Random Friday morning thoughts . . .

• I like Tex Western's new "What I Want to See this Weekend" feature, and I'd like to see all of the things that he mentioned. I'd also like to add one more thing I'd like to see - I'd like to really see Justin Schultz step up. You know he's one of my favorites, and while he looked fine on Sunday v. HC, I thought he looked a bit off on Friday v. BU. (Just my impression, I could be wrong.) I think he's going to be a great player for us this year, and I'm looking forward to his showing that this weekend.
  

• I recently received an email from the UW Athletic Department that details the carry-in policy for the Kohl Center, which I don't think has really changed but I never really read it before. Granted, you never really want to be the person sitting next to the fan who can't stop ringing the cowbell, but I find it amusing that a cowbell is shown in the "No Noisemakers" picture. Doesn't it just seem wrong to ban cowbells at a hockey game?

• I like Ryan Little's response to his switch from D to F: ' "Obviously I'm not the most skilled player," he said with a straight face. "But I go out there and work hard and my linemates have been helping me out a lot, so good things have happened. I'm pretty fortunate." ' [Baggot]. And I'm confident that Gandalf and Hatchet Joe will like Ryan's response to this question: 'Asked for his preference — a goal or a big hit — Little smiled. "For my role, probably a big hit," he said. "Goals are an added bonus." ' [Baggot]

• Last Friday (before the Badgers took the ice), when chatting about the Badgers with a scout, I remarked that the Badgers weren't the team that they were last year, having lost a ton of players to graduation or early departure. I'm afraid I may have implied that it might be a rough year for the boys (although in my defense, I did say I was optimistic and was looking forward to the season). But I like 1st-Star Zengerle's perspective of things: "For the new guys coming in, there's a good amount of talent and a good amount of offensive players," Zengerle said. "We may not be the same offense as last year, but it's a good base to grow as a young [team]." [Gabriel]

• I miss Todd Milewski, whose Badger Hockey beat coverage was eliminated with the demise of the printed Cap Times. I know this is old news, but I just can't help lamenting the issue. Sure, we can still read some of his work on USCHO (and it's always good), but his focus has shifted to general NCAA/WCHA news, and I really miss his Badger Hockey coverage. *sigh*
  

• You probably already know this, but in case you missed it, blog favorite Brian Rafalski is going to be out for a few weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.

• I love Derek Stepan. By now, everybody knows about his NHL debut hat trick, and I'm late to the party in commenting on it. Rangers fans picked his hat trick goal as the Moment of the Week, and yesterday the Wall Street Journal featured him in a nice article (thanks to Capo for the link). I'm having trouble getting the video to play, but Stepan is featured in a couple of videos on Rangers TV: an interview about his hat trick, and a discussion of tonight's home opener. Oh, and my favorite quote? This quip from Derek provided by INCH: “I settled in pretty well.”

• The Hartford Wolfpack (AHL) website has a nice article about both Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh. (Thanks to byndblueshirts and Capo fort the link.)

• Coming Down the Pipe listed their Top 5 Calder Dark Horses, with Jamie McBain at #5 and Derek Stepan at #1. Good stuff.
  

• I love that Jake Dowell and Jack Skille are up in Chicago this season. (I only wish the Hawks would win a few more games.) The Hawks play in Columbus tonight.

• In 3 games (2W, 1L), Tom Gilbert has 1 point and 1 assist. If you miss good ol' Tom, you can see him in the most recent post game presser.
  

• Earlier this week, Andy Baggot had an article about future Badgers Tim Davison, Cody Strang, and Troy Hesketh in which he discussed their delay in donning the cardinal and white. The article offers a perspective for playing an extra year in juniors.
• (Edited By Chuck) I didn't want to make a new post so I'm adding on to this 60, hope you don't mind. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead's Ryan Clark who is the beat writer for the Fargo Force has a feature this morning on Badger recruit Troy Hesketh who was traded from Fargo to Chicago. Chicago is going to play in Fargo for the first time this season.
  

I can't remember anything else right now, but I reserve the right to make additions to this post throughout the day . . .

A few alumni updates

• While the Sharks are nearing the end of a 6-game road trip, Joe Pavelski has been skating at Sharks Ice in San Jose while rehabbing an lower body injury. When the injury was announced on Oct 5, he was expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. No word on current expectations for his return.

• Speaking of Pavs, he recently took part in the Reading is Cool program, stopping by a San Jose middle school to read to and talk to some 2nd-graders

  “If I can’t be on the road with the team, I’m glad I was able to get out into the community,” said Pavelski, who is currently sidelined with minor lower body injury. “It’s not something I get to do very often and the kids were awesome.”
  
  “Those kids were all over the place. They wanted to be doctors, artists, pilots and teachers. It was great! It reminded me about my own dreams growing up and how lucky I am to have been able to achieve them,” Pavelski noted.

• It's no surprise that Dany Heatley is not concerned with public perception, but hey, I'm glad he likes it in San Jose.

• Tom Gilbert now has 7 TVs in his basement and dressed up as a cowgirl for the Oilers Halloween party. Good ol' Tom's blogs are always, ummm, interesting, but I think he's funny. Luv ya, Tom!

• Chris Chelios made his Wolves debut on Friday in the Wolves' 1-0 shootout loss to the Manitoba Moose. I can't post the picture here, but Ross Dettman (who I had the pleasure of chatting with when we went to the Rockford/Wolves game) has a fantastic pic of Cheli during Wednesday's practice. It's picture 23 (2nd to last pic) of the Wolves' Week in Pictures.

Tom Gilbert / Ryan MacMurchy @ Oilers TC

Tom Gilbert obviously plays for the Oil, and Ryan MacMurchy spent last season with their ECHL affiliate in Stockton and is fighting for an AHL job in Springfield. And so both were at the TC that began earlier this month.

• At the 1st day of TC, Jason Gregor was stunned to see that Gilbert had cut his hair. I'm not nearly as stunned, because although Gilbert does love his locks, lol, it's not really out of character for him to cut 'em off from time to time.

  Stortini and Gilbert are sporting trimmed locks, and to be honest it’s not a good look for either of them. Stortini’s shaggy look suits him and his on-ice persona much better. I’m betting he grows it out as the year progresses. Gilbert looks 15 with the short hair, and I’m stunned he trimmed it because he loved his locks last season. You wonder if both wanted to come in looking sharp for their new coach???

• Gregor also reports that MacMurchy had a great Day 2 at TC, scoring a couple of goals.
  

  9:47…Penalty shot…MacMurchy comes in across the blueline and snaps one five hole and team blue leads 2-0.

  9:56…MacMurchy rips his second of the day, a nice snap shot from the slot over Roy’s glove. MacMurchy had nine goals and 26 points in 33 games for Stockton last year. He is hoping to make the jump to the AHL this year. He isn’t that big, but if he can finish he might have a chance to play for Daum. 4-0 team blue.

• Lowetide made the following comments about Gilbert/MacMurchy.
  Predicting the TC roster:
  

  D Tom Gilbert: He had a beauty season in 2008-09.

  Commenting on the official TC roster:
  

  Tom Gilbert, 26: Despite the quality seasons I think he's a tad underrated in some quarters. Gilbert has impressive numbers and is also a bigger body (6.03, 206) and is the ideal defender for the new NHL: mobile, confident and intelligent.
  
  R Ryan MacMurchy, 26: Former St. Louis draft pick, he's been in Stockton for the last two seasons.

  Thoughts while watching the TC:
  Team B D/G
  

  Tom Gilbert: I think he's so smooth people don't notice how very good he is at all kinds of difficult things: moving the puck, changing the shooting lane at the blueline before firing one, skating backwards, forwards and laterally and he also has an impressive wingspan. He's a wonderful player, looks ready to me.

  Team A Forwards
  

  Ryan MacMurchy: Scored a nice goal on a nice quick release.
  

MacMurchy is no longer in Edmonton, but Gilbert scored a goal and an assist in the Oilers' 1st preseason game a couple days ago, a 4-1 win over Calgary. He had 24:34 of ice time, including a bunch of time on the PP and PK. He had 2 SOG and finished +2. (He didn't play in the Oilers' 2nd preseason game, a 3-2 win over NYI.)

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention -- Capobianco has a list of other Badgers at NHL training camps.

Everybody Loves Ryan Suter, Brian Rafalski, & (again) Tom Gilbert

I seem to have a bit of a theme going lately, with everybody loving Derek Stepan and Tom Gilbert, and now Ryan Suter and Brian Rafalski. But hey, I like it, don't you?

• Glennon (Tennessean): Predators' Ryan Suter has good shot at making US Olympic team

• Burnside (ESPN): Another Suter, another 'Miracle'?
  

  "He's certainly on track to be one of the best defensemen in the NHL," suggested David Poile, assistant GM of the U.S. Olympic team and the man who drafted Suter into the Nashville Predators organization.

• Levin (Nashville Predators): One-one-one with GM David Poile
  
  NP.com: Ryan Suter was one of the 34 players at the Orientation. What are Suter’s chances to make the final Olympic roster? Has he helped his chances at any of the USA Hockey events this summer?
  
  Poile: I think Ryan’s chances are really good. He came on strong last year for the Predators; had his best season and improved in every facet of the game. The fact that he played for the United States in the World Championships this spring under Brian Burke, myself, Ron Wilson, who is the head coach. Brian and Ron got a good chance to see him day-to-day and I think they are very comfortable with Ryan. As long as he continues to perform at the level he did last year, hopefully a bit better, I think his chances are excellent to make the Olympic team.
  

• Confessions of a Preds Fanatic: Why Suter should be a US Olympian

• Detroit Free Press: Rafalski could be option as USA captain
  

  Bill Beacon of the Canadian Press staff broke down the top candidates, and the Red Wings' Brian Rafalski (Dearborn) is on that list. The Canadian Press called him a top puck-moving defenseman and potential captain.

  Beacon's picks on D:
  

  Rafalski, Rob Scuderi, Los Angeles; Paul Martin, New Jersey; Ryan Suter, Nashville; Erik Johnson, St. Louis; Mike Komisarek, Toronto; Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh and Tom Gilbert, Edmonton.

• Kurtenbach (Chicago Blackhawks Examiner): Call Me Kotter
  
  His picks for defensive pairings and 7th defenseman
  

  Erik Johnson
  Jack Johnson
  This Johnson line will be the back bone of USA hockey for many year. Both players have great offensive upside. For EJ, camp is his first real hockey action since the unfortunate (not for Blackhawks fans) drunk in a golf cart incident. If he regains form, he's likely to lead power play unit.
  
  Mike Komisarek
  Brian Rafalski
  The big hitters. Both are rock solid in their own zone, and Komisarek do what is nesessary in the attacking zone. Rafalski, like the Johnsons will be a dependable powerplay force for the US.
  
  Ryan Whitney
  Rob Scuderi
  I like Whitney to make the team because of his powerplay prowess as well. While Scuderi brings the toughness factor to the team.
  
  Scratch- Tom Gilbert
  Most have never head of Tom Gilbert, but this Edmonton Oiler is a beast and will make a name for himself with team USA.

• Canadian Press (NHL.com): A look at which players should make the US Olympic Hockey Team
  

  Brian Rafalski, defence, Detroit: A top puck-moving defenceman and potential captain.
  
  Ryan Suter, defence, Nashville: Gifted young player with U.S. Olympic bloodlines.
  
  Tom Gilbert, defence, Edmonton: Strong puck-moving blue-liner.

• Kreiser (NHL.com): Brodeur, Lidstrom led the NHL's over-35 club
  

  SECOND TEAM
  
  Defense
  
  Brian Rafalski, Detroit Red Wings
  Age: 35
  Rafalski went home in the summer of 2007, signing with the Red Wings after seven seasons (and two Stanley Cups) in New Jersey -- and put up the two best offensive seasons of his career while helping the Wings win the Cup in 2008 and get to Game 7 of the Final last season. His 49 assists and 59 points were both career-highs, and he teamed with Lidstrom to make the Red Wings' power play the best in the NHL. Like Lidstrom, he's smart, a good skater and hard to hit, meaning that he should have several more productive NHL seasons.

• Glennon (Tennessean): Who has the best "core four" on the blueline?
  

  The Wings feature the slick, skilled duo of Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, as well as the physical pairing of Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall.

  
  

Everybody Loves Tom Gilbert

Well, maybe not EVERYBODY, but hey, if Lowetide loves Tom Gilbert, that's good enough for me. LT is in the process of doing his "Reasonable Expectations" posts for the upcoming season, and today he takes a look at good ol' Tom. Good stuff.

LT prefaces his discussion of TG's numbers with this:

For those who believe you can't be young, unique, have personality and a lust for life while playing hockey for the Edmonton Oilers, allow me to present Mr. Tom Gilbert.

Much like a rock star, there seems to be a gap between what he "is" and what he "represents." What he "is" at this point is an outstanding hockey player: Tom Gilbert might be the best defenseman on a club teeming with them.

The only question left is something called "established level of ability." What does that mean? Well, in pure terms, we know what Albert Pujols is going to produce season over season: 40 homers, 125 rbi's and something called "ops" that is over 1.00 (is that on-base plus slugging? why would they do that? is this a useful stat? please explain!) and 162 times a season he causes the opposition starter to have a bead of sweat run from the back of his neck all the way down the crack of his ass. That's established level of ability: Albert Pujols is a walking barf bag for pitchers, the human 'dead man walking' for starters and the man who ends careers before they've started.

It takes some time, and Gilbert isn't there yet. He's not Albert Pujols, but Jesus H. he's trending nicely as an NHL player.

After a bit of discussion, LT leaves us with this prediction:

Prediction for 2009-10: 82gp, 9-31-40 (.488 per game)

Which represents a few more goals but a few less assists compared to his actual stats from last year.

Predicted: 82gp, 7-15-22 (.268 per game)
Actual: 82gp, 5-40-45 (.549 per game)

By the way, it looks like LT had to change the photo for his post. He initially had a fantastic photo taken by Curtis Comeau (Eternal Images Photography). I can't figure out how to link directly to the photo, but you can scroll through the portrait gallery and find it, as well as another photo Tom.

On a sillier note, edmontonoilers.nhl.com has a couple of videos with Tom Gilbert and Ladislav Smid: Ladislav Smid reports, How well does Ladislav Smid know Tom Gilbert?

Badger alumni updates

• uwbadgers14 on uscho has posted that Shane Connelly has signed a tryout contract with the Senators organization and will try for a spot in Binghamton. I can't find any links, though. He also indicates that if Cons doesn't make the cut, he'll head to Europe to ply his trade.
  

• Andy Baggot had a really nice article over a week ago about the Badger alumni who are training this offseason in Madison, including Tom Gilbert, Adam Burish, Jake Dowell, Brian Elliott, Davis Drewiske, Jeff Likens, and Kyle Klubertanz.

• Speaking of Badger alums in Madison, DPlaya shared a story emailed to him about the Badger alumni and current players skating @ the KC after the Badger Youth Development Hockey Camp. My favorite part: "Burish and Gilbert both play at another speed on the ice. Their experience in the NHL is very telling even in a session of pond hockey. When those two want to they played at a speed the others (even Engel and Drewiske) struggled to keep pace with and the fact it was evident even in a game of pond hockey tells me why those two are where they are considering the D1 talent that was on the ice with them at the time."

• This is an old video that I missed it when it was originally posted (11/4/08), but Paul Capobianco recently posted it on twitter. If you remember a ways back, the Oilers had a Guitar Hero contest in which winning players would get to play in the finals against Tom Gilbert, and this is the video of Tom Gilbert at the Guitar Hero finals. I think TG is funny.

• In his most recent blog post, Tom Gilbert writes about his summer travels, summer training, and his new house. I know I'm easily amused, but I thought his comments about Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano not knowing what to do since he moved out were amusing.
  

• CHED's Dan Tencer has an audio interview with Tom Gilbert. In the 13-min interview, he talks about his new house, Andrew Cogliano's involvement in the Dany Heatley trade rumor, the Oilers' new coaching staff, his offseason training and conditioning, and the upcoming US Olympic orientation camp (Aug 17-19, Woodridge, IL).
  

• Jim Matheson reports that the Oilers may be looking at moving one of their top defenseman, one of which is Tom Gilbert, in order to get a good forward. Jonathan Willis of the Copper and Blue isn't buying that the Oilers have enough depth at D to make this move advisable.
  

Wednesday evening linkorama

• Paul Capobianco indicates that the Badger Men's roster will be released soon, probably Friday. In addition to freshman additions, he says we can also expect one number change for a returning player.
  
  In the same post, Capobianco reminds us that we can follow the Badger Men on twitter, and he also rounds-up a number of items that he had previously posted on twitter. Most of them we've already posted here, but one of the exceptions is this 2001 USA Today article about the UM-MSU Cold War game which fortells a Badger Hockey game @ Camp Randall.

• The Badgers high school development camp, which is "open to all and any participants", is taking place this week, and the top players in the state are there. DPlaya reports he is hearing that there may be some unhappy campers, saying that 'the camp may be trying to be "all things to all people" and not finding the mark with some campers.' That's unfortunate for players on both ends of the spectrum.

• UNO's new head coach, Dean Blais, reportedly has an "out" in his contract that allows him to apply for the Gophers head coach position should it become available. Thanks to Goon for pointing out the brief mention in the News-Chronicle. As Goon says, it's interesting, but nothing that Mavericks or gophers fans should worry about yet.

• Schlossman tells us that the WCHA's agreement with the Xcel Energy Center to host the Final Five runs out after this season but will likely be renewed. Talking about moving the Final Five to different sites is like beating a dead horse, it's not going anywhere. Fwiw, I don't really have a problem with it being at the X each year.

• The Blackhawks Confidential blog has a post that speculates Hossa's injury may open up a spot in Chicago for Jack Skille. (Thanks to the anonymouse who pointed it out.)
  

  Without Hossa's 71 points (40 goals) for Detroit last season, and with Martin Havlat's 77 points departed for the wilds of Minnesota, the Blackhawks are missing a big bopper that leads the orchestra.

  
  

  Jack Skille isn't that big bopper, but read on to see why I think this slow developer might be Hossa's early replacement and come riding to the rescue out of nowhere. Rockford is nowhere, isn't it?

  .
  .
  .
  

  That could open a chance for 2005 first-round draftee Skille to break into the NHL and see what he has to give after the 22-year-old scored 20 goals and 45 points in 58 games for Rockford last season. He comes at the right price for this squeezed salary cap and some think he can be an offensive force.

  
  

  Skille has rated uneven evaluations for his play in Rockford. He has been inconsistent, but with a strong training camp, he could turn around the way he is viewed and put all that behind him.

  
  

  The Hawks have to find out about Skille sooner or later after taking him as the seventh player chosen overall in the '05 draft. It might as well be sooner with Hossa's absence lighting the way for coach Joel Quenneville to tutor Skille in the first couple months while Hossa heals.

  The Madison-born Skille, who played for the University of Wisconsin, has appeared to some observers to be maturing slow step by slow step into a NHL-ready player. As long as he delivers a strong effort in camp, he should be in line for a promotion. But he has to rise to the moment.

• Guy Flaming implies that the blogger who started a rumor about an Oilers/Panthers trade might have been inhaling/drinking too much ether. (Ok, Guy didn't really imply anything about ether abuse; that's more an inference on my part.) The likely bogus rumor includes a number of players, including Tom Gilbert.

• The Edmonton Journal and the Ottawa Sun are both now indicating that (gasp) the Oilers haven't really given up hope or run out of patience regarding the Dany Heatley deal. Their trade offer is reportedly still on the table.

• The above Ottawa Sun article also has the following blurb about Brian Elliott:
  

  The indication on Monday was that the Senators and 24-year-old goalie Brian Elliott are close to an agreement on a multi-year deal. It could be announced any time soon.
  
  Elliott, who made $757,700 U.S. last season, will serve as a backup to Pascal Leclaire next season. Leclaire has two years left on his contract. He'll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010-11.
  
  By then, if not sooner, Elliott is expected to be ready to be the No. 1 goalie.
  
  If he's not, then the hope will rest on 6-3, 220-pound Swedish goalie Robin Lehner, who was selected in this year's entry draft.

• Jonathan @ the Copper and Blue has a post about the best goaltenders since the lockout. As part of his discussion of "youngish goaltenders who have had good results but don't have a long track record", he says the following about Els:
  

  Brian Elliott has had a very nice run the last few years; his college numbers and AHL numbers are very good and would seem to indicate that his performance this past season isn't an aberration. Ottawa brought in Pascal Leclaire as insurance but I would be very surprised if Elliott doesn't win out over the next few seasons (particularly given Leclaire's injury woes).

Heater an Oiler? What about Gilbert?

From bingofuel at OilersNation:

Just got off the phone with Gregor:

“The Oilers have traded Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid and Andrew Cogliano for Dany Heatley. This will add $2.1 million to the Oilers’ payroll.”

He also mentioned that Hossa talks with LA have broken off.

Finally, the handsome devil teased me with this one: the Oil aren’t done dealing yet.

OH EM GEE

Which is pretty much what Jonathan at The Copper & Blue had told us we might expect. And it certainly wasn't a surprise to see the deal done tonight, given that the Sens would've had to pay Heater a bunch of money tomorrow, July 1.

The intrigue now is "the Oil aren't done dealing yet". As we mentioned yesterday, Spector indicated that Oilers D Sheldon Souray might be on the move. Today, Spector indicates that out of the 4 offensive defensive (Souray, Visnovsky, Grebeshkov, Gilbert) the Oilers are willing to part with Gilbert, also saying that the Oil unsuccessfully tried to trade Gilbert to move up in the draft. Jonathan at the Copper & Blue has the links and some thoughts.

Which 2006 Championship Team NHLer had the best season?

Four members of the 2006 National Championship team have placed themselves firmly as mainstays in the NHL, and spent most, if not all, of the past season at the highest level. Several other Championship Season Badgers (Jack Skille, Jake Dowell and Davis Drewiske) spent chunks of last season in the big show as well. (hopefully I didn't forget someone???) So which mainstay had the best season? Each brings a different game/role to the ice each night, and in the end stats certainly don’t tell the whole story. This is a tough vote.

Joe Pavelski – The former All-American enjoyed his best season yet in a San Jose Sharks uniform. Pavs was the 4th leading scoring on the Sharks (third in goals) and helped the organization to their first President’s Trophy for best regular season record. Unfortunately, the playoffs didn’t go so well, as the Sharks were ousted in the first round. Pavs is also a key part of both sides of the special teams’ spectrum for the Sharks.
Stats: 80 games, 25-34-59, +5, 46 PIM, 8 PP goals, 3 SH goals, 19 min/game and 56.3% faceoff winning % on 1250 faceoffs

Brain Elliott – After starting the year in the AHL, the Ottawa Senators saw their future and called Elliott up to the NHL. Playing for a bad team, he managed to record some nice stats, and will hopefully be between the pipes in the NHL for many years to come. Not bad for a 9th round pick and former All-American who almost wasn't even a Badger.
Stats: 31 games, 16-8-3, 2.77 GAA, 0.902 save %, w/ 1 SO

Adam Burish – The former Team Captain (which is mentioned in about every game he plays in) continues to play a critical role for the Chicago Blackhawks. Burish has arguably become one of the best PKers in the NHL and does a great job as a 4th line energy guy/grinder/fighter/agitator. Of this group, his team has had the most success in the playoffs, and his name has been praised regularly for things that don’t show up on score sheets. Hard not to like Burish who is a fan favorite in the Windy City.
Stats: 66 games, 6-3-9, +3, 93 PIM (way down from last season)

Tom Gilbert – After setting a few Edmonton Oilers rookie defenseman records (formerly held by Paul Coffey) Gilbert signed a huge contract, and didn’t disappoint in his sophomore season in the NHL. He played in all 82 games for the Oil, was 4th on the team in points and 2nd in assists (t-9th overall in assists by Dmen in the NHL). As my favorite alumni I follow some Oilers blogs, and everything coming out of Alberta is generally nothing but praise for the former All-American.
Stats: 82 games, 5-40-45, +6, 26 PIM, 2 PP goals, 22 min/game.

Tom Gilbert 3rd-quarter report cards, and other links

Despite my intentions, I still haven't had time to follow the Oilers much, but at least I can bring you some links.

• Here are a couple of 3rd-quarter report cards from the Oilogosphere:
  Staples (Cult of Hockey)
  

  Tom Gilbert, B-
  5.6 grade in 20 games; 11 errors/13 points, +2.
  The most high event player on the Oilers, involved in numerous scoring chances both good and bad. He struggles when he's asked to do more against tough opposition, but he's moving the puck extremely well. A smart player who needs to get a bit tougher of mind and body, but that will come with experience.

  Gregor (Oilers Nation)
  

  A- Tom Gilbert. After no goals in the second quarter Gilbert was a beast offensively this quarter. He had 18 points, the most of any Oiler this segment. He only had two goals, but 16 assists for a D-man is very good. The problem was he had 21 giveaways as well. Of course not all of them resulted in goals, but his turnovers did result directly in six goals for the opposition. I would still like him to use his size a bit more, especially in one-on-one battles down low, but his offensive production was incredible. He played lots of minutes this quarter, so you would expect a bit of an increase in his turnovers. The fact is he produced offensively, and on this team offence means more. Plain and simple. (B- first 20, C- 2nd)

• The Edmonton Journal had a nice article on Gilbert earlier this week.


• For some reason Gilbert continues to write his blog. I'm not sure what to say about this, but hey, luv ya, Tom.
  


• The Oilers website has a little "How well do you know Tom Gilbert?" feature, in which Tom claims to own 25-30 pairs of shoes. Based on Tom's blog entries, I'd say that Kyle Brodziak's guess of 30-40 pairs would be more accurate.


• The Oilers site also has a little "5 Questions with Tom Gilbert" feature. (Don't get too excited; like the above feature, the questions aren't all that insightful, lol.) This is the 2nd time they've done this feature with Gilbert -- here's November's version.
  

Skille's return, Gilbert's last 3 games

• After missing 7 games with a concussion, Jack Skille returned to the Icehogs' lineup last Saturday for their 6-3 victory over Toronto. Rockford plays @ Rochester tonight @ 6:05.

• As I've mentioned previously, various Oilers' blogs have been grading players after each game. Unfortunately, sandwiched between 2 decent games, Gilbert had probably the worst game of his career.
  
  1/30/09 Oilers 3 - Wild 1
  Mike's Blawg:
  

  Gilbert, 6: 20 minutes of icetime, almost 3 on the power play, and 0 shots isn't good for an offensive dman who doesn't hit. Still, he made some good passes and gobbled up icetime, so hard to complain too much too.

  
  2/1/09 Predators 2 - Oilers 1
  Staples:
  

  * ITEM: Gilbert had his most disastrous game of the season against Nashville, not that Louis DeBrusk or Kevin Quinn appeared to notice.
  
  I played defence in a men's league for years, so I know what it's like to suck, to get beaten badly and repeatedly, to cause your team to lose.
  
  I've also screwed up plenty of times at my real job as a journalist.
  
  So I suspect I have some inkling of how Tom Gilbert feels right now, though, of course, I was just a beer league hack as a hockey player, while Gilbert does this for a living in front of tens of thousands of fans.
  
  But it's got to hurt to have that kind of game.
  
  I'm talking, of course, about Gilbert's play against the Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon, where the poor man singlehandedly caused both of the Nashville's two goals against the Oilers, then fanned on a shot at the end of the game that would have given the Oil a chance to tie the game.
  
  I'll forgive Gilbert that last play, and his turnover on the first Nashville goal by J.P. Dumont was something of a hiccup. It could have happened to anyone.
  
  Hey, on the same play, play-by-play announcer Kevin Quinn had a similar brain cramp. At first Quinn said that it was Jason Arnott who had scored and Ladislav Smid who had coughed up the puck, when it was neither. Quinn caught himself on the Arnott mistake, but he never corrected himself on the Smid blunder, and colour man Louis DeBrusk was unable to help out because DeBrusk evidently has a policy of never, ever, not even once, of naming an Oiler who has made a goal-causing blunder.
  
  I mean, how else can one explain DeBrusk's silence on Nashville's second goal? On that play Gilbert made a bad, bad mental mistake.
  
  First, Gilbert lost a battle at the opponent's blueline, allowing Nashville's David Legwand to charge up ice, one-on-one with Sheldon Souray. Souray had Legwand covered. Nothing bad was going to happen.
  
  But then Gilbert did something not so forgivable. He lost track of Nashville forward Martin Erat, who charged up ice, took a pass from Legwand and scored.
  
  Gilbert blew it, plain and simple, but DeBrusk's see-no-evil, speak-no-evil policy meant that the only thing he could say about the play was that Nashville sure did know how to attack with speed.
  
  I'm sure that next game Tom Gilbert will come back strong. Mr. DeBrusk, I'm not so sure about. He has got to be more fair-minded, not just praising good plays, but also pointing out mistakes, especially mental mistakes.
  
  Mr. DeBrusk, we all want you to succeed, but you've got to be more honest if your assessments to do so.
  .
  .
  .
  Tom Gilbert, 1. Cost his team in this one and I'm sure he knows it. He's a smart player and he'll do better next game.

  
  2/3/09 Blackhawks 3 - Oilers 1
  Staples:
  

  Sheldon Souray, 6. He gave up nothing on defence but didn't do much on offence.
  Tom Gilbert, 6. Same as Souray, an OK game.

  Bruce (Oil Droppings):
  

  Tom Gilbert – 5: I thought he was getting owned physically for a substantial part of the game, though he did bring some nice skill plays and was on the ice for a team high 10 scoring chances for, just 7 against. Showed his lack of experience when he pulled up and didn’t take the net off on a second-period tumble into his own crease where a whistle would have been both helpful and unpenalized.

  LMHF:
  

  Gilbert - Looked a touch shaky but improved as the game went on. You can tell the last game really shook his confidence. He made a couple really solid defensive stops though.

• Speaking of Tom Gilbert, holy crap, here's 7 minutes of my life I'll never get back, with this video of TG et al bowling. And I swear the Oilers were having some promotion with Gilbert and Brodziak for the Raising the Roof Toque Campaign, but it's not on the Oilers' website anymore. *shrug*

The worst home loss in Oiler history?

The Oilers website calls Tuesday's 10-2 loss the worst home loss in Oilers history. Bruce at Oil Droppings, while agreeing that the loss was brutal, tells us that this isn't quite true, as the Oilers website is discounting the WHA days of the Oilers.

I thought this part of Bruce's post was pretty funny:

The Sportsnet guys told us it was the most goals the Oilers had given up in a home game since allowing 9 to Chicago last month. Consulting my Grade One arithmetic text, I discovered that 10 is actually more than 9.

For what it's worth, Bruce had to go back to 1982 (10-8 loss) and 1981 (10-4 loss) to find the last times the Oilers allowed 10 goals at home. And he had to go back to 1977 (11-1 loss) to find the Oilers' worst home loss in history.

You might be wondering how good ol' Tom Gilbert played on Tuesday. I didn't watch much of the game, but apparently while not being fantastic, he wasn't horrible. So while he may not have helped a lot (and who can blame him the way the rest of the team was playing), at least he didn't really hurt. Per Staples:

Tom Gilbert, 5. The only Oilers defenceman who didn't make a goal-causing error, and that says something. Played OK, nothing too good, nothing too bad.

Speaking of TG, BDHS was discussing who the Oilers should and shouldn't trade, and here's what he said about him:

77 - Tom Gilbert - People talk about moving Gilbert and he is actually the guy after Hemsky who I would make an untouchable. A better player than Grebeshkov, signed longterm to a nice contract and much younger then Souray and Lubo. An important part of this club through the window we are talking about and beyond. When Souray and Lubo's contracts expire he won't be thirty yet - you don't move a guy like that

Tom Gilbert

Admittedly, I haven't been following Tom Gilbert very closely this season. Over the past 2 weeks I've tried to catch up a bit, and today I have some more catch-up material.

• Apparently the defensive pairings were switched up in November. After starting the season paired with Denis Grebeshkov, Gilbert is now paired with Sheldon Souray. And according to Mudcrutch, Souray-Gilbert have been playing the toughest minutes, facing the toughest competition.

• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has a nice article praising the Oilers' D-corps, including Gilbert.
  

  "You're never really comfortable playing against the Oilers because of this (blue-line strength), even when leading by three goals, you're three shifts from being tied. It's a little unnerving," said Hitchcock.
  .
  .
  .
  "If you don't have defencemen who can get the puck up the ice, you spend so much time in your end, and when you do get it as a forward, it's around the boards or off the boards into the neutral zone and the forwards have to come back so hard to get the puck," said Oilers assistant coach Charlie Huddy. "You need defencemen who can get the puck to forwards with some speed, one or two tape-to-tape passes and that's how your create offence."
  
  "Every time Gibby (Gilbert) touches the puck now he's making a play, and Lubomir was a handful all night for Columbus; he was flying out there. Sheldon's played great all year," added Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish.
  
  "Mac (MacTavish) wants us to be as much of an offensive threat as the forwards ... that's all six of our D-men," said Gilbert. "It's tough to defend when you have defencemen coming late into plays and we get lots of shots from the back end, too."

• Oilertown posted player report cards for the half-way point in the season (41 games).
  

  Tom Gilbert: B+
  Gilbert is going to hit near 40 points this season, and considering he's the third best point-producer from the back-end, that's quite impressive. I thought he got off to a little bit of a tough start, but he's closed up his game since joining Souray. His contract is pretty massive, but I think he'll be every bit worth it for the duration of it. He's a really solid defenceman.

• I didn't realize this until last night, but Bruce at Oil Droppings has been grading players' game performances periodically during the season. Here's what he had to say about Gilbert:
  

  Oilers 5 - Capitals 2 (1/13/09)
  Tom Gilbert - 5: Recovered from a horrid first period to make a solid contribution down the stretch. Had a horrendous giveaway 20 seconds in where Roli saved his bacon, made another bad pass right to Semin minutes later.
  
  Flames 6 - Oilers 4 (12/31/08)
  Tom Gilbert - 6: Had a far more effective game than his regular partner Souray, contributing an assist on a second-unit powerplay goal and another on Cole's meaningless late tally. Wasn't on for a Calgary goal in his 17:21.
  
  Senators 3 - Oilers 2 (12/30/08)
  Tom Gilbert - 7: An effective night with 4 shots, 2 blocks, +1 and a Corsi of +10. Landed a couple of beauty body checks in the first, neither of which seemed to register with the RTSS counter for whatever reason. When Gilbert does decide to step up as a surprise tactic he can be an effective hitter.
  
  Oilers 7 - Blue Jackets 2 (11/18/08)
  Tom Gilbert – 8: Probably played his best game of the season, a goal, a helper, +3, and 3 blocked shots. Looked composed with the puck when under pressure, a trademark of Tom’s A game, and broke the puck out of his end well.

  
  It's a bit misleading, I think, that Gilbert's game grades here declined from 11/18 to 1/13, as the general consensus seems to be that he has improved his play over the course of the season. I think we need to remember that there's a lot of data missing here, as Bruce only graded a handful of the Oilers' 46 GP, so we can't really draw trends from it. (Regardless, it's nice to see that Bruce has never given Gilbert anything lower than a 5.) Also, Bruce only graded one game from the 2nd half of the season in which Gilbert is 1-5-6, +3 in 5 games. I'll be interested in seeing future grades.
  

The Oil return from the All-Star break tonight by taking on the Sabres in Edmonton at 8PM CST. Perhaps I'll do a better job following them from here-on. (I'll at least try.)

Sunday evening news & notes

• Gandalf just mentioned today's WSJ article about All-American Candidate Jamie McBain, but I don't think that either of us yet mentioned the uwbadgers feature about him. So I thought I'd better do so now: Speaking softly and carrying a big stick.

• Lowetide looks at the performance of the Oilers' D, including Tom Gilbert:
  

  Gilbert P: 46gp, 4-8-12 (.250) A:46gp, 3-21-24 (.522)

  
  My theory with Gilbert is that he would be forced into a more defensive role and that the lack of PP time would hurt his numbers. He has in fact exceeded my full-season prediction at the AS break and is once again having a career year offensively. This year's 5x5/60 (1.23) is the best on the club (D) and his -5.0 Corsi comes against the toughs and with average help. Last season's numbers in those categories (0.98 and -5.2) got him a very nice contract and he is delivering on the promise this season. His GF/GA ON this season (35-32) is a slight improvement (65-67) over one season ago. Tom Gilbert has more than covered my bet and is delivering a quality season in a very tough role.

• Here's another nice Brian Elliott article.

• Baggot talks about how the upperclassmen have stepped up their games this year and about the Badgers' tough road ahead.

• Both Baggot and Milewski talk about the Badgers' recent bye week.

• Worgull has a piece (premium content) about the Badgers position in the standings and their upcoming schedule. Derek Stepan comments on the Badgers' recent loss to CC, and Cody Goloubef comments on the remaining schedule.
  

  “It’s bitter pill to swallow and live with for two weeks,” center Derek Stepan said. “I would like to get back into the swing of things. We played well on Friday but we kind of let things slip up a little bit on Saturday. We’re going to do a lot of practice, learn from our mistakes and we’ve got to get better.”
  
  “It’s big to get some rests,” defenseman Cody Goloubef said. “We know these games coming up are big. I think it helps, the timing is nice and we’re here to win.”

Alumni updates

• Do I really need to tell you how well Brian Elliott is doing? He picked up his 3rd win of the season last night in the Sens' 3-2 win over Washington. In his 5 games this season, he has a .924 SV% and 2.18 GAA.

• Jack Skille has been doing pretty well in Rockford lately -- last I mentioned, he had 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in his last 3 games -- but now you can make that 9 points in his last 5 games (not counting the 1/16 game in which he left the game early), as he added an assist in Rockford's 1-o win v. Toronto on 1/10 and a goal and an assist in Rockford's 4-2 loss v. San Antonio on 1/13.
  
  The Third Man In has a description of Skille's goal v. SA:
  

  Jack Skille got the IceHogs back into the game at 15:23 of the second period when he found a small space over San Antonio goalie Josh Tordjman’s left glove and shoulder. Treading up his trademark right wing, Skille snapped a wrist shot from the right face off dot to close the gap to 3-1.

  In those 5 games, he was +7 and had 25 SOG. And in one of the games (Rockford's 6-5 loss to Grand Rapids on 1/7), he had a season-high 12 SOG. Nice!
  
  Unfortunately, Jack didn't get a chance to score in what would've been the 6th game of his little streak (Fri 1/16 v. Chicago Wolves), as he left that game early with an injury. He has since missed the Hogs last 3 games.
  
  In 36 games with the Hogs this season, Skille has 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points. He has already tied his point total for last season, in which he was 16-18-34 in 59 GP. He's currently 3rd on the team in points, but he's played 8 fewer games than the top 2 scorers.
  
  

• Jake Dowell hasn't been scoring a whole lot of goals this season, but he recently got some love on The Third Man In:

  - Despite just one goal to show for his efforts this season (he went 33 games without one), alternate captain Jake Dowell remains one of the Hogs’ most-consistent and sound performers. Obviously there’s disappointment that he hasn’t been able to provide much offense, but if there’s an injury to Colin Fraser, Adam Burish or both, Dowell should be more than capable of filling those roles in a replacement stint.

  The Third Man In also mentioned the following in a discussion of what to do with the Hogs' lines when Tim Brent returns:
  

  - Dowell is fine wherever you put him but he’s been better at center.
  
  - Dowell can be moved to the fourth line but I don’t see that as a permanent thing. . . . Peters is rolling his lines a lot more now than he was at the beginning of the season but he likes to use Dowell and the fourth line doesn’t see much more than a third of the ice that the second line does.
  

  Sounds like Dowell plays consistently well regardless of on which line or in which position he's put. It'd be nice if he had some more goals to show for it, but it's nice to hear that he's playing well.
  
  In 42 games this season, Dowell has 1 goal and 10 assists for 11 points. Last season, he was 7-10-17 in 49 GP.
  
  By the way, you can find some nice Icehogs game pics here. I've only looked at the top 2 albums, but there are some nice pics of Jake in there. (Skille didn't play in those games, so no pics, but I'd imagine there are some nice pics of him in previous albums.)

• Tom Gilbert seems to be doing well lately. I previously mentioned that Gilbert closed out the 1st half (41 games) of the season 2-16-18, +2. In his first 5 games of the 2nd half, Gilbert was 1-5-6, +3, and it sounds like his play has been picking up recently.
  It had been a while since he had last scored, so I was happy to hear that he got his 3rd goal of the season this past Friday in Edmonton's 3-2 win @ Colorado. And his play last night (2 assists) earned him 3rd-Star in the Oilers' 4-3 win over Columbus.
  
  (I really need to make a better effort to watch some Oilers games.)

• Joe Pavelski, whose Waterloo Black Hawks number is being retired this weekend, scored his 100th NHL point last night. (Thanks to bucky15 for pointing that out.) In 171 GP, he's 46-54-100. This season he's 6th on the team in scoring, with 13-19-32 in 43 GP.


• Matt Ford is back in the AHL, having been recalled from the Charlotte Checkers to the Hartford Wolf Pack. In his 1st game back with Hartford, Ford had an assist and finished +1 in their 3-1 victory @ Portland on 1/19. Ford started out the season in Hartford and was there for about a month (12 GP, 1-0-1, E) before being assigned to Charlotte. Ford is the top goal scorer and 2nd-leading points scorer for Charlotte (21 GP, 16-15-31) and by far has the team's best +/- with +19 (no one else is above +5). By the way, Charlottes's top points scorer (Mike Bayrack, 34 GP, 10-28-38) has played in 13 more games than Ford.
  
  Ford will be playing in the ECHL All-Star game tonight at 6 PM CST. The game is being televised live on NHL Center Ice (Channel 785 on DirecTV, Channel 626 on Dish Network). If you don't have NHL Center Ice, you can catch the game on b2 for free.
  

He might not be Tom-Tastic, but BDHS still gives him a "B" . . .

Black Dog Hates Skunks issued mid-season grades for Oilers after Game 41, and he gave Tom Gilbert a "B". Given that BDHS bases his grades on expectations, and that it seems almost impossible for Gilbert to perform up to his $24 MM contract, I'd say that Gilbert has earned a pretty good grade.

B Tom Gilbert - pressure from new contract weighed on him early I believe but after a slow start has played very well, on pace for 36 points, excellent first pass, plays a Lidstrom style, all angling and boxing his man out, not a banger though , plays like the one he made against the Blues last game (stole puck, spun away, reversed course and hit the man breaking out of the zone, all in a moment) show that the Oilers have a guy who is a keeper and still getting better

I'll be honest; I haven't had much time to follow the Oilers or Tom Gilbert much this year. But whenever I did stop by Oiler-related sites earlier in the season, the prevailing opinion did seem to be that Gilbert was off to a slow start -- not horrible, but perhaps struggling a bit. I'm glad to hear that his play seems to be picking up of late, at least judging by BDHS's review. And hey, I like any review that compares him to Lidstrom, gotta like that.

BDHS mentions that Gilbert is on pace for 36 points this season. After 41 games, he was 2-16-18, +2. By comparison, last season he was 7-7-14, +3 in the 1st 41 games and 6-13-19, -9 in the 2nd 41 games, with the prevailing opinion that he had a pretty good 1st half of the season and struggled a bit during the 2nd half. Now the goals and assists are different, but his total points and +/- from the 1st half of last season and the 1st half of this season aren't all that different, making me wonder if he's really struggling compared to this time last year or if expectations are just much higher. I know that you can't get all that much information from stats, and I haven't been able to watch any games (someone tell me again why I pay for NHL Center Ice but haven't had time to watch a game yet this year?); all I'm saying is that it makes me wonder a bit.

Coming into this season, Lowetide set "reasonable expections" for Gilbert of 7-15-22 in 82 gp. Looks like Lowetide might have picked the goals pretty close, but Gilbert already has 17 assists this season (he recorded another assist in game 42), so he's definitely on pace to outperform Lowetide's expectations.

Coming into the season, another Oilers' blog had a post (heck if I can find it now, apparently wasn't Lowetide) that discussed which players were likely to outperform, underperform, or play at the level of their contract. It was a pretty good read; I wish I could find it again. Gilbert was listed as likely to underperform -- and this wasn't as much a knock against Tom as it was a reflection of his $24 MM contract. The post also mentioned that Tom had a pretty good rookie season and that sometimes it's hard to repeat that the next year. (If I come across the post again, I'll stop back here and add in the link.)

Anyway, it's always nice to read nice things about Tom Gilbert, so thanks BDHS!

Linkorama

Not often I do one of these, but there is a lot to cover and most of it is odds and ends type stuff. One of these days 60 will return from her current hibernation, and the linkorama will return in full force.

• The Badger Women completed the sweep on sunday over Mankato 7-2. Kyla Sanders, Meghan Duggan and Brooke Ammerman each had 2 goals, while Angie Keseley made it 7 total. Jasmine Giles had a playmaker and Mallory Deluce had two assists in the winning effort. Other articles from the TCT and the Daily Cardinal.
• The Women remain #1 in all the land, and for your enjoyment get to know Meghan Duggan.
• There are several Badger Men weekend review type articles: Eaves press conference, TCT, Badger Blog (Lebler is a goon), Daily Cardinal and Badger Herald.
• Jake Gardiner was named WCHA co-Rookie of the Week, and I think its quite deserved.
• The Wisconsin Men have started a new streak in the USCHO poll, receiving votes again this week following the big sweep in the Showcase. The LetsGoDu SuperPoll has Wisconsin #6, and INCH puts UW at #20 in their power rankings. Notre Dame takes over the #1 spot. Jeff Jackson must promise those kids something to come play in that crappy facility.
• Thanks to Goon's blog for finding this video at Hockey Buzz. Toward the middle of the first episode of "Julie Loves Hockey", Julie talks about the Badger dmen being a large part of the scoring and the Badgers in general being goons for all the penalty minutes. Sure the Badgers are #2 in the nation in PIM/game, but does too many men on the ice really make players goons? A bonus is Julie is kinda cute and she likes hockey.
• Dpalya over at HIW is reporting that Wisconsin is interested in Ashwaubenon's Wes Wauters. Wes made an unofficial visit this past weekend. He is a senior this year, and was the 2nd leading scoring for Team Wisconsin in the HS Hockey Elite League (11th overall). I saw Wes play early in September in Verona, and he had a couple nice goals. Apparently several other DI schools are interested as well.
• If you remotely interested in WI HS Hockey head over to HIW and check out Dplaya's team previews. He's previewing 22 teams across the state, and has 21 of those up.
• The Waterloo paper had an article recently about future Badger Craig Smith. Craig has come a long way from his high school hockey days in Madison, to growing as a player in the USHL to being the Captain of Team USA at the Junior A Challenge (and all tourney honoree). The hype will continue until next October.
• Last but certainly not least, here is an article on one of my favorite Badger alums Tom Gilbert. After a slow start, Tommy is starting to put together another nice season w/ the Edmonton Oilers. About a week ago over on the Lowetide blog, Lowetide had quarter grades for all the Oilers players. Sounds like Tommy has been having to pick up the slack for a less than stellar blue line partner, much like last season.

Rockford Badgers (and other alumni) update

Jack Skille had a pretty good weekend with the Rockford Icehogs. On Friday, he had 1 assist and 11 SOG as Rockford defeated Norfolk 5-4 in a shootout. On Saturday, he had 1 assist and 3 SOG as Rockford defeated Norfolk 4-0. And on Sunday he had 2 goals and 4 SOG as Rockford defeated Chicago 3-2 in a shootout. Oh yeah, Skille scored in the shootout, too.

"This is huge," said winger Jack Skille of beating the Wolves in their first meeting of the 2008-09 season. "They're really good at home and we knew that coming into this barn that we had to play hard.

"I had a couple of chances at the end there" Skille said of a chance at notching the second hat trick in IceHogs AHL history. "But it's not about me. Kontiola had a good game and we really played well as a team."

Jake Dowell had an assist and finished +1 on both Friday and Saturday. On Sunday he finished even and was held of the scoresheet. By the way, Jake was a starter on Sunday.

In other alumni news:

• Todd Milewski notes that Matt Ford has 5 goals and 7 points in 3 games with the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers and is leading the team in both categories. Nice!

• Tom Gilbert has another blog post. Ummm . . . it's not exactly as informative/entertaining as Burish's blog . . . but yeah, it's our Tommy and he seems like a nice guy, and it's nice to see the $24 MM contract doesn't appear to be going to his head . . .

• And here's Todd's alumni stats report.

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.

End of Preseason for Hawks, Oil

The Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers played their last preseason games this evening.

Thankfully, Tom Gilbert's stats in tonight's game look better than previous preseason games: TOI 22:27 (PP 1:26, SH 5:49, EV 15:12), SOG 2, A/B 1, MS 1, HT 1, BS 2. Game wasn't televised, I don't think, so I haven't heard any chatter from those who saw the game. Oilers went with pretty much their regular season lineup and defeated the Dallas Stars 3-2.

Jack Skille got decent icetime in Chicago's 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He was held of the scoresheet, but his stats seem to indicate that he had a solid night: TOI 11:19, SOG 2, MS 1, HT 4. Nice to see Skille playing a physical game.

By the way, it looks like I missed (gasp) a Jack Skille article from last month. (Unless I posted it and forgot, which is entirely possible.)

''That was a reward for doing what he did all summer,'' said Savard. ''He deserved that opportunity. He worked so hard.''

''I had a good, solid year -- for a rookie in the minors,'' Skille said. ''It was a mental test for me. Everywhere I'd played before I was a top-six forward. Last year was a grind because I wasn't.''

''I'm a lot more confident, and playing with Sharpie and Kaner was a heck of a opportunity for me to prove myself,'' Skille said.

''Jack is going to be an up-and-down winger in this league,'' Savard said. ''He's a banger. Hopefully we can make him a penalty-killer at some point. He'll fit because of his speed. He's fast and has the ability to recover.''

Speaking of Jack Skille, he's been mentioned in a trade rumor with Boston. This is just a rumor, but I thought I might as well mention it since The Third Man In already did.

Matheson (Edmonton Journal):
CENTRE OF ATTENTION

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to troll for a No. 2 centre to take some heat off Jonathan Toews.

If they don't get Michael Nylander of the Washington Capitals, they may go after the Bruins' Marc Savard. Boston already has Patrice Bergeron, who could be the No. 1 guy, and David Krejci to move into the second slot. If the Bruins got blue-liner Brent Seabrook and young winger Jack Skille, they might do it.

Chris Block (The Third Man In):
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal is reporting the Hawks not only have had trade discussions with Washington about Michael Nylander, but they could also be interested in the Bruins’ Marc Savard. In mentioning the latter, Matheson suggested Brent Seabrook and Jack Skille as the two names together who could trigger a deal. That sounds about right but Skille and Phil Kessel in the same locker room as teammates?

Adam Burish played for the Hawks tonight as well. In 8:08 of icetime, he had 1 blocked shot and no PIM.

Obviously Burish and Gilbert have made their respective teams. Now we just need to keep a watch on Skille -- you can expect the Hawks to make final cuts Monday or Tuesday. I think he'll make the team, but what do I know?