afternoon, at a public unveiling of the new jerseys that the Americans will wear in February's Sochi Games, the "1960" and "1980" squads stood on either side of Bylsma, stretched across the ice at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

A spirited group of fans had congregated during lunch breaks, taking in the ceremony. In the middle of it all was Bylsma, sporting a dark blue Team USA jumpsuit and a near-constant smile -- a noticeable departure from the usual stoicism he exhibits on a daily basis as coach of the Penguins.

This is Bylsma's time, and the Olympic fates of these 48 players are in his hands, from proven stars like Patrick Kane and Zach Parise to younger players like Pittsburghers Brandon Saad and John Gibson. Bylsma and the USA Hockey staff will narrow the list to 25 in January, and the team will leave for Sochi having only spent these three days together -- a period in which insurance concerns prevented them from even lacing up their skates.

When they take the ice against Slovakia in their Feb. 13 opener, they will have practiced once or twice. There is nothing that can prepare Bylsma for this coaching challenge, which is disconcerting for a man who has risen to the top of his profession through rigorous preparation.

"For me, it feels uncomfortable," Bylsma said. "It's not what coaches do. I've had circumstances in tournaments where you have three or four days of practice and then three or four games. That would feel more comfortable. We won't see these guys again for another six months. That's not comfortable for a coach to deal with."

Bylsma has not had a stress-free summer. But he never has been so happy to live an uneasy existence. More than winning a Stanley Cup, as he did in 2009 with the Penguins, having the chance to pursue a gold medal as Team USA's coach always has been the ultimate carrot for him.

"I watched the Olympics when I was 5 and 9 and have memories of representing your country, playing in the ultimate sporting event," Bylsma said. "It's the culmination of a lifetime of work and achievement."

This opportunity couldn't have come at a better time for Bylsma. In June, his uber-talented Penguins were swept out of the Eastern Conference finals by the Boston Bruins -- a meltdown of epic proportions that had the city of Pittsburgh debating whether he should return as coach next season.

That meant having to hear the questions about his future from his own son and other family members. When Penguins general manager Ray Shero announced he was extending Bylsma's contract through the 2015-16 season, Bylsma admitted it was a huge relief.

Soon after, he interviewed with Team USA general manager David Poile, the general manager of the Nashville Predators, and impressed him enough to get the offer to be the American head coach just a few weeks after the Penguins' collapse.

Tuesday, two months later, there was Bylsma, fielding a question from a CNN reporter about how it felt to be coaching the Olympic team.

"It's an overwhelming thing that kind of rushed over me in terms of being the selection," Bylsma said, "and I think every day the significance of it [sinks in]. The privilege that it is to coach this team, to coach for the United States in the Olympics, is the highest honor in my career."

And, not to belabor the point, the greatest challenge -- especially considering the location of these games. Team USA has not won a medal outside of North America since taking silver in the 1972 games in Sapporo, Japan.

Bylsma, Poile and Shero, who is Team USA's assistant general manager, will have to select a team that can best adjust to playing on the larger international ice surface. The rink in Sochi will follow International Ice Hockey Federation guidelines of 200 feet by 100 feet with a corner radius of 28 feet -- compared to NHL specifications of 200 feet by 85 feet with a corner radius of 28 feet.