Monday Morning Link Roundup

-Arguably the greatest American born defenseman in the history of the game is finally being honored by his Alma mater, the University Of Wisconsin. It was announced over the weekend that former Badger great Chris Chelios has been included in the 2011 class that will head into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

Chelios, who was born in Chicago played parts of 26 seasons in the National Hockey League. He was an 11 time NHL All-Star and won the Stanley Cup 3 different times. Chelios won the Norris trophy as the NHL's best defenseman three times in his career. Chelios was also a member of four United States Olympic teams, captaining the team three times.

The future Hall of Famer played two seasons in Madison and was an elite blueliner from day one. Chelios put up back to back 40+ point seasons in for the Badgers registering 49 points as a freshman and 48 as a sophomore before signing a contract with the Montreal Canadiens who drafted him 40th overall in the 1981 draft.

-North Dakota forward Brett Hextal who most had presumed would sign a contract with the Phoenix Coyotes finally made it official on Friday. It looks like UND is only waiting to hear back from senior to be Jason Gregoire at this point. Hextal is the first UND early departure this offseason and the WCHA's 7th. Remarkably, Hextal is only the second forward early departure so far.

-As you're already aware, future Badgers Nic Kerdiles and Jake McCabe won the gold medal Sunday for the USA U18 squad. This is just a reminder to stop by Chris Peters "The United States of Hockey" blog who has been absolutely fantastic in covering the entire tournament.

-Penn State has officially put out a release on their hire of Princeton coach Guy Gadowski for Men's hockey coaching opening. Gadowski is an interesting choice considering many had assumed that Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin and Wisconsin Women's coach Mark Johnson were the front runners for the position.

-Some former Badgers have recently seen their NHL first round series come to an end. Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers saw their season come to a close at the hands of the Washington Capitals. Anaheim's Brad Winchester also was eliminated today by Ryan Suter, Blake Geoffrion and the Nashville Predators.

-USA Today writer Kevin Allen has released his top 15 American NHL draft prospects. Wisconsin forward recruit Joseph LaBate from the Academy of Holy Angels checks in at #15. Allen notes that with LaBate's upside, he could be selected anywhere from late first round to the end of the second.

-The United States Women's World Championship team has absolutely dominated their competition so far in Switzerland. The ladies will take on Canada in the gold medal game Monday at 1:00 PM CST. Badgers continue to impress in the tournament. Wisconsin junior to be Brianna Decker had 4 points in the USA's semi-final win over Russia. Hilary Knight (12 pts) and Decker (11 pts) who both will return to the Badgers next season are the top two leading scorers in the tournament.

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Chris Chelios Retires

It had already been reported several weeks ago, but yesterday it was made official:

Chris Chelios is retiring, and will be working with the Detroit Red Wings front office.

Nothing too shocking to report here, but for those interested, here's some video from the presser, where Cheli spoke candidly about the end of his career (video courtesy of NHL.com)



Also, a nice lengthy interview this morning on WCSX in Detroit. I can't find a way to embed or directly link it here, but go to this link and find the "Jamie with Chris Chelios" podcast from this morning.

Cheli is a legend, and one of the greats. He's certainly one of the finest American defensemen to ever play the game (if not, one of the finest defensemen period). A champion, an Olympian and time-defying freak of nature. Even though his kids went to East freakin' Lansing Clown College, he still was, is, and always will be a Badger. He was a key component in our 1983 national title, and as Badger fans we could always take pride in calling him one of our own.

Chris Chelios, we salute you.

Forever Young: Chelios Officially Back In The NHL

Forever Young

I lost my internet connection when I was working on this post yesterday so this is kind of late, for that I apologize.

If you have not already heard, the ageless wonder Chris Chelios has officially been called up to the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers. Just last week he inked a new deal with them and it didn't take long for him to be up with the big club.

Chelios will be in uniform as the Thrashers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in Columbus, Ohio. This will be Chelio's 26th NHL season. In 46 games for Atlanta's AHL team, Chelios had 5 goals and 17 assists for 22 points.

"Chris has been an outstanding leader and mentor for our young players in Chicago and his level of play has made him deserving of this opportunity," Atlanta GM Don Waddell said. "He's a tremendous competitor who strengthens our group of defensemen and instantly adds a veteran presence to our locker room."

Info from the Thrashers press release:

The Chicago, Ill., native has registered 948 points (185 goals, 763 assists) and 2,891 penalty minutes in 1,644 career NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens. In a NHL-record 266 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, Chelios has collected 144 points (31 goals, 113 assists) while capturing the Stanley Cup three times, once with Montreal (1986) and twice with Detroit (2002 and 2008).

In his 25-year NHL career, Chelios ranks fourth in games played, eighth in all-time assists by a defenseman, and ranks 10th among defensemen in points. Among American-born players, he ranks first in games played, second in plus/minus (plus-352) , and third in points by a defenseman.

The 6-0, 190-pound defenseman has earned the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman three times (1989, 1993, 1996), has been named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team five times (1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002), and has participated in 11 NHL All-Star Games.

Chelios has represented the United States in international competition 12 times, and served as team captain at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. He led the U.S. to a Silver Medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City and also won a Gold Medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. He has also appeared in the 1984 Winter Olympics, the 1984, 1987, 1991 Canada Cup, the 1982 IIHF World Junior Championship and captured the 1983 NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship with the University of Wisconsin.

Cheli Is Back Baby!

Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.

Chris Chelios has signed an NHL deal with the Atlanta Thrashers and I could not be more excited right now. Per team policy, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chelios, who is 48 years old right now, has played in 44 games this season with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, the Thrashers AHL affiliate. In 44 games, Chelios has recorded five goals and sixteen assists for 21 points and ranked second in the league in plus minus with a plus 35.

Chelios played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin before being selected to represent the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. While in Madison, Chelios had two of the best seasons ever put together by a freshman and sophomore by putting up 49 and 48 points respectively.

Chelios was drafted in the second round, number 40 overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

From the article: "In his 25-year NHL career, Chelios ranks fourth in games played, eighth in all-time assists by a defenseman, and ranks 10th among defensemen in points. Among American-born players, he ranks first in games played, second in plus/minus (plus-352) , and third in points by a defenseman."

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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.

Chris Chelios will make his Wolves debut on Friday

It is an honor for us to have him. We are very excited to have someone of Chris’ stature join our team. He will be an excellent example for our young players to watch, both on and off the ice.

-- Wolves General Manager Wendell Young

I've got no goal, just keep playing. I'm not going to come out and jeopardize this team's success. It's a challenge. I want to see if I can play.

My son's as old as some of these kids, but it's going to be fun. They're very respectful kids and I intend to have a good time with these guys.

-- Chris Chelios

Chris Chelios has signed a contract with the AHL's Chicago Wolves and will make his debut on Friday v. the Manitoba Moose (Allstate Arena, 7:30 PM).

Wolves press release
Canadian press

Wolves 5 - Icehogs 4

Nice signs, hey?

These very nice fans were sitting near the penalty box, and nubeetle and I saw them holding up the signs when Dowell was in the box (5 for fighting). We saw Jake give them a smile, so we went to check out the signs in between periods, and the fans were kind enough to hold 'em up for us.

If I had been thinking, I would've asked them how they became Jake Dowell fans and why Jake was their favorite player, because I love that kind of stuff. But, alas, sometimes I just don't think. Hopefully they'll see this post and leave us a comment or send me an email at sixtymin@gmail.com.

Dowell was held of the scoresheet, at least scoring-wise -- as I mentioned, he got 5 for fighting in the 2nd period. As you might expect, he won the fight. Had a pretty solid game. He doesn't seem to make many mistakes, and he had a number of good chances. Might just be my biased perception, but it seemed to me that his line didn't get as much ice time as the other lines, so I was a bit disappointed by that, because (obviously) I really like to watch him play.

It's too bad that Chicago has so much frickin' depth. I gotta believe that there are a number of NHL teams in which Dowell would fit in nicely on the 4th line. He's not a star, but he certainly wouldn't be out of place, either.

While we were disappointed that Dowell's team lost, at the same time we were quite happy to see Don Granato get the win as the Wolves head coach. The Wolves had been 0-3, so Granato really needed the win. Don's one of the nicest guys you'll meet, and he loves his Badger fans, so ya gotta cheer for him.

Chris Chelios was in the building, and as I mentioned in another post he seems to really like the chicken dance. He didn't actually do the chicken dance, but I think he wanted to. He was bouncing in time with the music and I think he was smiling; he seemed to really be enjoying the song. Yeah, I think he wanted to do the chicken dance . . .

Oops, almost forgot to give the box score from the game.

More Chris Chelios / Dany Heatley

Just 2 quick links tonight:

• Jeremy at Section 303 takes a look at whether Chris Chelios would be a good addition to the Preds.
  

• Cory Clouston won't yet address whether Dany Heatley will keep his "A" in Ottawa.
  

Preds might be interested in Chelios

"I said, 'Chris, are you sure you'd have the interest of playing in Nashville, because you're not exactly well-liked here?' '' Trotz said. "He said, 'Trotzy, trust me, I'm not well-liked anywhere.' I said 'Yeah, I guess you're right.' ''

According to the Tennessean's John Glennon (via Illegal Curve), the Predators haven't ruled out adding a veteran for the 7th spot on the blueline before the season starts. Head Coach Barry Trotz indicates he's going to give younger guys the opportunity to win a roster spot but that they would definitely consider Chelios.

Preds on the Glass has this to say:

Not that it will actually happen, but my ongoing effort at mentioning Chris Chelios as a 7/8 D-Man has finally made the MSM. John Glennon writes of the possibility this morning. Will it actually happen? I doubt it. Chelios has spoken with every team in the league in his search for a job including hanging out at the US and Canada Olympic camps.

Chris Chelios Linkorama

There have been a few articles recently about Chris Chelios's inclusion on the USA Olympic Team staff and about his desire to play hockey next year. A couple of these links I actually stumbled upon myself, and a couple are courtesy of Illegal Curve.


Allen (USA Today): Team USA staffer Chelios, 47, still looking for ice time

Canadian Press (via The Hockey News): Veteran blueline Chris Chelios determined to play pro hockey next year.

Roarke (NHL.com): Chelios still wants to play, happy in adviser role

Simmons (Sun Media): Chelios asks Leafs for a job *

Wharnsby (Globe and Mail): Chelios inquired about joining Leafs *

* In this Daily Herald article about the orientation camp, Chelios's approaching Wilson about a job in Toronto is treated in a different light:

"He pulled me aside and said, 'You guys need a defenseman up in Toronto, don't you?'" joked Wilson, the Maple Leafs coach."

The Simmons post, however, specifically says that Chelios wasn't kidding.

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.

Chris Chelios / Dany Heatley

About a week ago, Ma 60 asked me if I thought anyone was going to pick up Chris Chelios. The prevailing opinion seems to be "no". But someone at the Bleacher Report would like Cheli back in Chicago, so I thought I'd better provide the link for Ma.

I also thought Ma might like this picture of Chelios that I found when I stumbled upon Steph's Chris Chelios Page. When he was young. Before his face looked like leather. Wow.






-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dany Heatley Saga continues. A few days ago (July 9), Bob Stauffer told us why he thought the Oilers should continue to pursue Heatley.

On July 11, Dan Barnes at the Edmonton Journal indicated that the Oilers haven't given up on Heatley but that the "sniper's trade demands might not be satisfied until September, or later." Jonathan Willis of Oilers Nation, cranky about the stand-still and the various updates/non-updates in the media, begged someone/anyone to make this stop.

Now Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun tells us today that the Oilers' patience is wearing thin and that "Edmonton could go in another direction as early as today if Heatley won't agree to a trade." David Staples responds to this by saying it doesn't matter whether or not the Oilers are losing patience because "Heatley ain't coming here and he never, ever was coming here". Lowetide expresses relief that the matter might finally be coming to an end. Willis, however, still believes the Oilers are in ardent pursuit of Heatley.

Mike Chen of Foxsports says Heatley needs an attitude adjustment, but Senators teammate Daniel Alfredsson disagrees. He doesn't know why Heatley demanded a trade, but he'd like to talk to him about it. He further indicates that if Heatley wants to return to the Senators he doesn't see it as a big problem for the team, saying that it will be easier for the players to welcome him back that for the media and fans. The Universal Cynic says that, in the end, it won't be all that hard for the fans, either.

Badgers on the Move: Chris Chelios

First of all, I want to thank 60min and the rest of the No Alibis crew from
bringing me on. I look forward to contributing here, and I can only hope
to be half as interesting as Minnesota
Sucks week.

With free agency set to begin July 1st, and the NHL Draft around the
corner, we're more than likely to see a lot of player movement in the NHL over
the coming weeks. As has been reported here
and elsewhere, Chris Chelios is going to be one of those players. His deal is up in
Detroit, and Ken Holland will not be looking to resign him.

The question of what Chelios wants to do now didn't go unanswered
long. Cheli held a press conference last week at his chili bar in Detroit to announce his intentions:

[Chelios] and his agent will start contacting teams July 1, when he officially becomes a free agent. "I just want to see if I can get the opportunity with another team and if I can contribute," he said, adding that he would prefer to play with a team in the Eastern Conference because travel would be easier than in the far-flung Western Conference. But Chelios also said if things aren't going well and he's not playing a month or two into next season, he would retire.

The sentimentalist (or the rabid BadgerHawk fan... one of the two) secretly hopes that he'll head back to his hometown Chicago Blackhawks. His radio interview with ESPN 1000 Wednesday (linked via espn.com above) certainly gave the impression that his preference for the Eastern Conference is just that, a preference: "I'm not ruling out any of the Western Teams, either". He openly stated that he'll probably be giving Dale Tallon of the Blackhawks a call, and that "[he has] a soft spot in [his] heart for Chicago".

There were some moments last season where Chelios looked his age, but considering how sparingly he played, one can hardly blame him for being out of rythym. And although he is certainly slower than he was in his prime, we live in a day and age where Hal freakin' Gill can be the main shut down defender on a Stanley Cup winning team. As long as his positional play is solid (I think it still is), and his icetime demands are consistent but low (they are), I think he can find that third pairing role he's been talking about. But that doesn't solve the million dollar question: Who will be in the market for Cheli?

Teams looking for Chelios will probably have to satisfy several, if not all, of the following characteristics in their defensive corps: youth (see also: inexperienced), lack of experienced leaders, lack of stay-at-home defensemen, lack of depth beyond their top four.

Who fits that bill? Atlanta, Toronto, New York Islanders and Tampa Bay stand out, if only because they had the worst GA in 2008-09- but they all fit at least three of those four virtues. Chicago would certainly be a sexy option (there's a phrase you don't see often) if not for the valuable experience that Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook got during this spring's playoff run.

LA certainly has an interesting hodge podge of defensemen in their system, including a lot of ex-college players (such as UW's own Davis Drewiske), but it might be a challenge for Cheli to crack that lineup consistently, even if very few of the Kings are head and shoulders above him.

There are numerous other teams that simply just don't have the depth at defense and are teetering on the edge of having a decent playoff run/appearance in them (Columbus, St. Louis, Buffalo, etc.). But the truth with Cheli is this: starting July 1st, he's got a lot of calls to start making, and this probably won't be settled quickly, unless Chicago actually (for some reason) makes an agressive offer. Just about all we know for sure is that he's not playing for Detroit.

More Cheli news: no longer a Red Wing

The article we posted earlier today about Chris Chelios' role with the 2010 US Olympic Team mentioned that Chelios would like to play another year in the NHL. But apparently it won't be with the Red Wings. Nicole from cutesports was kind enough to forward to me this blurb:

Chelios free to seek new deal elsewhere

Associated Press
DETROIT -- Chris Chelios won't be with the Detroit Red Wings next season.

Wings general manager Ken Holland tells The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press he met with the 47-year-old and Chelios wouldn't be offered another contract.

The Associated Press left a message for Holland Monday evening seeking comment.

Holland tells the News it was "kind of understood last summer" when Chelios signed a one-year deal that it would be his last.

Holland says Chelios wants to play another season and believes the veteran player can still play.

Detroit signed Chelios in 1999, and Holland calls him "just a perfect role model for young players."

He had no points and a plus-1 rating in 28 games this season.

Chelios joining Olympic Team in off-ice role

The greatest warrior of all was Chelly. All I know is, I want him involved. - Team USA GM Brian Burke

Burke admits the role isn't yet clearly defined, but he's adamant on wanting Chelios involved.

Burke says that next week he'll announce more coaching staff members, as well as the approximately 30 players who will be invited to the August 17-19 orientation camp. Regarding the camp invitees, Burke says, "Some people are going to be shocked at the names that are not included."

(Thanks to EoDS for the link!)

Brian Elliott and other alumni updates

Gotta start with Brian Elliott, who earned his 2nd career NHL win and 1st NHL win of the season by making 23 saves last night in Ottawa's 5-1 victory over Carolina last night. Based on this article from yesterday and today's game preview, it looks like Brian will be starting again tonight at Atlanta. By the way, Elliott earned his 1st career NHL win last year against Atlanta.

Here's what Elliott said before yesterday's game:

"Just being out practicing with the speed, and the kind of shots these guys have, just keeps your mind on the right page," Elliott said after this morning's skate at Scotiabank Place. "Every game is that much more experience."

Here's what Elliott said about Ottawa's less-than-stellar record this season:

"It's a good team in there and it's kind of a mystery why we're at the bottom of the standings, but if we keep playing games like that I don't think we'll be there for long," said Elliott, who had 28 saves in a 3-1 win at Atlanta on Oct. 10, 2007 during his NHL debut.

(Photo from nhl.com)

The rest of these links are courtesy of Paul Capobianco and were included in the Badger Men's Hockey Insider email that he sends out twice a week. If you haven't yet signed up, I highly recommend doing so.

Who made the grade? Flames' mid-season report cards

17. LW Rene Bourque (41 GP, 15-14--29, +14): Remember those pre-season worries about who’d fill out the top-six forwards? About the Flames needing one more top-flight forward? Well, check out this guy’s goal total, his plus-minus, his points (only one of which arrived on the power play). Heck, check out the 27-year-old’s contributions, period. A premier penalty-killer. The shrewd spending of a second-round pick. Fast. Aggressive. A perfect fit for a team trying to recapture its prized identity.

Grade -- A+

Coyotes' Turris tackles culture shock

Suter's maturity shows for Predators

Chris Chelios becomes NHL's winningest player

Joseph gets win No. 450 in overtime

Chris Chelios fractures tibia, out 3-6 weeks

Chris Chelios is expected to miss 3 to 6 weeks after fracturing his right tibia while blocking a Francis Bouillon slap shot on Tuesday. Sounds like it's going to be closer to 6 weeks -- Chris Block of NHL Full Access (also of The Third Man In) indicates Chelios might be back around the Nov 11 Penguins game.

Chelios, Wings make it official

Thanks to Ody for the heads-up on this one!

The Wings have signed Chris Chelios to a 1-year deal. Next season will be his 25th season in the NHL. Wow.

Chelios acknowledges that his role this next season will be reduced due to the large number of young defensemen on the roster. He says he's happy to be back and looking forward to another great year.

For now, it sounds like Chelios feels that, when he's on the ice, he's able to contribute and not hurt the team. Until that changes, I get the impression that Chelios will do whatever it takes and play whatever role (however limited) his team asks, as long as he gets play and as long as his team keeps winning. It just remains to be seen how long he can continue to do this . . .


Edited to add: I just spotted this article that, while giving highlights of Chelios's career, also humorously points out just how long Chelios has been around.

Chelios to play in the NHL forever...

Ok, not really, but he has re-signed w/ the Red Wings for the coming season and wants to play until he is 50.

Chelios is looking for Lord Stanley #5 this season, and should be in the right place for that to happen. While I'm not a huge fan of the Wings, no doubt that they have again assembled the top team in the NHL.

Sunday Evening Odds & Ends

• On Friday, Uwbadgers.com posted the 6th installment of it's 2008 Hockey Preview Videos -- this video features Jamie McBain. I think we may have neglected to post on this blog the 6/11 feature on the captains. In case you missed any of the videos (I still haven't watched all of them yet), here's a link to all of the preview videos, as well as bonus coverage including Q&As with Engel/Drewiske/Klubertanz, Johnson/Davies, and equipment manager Steve Castelletti.



• The University of Wisconsin Athletic Board has announced it's Athletic Board Scholars for the 2007-08 academic year. The athletes named are the top male and female atheletes for each sport. This list includes hockey players Ryan Jeffrey (legal studies) and Maria Evans (Geography and Environmental Studies). Nice work, Ryan and Maria!

• The UW Athletic Department won a Silver Award at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) annual convention for it's Badger Women's Hockey "Fill the Bowl" event. The promotion raised 8 barrels of food and over $5,000 for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Wisconsin. It also helped the Badgers set the NCAA women's hockey attendance record at 5,377.

• Not sure if we mentioned this yet, but a couple of weeks ago Todd Milewski talked to Badger recruits Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch about the OHL.
  

• Thanks to DPlaya, I see that Joe Pavelski is back in Wisconsin running a hockey camp in Stevens point for local kids. Kyle Klubertanz and Scott Pavelski are also helping out.
  

• Also, thanks to DPlaya, I have a link to a 6/10 THN article on Badger alumnus Chris Chelios. It's an amusing article that points out (in a fun way) just how old Chris Chelios really is.



• Not Badger Hockey related, but the Denver Post has a good article about David Carle and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The article also includes a list of 4 athletes who have died unexpectedly from the disease and what they were doing at that time. Thanks to LetsGoDU for the link.