Vancouver fishbowl may have pushed Bure

out

Jim Jamieson – The Province

There may have been a lot of reasons why Pavel Bure wanted out of Vancouver.

But Beth Novokshonoff believes a key factor was living in a fishbowl in a hockeymad Canadian

city.

Novokshonoff, who speaks Russian fluently, offered her services as an interpreter to the Canucks

when the team was able to bring Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov to Vancouver in 1989.

She also worked with the players’ wives to help them settle into their new city and did the same

with Bure, whose English was spotty when he arrived in 1991 and had no experience of living on

his own.

“Vancouver was too small,” she said on Thursday.

“Sometimes, people wouldn’t leave him alone.”

It got so bad,” said Novokshonoff, that when Bure was living in his posh home on a walled

property on Southwest Marine Drive in the latter part of his tenure in Vancouver, fans would

sometimes scale the wall and knock on his window hoping to meet the Russian Rocket.

She believes he was much more comfortable in Florida and, later, New York, where he could

walk the streets and not be bothered.

“There really was no privacy,” she said. “And Pavel was a really private person.”

Novokshonoff said she really enjoyed getting to know Bure.

“We had a lot of laughs with him,” she said. “When the Red Wings were in town, the Russian

Five (Larionov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Sergei Fedorov, Slava Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov)

and Pavel and (Alexander) Mogilny would come over for to our place for dinner afterwards. Igor

would do his impression of (dictatorial Team Russia coach Viktor) Tikhonov. I’ve never seen

Pavel laugh so hard.”

From Russia, with Larionov

Jim Jamieson – The Province

Compatriot and linemate helped Pavel Bure adjust to playing in Canada

It’s tempting to think that Pavel Bure simply fell out of the sky and instantly gave the Canucks

the killer goal scorer they’d always needed but never had.

Yes, Bure — who went on to become the franchise’s most exciting and greatest player — didn’t

take long to get there, but he was wracked with uncertainty as he began his NHL career in

Vancouver.

To the point where the player, who’ll have his jersey number retired at a formal ceremony before

Saturday’s game with Toronto, was concerned he might be sent down to the minors after he’d

failed to score after his first three games. Bure’s electrifying performance in his first NHL game

against the Jets is burned into Canucks’ fans memory banks, but he didn’t actually put the puck

in the net until Game 4 (twice).

“To be honest with you, he was troubled for a while,” Bure’s all-toobrief linemate and Russian

countryman Igor Larionov said over the phone from his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

“He was actually worried (to start the season) because he didn’t score any goals. He was worried

they were going to send him down to the minors.”

Laughable as that sounds, Russian players coming to North America in 1991 didn’t make the

seamless transition they do now. The Soviet Union was about to break apart, but they’d all

grown up within its tight structure.

“When you are 20 years old and you come to North America, and it’s the first wave of Russian

players, myself and a couple other guys coming over in 1989, and Pavel was this baby-face,”

said Larionov, 52.

“To deal with a new lifestyle, new hockey in the NHL, it’s overwhelming for a young guy to

come and to do well.”

Larionov, who had been a teammate of Bure’s for one season on the Central Red Army team,

became the youngster’s mentor and hosted him in his North Vancouver home for the first few

weeks.

“I told Pavel, ‘Don’t worry, take your time,’ said Larionov. “It’s a game of patience. Just read

the play and the people around you.’ Not long after that, Pat (then GM/coach Quinn) put him

with myself and Greg Adams and we started to get the chemistry. From that point, the game was

so easy when you play it right.”

Bure actually scored three goals in those next two games, but — though he was a human

highlight reel — still had just seven goals in his first 30 games. But the Russian Rocket put it

into high gear following the NHL All-Star break in mid-January, scoring 27 goals in his final 35

games en route to overtaking favourite Tony Amonte for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top

rookie.

“After the All-Star game, I think the end of January, I said to him, ‘Pavel you’ve been around for

a couple of months, so now you have to calm down and listen,’” recalled Larionov. “I told him

it’s a game of skill, patience and commitment. Let me and Greg Adams do some stuff for you

that’s special. At that time he was chasing Tony Amonte, who he was behind by many, many

points. I said with the right approach to the game, you can catch him and be the top guy for the

season.”

Larionov left Vancouver the next season through a convoluted turn of events, and he went on to

a great NHL career that included three Stanley Cup rings with the Red Wings. But he admits he

wondered at the time how his chemistry with Bure would have turned out if the two had stayed

together.

“I knew the kid was getting very confident and he had a great future and I wanted to be part of

that,” said Larionov. “But circumstances took me in a different direction. I don’t regret it. I got

three Stanley Cups, but it would have been nice to have a couple more years playing alongside

and have the opportunity to lead this kid. But without me, he was gracious and a great hockey

player, a superstar.”

Larionov, who retired in 2004, said he has no doubt that Bure, 42 — who finally joined him into

the Hockey Hall of Fame last year — is right up there with the greatest players he’s seen in the

NHL.

“When you see a player in and out, in every city in the NHL and at his best,” he said. “All those

games at the Pacific Coliseum and then in others cities, in Florida and New York. You have a

chance to see the artist. You can see something special coming out every time. It’s a gift to be

able to understand the game right and to be in position to get the puck and score the goal. You

have to cherish that as a player, a teammate and a friend.

“As a fan, you spend all day long in your workplace and come to see the show, and it was

worthwhile because Pavel Bure was providing the entertainment.”

Larionov will be on hand for Saturday’s ceremony.

“He’s a good friend and my linemate,” he said. “So it’s going to be a special evening to be to

part of that kind of honour for Pavel and help him celebrate his accomplishment.”

Bowman, Quinn know Bure’s worth

Tony Gallagher – The Province

Pair instrumental in getting the Russian Rocket into Hall of Fame and having his jersey retired

There’s very little doubt the celebration of Pavel Bure’s jersey being retired Saturday night

would not be happening had he first not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And it’s extremely unlikely he’d be in the Hall today had it not been for Scotty Bowman and

selection committee chairman Pat Quinn, both of whom were instrumental in Bure getting at

least 14 of the 18 votes needed for induction.

Quinn is expected to accompany Bure to centre ice Saturday afternoon in what he says will be a

most happy duty, but Bowman, the man who originally nominated Bure long before he was ever

inducted, is visiting his daughter in Oakland this week and not expected to be here unless there

are some last-minute changes.

But the greatest coach in hockey history was happy to talk about the Russian Rocket while

expressing the opinion, which Quinn himself shares readily, that the hall of fame is supposed to

be for the whole world and other earlier Russian players, such as Anatoly Firsov and Boris

Mikhailev, should also be getting very serious consideration.

“He was a special player; those guys don’t come along too often,” Bowman said of Bure, having

coached against him when he was at his very best before he first injured his knee.

“In his prime he was the most prominent offensive player, for sure. He was pretty well

unstoppable. He knew when to leave (the defensive zone) and when to get the puck on the fly.

He was well named, the Russian Rocket.

“Those offensive players can smell out that opportunity, although you don’t score goals like that

without the extra ability that he had.

“I haven’t seen a lot of guys like him. Rocket Richard was a lot like that when I saw him when

he was in his prime, but it was a different game altogether, the guys then didn’t have the kind of

speed they do now.

“But he used to be able to get pucks on the fly and he had a good centreman. Pavel played with

Igor (Larionov) for a bit, didn’t he, but I don’t recall who played with him after that.”

Quite so. Nobody does. Even when he went to Florida he never really found a centre with whom

he had chemistry. Part of that was his style, which made him difficult to mesh with, but the

Canucks haven’t had much up the middle for decades. The present team is hardly an exception.

Imagine the numbers Bure might have put up had he been able to play more than one year with

Larionov, the two having such a great understanding on ice in their one year together.

Further, the Wayne Gretzky of Russian hockey would have been able to make life away from the

rink so much more comfortable for the young Bure, even though they embodied different views

of Russian society, Bure more the traditional Soviet, Larionov the more westernized version.

Quinn joked Thursday about having to fire Bowman if he had spoken about what goes on in the

Hall of Fame selection committee discussions, because that’s a no-no, but admitted he was glad

to see Bure get in and have his number raised Saturday.

“When you’ve got 18 people on a committee, quite frankly, you have 18 different opinions,” said

the man who probably should be in the Hall himself as a coach but can’t yet be a candidate

because he’s on the selection committee.

“There were a lot of things to consider with Pavel (his injury-shortened career foremost) but we

had precedent, first with maybe the best player of all time in Bobby Orr and then more recently

Cam Neely.”

Quinn lives in Vancouver and doesn’t miss much. He’s been hearing the various protests from

those who are not fans of Bure about having his number retired by the team, those arguments

essentially based on his desire to be traded.

And while using that as an illustration of how opinions differ on the committee as well, Quinn

showed he doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for that position.

“His departure from here, good or bad, should have no effect on the decision being made,” he

said.

“It may have affected individual people in some way, but players move for lots of reasons. I’m

not really sure what happened — I was gone by then — but it shouldn’t be part of the decision.”

Bowman was also keen to wonder out loud of how wonderfully effective Bure might have been

had he played when there was no red line.

“The Russian style has always been built around the forward, and their style was to have a guy

leave the zone early and he’d take a defenceman with him,” said Bowman. “I remember (former

Red Army coach) Anatoly Tarasov, talking with him one day after he’d watched a couple of our

practices in Montreal, asking me why we didn’t have (Guy) Lafleur leave early.

“The (NHL) teams are beginning to use the no-red line a little more now, but it surprises me how

little. Bure would have been something with Igor and no red line.”

It’s going to be even better to finally see Bure’s number join those of Markus Naslund, Trevor

Linden and Stan Smyl at Rogers Arena.

Russian Rocket remembered

Elliott Pap – The Vancouver Sun

Pavel Bure deserves to have number retired, ex- players say

Markus Naslund has an idea what Pavel Bure will experience on Saturday when the Russian

Rocket’s No. 10 will be raised to the rafters at Rogers Arena, never again to be worn by a

Vancouver Canuck player.

Naslund’s No. 19 was retired three years ago. His was the third number to be so honoured after

Stan Smyl’s No. 12 and Trevor Linden’s No. 16. Bure will be the fourth.

“It’s something you never expect when you’re in the middle of your active career and playing the

game,” said Naslund, who has flown in from Sweden to be part of the Bure festivities. “I think

it’s an outstanding honour for yourself and, if you do have a family, it means a lot to them, too.

It’s definitely a nice touch after you’ve finished your career.”

Naslund played two seasons with Bure from 1996- 98. Naslund was still an emerging star while

the Rocket was already a full- fledged force in the NHL, having twice scored 60 goals and won a

Calder Trophy. Bure’s electrifying career came as no surprise to Naslund.

“Pavel was definitely a unique player and I remember watching him even before he came over to

the NHL,” said Naslund. “I remember being in awe of the stuff he was doing, his ability to

combine his speed with his skill and the desire he had to score every time he got the puck.

“It was definitely something special — and it was great to have a chance to watch him closely

when I got traded to Vancouver.”

Smyl was honoured by the Canucks for his dogged determination and perseverance during 13

seasons in which the team never played above .500, although the Canucks did make one unlikely

trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1982. Smyl had some excellent offensive seasons, too, once

scoring 78 and 88 points in back- to- back years. But even he admits he never had the natural

talent of the Russian Rocket.

“I know a lot of players like myself dreamed of doing the sorts of things Pavel did,” said Smyl,

who was an assistant coach with the Canucks during Bure’s seven seasons on the team. “I think

that’s the biggest thing I can remember about him is how exciting he was and the way he could

bring the fans out of their seats with his pure speed and what he could do with the puck.

“We probably haven’t had the success that we’ve wanted as a team and as an organization over

the years, but there are some players who have made an impact in the game just by pure numbers

and Pavel was one of those guys.”

Defenceman Dave Babych and Bure arrived in Vancouver the same season — 199192 — and

played nearly seven years together. They combined on some big moments, too. It was Babych

who passed to Jeff Brown, who then relayed to Bure for the Game 7 doubleovertime winner

against the Calgary Flames in the opening playoff round in 1994. Then it was Bure to Babych for

the winner in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers, keeping the

Canucks alive in the series when they were down 3- 1.

“Absolutely Pavel does deserve to have his jersey retired,” Babych stated. “That should be a

given, no doubt, just like him being in the Hall of Fame. It’s ridiculous for anyone to think

different.”

Like most hockey people, Babych was awestruck by Bure’s debut game in a Canuck uniform on

Nov. 5, 1991, when he went end- to- end several times against the Winnipeg Jets. Although the

Rocket didn’t score in that game, the floodgates soon opened and Bure went on to net 34 goals in

65 games and become NHL rookie of the year.

“No one knew what to expect when we got Pavel,” Babych recalled. “There are a lot of guys

who come over who aren’t seen by us, and we don’t have any information on them, but when

Pavel came in and you saw him go, you just knew there was something there that was special.

“He still had to prove himself even after that first game,” added Babych. “Speed was one thing

and then we realized his hands were just as fast and he could shoot just as hard as anyone. When

you put all that together, that’s a Hall of Famer right there. With Pavel, all you had to do was

give him the puck and watch him go. It was fun. And you know what? He was a terrific

teammate. He was one of the best teammates I ever had.”

Cliff Ronning played five seasons with the Russian Rocket and considers No. 10’ s jersey

retirement a “fabulous” thing.

“Pavel Bure was a player who changed the game,” said Ronning. “He was the Canucks’ first

superstar. I was fortunate to be on the team when he broke in and there was so much hype around

him. When he showed up at Britannia Arena for his first practice, it was utterly like a rock star

coming to town. It was amazing. We knew from his first practice, this kid is something else. He

skated like no one we had ever seen and he had great hands.

“I’m very excited for him that he’s having his jersey retired. I think it’s exciting for all of British

Columbia.”

The jersey retirement ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p. m. Saturday. Fans are asked to be in

their seats by 3: 45 p. m. Puck drop between the Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs will follow at

4: 20 p. m.

Ex- shadow Sullivan found Bure a handful

Brad Ziemer – The Vancouver Sun

It wasn’t exactly Mission Impossible, but it was close.

Mike Sullivan’s job in that epic 1994 playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and

Calgary Flames — and unlike the TV show there was no option about choosing whether or not to

accept the assignment — was to shadow Pavel Bure.

“So I spent seven games chasing him around the rink trying to keep him off the scoreboard,

which was a big challenge,” Sullivan, the Canucks’ assistant coach, recalls with a smile nearly

20 years later.

Sullivan has a better appreciation than most of the pure offensive skill and dazzling speed of

Bure, whose No. 10 jersey will be raised to the rafters at Rogers Arena before Saturday

afternoon’s Canucks-Toronto Maple Leafs’ game.

Sullivan had been given his assignment by Flames head coach Dave King, who knew that if the

Flames could contain Bure — who had just completed his second straight 60- goal regular

season — they could beat the Canucks.

So he gave Sullivan his marching orders. He was to be Bure’s shadow. “That series, that was my

sole responsibility,” Sullivan says. “I spent the whole series trying to keep him off the board

five- on- five.”

That, of course, was easier said than done.

“Well, you know, he’s like a lot of players of his elite skill level in that they can lull you to sleep

and then they quick- strike you,” Sullivan says. “Mentally, you have to be in it all the time

because you think that the play might be 50, 60 feet away from him and you think he is going to

float here, he is not going to put on a burst of speed.

“But all he needs is half a step. He gets a half a step on you, he gets a half a step on anybody,

that’s all he needed. So I think that was the biggest challenge, trying to make sure you stayed

mentally sharp to try and deny him the puck before he got it. He was much more dangerous

when he had it. I found from that series that the best way to try and negate him was to deny him

the puck rather than trying to defend him when he had it. I tried to stay close.”

Sullivan, who played most of his 709 NHL games as a centre, was a left- winger in that series.

“The way it worked was whatever line was on and we saw Bure coming out, then the left wing

would change and I’d be the guy who’d jump on the ice,” Sullivan says.

Sullivan did quite a nice job of containing Bure early in the series. Through the first four games,

Bure had three assists, but no goals. More importantly, the Flames had a 3- 1 lead in the best- of-

seven series.

But Geoff Courtnall and Trevor Linden scored overtime winners in Games 5 and 6 to even the

series, setting the stage for Game 7 and Bure’s heroics. Most Canuck fans can tell you where

they were when Bure scored his doubleovertime winner in Game 7, a goal that is regarded by

many as perhaps the biggest in franchise history.

And Mike Sullivan can you where he was, too.

“I remember being on the bench, I couldn’t get on the ice,” says Sullivan, with still a tinge of

disappointment in his voice. “It was just one of those scenarios where we couldn’t get the change

and he ends up splitting our D and scores on a breakaway.”

Bure was fed a brilliant blueline to blue- line pass from defenceman Jeff Brown and beat Calgary

goalie Mike Vernon, who bit on his backhand deke.

“It was a terrific play and obviously it was very disheartening from our standpoint,” Sullivan

says. “We were up 3- 1 coming back to Calgary and for the most part I thought we did a pretty

good job of trying to limit his effectiveness. But he was that good of a player.”

Sullivan hopes he might have a chance to chat briefly with Bure, who finished that series with

three goals and eight points, before Saturday’s ceremony.

“I hope so,” he says. “I have never really exchanged words with him ever. I have just played

against him, obviously. I have a lot of admiration and respect for how good of a player he is.”

Luongo ‘shocked’ he wasn’t traded to the

Leafs

Mike Johnston – Sportsnet

Death, taxes and Roberto Luongo trade talk.

It’s widely known that the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as several other teams, attempted to

acquire Luongo from the Vancouver Canucks prior to the 2013 NHL Draft. However, a deal to

send Luongo out of town never came to fruition and the Canucks shipped their other netminder,

Cory Schneider, to the New Jersey Devils instead.

If you bought into the rumours and reports at the time, the Leafs were the frontrunners to land

Luongo. The 2010 Olympic gold medallist firmly believed he was on his way to the centre of the

hockey universe.

“I was pretty sure I was going to end up there. I was pretty shocked and surprised when I didn’t,”

Luongo told the Toronto Sun.

Before joining the Leafs organization as director of hockey operations in 2008, Dave Nonis – the

Leafs current general manager – was the Canucks GM and the man who brought Luongo to

Vancouver. In 2006, Nonis acquired Luongo from the Florida Panthers in what was considered a

one-sided trade. Nonis was unsuccessful in acquiring the Montreal native for a second time,

though.

“It’s flattering that somebody holds you in that high regard. It’s appreciated, of course,” Luongo

said. “I respect Dave a lot. It’s nice sometimes to hear things like that from around the league

about you, especially guys higher up top like general managers.”

In hindsight, the non-deal has worked out well for both teams. Luongo is 7-4-1 with a goals-

against average of 2.46 and save percentage of .906 so far this season. Meanwhile, the Leafs

ended up acquiring Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings to aid their goaltending

situation, and he’s started the season 6-4-1 with a 2.31 GAA and .933 save percentage.

“A lot has happened over the past year-and-a-half, two years,” Luongo added. “To be honest,

I’m just excited to be playing again and to play every night.”

The Canucks and Leafs meet for the first time this season on Saturday at Rogers Arena; they also

play each other at the Air Canada Centre on Feb. 8.

Canucks' Luongo was 'pretty sure' he'd be a Maple Leaf

Mike Zeisberger – QMI Agency (Canoe.ca)

VANCOUVER - As Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo makes his bid to once again don a red-

and-white maple leaf on his chest, there was a time not so long ago when he was relatively

certain he'd be wearing a blue and white one, as well. Luongo isn't too shy to admit it all these

months later -- he thought he was going to be a Toronto Maple Leaf.

"I was pretty sure I was going to end up there," the personable Luongo told the Toronto Sun in

an interview on Thursday. "I was pretty shocked and surprised when I didn't."

When approached by Canucks general manager Mike Gillis prior to the 2012 draft, Luongo has

said in the past that he asked that a deal be worked out with Tampa Bay or Florida, teams in the

state where he spends his off-seasons.

As time passed, however, there was more and more interest shown by the Leafs. So much so

that, 11 months ago, Luongo decided to have some fun with all the Toronto speculation, courtesy

of his alleged phantom Twitter account @strombone1.

Back on Dec. 3, a photo appeared on the account showing racks of Leafs jerseys including a blue

James van Riemsdyk model. Of interest here: Hanging right beside it was one with the name

'Luongo' stitched on the back along with his familiar No. 1. The stripes on the bottom were

altered, but the implication was there -- Luongo Leafs jersey.

Accompanying the picture were the words from @strombone1: "Wow this is so crazy....... You

could barely fit JVR's name on the back of that jersey........"

Leafs’ captain Phaneuf playing quieter brand

of hockey

Eric Duhatschek – The Globe and Mail

The evolution of Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf into a more complete player is a

fascinating case study for anyone who watched him in his younger days with the Calgary

Flames.

Once upon a time, Phaneuf was a rookie sensation for Flames, scoring 20 goals in his first NHL

season, and pulverizing opponents with punishing, Scott Stevens-like hits. He was the original

Pierre McGuire ‘monster’ – someone who played big minutes right from the get-go, an eye-

catching, high-risk high-reward brand of hockey.

Apart from McGuire, no one appreciated Phaneuf’s contributions more than Mike Keenan did in

the 2007-08 season, a year in which Phaneuf scored 60 points, piled up 182 penalty minutes and

was a massive presence on a Flames’ team that went out in seven hard games to the San Jose

Sharks in the opening playoff round. Phaneuf won them some games and lost them others and

eventually, after Keenan’s departure, he and his $6.5-million annual contract were deemed

expendable – controversially traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in one of the more one-sided

deals that general manager Brian Burke pulled off when he was running that organization.

Burke runs Calgary now, but he was nowhere in sight Wednesday night, when Toronto took on

the Flames. But Phaneuf was front and centre on another roller coaster night for a Leaf team that

is rarely predictable but always fun to watch.

Whatever their shortcomings may be, the Leafs are winning and putting on a show while they’re

doing it, which are the prime directives in the entertainment business. And Phaneuf is a big part

of what’s going right, by playing a far quieter brand of hockey than he once did. This, by the

way, is meant as a compliment. It sometimes takes years for players and especially for

defencemen to absorb the lesson – that less can sometimes be more.

When asked, Phaneuf will tell you, in his own mind, the biggest improvements in his game have

come in his own end.

“I’m a lot more responsible there,” he said, “and that’s a learning curve that a lot of young D-

men have when they come in. When you first start as a young age, you’re usually protected by

different match-ups. The coaching staff usually puts you out there against the guys that they want

to match you up against.

“As you get older and as you gain more experience, you’re playing against better players. I feel

as I’ve grown in my role and in the way I play the game defensively.”

As a rookie, Phaneuf played a lot with the veteran Roman Hamrlik and they were a good pair

together. Over time, the Flames invested a lot of dollars into their defence corps – signing

Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr and then adding Jay Bouwmeester as a free agent. Eventually

something had to give ... and all three have now moved on.

Soon, Phaneuf will be in the negotiating stages again – with an expiring contract, he will be an

unrestricted free agent once the season ends. It will likely cost the Leafs in the $7-million range

on a term of seven years to get him signed. Phaneuf earned top dollar from Calgary because he

scored 54 goals in his first three years in the league, but if he gets the sort of long-term extension

the Leafs almost certainly have to give him, it will because he’s become a more responsible

penalty killer, with better stick positioning, and a greater sense of how to front opposing

forwards in an era where the open-ice body check is on the endangered species list.

Most important, it looks as though Leafs coach Randy Carlyle trusts Phaneuf more. Phaneuf is

averaging about 24 minutes a night, a little less than usual, which seems to be a good number for

him.

“Different nights you’re going to play different amount of minutes,” Phaneuf said. “Whenever

you’re asked to go, you go and do your job. Some nights, it’s more. Some nights, it’s less. The

biggest thing is, as a group, we’ve done a good job of working together. It’s all about getting

wins – whether you’re playing 25 or 27.

“Everyone has their opinion and different take on every issue of the game – whether it’s the

offensive side of your game or the defensive side of your game. I feel good about where my

game is at personally and where our team game is at, more importantly.”

Phaneuf played for years in Calgary with Jarome Iginla, who was signed to five-year extensions

for $7-million a year because this is where he wanted to be. Phaneuf looks happy playing in

Toronto and being captain of the Leafs. For their part, the Leafs would be hard-pressed to replace

Phaneuf’s minutes if he were to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent, given how few high-

end defencemen ever get there.

He likes them and they need him and that’s usually a formula for a successful contract

conclusion. Maybe investing $15-million in two players – Phaneuf and the recently extended

Phil Kessel – doesn’t make sense when the NHL salary cap is at $64.5-million, but since most

GMs believe it will go north of $75-million within the next two to three years, the Leafs can

probably make the dollars work. In the meantime, it probably heartens general manager Dave

Nonis to know that Phaneuf likes his day job a lot.

“It’s a real fun team to be a part of,” he said. “It’s a young exciting team. We’ve played well here

early. We’ve done a lot of real good things here the last year and a half. Obviously, with the

additions we’ve made over the summer, the guys that have come in have really helped our team.

Depth is a big thing in the NHL. I think you see that year in and year out. The teams that have

success have depth.

“I feel our team is going in the right direction.”

Maple Leafs: Prospect Tyler Biggs third-liner

with Marlies

Kevin McGran – Toronto Star

If Biggs is playing on the third line in the AHL, Leafs are not counting on him to become a top-six forward in the NHL.

Tyler Biggs has gone from a first-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs to a third-line

winger with the Toronto Marlies.

And concerns are quietly emanating from Leafs camp about the upside of the 20-year-old.

If he’s playing on the third line in the AHL, they’re not counting on him to become a top-six

forward in the NHL, where he was projected when the Leafs traded up to take him 22nd overall

in 2011.

“That’s a fair statement,” said Marlies coach Steve Spott. “He’s going to have to come to grips

with that. Talking to our management staff, that’s where they see him, as a player that can create

offence, but ultimately, he’s got to be a third-line right winger in the National Hockey League.

“When you look at players like David Clarkson, or Chris Stewart, those players, he has to get

more of that in his game. More energy, more bump. He’s getting more comfortable with that.”

More Video

Leafs Beat for October 21st

LeafsBeat With Kevin McGran

Last year, Biggs has 26 goals and 27 assists in 60 games with the Oshawa Generals, his first and

only season in the OHL after jumping ship from the NCAA. He has one goal in eight games with

the Marlies

“This is my first year pro, so everything is a new experience right now,” said Biggs. “It’s coming

along good.”

Biggs was also a member of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the world junior hockey

championship in Russia. The Americans used Biggs on the third line.

“I don’t think anything is (forever),” said Biggs. “It’s a role that I’m trying to do right now, to be

a reliable guy in that role. That means playing defensively and be responsible there. I can chip in

offensively.

“I’m okay with any role they give me. I’m just trying to play the game.”

Spott, having been an assistant or head coach in the OHL since 1997 before signing up with the

Marlies this year, is intimate with Biggs’ progress from a teenager to the pro ranks. And he

understands it can take time to convert from being the top guy on the power play to the guy who

is supposed to shut down the other teams’ top guys.

“For him, it’s probably adapting to a different type of a role,” said Spott. “Watching him is a

minor midget, he was a pure goal-scorer, a player that used his shot as a weapon, was expected

to provide offence on a regular basis. In Oshawa, same thing.

“Here, he’s going to be more a third line, checking, energy-type player. Top-line penalty killer.

But still we don’t want to take away from his offence. If you’ve got a player like Tyler (Biggs)

on your third line, he should still be able to create offence.

“Understand, we expect him to be a complete 200-foot player and also a penalty killer.”

Drafting is never an exact science. Teams find it important to deal with the prospects they have

and not fret over what they might have had or what they thought a player might have been.

And it’s far too early to worry about whether Biggs is a bust as a first-rounder. In fact, only 16

players taken in the first round of 2011 draft have played in the NHL. And if he does make it as a

third liner, well, third liners play as much as second-liners.

Daniel Cleary, Frederik Sjostrom, David Steckel. Boyd Gordon, Brian Boyle, Steve Bernier are

all first-round picks who eked out decent NHL careers deep in the lineup.

In fact, Spott likens Biggs to Stewart, an 18th overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2006,

now a power forward with the St. Louis Blues.

“For me, he can be that type of player,” said Spott. “He can use his size, be a dominant physical

player. Be hard on the body. Be physical. At the same time we want him to find that checking,

physical aspect to his game without completely sacrificing offence.”

The Leafs as an organization are showing patience with their prospects and are beginning to have

success at the draft table.

Truth is, however, Biggs has been passed in the depth chart among Leafs prospects. Both Josh

Leivo, picked two rounds after Biggs in 2011, and David Broll, picked five rounds after him,

have gotten their first NHL games under their belt.

Leivo, with his quick release and hockey smarts, is projected as a top-six forward. Broll, with his

hard-nosed style, is more bottom-six.

Biggs, with speed, a good shot and hard body checking, is a bit of both. But he hasn’t been able

to put it together in the early going with the Marlies.

“I don’t think a lot of our young guys (have had offence) really,” said Biggs, adding he doesn’t

feel the pressure of being a first-round pick. “Not really. I have a good relationship with this

coaching staff. There’s no pressure coming from them. I don’t feel pressure from fans or media,

or anything like that. I’m just out here trying to play.”

Maple Leafs goalies are among the top five in

the NHL: Feschuk

Dave Feschuk – Toronto Star

VANCOUVER—With an impressive October schedule in their rear-view mirror, the East-

leading Leafs are enjoying an off day in the lead-up to Saturday’s game against the Canucks

Riding a three-game win streak, with 10 wins in their opening 14 contests, Thursday’s West

Coast chill-out has been well-earned by the entire roster. Still, if you’re handing out credit, you

can begin in the crease.

A month into the NHL season there are only seven goaltenders with five starts or more who

boast a save percentage of .930 or greater. The Leafs employ two of them. James Reimer, whose

most recent appearance saw him make 41 saves in a shutout victory over the Oilers on Tuesday,

is stopping pucks at a .949 rate. Among those who’ve started five or more games, only Josh

Harding of the Minnesota Wild has done better (.953). Meanwhile Reimer’s counterpart

Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 41 shots in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames,

currently sits at .933.

The other four goaltenders in the elite group include Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov and Dallas’s

Kari Lehtonen (both at .945), Boston’s Tuukka Rask (.943) and Montreal’s Carey Price (.939).

Toronto’s team save percentage of .937 ranks third in the league, which helps explain how they

sit atop the Eastern Conference standings despite being outshot in 12 of their 14 outings.

Toronto is currently getting outshot by an average of about 9.5 shots a night — up from 5.8 a

season ago. Only two teams in the league are registering fewer shots on goal per game than

Toronto’s 26.5, specifically Tampa and Buffalo. Only one team is averaging more shots against

than Toronto’s 36.1 — that’d be Ottawa.

The Maple Leafs, who are scheduled to return to the practice ice Friday before Saturday’s 7 p.m.

(ET) game at Rogers Arena, will be preparing to face one of the hottest teams in the West. Under

newly inserted coach John Tortorella the Canucks are 9-5-1 and sit fifth in the Western

standings.

Maple Leafs: Carter Ashton shrugs off

bloody nose in win over Flames: DiManno

Rosie DiManno – Toronto Star

Ashton’s mother was in the stands watching, but she’s used to this kind of thing given her boy’s rambunctious style of play, Rosie DiManno writes.

CALGARY—There was fresh blood all over the ice and, later, crusty blood all over the nostrils.

Somehow, though, Carter Ashton’s honker held together.

“It can take a punch again,” the, uh, hard-nosed Leaf winger observed following Toronto’s 4-2

squeaker — empty-net goal only a semi-clincher with nearly one-and-a-half-minutes left — over

the Flames.

Most unfortunate, further, that Ashton bled-out at the Saddledome right in front of his

undoubtedly aghast mother. However, as a hockey mom, 15 years schlepping her kid to the rink

along with Carter’s dad — also in the house Wednesday evening — bloody battery would not be

an uncommon sight, particularly given her boy’s rambunctious style of play.

“It’s too bad I was bleeding on the ice but that happens. She understands it’s part of the game.

She’s seen worse.”

Ashton’s proboscis took the full impact of a second-period fight with Shane O’Brien. The D-man

took exception to the walloping Ashton had just laid on teammate Derek Smith along the boards.

That was a dumb, reckless play that drew a boarding call and Leafs were lucky the avenging

O’Brien took an instigator penalty in the aftermath, along with off-setting fighting majors that, in

the upshot, left the teams at even strength.

Didn’t mean it, said Ashton afterwards of the bone-jarring splat on Smith.

“Finishing checks is part of the game, taking the body,” he reminded, defensively.

He’d gained speed charging up the ice to the neutral zone in pursuit of the puck when —

inadvertently, says Ashton — that sequence transected with Smith.

“I was following the puck. It happened to come to him at the same time I was coming up fast.”

Ashton hadn’t yet seen a replay of the episode so reserved further comment.

He did talk about his shnozz, though — apparently fused together even better since it was broken

during a fight with Montreal’s Jarred Jonordi in Toronto’s season opener. Ashton variously wore

a cage and full face shield but has since discarded both — exposing his sweet baby-face to all

potential blows.

“I didn’t know if I’d broken it again or not. But it’s fine. Just a little bloody. It held up after.”

Randy Carlyle was more concerned about the scratch to Frazer McLaren’s eye, suffered in a first

period punch-off with Calgary enforcer Brian McGrattan. The seriousness of the eye ailment is

— like McLaren’s vision — not yet clear. There was no residual animosity towards McGrattan

over the event.

“I don’t think he was trying to scratch Frazer’s eye.”

As for Ashton’s beak: “Ah, he’s got a bloody nose. It wasn’t his first.”

Maple Leafs penthouse-doghouse: Bernier,

Ranger superb in win over Calgary

Mark Zwolinksi – Toronto Star

Bernier stops 40 shots, Ranger scores first goal; Leafs top line in doghouse.

Toronto dumped the Flames 4-2 Wednesday night in Calgary to hand the home side its first

regulation home-ice loss of the season. The Maple Leafs won their 10th game on the strength of

a 40-save effort from Jonathan Bernier, and a pair of short-handed goals. Penthouse dwellers?

There were a few for sure. The Doghouse had some occupants too — here’s a look at both:

Penthouse

We gotta go with Bernier and that 40-save game. We have to give the nod, too, to Paul Ranger,

who scored one of the short-handed goals.

For Ranger, it was his first NHL goal since 2009, and it must have felt extremely good for the

comeback player (who was out of the NHL for three seasons). Ranger’s goal was an empty-

netter and also gave the Leafs a 4-2 edge. Calgary was pushing hard for the equalizer at the time

and had a power play at the tail end of the third period and down only one goal.

Bernier was simply superb, following up James Reimer’s 43-save game Tuesday night with an

especially timely effort, given the fact the Leafs were loose and very shaky in their own zone for

two periods.

It was almost difficult to keep up with the number of tough saves Bernier turned in while his club

built a 2-0 lead in the first. Toronto was also outshot 20-8 in the second, and gave up only one

goal, thanks to their tack-sharp goalie.

Toronto is now 10-4 — the club’s best start to the season since it opened 1999-2000 at 10-3-1.

Doghouse

The top line — Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk — was shaky defensively

through two periods.

On one play, when the Flames scored their second goal, the entire line was floating around,

making the Flames look like geniuses.

Kadri lost the faceoff to Curtis Glencross and then failed to hold up Glencross, who fed into the

slot for a wrister by ex-Leaf Matt Stajan.

The D was also suspect there; Dion Phaneuf, who has been strong all around, might have gone

down to block Stajan’s shot attempt. The Leafs, in fact, have been poor in blocking shots and

clogging shooting lanes. But it hasn’t cost them yet.

The club is also the NHL’s worst team in shot differential at minus-8. But 10 wins drowns out

any complaints about shots and puck possession.

And when all else fails, the Leafs have Bernier and Reimer — the goalies are THE reason the

team is where it is now.

Maple Leafs forward David Bolland not a fan

favourite in Vancouver

Mike Zeisberger – Toronto Sun

Given their mischievous ways, Vancouver’s famed spandex-clad Green Men could be poised to

smear some rubber rats against the glass at Dave Bolland should Public Enemy No. 1 find his

way into the visitors penalty box on Saturday night.

The locals here say the Green Men have been scarce at Canucks games thus far this season. But

if anything can draw them into the arena, it would be the prospect of mocking Bolland — or,

“The Rat,” as some call him here.

Sure, Mimico’s Bolland may have exchanged his Blackhawks jersey for Maple Leafs blue and

white during the off-season. But that doesn’t change the fact that the local citizenry here on the

picturesque left coast still can’t stand him.

It has been almost two years since Bolland, speaking on Chicago radio station WGN, referred to

the Sedin twins as “sisters” and implied they sleep in “bunk beds.” He has since apologized for

his comments. But here in hockey-crazed Vancouver, they have not forgotten. Nor forgiven.

“It was the one mistake I’ve made in my life,” Bolland said in an interview this week. “Everyone

makes them. Things like that happen. It’ll be something I put behind me.”

At the time of Bolland’s controversial remarks in December of 2011, then-Canucks coach Alain

Vigneault lashed back with some biting barbs of his own.

“When you have comments like Bolland’s, he’s obviously an individual whose IQ is probably

the size of a birdseed,” Vigeanult said. “And he has a face that only a mother could look at.”

Ouch!

“It wasn’t a smart thing that I did,” Bolland says now, looking back. “It was a pretty dumb move.

“But it’s over with now and it’s behind me. It’s a new chapter with the Leafs.”

Indeed. Bolland is now with Toronto, Vigneault has moved on to coach the Rangers and, as a

result, time should heal all wounds, right.

Not quite.

Last Saturday, for example, yours truly penned a column on Bolland’s outstanding performance

in a 4-1 win over the Penguins, a game in which he helped keep Sidney Crosby off the

scoresheet for only the second time this season while scoring a shorthanded goal himself. The

accompanying headline above the yarn blared: “Maple Leafs’ Bolland a beast against Pens.”

Within hours of the piece appearing, an e-mail came in from a female Canucks fan from Surrey,

B.C., suggesting Bolland was something other than a “beast.”

“He is a goon, especially when he played with the Chic-town boys (Hawks),” she wrote.

Truth be told, Bolland has been everything but a goon in his time in Toronto. He has scored huge

goals, been outstanding on the penalty-kill and likely will be given the task of trying to shut

down the Sedins on Saturday in much the same way he smothered Crosby one week earlier,

although Canucks coach John Tortorella has the advantage of the final line change.

“The Sedins are great players,” Bolland said. “I played so many games against them in the past.

If you let them go for a second or two, they’ll be putting the puck through your legs and in the

back of your net. So when we do go in there, we’ve got to be ready for them.

“When you get under guys’ skins, you get them off their games. It’s huge for your team and it’s

huge for confidence when you get them off their games.”

As for the frosty reception from the capacity throng that awaits him, well, he’s already prepared.

“You feed of it when you go into a rink and the fans don’t like you and all that,” Bolland said.

“But for me, whenever you are going into a rink for a big game to face a great team, you always

get a rush.

“When you see the signs that people make about you, you laugh and have some fun with it. It’s

fun when you get a reaction. You want to go into a building and you want to play hard so that the

fans remember who you are when you come back all the time.

“I think Vancouver was that one place that, when we went back, the team and myself always got

up for.”

And come Saturday, count on Canucks supporters to be “down” on David Bolland. As usual.

ENEMIES NOW BUDS

On the same ice surface where they experienced so many grudge matches against each other over

the years, bitter foes Mason Raymond and David Bolland have now become friends with a

common goal: Help the Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks Saturday at Rogers Arena.

Not so long ago, Chicago’s Bolland was trying to defeat Raymond’s Canucks. Now they are

linemates with the Leafs along with David Clarkson.

We’ve had some huge battles,” Bolland said, “although I’m probably the one who’s disliked in

Vancouver over the past years.

“Hockey is different in that way. One day you’re against each other and the next thing you know

you’re sitting beside him in the room, you’re buddies, and you’re on the same line.”

Former Leafs GM Brian Burke fights for

fights

VANCOUVER - When it comes to commenting about his new team, former Maple Leafs

general manager Brian Burke, now the director of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames, is

pretty tight-lipped.

When it comes to speaking about fisticuffs on the ice, well, that's a different story.

In Thursday's edition of USA Today, Burke penned a column supporting fighting in the sport.

Leave it to Burke to always take the controversial side of a story.

"Reduced to its simplest truth, fighting is one of the mechanisms that regulates the level of

violence in our game," Burke wrote. "Players who break the rules are held accountable by other

players. The instigator rule has reduced accountability. Eliminating fighting would render it

extinct.

"Hockey is a game played on the edge. Large men with tempers explode around an enclosed

surface carrying carbon-fiber instruments. They are legally permitted -- in fact, encouraged -- to

collide with each other at high speeds. We all want this physicality, adrenaline and contact. We

all treasure it."

Burke added that he is sensitive to the medical consequences and that safety should come first.

At the same time, he once again reiterated his long-time stance that fighting is a way to control

the "rats" in the sport.

"Ninety-eight percent of NHL players voted to keep fighting in the game, yet somehow members

of the news media take it upon themselves to try to convince the players that the scribes know

what is best for them," Burke continued.

"They don't write about the times a heavyweight skates by his opponent's bench to say, "Settle

down, or I'll settle you down," and it works. They don't notice a tough guy warning an opponent

at a faceoff. They've never heard a star player march into their office, slam the door and demand

the team get tougher because he's getting killed out there by opponents playing without fear.

They've never seen a chippy game on the edge settle down after a good fight.

"It's not a perfect system. Not every fight is a good fight. Not every fighter is a perfect

policeman. There are a small number of rats in the game who live outside the code. But our game

is improved tremendously by players' ability to police the game. It makes it more exciting and

honorable. It allows skill players to focus on the skilled aspects of the game because someone

else can watch their back. And it fundamentally makes our game safer."

There you have it.

Feel free to discuss.

KUDOS FOR KADRI

Leafs centre Nazem Kadri certainly has left an impression on young Flames forward Sven

Baertschi.

"I read about Nazem when he got called up and sent back down, and he was doing so well, and I

think the main thing is he never forgot who he was," Baertschi told the Calgary Sun. "He always

kept going, and that's the main thing for me, too.

"I mean ... look at him now. Holy! He's just unbelievable. Even when I played him last year in

the AHL, he just stood out. He was just so much better than everybody else."

Maple Leafs' Mason Raymond returns to old

stomping ground

Mike Zesiberger – Toronto Sun

VANCOUVER - There admittedly will be a tinge of revenge on Mason Raymond’s mind when

he steps on to the ice Saturday at Rogers Arena, a place he fought so many battles in while

wearing a Vancouver jersey over the years.

Will he be out to prove that the Canucks erred by letting him leave as a free agent?

“Yeah, of course,” Raymond said. “It’s going to be a little different. But it’s part of hockey and

it’s something that you are going to go through.

“Right now, the entire situation hasn’t really set in yet so I don’t know what I’ll feel. I started my

career in Vancouver. I started my family there. I still have a lot of good friends there.

“So, maybe it’s a fun experience, but it will be different for sure.”

From 2007-13 Raymond played 374 games as a Canuck, compiling 80 goals and 98 assists for

178 points. But since that gut-gnawing defeat to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup final,

he slowly seemed to fall out of favour here.

Critics point to the three goals in his past 37 post-season games as one of the reasons that ties

were cut. Moreover, the Canucks looked to get beefier up front since going down to the ornery

Bruins and the lanky Raymond really didn’t fit that mould.

As Mason scoured for a job during the offseason, Dave Nonis, his former GM in Vancouver,

brought him to the Leafs’ camp on a tryout contract. He went on to impress the brass enough to

land a one-year, $1-million deal in Toronto

Through the first month of the season, Raymond has proven to be one of the NHL’s best

bargains. In 14 game,s he has chalked up 11 points including two game-winning goals.

Now he goes up against the Canucks in what stands to be a very emotional contest.

Win takes toll on Leafs

Mike Zeisberger – Toronto Sun

CALGARY - Frazer McLaren had a scratched eye ball, while Carter Ashton had a suspected

busted nose.

Joffrey Lupul had a slight limp, but probably wasn't feeling too bad after his first-period goal.

The Leafs' 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday certainly took its toll on the winners.

Coach Randy Carlyle hopes to get reinforcements on Saturday in Vancouver. Nikolai Kulemin

and his healing foot is probably a better bet to return than defenceman Mark Fraser, who

admitted his knee has not been tested in a full contact practice as of yet.

Meanwhile it will be interesting to see if Ashton gets a call from league disciplinarian Brendan

Shanahan after he shoved Derek Smith into the boards from behind in the second period.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly one of

many young defenceman leaving a good

impression early on

Stephen Whyno – Canadian Press

Defencemen take longer to develop than forwards, or so the theory goes.

“We joke, defencemen joke, that you can turn your brain off and go play forward,” Pittsburgh

Penguins coach and former NHL defenceman Dan Bylsma said.

Playing on the blue-line in the NHL is challenging at times even for established veterans. But

this season a handful of defencemen who haven’t even turned 20 have made their debuts and are

sticking around for the long term.

In some cases, like fourth-overall pick Seth Jones of the Nashville Predators, it was expected.

But many others, like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly, the Penguins’ Olli Maatta and

Anaheim Ducks’ Hampus Lindholm, have done enough to show that they belong in the pros.

“There’s quite a good group of us,” Rielly said. “It’s tough to make that jump, but we’ve all been

able to do it. That’s pretty cool.”

Cool, and not a coincidence. Counting the Minnesota Wild’s Mathew Dumba, the Winnipeg Jets’

Jacob Trouba and the Buffalo Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov, six teenage

defencemen have played in at least five games.

Predators coach Barry Trotz has a theory on the influx of youth on blue-lines around the league.

“There’s a number of young defencemen in the league because they can skate. That’s No. 1,”

Trotz said in a phone interview. “And the good ones have really good instincts, they have good

hockey IQ. That’s what’s needed. There’s a lot of kids that skate, but they don’t have the hockey

IQ to go along with all the physical attributes.”

Perhaps it’s that hockey IQ that made a lot of decisions tough for these teams. Jones was

considered NHL-ready coming out of June’s draft, and Trouba (who’s now injured) figured into

the Jets’ plans out of training camp.

There’s going to be ups and downs for young players and we’re not going to overreact when he

plays really well and we’re not going to overreact if he has a shift or two where things aren’t

great, too

But Rielly and Maatta have already earned a spot beyond the magic nine-game mark at which

teams burn the first year of a player’s entry-level contract. Penguins general manager Ray Shero

said the organization believes Maatta’s development is best served continuing to play there

rather than returning to the London Knights of the OHL.

“He’s given us the best chance to win hockey games,” Bylsma said.

Same goes for Rielly, who had a good enough camp to make the Leafs and took advantage of a

knee injury to Mark Fraser to stick in the lineup ever since. Goaltender James Reimer saw the

19-year-old’s potential early in training camp and, after playing behind him, described his game

as “mature.”

“He doesn’t really look like a rookie to me,” Reimer said. “He makes mistakes, obviously, but it

feels like he never gets panicky or really unsure of himself. I think there’s times where he does a

little bit, but just as much as anybody else would.

Mark Humphrey/The Associated PressNashville Predators defenseman Seth Jones is averaging

24 minutes and 42 seconds of ice time at just 19 years old.

“To me, he just thinks the game well. It looks like he’s been there. He’s not overconfident, he’s

not cocky. He’s not anything like that. But when he’s on the ice he’s confident in his own ability

and he just makes smart plays.”

At the core, that’s what it takes for young defencemen to succeed at such a high level. It’s no

surprise that Trotz cited Jones’ personal and professional maturity, as well.

But it’s still uncommon to see so many of these players eating up minutes at this age. Trotz sees

the trend continuing because of the head-start they get before getting to the minors or the NHL.

“I just think it’s the evolution of the young player. They have more access to what the pros do,”

he said. “I think they’re more advanced in a lot of areas in terms of training. It’s evolution:

You’ve got better athletes playing the game than ever before because you have more. You have

more American players, you have more Canadians, you have more Europeans playing the game.

The game continues to grow.”

Not everyone is an immediate success story. The New York Islanders figured Griffin Reinhart

needed another year of seasoning, and the Washington Capitals sent Connor Carrick to the AHL

after a brief cameo at the start of the season.

The Wild still have yet to decide whether to keep Dumba around or send him back to Red Deer

of the WHL. With nine games down, decision time is approaching, but coach Mike Yeo has

wanted to be patient with Dumba.

“Every game you’re under the spotlight,” Yeo said. “There’s going to be ups and downs for

young players and we’re not going to overreact when he plays really well and we’re not going to

overreact if he has a shift or two where things aren’t great, too.”

Those are the same kind of “youthful mistakes” that Columbus Blue Jackets coach Todd

Richards sees in 2012 No. 2 pick Ryan Murray, who turned 20 last month and is playing his first

NHL season.

“There’s lots of things I like about Ryan Murray and his adjustment in the NHL. It’s been really

smooth,” Richards said. “I think when you come from really dominating the league that he

played in, having lots of success in a league that you play in, you come in and some of those

[things] are habit and you just do that.”

Ryan Murphy of the Carolina Hurricanes isn’t a teenager anymore, either, and like Murray and

some of these slightly younger defencemen he’s “progressing every shift,” according to coach

Kirk Muller.

“It’s a big step,” Muller said. “We’ve put him in there to run the power play back there, a

quarterback at a young age. And he’s got great skill, he sees the game well. It’s growing pains.

You’re learning every game you play in.”