Brassard up; Beech claimed

By now I'm sure you've all heard that Derick Brassard has been recalled and Kris Beech has been claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks.

First lets talk about Brassard. The 2006 1st overall draft choice lead the teams in pre-season in points. He's got 25 points in 21 games and is a -2 for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. He's also been named to the AHL All Star game. This kid has got talent.

Brassard is a highly skilled center who is great in tight areas with the puck and can really see the ice well. The knock on him, and the biggest reason he was sent to Syracuse, is that he doesn't go to the "dirty" areas of the ice enough and like most young players, needs to work on his defensive game.

The Jackets, one of the worst scoring teams in the league, need an offensive shot in the arm. Brassard is coming off a freak injury that broke his jaw and has been given some time in the AHL to get back into it. Now that he's had a few games the offensively challenged Jackets felt the need to shake things up a bit and give this kid a look at the next level and see if they can help jumpstart this anemic offense.

To me its a no brainer at this point. He's at a point in his contract where playing him will not affect his UFA eligility (we own his rights now no matter what until age 27) and because he's on his rookie deal we can ship him up and own to the minors as many times as we want b/c he's not waiver eligible.

So why not call this kid up and see what's he's got? Especially now with Zherdev out. Best case scenario the kid shines, helps our offense and gets some much needed NHL experience and will help management determine where he fits next year. Worst case he gets sent back down and continues to develop at the AHL level knowing what areas of his game he needs to improve on.

As far as Beech? Well the kid was signed to a 2-way deal as a depth guy. He was given a good shot to stick and he performed admirably during his brief time here notching 9 points in 16 games.

The problem is, and this is most likely the same reason why he hasn't stuck with other teams, is that he just doesn't make enough of a difference out there. He's a below average skater, doesn't hit much (although he did have a great hit on Phaneuf for us this year), doesn't shoot much, doesn't go to the dirty areas much.....average defenively...the only thing he's above average at is his passing. If you can't do those other things well though there are not going to be many opportunities to pass the puck.

Bottom line. Creating a roster spot to move Derick Brassard up was > than keeping NHL/AHL journeyman Kris Beech on this roster. Quite frankly its the right move.

At the end of the day though I wish Beech luck in Vancouver. I'm glad that if he wasn't in the plans here that he's going to get another shot elsewhere. The Canucks are a very good team so this could be a win win for everyone.

-LTL

When depth becomes a problem

You can never have to much depth right? However it does present a problem when your depth is playing to well in place of injured regulars to sit them or send them down when the injured get healthy.
Howson, Hitch and co. are gonna have some decisions to make when the walking wounded start returning. As it stands now the following regulars are out of the lineup:

Fredrik Modin - due back in two weeks, maybe sooner
Duvie Westcott - expected to play Saturday
David Vyborny - probably about a week away
Manny Malhotra - less than two weeks away
Jiri Novotny - passed his concussion test so I'd say less than a week away

Assuming the team stays relatively healthy over the next two weeks and we get these five back - where do they fit? Currently the lineup is as follows:

Nash - Peca - Zherdev
Glencross - Fedorov - Brule
Chimera - Fritsche - Boll
Shelley - Beech - Lindstrom

Foote - Hejda
Klesla - Hainsey
Tollefsen - Russell

Leclaire
Norrena

So what to do when guys start returning? It really all depends on if guys like Kris Beech, Curtis Glencross and Joakim Lindstrom can keep up their current level of play -- if they do, how do you possibly sit these guys?

A guy like Kris Beech has 5 points in just 4 games. That's one more point that Gilbert Brule whose played 27 games; that's two less than Dan Fritsche's 7 over 27 games; 3 less than Glencross over 20 games; 5 less than Vyborny whose played 26 games; on and on an on. All that with just averaging over 10 minutes a game. No way you can sit him.

Then you look at Joakim Lindstrom. He's played 2 games and already has a goal. He looks much more effective than most guys we've played on the 2nd PP unit. He's only average just over 8 mins per game and has been noticeable at least offensively. You'd think the coaching staff would want to see if this kid is ready to breakout - especially given our offensive struggles.

If all were healthy Saturday this is how I'd ice the team against the Wild:

Nash - Beech - Zherdev
Modin - Fedorov - Glencross
Chimera - Peca - Fritsche
Lindstrom - Novotny - Boll

Foote - Hejda
Klesla - Hainsey
Westcott - Tollefsen

* Modin when healthy, is in this lineup regardless - he's a lock
* I think at this point some of the injured all may take a back seat to how the callups play -- if they are hot, keep them out under the line "day to day" -- which is why Beech, Lindstrom and Glencross remain in my lineup.
* Brule is sent down for a much needed stint in the AHL to regain confidence
* Shelley is scratched for this game to make room for Lindstrom - we need his skill on the PP
* Russell is scratched and watches from the box although I'm not down on this kid personally -- he's coming along well but he's the logical choice to scratch if we have 7 d-men ready to go

Bottom line is that is very doubtful this team will be at 100% health all year but if they are, there will be some tough decisions to make. If a guy like Beech is sent down there is now a very good chance he's claimed as he'd have to pass through waivers. I don't think the organization can afford to do that. We'll see non-waiver eligible players sent down before that happens like Brule (who desperately needs to go down) and Lindstrom who may make a good case to stay up.

Depth is a great thing to have, we Jackets fans should know considering we've never really had it before, but it can also keep a guy like GM Scott Howson up at night pondering what moves to make.

Speaking of Howson... Hejda / Novonty / Peca / Beech -- how good are those signings looking? Credit to coach Hitchcock as well - he knows how to get the absolute very best out of the hand he's dealt.

-LTL

Brookbank claimed off waivers, more Peca health issues

Some definite news to report today the first of which starts with Sheldon Brookbank (pictured right) getting claimed off of waivers by the New Jersey Devils.

Brookbank was the AHL defensemen of the year last season and signed a 1 year 2-way contract with the Blue Jackets in the offseason. He was thought to, at the very least, add some much needed depth and toughness on the blueline when the inevitable injuries occurred. He would have definitely seen plenty of time up with the big team.

With the emergence of Kris Russell and Marc Methot the Jackets were forced to send Brookbank down to their AHL farm club in Syracuse knowing full well that he would have to pass through waivers. The hope was that he'd pass through and he'd be available to recall when needed. Alas it wasn't meant to be.

So the question now is what will GM Scott Howson do, if anything, to replace that depth? I suspect he's scouring the waiver wire now and looking into UFA or trade options to fill that need created by Brookbank's departure not only for the Jackets' depth sakes, but for the Crunch as they were counting on him as well.

In other CBJ news, Michael Peca did not practice today because of back spasms. Peca is expected to play in that 3rd line center position but so far he hasn't been able to get healthy. The good news is that its not his leg that was broken last year that's keeping him on the shelf. The bad news is that we are counting on him to play a key role on this team and so far they've not been able to get him in the lineup because of various other health issues. Remember that Peca is signed to a 1 year incentive laden deal and one of those triggers is games played, so he has plenty of motivation to get back in this lineup.

Both Foote and Modin did make it through practice today and word out of camp is that Modin looked like his same old dominating puck shielding self.

As a formality, Peca along with Adam Foote and Fredrik Modin were placed on Injured Reserve (IR). That moved enabled the Jackets to meet the NHL mandated roster requirement of 23 players today.

Late breaking news from Aaron Portzline is that Kris Beech has indeed been put on waivers after Fredrik Modin practiced without discomfort today. The Jackets will find out at noon tomorrow if he gets claimed.

If Adam Foote is able to go another player, probably Marc Methot, will need to be sent down. The good news here is that Marc Methot will not have to pass through waivers. If the organization decides to send Curtis Glencross however, he will need to pass through waivers. My hunch is it will be Methot b/c #1 he's a defensemen so that will make room for Foote and #2 the team does not want to lose Glencross on waivers.

As far as Beech (pictured left), my personal opinion is that there is a very good chance he does get claimed. If that happens the great depth we were hoping to have this year is getting quickly taken away by these waiver claims.

The positive here is that GM Scott Howson was at his maximum of 50 contracts and wouldn't have been able to sign anyone more unless he moved some other players under contact. With Brookbank gone and the possibility that Beech could also get claimed he gains a little more flexibility to sign more depth...and he won't stand pat. Perhaps Joel Bouchard gets another look at this point?

-LTL

#1 center still up for grabs

Asked yesterday if he were any closer to finding one, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"We are still looking at things right now," Hitchcock said.

That pretty much sums up the article this morning in the Dispatch regarding where the #1 center position stands.

This much we know. Sergei Fedorov will either be the #1 or #2 center. Michael Peca will most likley play in the 3rd hole with Jason Chimera on his left wing and either Gilbert Brule or Dan Frtische on his right.

What we don't know is who plays in that other top 6 center position and who will round out the lineup in the 4th hole.

The candidates:

Derick Brassard: The hot shot rookie and former #1 draft pick (#6 overall) in the 2006 draft has had a very good start to his pro career and has impressed in his first camp. He's rung up 4 point, all assists, in 3 games and certainly has the the team's best playmaking skills at the center position. The dilemma though is if his body can withstand the grind of an 82 game season and can he continue to perform against men when the season starts? He is AHL eligible so there are options for the 19 year old.

Jiri Novotny: Signed as an unrestricted free agent this past summer to a two year deal and being a former #1 selection himself (#22 overall) in the 2001 draft, Novotny is also in consideration. Novotny is young at age 24 but has only managed a career high of 19 points in 68 games played. He does have a big NHL type body at 6'2" 194 lbs and as the Dispatch says, protects the pucks well. He is definitely primed for a breakout season. He'll be on the team for sure, just not sure where quite yet.

Kris Beech (pictured right): He's another former 1st round overall pick (7th overall in the 1999 draft) who played 64 games last year for the Washington Capitals tallying 8g 18a for 26 points. He signed a one year two way deal as an unrestrictied free agent this past summer. Beech is a 6'2" 209 lber who is best known as being the key part to a trade that himeself to the Pittsburg Penguins and sent Jarmir Jagr to the Capitals back in the 2001-2002 season. Beech is a 26 year old and so far this preseason has shown some promise. He was recently promoted to center the line between Nash and Vyborny which means the coaches are taking a good hard look at this kid.

So those three appear to be the candidates. Brassard has the best skill set out of the three but is a rookie and may need some seasoning in the minors before assuming the #1 center role. Both Beech and Novonty are not ideal but have been around the NHL for a few years now, have NHL builds and play a solid North American style game. They probably aren't going to put up great numbers but may be serviceable to fill the gap until a guy like Brassard is ready.

Other outside candidates include Fredrik Modin who is primarily a scoring winger but if things get desperate he could be moved to center. Gilbert Brule and Dan Frtische were also drafted as centers but have been moved to wing - they could get looks as the season progresses especially if they show a scoring and playmaking touch and responsible two way play.

Its another team building day at camp. The players will practice at 9:30 and then are off to an undisclosed location in central Ohio for team building activities.

Next game is tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes. Its the final home game of the preseason.

-LTL

Team Blue - training camp review

Today was my first chance to check out Team Blue. My first impression was that Team White seemed to practice with more intensity than Team Blue but perhaps that was me reading into something that isn't there.

The drills today were pretty similar to the drills yesterday with a few changes. There were a lot of breakout and puck possession type drills in the first half of practice.

The second half of practice saw things ratchet up a notch as the drills become more physical. One drill in particular was a 5 v 5 with the defending team having to play with their sticks up - handles down. One thing I noticed was that the defending teams were the guys expected to be in the lineup on the big team like the Nash/Z/Vybes line. Two theories for this were that it teaches guys to play more positionally as they can't use their sticks and to me at least, it seemed to up the physical intensity of the practice so perhaps Hitch himself wasn't quite happy with the effort.

So as I did for Team White yesterday, I'll just go over the guys I really focused in on and/or also the guys who stood out to me:

Rick Nash - Lets start with the obvious, hands down the best talent on the ice - nobody even close. Nash looked in shape as I dind't see him winded at all. He looked bigger. He looked more mature. As with Foote he just seemed to be "the guy" on the ice that everyone was looking towards and for the first time ever, I got the sense he was ready to be "the guy" -- not just in scoring but in leadership as well. I LOVED what I saw out of #61 today.

Nikolaie Zherdev: Like everyone else, I was excited to see how Z looked at center. I came away today with the so-so feeling about it. While Z did make some nice passes I did see quite a bit of the Z we are used to seeing - the hanging onto the puck to long, the turnovers, the lack of intensity. The verdict is still most certainly out on this experiment but I am definitely interested to see where this goes. Z also practiced face-offs quite a bit after the main drills concluded so I liked the focus there. Just a quick note on face-offs - nobody could touch Manny. He used an abused anyone that came into that circle. I would have loved to have seen Manny and Peca go head2head in the circle.

David Vyborny: This is a pretty easy one - David Vyborny was David Vyborny. The same quick, smart, calm and consistant player we've seen in Columbus the past few years. I will say that he was communicating with Zherdev quite a bit.

Geoff Platt: Platt played on a line with Pineault and Lindstrom which will most likely by Syracuse's top line. I loved Platt's game today. Dude was equally impressive in both shooting and passing plus he is such a good skater. Really I thought was just as good today as anyone on the ice outside of Nasher in the offensive department.

Jan Hejda: Beside Nash he was my favorite player to watch today. My first impression of this guy was that he can really help this team now. This guy is big and can skate. I didn't see him caught out of position and he just made smart defensive plays when challenged. I can't wait to see him tommorrow in live game action. He was paired with Klesla most of practice.

Duvie Westcott: First impression was that Druval (his real name believe it or not) is back. His decision making wasn't as crisp as I'd like to see but he was skating well, playing physical and for the most part making good decision. If he can regain his 2005-2006 form, which early signs point towards, he can really make an impact back there. He was paired with Hainsey most of practice. Lets cross our fingers that he can stay healthy and away from the concussions.

Manny Malhotra: A great practice for this guy. He does all the little things well like faceoffs (as mentioned earlier) but also things like communication and intensity. This guy just seems to "get it". Its clear he won't ever be much more than a 3rd/4th liner and I think its obvious he's accepted that role and is running it with. One note about Manny and how he "gets it" -- Peter Pohl had his head down in one drill chasing the puck and Manny was backchecking -- he could have cleary smoked this kid but let up -- which showed a clear understanding that he knows this is training camp and there is no point in plastering and injuring a guy at this stage -- he "gets it".

Sheldon Brookbank: First impression, this guy is big but slooow. He is going to really need to pick up his game to crack this lineup. I see Russell and Methot above him on the depth chart at this point. The key for Brookbank is he's a physical guy whose not afraid to drop the gloves which if we plan on scratching Shelley more this year may bump him into the lineup some this season if we need some more toughness.

Dan Frtische: Like Vyborny, Fritsche was Fritsche. You know what you get every time you put this guy on the ice which is a consistent workman like effort and a North American type game. That's what he gave today at practice and that's what we'll see this season. I love this guy's game.

Ron Haisney: Hainsey didn't stand out to me to much today in a good or bad way. He was getting a little more physical towards the end of practice but that seemed to be everyone on the ice as the drills seem to dictate it. Just kind of "meh".

Kris Beech: This is one guy who really surprised me today. I went in not expecting much and but came away very impressed. This guy isn't gonna blow you out of your chair with blazing speed but he's got good size, good hockey sense and maybe it was just me, but he seemed to bury every quality chance he had on net. First impressions is this guy's got a legit chance to crack this lineup.

Jaret Boll: This rookie definitely has some sandpaper to his game which I personally like. He took and gave some good hits and had a knack for always being in the mix of things. I can see this kid making a solid career at the NHL level as a 3rd/4th line grinder down the road. He probably won't see anytime up on the big squad this year but I can certainly see him making a statement in Syracuse.

Pascal Leclaire: I didn't really focus in on goaltending much today but what I did see of Leclaire was what we've seen the past two seasons which is a goaltender whose got the talent, just needs to stay healthy. I don't recall any weak goals. A note for the mask watchers -- he's got the same paint job as last season.

Stephan Legien: This is our 2nd round pick from this season who patterns his game off of agitators like Sean Avery and Darcy Tucker. I liked him a lot in development camp but certainly showed today that he needs some more development in juniors. He had a real rocky first half of practice today bobbling and missing passes but really seemed to find his game the second half.....and he certainly didn't make any new friends in the process as he and Zherdev had a nice exchange of shoves.

Rusty Kelsa: Really a bland practice for Klesla. He got beat a few times.....no hits that I can recall. He did have one nice shot where I remember thinking to myself that I hope he shoots it more this year. Really wish I could say more about Rusty but just seemed to go through the motions.

Tommy Sestito: Big kid but he'll be one of the first cuts. He needs to work on his skating....he's just really really raw.

Adam Pineault: This kid's game seems to have come a long way since last season. While not doing anything spectacular you can see the pro skill, speed and size. If we suffer some injuries on the wing this season, I can certainly see him able to step into the big team and hit the ground running (err skating).

Andrei Plekhanov: Today was the first time I got to see this 2004 pick and all n' all I came away pretty impressed. Didn't stand out in a good way or a bad way which for what appears to be a stay at home defensemen game is a good thing. I'll be very interested to see where he plays this season -- it won't be the NHL yet, but he looked AHL ready.

So that's the group I saw today and my initial impressions.

A couple of notes from the first session from some friends of mine who saw it. Apparently Marc Methot came out hitting everything making a statement that he doesn't want to go anywhere. Adam Foote only skated for a little while before retiring back to the locker room. Fredik Modin did not skate at all today. I also heard that Frerik Norrena, Derick Brassard, Jody Shelley (yep you read that right), Kris Russell and OK Tollefsen all had strong practices.

Hopefully both Modin and Foote aren't injuries and if they are, aren't anything serious.

Finally, a big shout out to the RBar Arena for the post practice beverages and NHL 08 on the Xbox. I can't wait to see this place hopping on opening night. Just a note to those going to the pre-season game tomorrow -- the RBar will open up 12:00 if you want to catch the Browns/Bengals game prior.

I'll post some better pictures today from practice in a bit so stay tuned!

-LTL

New details on camp from Bluejackets.com

Cool pic eh? Its sitting right on front of bluejackets.nhl.com! Anyhow they have just released details for camp including the rosters and schedule:

For complete rosters follow this link:

For complete schedule follow this link:

Here are some details from the article:

The Columbus Blue Jackets begin preparations for their seventh National Hockey League season with the opening of training camp on Friday, September 14 at The Dispatch Ice Haus. All practices held at The Dispatch Ice Haus will be open to the public. There are 58 players expected to participate in this year’s training camp.

The first eight days of camp will consist of all players being divided into two groups – Team Blue and Team White – with each day featuring on-ice practices, off-ice workouts and video sessions. Following the first eight days, the players are scheduled to practice as one squad during the remainder of camp.

http://bluejackets.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=336946

Looking over the roster both Joel Bouchard (defensemen) and Jeffrey Szwez (forward) will be in camp on PTOs (Professional Try Out). All indications point to Szwez trying to earn an AHL contract as he spent time between both the Crunch and Bombers last year. What I know of Bouchard is that he is a strong puck moving NHL level defensemen but the knock on him is that he can never stay healthy. In fact looking over his profile on hockeydb.com, he's only played in 32 games once over the past 9 seasons. He'll be someone to keep an eye on as that is certainly an area we could use a boost on.

The rest of the roster are familiar names who are guys on our team or in our development pipeline. Both Zenon Konopka and Alexandre Picard are listed as injured. Picard we knew would be out due to his ACL injury suffered it the AHL playoffs last year. Konopka (pictured right) appears to have a hand injury which is unfortunate because I think he would have been in the mix for a fourth line role. He brings an sandpaper agitating game to the lineup and isn't afraid to drop the mits if neccessary.

As far as the schedule. The Jackets teams will take the ice Friday, September 14th for the first time in the Ice Haus. The Blue Team will take the ice first from 9-10:50 a.m. and then then White Team will follow from 11-12:50 p.m.. The teams will swap time slots the next day. According to the schedule there will be daily video sessions (except on game days) and off-ice training.

Oh and for you number watchers out there, here are the numbers for the newest Jackets: Peca will wear 19, Hejda 8, Brookbank 44, Beech 24 and Novotny 12.

Should be fun and hopefully some of you fans can make it to a couple practices to get a first look at the year's CBJ.

-LTL