Brass, Commie, Calvert and Claude

Derrick Brassard in a post-practice shooting drill

I've been mulling these topics over for several days, the whole situation, and the discussion concerning Derrick Brassard, of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  In a previous post on this subject I opined that some of Brass' struggles this year were a normal developmental stage, that had been delayed by the dearth of talent in the franchise.  The more I think about it, the more I think some of that is definitely true, which we will explore later in the post.

Late last week, Brassard's agent issued a statement calling out Coach Scott Arniel for Brassard's situation. For the whys and wherefore's of Brassard's Agent's comments, I highly recommend this excellent post over on Ten Minute Misconduct, and the commentary which follows.  This really puts the whole situation in a current context in the NHL.  What I want to do in this post is to explore the similarities between what is happening to Brassard and someone who was absolutely and unquestionably relegated to Scott Arniel's doghouse, big Mike Commodore.

I got a pretty unique opportunity last year, a chance to have a chat with Mike.  This occurred following a childish and petulant outburst in this space (long since retracted).   In our conversation I later characterized this to Mike as a rookie mistake, which was a pretty apt description. He was gracious about my failings, for which I was grateful.  He IS a pretty big guy.  But he had a pretty rough experience at the hands of Arniel, and I think his experience is pertinent here.  So I'd like to discuss his experiences as they might relate to Brassard,without rolling Mike under the bus.  I would like to affirmatively state that he refused to criticize any coach in any way.  This was wise on his part, as hockey is a pretty tight community and that stuff gets around.  Mike Commodore would not comment on Scott Arniel.

Very early season musings

The coaching Man of the Hour in Columbus,
goaltenders coach Ian Clark

In looking over the first couple of games, I've had fleeting thoughts that don't necessarily warrant entire blog posts (right now) but might be worth considering going forward:

• In the "Don't Set the Bar Too High" department, I'm happy that the CBJ didn't get blown out at home on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd against Nashville.  They probably bought themselves some time with the ever-fickle locals as a result.  
• Could CBJ Assistant Coaches Brad Berry (defense) and Ian Clark (goaltenders) kindly report to Nationwide Arena?  The NHL 2011-2012 season is underway, and your players need coaching.  Badly.
• To be Mark Dekanich right now is to be a study in anticipation and frustration.  Steve Mason's performing OK-to-poorly (with no comment on the defensive help Mase may or may not be getting) with a painful .870 goals against average.  And when Mase is pulled in game two for AHLer Curtis Sanford, DexShow has to be thinking, "If I wasn't injured, that would be ME!"  Let's hope that either Mase gets his game together quickly or DexShow is ready to roll once he returns.  At this point, I don't care which.  (Or that GM Scott Howson doesn't have to give up too much in the trade market to get a consistent goaltender...)
• I can understand how the CBJ would have trouble getting the puck into the offensive zone against Nashville, especially when Nashville locked down after going up by one goal.  But Minnesota? Minnesota?  Ack.

That's not the dirty play I intended!

Matt Calvert and RJ Umberger at practice

Big stick tap to Light the Lamp for publishing the reaction of the Wild fans and media.

Let's compare James Wisniewski's excuse: 'I was defending myself';

to

Pierre-Marc Bouchard's excuse:  I meant to slash Calvert on the hands, but he lifted my stick!

No matter how you cut it, that is a dirty play with intent to injure.  The slash to the hands has been an area of focus for officials for the last few years because it has only one intent, to injure a player, ESPECIALLY if that player does not even have the puck.

I don't care if he has a 9 year career of unpunished, er, clean play.  That is a dirty play any way you examine it. And from now on, he is a repeat offender.

There's only two ways to police this stuff.  Either the Shanahammer does it, or you need to revoke the instigator rule and reserve a roster spot for an enforcer.  Given the events of this last summer, the league has opted to police the game itself.

Eliminating the slash to the hands, much less to the face, will not diminish the game we love.  It will eliminate dirty play.  Check the rule book.  Its always been that way.

GO JACKETS

Game 61/Nashville: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets started the last significant western road trip of the season this afternoon in Nashville and the host Predators beat the CBJ, 3-2, in regulation.

There are 82 games in the season...there are 82 games in the season...there are 82 games in the season...

Now that I have that blood pressure-lowering Moment of Zen out of the way, let's proceed.  In my opinion, this game was lost on two plays:

The first is the easy one.  Derek Mackenzie followed up on an R.J. Umberger shot by slamming the puck in at the corner of the net for an apparent goal.  Or was it?




[Special thanks to @RyanReal for his letting me know about the television feed.  While it's choppy, it gets the point across pretty clearly.]

Game 60/Phoenix: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets left for a week-long road trip on the right foot, dispatching with the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-3, in front of nearly 17,000 fans at Nationwide Arena.

The obvious big story is that rookie Matt Calvert, in his 20th NHL game, dropped a natural hat trick on Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.  That makes 9 goals in 20 games.  What more needs be said?  How about this picture...instead of a thousand words:

Hats rained onto the ice for minutes after Matt Calvert scored his third goal.
(Photo from the Columbus Blue Jackets)

Darth, Meet Matt

Dear Mr. Vader -

Love your stuff.  Especially that 'I am your father Luke'.  Great plot twist.  I especially like the way you have been able to reincarnate yourself as a hockey coach.  But Trotz?  I'd have thought Lord Commander Barick, or something like that would have been more your style.  Must have been the PR people. 

But hey, I wanted to update you on the little rebellion thing we have going on here.  You see, we have grown weary of the autocratic rule of those who have banners hanging from their rafters, and we have decided that we should rule our own destiny.  To that end, we have assembled a group of warriors who are undeterred by adversity, and they will triumph over your cloned 'offensive defensemen'.  And fresh from the planet Springfield, we have a young warrior named Calvert.  And the force is strong with that one.

Game 58/Chicago: My Take

[Pardon the over 24-hour delay in getting this posted.  I've been struggling to get some schoolwork done on deadline (done), fighting yet another apparent sinus infection (sigh) and ended up hosting a friend's child while she ran down to the hospital to deliver a baby (wow).]

In a string of "must-win" games, none have been bigger than Friday night's Columbus Blue Jackets visit to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks, who were only one standings place and two standings points ahead of the CBJ.  While by no means dominating from wire to wire, the Blue Jackets fought it out and emerged victorious, 4-3, in regulation.

Start with this:




Everything else is gravy.

Observation from practice

For the first time in way too long, the Dark Blue Toddler and I ventured down this morning to Nationwide Arena to check in on the Columbus Blue Jackets' open practice in anticipation of tomorrow's tilt with the streaking (7-1-2 in their last 10 - Yow!) Los Angeles Kings.

When reached for comment about practice,
the Dark Blue Toddler stopped on the stairs to say,
"Up! Up! UP! Down! Down! DOWN! Hockey! Boom!"

The visit was punctuated by a pre-practice breakfast with DBT at the Arena District's Sunny Street Cafe on Nationwide Boulevard, where we redeemed a Groupon and he gnawed on perhaps the largest "dinosaur" pancake that I've ever seen.  (They apprently pour the batter into a 8-inch long dinosaur mold, kinda like a cookie cutter for pancakes.)  Of course, the DBT is the discriminating type, so he ate my home fries instead.  At least I got coffee.  And Sunny Street is a great way to kick off your CBJ practice morning.  Nice folks, fast service.

As for practice, I got pretty much what I've come to expect with the little man.  DBT runs the stairs and the rows nonstop (only stopping to tell me what row letter I've parked in to monitor him while he tears around sections 114 and 115), and I get about 15 minutes of actual observation during a one-hour practice.

Most notable from practice was who was NOT out there: Steve Mason.  We now know that Mase has bronchitis and a "minor" pulled groin (how such a muscle pull can be "minor" is beyond me).  With that, and no goalie callup from Springfield, we were treated to the CBJ equipment manager in net.  I think I got a taste of what the diminutive Darren Pang would have looked like between the pipes for the Blue Jackets.  Actually, the guy did OK considering they weren't pushing him too hard out there.

Game 51/Detroit: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets traveled to Joe Louis Arena on Friday night and, to the surprise of many, put together a compellingly solid all-around performance in shutting out the NHL Central Division-leading Detroit Red Wings, 3-0.

A couple immediate thoughts on this game:

First, I suggest you go back and look at Gallos' terrific post about meaningless games.  Then try to tell me that this game did not have a very striking resemblance to the 8-2 CBJ pasting of the Wings that Detroit coach Mike Babcock used to such great effect in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round.  (Now, just imagine if the CBJ can put together a string of wins to get themselves back in the playoff picture to the point that they would play Detroit again.  Wouldn't THAT be something?)

Game 50/Chicago: My Take

A staggering 12,568 people risked life and limb in the midst of a still-ongoing (as I type) ice storm to cheer on the Columbus Blue Jackets as they came out of the All-Star break in the unofficial start to the "second half" of the season.  Go figure...St. Louis postpones their game because of bad weather, and Columbus has one of the best home turnouts of 2010-11.

The Blue Jackets rewarded their somewhat insane fanbase with an equally staggering loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-4, at Nationwide Arena.

Let's quickly cover the CBJ game and then get to the important stuff.

(Somewhat) Tanned, rested and ready for the second half

My two week "All-Star Break" has ended, and I'm back in the States after a great, long vacation with Mrs. DBJ, the Dark Blue Toddler and DBT's grandparents.  As you can see, the CBJ ball cap (with a stylishly pre-weathered bill) has seen a little bit of fading from the sun at 20° 37' 0" N / 87° 4' 0" W.  It was great, however, to see the many other hockey fans down so close to the equator.  There were tons of Canadians out there, worshiping the sun during the day and watching CBC and TSN hockey of their favorite teams all night long at the open-air sports bars under palapa roofs.

Two week vacations are a gift from God.  If you ever can figure out a way to combine both the money and vacation time from your jobs, I highly recommend such a break.  It's soul-cleansing.  On a one-week vacation, you're travelling for two days and don't really start mentally "unpacking" from The Real World for a couple of days, so that means you only really get two - perhaps three - days of true relaxation.  In a two-week vacation, you can add a whole seven days to the decompressed time.  And it's really good...I find that you don't dread returning home after a two-week vacation like you do after a one-week vacation.

But enough of this self-indulgent crap.  You come here to read about the Columbus Blue Jackets, not my ruminations on how long one needs to air out the mental dirty laundry.  So let's catch up on what happened while I was away...

Game 43/Phoenix: My Take

Finally home after a winless, four-game road trip, the Columbus Blue Jackets failed to capitalize at Nationwide Arena and lost, 4-3, in regulation to the Phoenix Coyotes.

The callups once again made their mark.  Matt Calvert played in his second straight game (Surely, no insult to those who were on the roster on opening day...) and drew a critical holding call in the waning minutes of the game.  Grant Clitsome, fresh off the plane from Springfield, swapped in for the maddening Anton Stralman...and was refreshingly competent.  Not fantastic, but simply competent.

Game 42/Los Angeles: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets started off the second half of the 2010-11 campaign with a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

I gave in to fatigue after the end of the second period - these 10:30PM starts are just brutal - so my catching up after waking up tells me that there may have actually been two games last night.

For the first half, the main highlight was wunderkind forward Matt Calvert's first goal.  While not exactly a Davidgian "Goal Scorer's Goal," it offers proof that keeping your nose for the puck yields benefits.  Wisdom for the entire squad from the mouths of babes...




Past that, there really was nothing meaningful to discuss.  The Kings - who themselves are reeling through a slump - pretty much had their way with the CBJ.  And Mathieu Garon proved that while he's a good backup goaltender, he can't carry the load with a couple "goals he'd like to have back."

Game 41/Anaheim: My take

The Columbus Blue Jackets closed out the first half of the 2010-2011 season with a 6-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

While the CBJ fanbase bristles with anticipation of the rumored but probably unlikely mega-trade on the horizon, I can't help but ask: Can enough players get traded to make a difference in this season?  That being the case, are we starting to look at the closing of the playoff qualifying window for the Blue Jackets already?

Unbelievable.  I never thought that the season would go this far south, this early in the season.

An early spring cleaning

First, let's sort through the chatter out of Nationwide Boulevard for the day:

Never thought I'd be using THIS graphic again...

• Center Kyle Wilson has cleared waivers.  
• Defenseman Mike Commodore was waived and, barring something entirely unforeseen, will clear.  He carries a pretty high price tag.
• Winger and Alternate Captain Ethan Moreau has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 4.  
• Forward Matt Calvert has been called up from the AHL Springfield Falcons.  Coach Scott Arniel says that Calvert will play on Friday night against Anaheim.
• Both Wilson and Commodore are skating with the CBJ in California today.
• Other bits and pieces - This blog entry by Jeff Little perhaps does the best job I've seen in tying up the loose ends.

It's clear that something is afoot in Blue Jackets land.  Or maybe a couple of somethings.

Kyle Wilson waived - What's going on?

What in the wide wide world of sports is going on over on Nationwide Boulevard?

I'm not talking about the Mike Commodore trade request.  That apparently happened last week (though we only found out about it today).  Plus, that's a player-initiated move.

No, what I'm talking about is the waiving of Kyle Wilson as part of his demotion to Springfield, this after being told by team management that he was going to stick around for the season.  This one's on the team - on Scott Howson and presumably Scott Arniel.  As such, it's much more significant to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This is how you build an organization the right way

Readers of this blog know that I've spent a lot of time over the last week or so discussing the impressive amount of youth on the Columbus Blue Jackets roster and the challenges that presents (including Nikita Filatov).  I then went as far as to suggest that Steve Mason may need a little time to find his game again in Springfield.  Not the most popular of ideas, to be sure, but one where I think diminished short-term gain (How many times will he need to get pulled in the first period before the message sinks in?) is overwhelmed by Mase's long-term potential.

In light of all that, I was heartened to see in today's Dispatch that the CBJ management is intentionally taking the slow road with its next generation of stars:

...the Jackets brain trust appears to be committed to allowing its minor-league rookies such as [forward Matt] Calvert, [forward Tomas] Kubalik and defenseman John Moore to develop at their own pace with minor-league Springfield, without rushing them into the Jackets lineup. 

CBJ blogger offers live Traverse City coverage

I'm a game late in suggesting this, but I've been in school all day and couldn't blog, so let's quickly catch up.

Former CBJ guest blogger En4cer45 made the trek up to northern Michigan for the Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament, which runs from today through Wednesday, September 15.  To the best of my knowledge, he's the only CBJ-related media type (mainstream or emerging) to actually be there, live, offering first-person information in real time on the on-ice exploits of Ryan Johansen, John Moore, Matt Calvert and the rest of the CBJ prospects.

Two must-links for you:

1. En4cer45's blog: He's been analyzing the prospects up to the tournament, providing tournament previews and also is promising additional blog posts from Traverse City as the tournament progresses.  Let's hope he offers some game recaps, maybe with a little local flavor!
2. En4cer45's Twitter account: If live coverage is your thing, you can catch up on the games as they're happening by following his Twitter.

The New York Rangers' prospects beat the "junior" Blue Jackets, 5-4, on a last second Rangers goal in the opener.  The Jackets play Minnesota Wild's prospects tomorrow at 2:00PM, so you have a little time to add those links to your bookmarks.  

Training camp is just around the corner...follow your Blue Jackets prospects to see the future -- today!