Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Players left behind, Stepan wins award, Elliott AHL All-Star

When the plane leaves for Anchorage tomorrow morning, Patrick Johnson, Brendan Smith, Ben Street and Tom Bardis won't be on it, remaining in Madison this weekend, cheering on their teammates from afar. Johnson skated in practice early this week, but was non-contact, and therefore a no go. Smith and Street are both on the shelf w/ injuries.

Todd of TCT also mentions in his post that Street has not begun skating yet following his knee surgery in November.

In other news, Derek Stepan was named WCHA Rookie of the Week for the period covering the last two weekends of action. Derek was 2-3-5 in those 4 games, and has really caught fire since right around Thanksgiving.

Lastly, former All-American Brian Elliott was not only named to the AHL All-Star squad, he will be the starter for the Canadian team in the event. Brian leads the AHL in wins (18), second in save % (.926) and sixth in GAA (2.31). I'm guessing this game will be televised on the NHL Network on January 26th. W/ his success this season, Brian should be looking to look down a spot in the NHL next season w/ the Ottawa Senators.
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