The Ditch part deux

Summer leagues are starting up. Here’s the one out of Minnesota.

 

Pitlick ~ gotta love that name.

 

Brock Boeser scores a hat trick and an assist, leading the Bic Razors to a 6-4 victory over Tradition.
Good to see he is recovered from wrist and back injuries.

 

Sad to see the news about razor, Ray Emery died of drowning Lake Ontario. He has battled drug abuse problems due his bad hip. (same prob that Bo Jackson had). Only 35.

 

Sad indeed... RIP

 

Former NHL goaltender Ray Emery was found dead Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, a victim of an apparent drowning. The 35-year-old Emery was identified by Hamilton Police as the man pulled from Hamilton Harbour.

According to initial reports, Emery was visiting friends when the group decided to go swimming near the docks of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club around 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Emery plunged into the harbor and never re-surfaced. His body was recovered Sunday afternoon.

"They went out for a swim and unfortunately he did not emerge after diving in,' said inspector Marty Schulenberg, via The Spec. "We responded along with Hamilton Fire and EMS. Unfortunately, our efforts on the water and in the area just around the piers were met with negative results."

 

I actually heard about this before the news broke. A colleague of mine had to transport him to, I would guess, the coronor's lab. I wasn't at liberty to talk about it before the news broke.

 

I'm surprised that people actually swim in Lake Ontario ...

 

It's cleaner than it used to be with most of the steel industry shut down. But I wouldn't swim in the harbour. The closest to it I've swam is Fifty Point and it was mainly to wave-run. Winona is right at the edge of Hamilton before entering Niagara Region.

 

I see your point Joe, there are still lots of people swimming from Toronto Island beaches too.

 

but did he dive in and have a heart attack or did he hit his head on something ? pretty hard to dive into water and not come right back up. and the people he was with couldn't jump him and find him or see him ? seems odd. tragic nonetheless. only 35 too. tragic.

 

Terrible news on Razor Ray.

So from what I’ve read he jumped in and didn’t resurface. Seems strange, anyone know if he was a weak swimmer or if he hit his head or something?

 

Also found out that Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Pretty amazing.

 

Lakes AND rivers Matty

 

i was able to strike a deal for this same ticket but in graded 4 condition, not 7 as shown, over the weekend. it's a 1980 Miracle on Ice Ticket ! Very rare to see, find and purchase. Very happy to have it !! USA USA USA !

 

And the summer league in Foxboro-

https://harlowhockey.net/foxboro-pro-league/

 

This is a pretty good recap of the Panthers' offseason, and some commentary on their outlook into the coming year.

https://www.nhl.com/news/team-reset-florida-panthers/c-299478472

I don't know that I agree with the projected lines the writer gave, though. No issue with the top 6 - presuming no more roster changes, Bjugy is likely still on the first line, Hoffman joining Trocheck and Huberdeau on the second. The issue I have is in the bottom 6 and defensive pairings.

There's no doubt they've got a logjam at F in the bottom 6. My real objection here is not getting McCann on the ice. I think he belongs there, and even though Malgin has also played well, and Borgstrom may just be the future, I think it's a mistake not to have McCann playing a role. Sceviour deserves plenty of ice time - dude sells out for the team, especially on defense. McGinn should have never been on the second line in the first place, and I lament the trade for him, but I think he's still worthy of a 4th line play - he's also tough and can play D. Mackenzie is the captain and a defensive ace, even though you can count his goals on one hand. So... McCann? Hmmm...

Defensively, putting Matheson on the top line is asking for trouble, especially next to Ekblad (his mental lapses didn't decrease last year, while Yandle's did, making them all the more stark). Matheson is mad athletic, but still has to have better discipline in positioning. I don't care how good his stick work and backchecking is, he shouldn't be in that position as often as he is. He also makes plays as a F, jumping into the action, but Yandle was an absolute stud at assisting in the offensive zone, and making the crucial stretch pass to playmakers like Dadonov (man, was that fun to watch). If anything, I think Ekblad should be on the second line, and Yandle on the first. I could see the argument for Matheson, in that case. I wouldn't be upset at that.

Preferred:

Yandle Ekblad
Kiselevich Matheson
Pysyk Weegar/McCoshen/Petrovic

Pysyk should be interchangeable with the second pair guys - whichever doesn't perform drops.
(Edit: the more I think about it, the more I'd rather have Pysyk back with Matheson on the second line, and see what the Russian can bring before pairing him with the young risk-taker)

Anyway - just trying to wait for the damn season to start. It can't come soon enough. Because all of the above is just speculation, and it'll all go away as soon as they take the ice. Let's go, already!

 

he gets it

 

Certainly some nice pieces to build around for the Panthers. That D group needs help for sure.
I wonder what it would take to pry Carey Price from Montreal. G may not be an immediate need but Price would be an immediate upgrade and would be good for another 5 years anyway. Just a thought, could be nice dance partners if Montreal is looking to move on from CP. Luongo is from that area, I’d bet that he’d be ok with going back. Not entirely sure what RL’s contract is like regarding NTC/NMC though.

 

Im optimistic about the Panthers. I think the additions of Hoffman and Kiselevich are spot on and will help a great deal. The Panthers are real close and just missed the second season last year by 1 point.

Scoring Winger and some goaltending could prove to go a long way, but what ever is needed to make this happen just might be 1 more player away or some good play from a surprise youngster who gets called up.... ya never know.

Tallon said his approach after July 1 would be to wait to see if a need developed. "If we need something, we'll see what's available and go from there," he said. "But I'm confident in our young team. I'm confident in our depth chart. I'm confident in our young players. I'm confident we have guys in our system that can come up and play valuable minutes for us."