Thursday evening linkorama

• The NCAA has announced the NCAA Women of the Year Award conference winners, and Jessie Vetter was picked for the WCHA. Out of the 132 conference winners, the top 30 will be considered for the national award. I gotta think Vetter will be in the running. (Thanks to Boscacci for the heads-up.)
  

• The Badger Men have been invited to open the 2010-11 season in St. Louis at the Icebreaker Invitational. Other expected invitees include Boston University, Holy Cross, and Notre Dame. Sounds fun to me!

• Two Badgers have made THN's Top 10 American-Born Players: Mike Richter (#10) and Chris Chelios (#1). How 'bout that, Ma?

  10. Mike Richter, G
  Richter makes the grade here less for his NHL resume than for his international one. Richter did win a Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994 and has the third-most NHL victories (301) amongst American netminders. But he answered his country’s call on 11 separate occasions, playing in world juniors, world championships, three Olympics, a Canada Cup and a World Cup – in which he led the U.S. to a gold medal and was named tournament MVP. Richter even left the University of Wisconsin after just one season to play for the U.S. national team for a year-and-a-half in preparation for the 1988 Olympics. His NHL career began the next season.
  
  1. Chris Chelios, D
  Chelios has been playing in the NHL since 1983-84. He is fourth all-time in games played and is the 10th-highest scoring blueliner ever. Chelios has never been the most prolific scoring rearguard – his best season came in 1988-89 when he totaled 15-58-73 in 80 games – but scoring was never the best part of his game. Chelios is one of the NHL’s all-time nastiest players, as his 2,891 penalty minutes – 12th most ever – attest to. But with that nastiness came skill, too. Chelios is a five-time first team all-star and a two-time second-teamer. He’s played in 11 all-star games and, most impressively, won three Norris Trophies. He’s also a three-time Stanley Cup-winner who has played for the U.S. at 12 international events, including three Canada Cups and four Olympics.

• Andy Baggot has a bit on Tony Hrkac's involvement in the Badgers' high school development camp. He also mentions the other coaches on the camp's staff.

• Davis Drewiske recently blogged from the Kings Fans Cruise. Among other things, we learned that he swims like a rock. (Thanks to Capobianco for the heads-up.)

• Not really Badger-related, but here's an article about the goaltender that Brian Elliott will be backing up.

• And completely not Badger-related: Plastic Ice.

A few more Friday items . . . including a Tom Gilbert blog!

(I seem to keep adding things to this post, so if you've already read this post, you still might want to check it again.)

• Tom Gilbert is the latest NHL Badger to start a blog, posting his 1st entry early this morning.

• In his Men's Hockey Insider email today, Paul Capobianco has a bit of a travel update, including a link to a Badger Blog post:
  

  On most hockey road trips, the Badgers have a routine down to a science. Arrive on Thursday, practice at the home team’s rink, eat out at a restaurant. Friday, skate in the morning, nap, do school work or just plain rest in the afternoon before playing Friday night. Repeat on Saturday, though with some dry-land exercises in the morning instead of a morning skate on many occasions.
  
  This trip to Denver was a little different. Read about how it was different at the Badger Blog.

• Andy Baggot takes a look at the NCAA's plans for the NCAA tourney and the WCHA's response.
  


• The NCAA has released a video about this season's rule changes.


• THN has an article about Badger alum Mike Richter's political views and possible political future.


• Adam Burish was mic'd up for the Hawks home-opener v. Nashville on Monday. I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't tell anyone that he was going to knock their teeth in or anything like that, such as he did last year when mic'd up.


• I can't believe I missed this --in his 2 games last weekend, Brian Elliott stopped 66 of 68 shots. Pretty good SV%, hey? Both nights he was named 1st Star of the Game, and I think one of the nights he might have been named one of the 3 AHL Stars of the Night, but I can't find that now.


• ISS released their October 2009 Top 30 Prospects, and while he didn't make the top 30, future Badger Tyler Barnes is listed as on the rise:

  Tyler Barnes - Waterloo (USHL)
  Position: RW Height: 6.00 Weight: 165
  Draft sleeper. Barnes has impressed ISS scouts with both his play and skills. Coach Eaves (Wisconsin/WCHA) has to be pleased with his future recruit's play as well. Barnes is a skilled player who is also a great opportunist. If he is given the room, he will score. With continued development and attention to small details, he will continue to elevate is draft position.

Friday Evening Odds & Ends

• Uwbadgers.com has updated the men's roster to include the freshmen. Pictures are available for the freshmen, but profiles are not. Profiles for returning players have not been updated to include stats from last year. Anyway, here are the freshmen by jersey number:
  
  4 Springer, Eric D 5-9 186 Fr/Fr Wrightstown, Wis.
  12 Thurber, Matt F 5-9 190 Fr/Fr Beaver Dam, Wis.
  18 Murray, Jordy F 5-9 175 Fr/Fr Faribault, Minn.
  19 Gardiner, Jake D 6-2 181 Fr/Fr Minnetonka, Minn.
  20 Little, Ryan D 5-11 178 Fr/Fr Fond du Lac, Wis.
  21 Stepan, Derek F 6-0 176 Fr/Fr Hastings, Minn.
  25 Hickey, Chris F 6-1 202 Fr/Fr St. Paul, Minn.
  
  The only number change I see among returning players is Tom Bardis, who will wear #6 this season.

• As mentioned yesterday, while the women's WCHA has opted to use the shootout, the men's WCHA has no current plans to do so. Bruce Brothers has a fun little article about this in the Pioneer Press.
  


• I should have posted this 2 weeks ago, but I didn't see it until 2 days ago. Terry Frei has a fantastic article about Cammi Granato and her induction into the US Hockey HOF. The article also mentions Mike Richter and the other HOF inductees.
  

Mike Richter: Québec Nordique?

Funny headline on Puck Daddy: Sadly, Mike Richter has been traded to Québec. I'm tempted to buy a t-shirt for nubeetle . . .