Illegal Curve Hockey Show – March 10, 2012 – Part 2

0:00 – Predicting Canada’s 2014 men’s Olympic team

10:59 – More discussion on Canada’s 2013 men’s Olympic roster

21:48 – Rule changes

34:36 – Six things we learned this week

45:38 – Brian Burke discussion

58:17 – Interview with Jim Fox, color commentator for the Los Angeles Kings (Fox Sports West)

The Illegal Curve Hockey Show airs Saturday’s from 12pm-3pm on TSN Radio 1290

So early that it won’t yet be bright, The Illegal Curve Hockey Show will take to the airwaves of TSN 1290 Saturday morning, beginning at 7:00 AM.

Right off the top of the show, we will have the thrilling conclusion to “The Illegal Curve Will Ezzy Wake up Early Charity Challenge.” If you have not yet chosen sides, click that link, and get your wagers, pledges and predictions on the record and in perpetuity.

Our first guest, at 8:00 AM, is Robin Short, sports editor of the St. John’s Telegram. Robin covers the St. John’s IceCaps, AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets and with the AHL season entering the stretch drive along with the NHL season, what better time to get an update on the Eastern Conference leading IceCaps?

At 8:30 AM, we will be joined by our good friend Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Most pundits would declare the Blue Jackets as the team to watch as we approach Monday’s NHL trade deadline.  Last night the Jackets traded Jeff Carter to the Los Angeles Kings and now the focus of the hockey world turns to Rick Nash and where he could end up.

At 9:00 AM, we will be joined by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. With the Jets and Blues taking to the MTS Centre ice later on Saturday afternoon, Jeremy will join us to discuss the contest between the two teams and provide some analysis on what has been a tremendous year so far for the team from the “Show Me State”.

Additional guests may be added, so stay tuned to this post and our Twitter page for news on that front.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe, but not likely) phone calls (204-780-1290). Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 7 AM – 1000 AM on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

So early that it won’t yet be bright, The Illegal Curve Hockey Show will take to the airwaves of TSN 1290 Saturday morning, beginning at 7:00 AM.

Our first guest, at 8:30 AM, is Mike Colligan of Forbes.com and Hockeywriters.com. Mike is based in Pittsburgh, covers the Penguins, and with the Jets playing the Penguins Saturday afternoon, Mike will provide us with insight into one of the best squads, when healthy, in the NHL.

At 9:00 AM, we will be joined by Arthur Staple of Newsday. Arthur is the beat writer for the  New York Islanders, a team that is bound to be very interesting to watch around the trade deadline, given the number of soon to be unrestricted free agents that populate the roster. We will also ask Arthur about the Islanders resigning of Frans Nielsen, a move that has proven to be very well thought of by hockey pundits.

At 9:30 AM, we will be joined by former NHL General Manager Craig Button of TSN and the NHL Network. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching (Monday, February 27) we will talk with Craig about the discussions and decisions being made by General Managers around the league. Furthermore we will discuss the current landscape surrounding the best prospects for the upcoming 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Additional guests may be added, so stay tuned to this post and our @illegalcurve page for news on that front.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe, but not likely) phone calls (204-780-1290). Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 7 AM – 1200 Noon on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

The NHL is back and running after the all star break, and The Illegal Curve Hockey Show will attempt to match the pace of the league, Saturday, beginning at 12 Noon on TSN 1290.

With the Jets playing the second half of back to back games Friday night versus the Panthers, IC will start the show by breaking down the aftermath of tonight’s contest, and analyze the impact on the standings, to see if the Jets move to within a point of the Southeast Division lead.

Our first guest, at 12:30 PM, is Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post & ESPN. Neil covers the Washington Capitals, one of the squads the Jets are in a dog fight with to capture first overall in the Southeast. Furthermore, the Jets play the Capitals next Thursday, so what better of a time to catch up on the goings on in the U.S. nation’s capital.

At 1:00 PM, we will be joined by Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. The Jets play in Montreal on Sunday, as the opponents for the Habs during the traditional pre-Super Bowl matinee. With the Habs continuing to struggle, and the expectation that significant changes are to come at season’s end, we catch up with Pat about the roller coaster of a year it has been in La Belle Province.

Additionally, everyone’s favourite Illegal Curve cast member, Ezra Ginsburg, is in Montreal for the Jets-Habs game, so he will, sobriety providing, be joining us for the last segment of the program.

Ezra is ready and excited for Saturday's Illegal Curve Hockey Show.

Additional guests may be added, so stay tuned to this post and our Twitter page for news on that front.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe, but not likely) phone calls (204-780-1290). Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 12 Noon – 300 PM on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

It is the All-Star break for most NHL players, but your Illegal Curve All-Stars will be live on TSN 1290 for three hours of The Illegal Curve Hockey Show, Saturday, beginning at 12 Noon.

Throughout the show on Saturday, we will be spending a significant chunk of the broadcast analyzing what the Jets should do at the rapidly approaching trade deadline (February 27, 2012) and we will spend additional time trying to answer the question, “what is Evander Kane worth as an upcoming RFA?”

Our first guest, joining us at 12:30 PM, will be James Gordon of the Ottawa Citizen. With the All Star Game taking place in Canada’s capital, James will have all the latest news and happenings from what is undoubtedly a busy weekend along the banks of the Rideau Canal (or, more accurately, given the locale of Scotia Bank Place, a local farmer’s field.)

At 1:00 PM, we will be joined by St. Louis Blues forward and Winnipegger, Alex Steen. As has been well documented, the Blues are one of the league’s best surprises, entering the All Star break among the league leaders in points. Alex is back in Winnipeg for the mid season break, and we will ask him about the Blues surprising season. Alex will be joining us in support of the Amadeus Steen Foundation.

At 2:15 PM, we are excited to welcome longtime NHL player, and two time Stanley Cup winner, Bobby Holik (Twitter: @holikonhockey) to the show. Undoubtedly, you are familiar with Holik, thanks to his lengthy NHL career (1300+ games, 747 career points), but you may be less familiar with his new hockey website, www.holikonhockey.com, where he gives his insight and opinion into the game he knows so very well.

Additional guests may be added, so stay tuned to this post and our Twitter page for news on that front.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe, but not likely) phone calls (204-780-1290).  Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 12 Noon – 300 PM on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

We are going back to our early morning roots with tomorrow’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show. Due to the Jets-Devils afternoon start time, the IC hockey show takes to the TSN 1290 airwaves at a special start time of 8:00 AM, for the typical three hour broadcast.

Our first guest joins us at 8:30 AM, and we are excited to welcome Jason Farris, author of a book called “Behind the Moves: NHL General Managers Tell How Winners are Built.”   Jason spent eighteen months, and travelled 60,000 plus Kilometers, engaging NHL General Managers about their jobs. The results, filling over 120 hours of tape, is this fascinating insight into the life of a General Manager.

At 9:00 AM, with the Winnipeg Jets looking to get back on a winning track later Saturday afternoon versus New Jersey, we welcome to the show, Matt Loughlin, the radio play by play man of the Devils, giving us insight into the Devils of New Jersey.

At 9:45 AM, we will be joined by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch to discuss the surprising play of the St. Louis Blues and the impact that new head coach Ken Hitchcock has had on the franchise (hint: it is significant.)

At 10:00 AM, George Johnson of the Calgary Herald will be with us to discuss the Flames re-acquisition of Mike Cammalleri, and, yet again, try and answer the question of what is the long term plan the Calgary Flames are embarking on.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe) phone calls (204-780-1290). Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 800 AM – 1100 AM on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

Update:  The first Illegal Curve Hockey Show of 2012 takes to the TSN 1290 airwaves Saturday, beginning at 12 Noon 10:15 am.  The news that realignment is off for next season means we will be on air for an additional 1 hour and 45 minutes today, including carrying the Mark Chipman press conference live art 10:30 am.

With the Winnipeg Jets looking to end their two game losing skid later Saturday evening in Buffalo, we welcome Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (@BNHarrington on Twitter) to the show, giving us insight into the disappointing-to-this-point, Buffalo Sabres.

With the San Jose Sharks set to make an appearance at the MTS Centre on Thursday of next week, we will be chatting with Sharks play by play man Randy Hahn (@SharkVoice on Twitter) about the perennial Western Conference contenders.

All that, plus your tweets, emails and (maybe) phone calls (204-780-1290). Best tweets and emails will receive exciting Illegal Curve merchandise!

Join us Saturday from 12 Noon – 300 PM on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and online at tsn.ca/Winnipeg

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – December 10, 2011

Guests: Gabe Desjardins (Behind The Net), Bob Duff (Windsor Star), Mike Greenlay (Fox Sports North)

Saturday, from 12 Noon – 3 PM CST, Winnipeg Jets game-day coverage commences with The Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN 1290.

The Illegal Curve Hockey Show – December 3, 2011 – Part 1

0:00 – Intro, Friday night recap, Saturday preview, NHL week in review

15:54 – Winnipeg Jets vs. New Jersey Devils preview

26:39 – Jets vs. Devils preview, Jets week in review (vs. Coyotes, vs. Senators)

39:59 – Winnipeg Jets week in review

52:21 – Examining Evander Kane’s ice-time per game this season (or lack thereof)

1:04:43 – Athletes and social media

The Illegal Curve Hockey Show airs Saturday’s on TSN 1290 from 12pm-3pm. Subscribe to the show on iTunes to download the show each and every week. New to Illegal Curve we will have podcasts available following all Winnipeg Jets games.

When you’re visiting the MTS Centre this season for an NHL game (and arenas around the world) you aren’t just going to a game, you’re going to a hockey experience.  Not only are the players working to put out a carefully planned game, about forty employees at the MTS Centre are in charge of putting together the best possible hockey experience.

The man in charge of that is Kyle Balharry, Director of Event Production for True North.  Kyle has been working with True North since 2000, and doing event production at the Winnipeg Arena/MTS Centre since 2002.

Event production involves creating and following a script.  Everything that you see at the arena, videos on the jumbotron, the arena ring, PA announcements, off play promotions and music have all been well thought out and predetermined.

Kyle is responsible for ensuring that fans have a positive experience.  At the same time he needs to ensure that the sponsors are able to get their name out there.  He does this by finding a balance between the two.

The main goal for the production crew, is to maintain the integrity of the game, and create an awesome hockey environment.  While Kyle feels that the game itself and the crowd, are the best devices to create that hockey environment, the music and production elements play an important role as well.

I spoke with Kyle on a number of topics, but the one topic that everyone has an opinion about is the music.

Kyle on picking songs for the arena:

“It’s not about what song it is, it’s about the sound and the feeling that it gives the crowd. When it’s a powerplay, you want a song like “Welcome to the Jungle” that makes people feel like they want to go crazy.”

“When it’s a penalty kill, it will be stuff that makes you feel nervous. When the team hits the ice, it has to be something that sounds big and sounds incredible. (For the) Moose we used, (“Running Wild” by) Airbourne, and it was our signature song, it was great. Lots of that “hey hey” stuff is great for live sports.“

As for the current Winnipeg Jets intro song:

“Right now we’re using “No Money” by Kings of Leon, for the team on the ice. You can’t even hear it. That’s the interesting part (in choosing the song), we’re like ok, there’s a bunch of great songs out there, ultimately because the crowd is so loud, all we need is something that is atmosphere in the background.”

“To have a song that has a bunch of lyrics in it, nobody is going to hear it. That song is a big epic sounding song, and gives that surreal feeling. The Canucks use, “Where the Streets Have No Name” (U2), Montreal uses Coldplay’s “Fix You”. It’s all kind of just, epic, surreal sounding stuff.”

“Other teams use rock songs, or heavy metal songs. In the preseason we used Rob Zombie “Demon Speeding”, which was good too. It’s more of a “we’re going to kick your ass kind of song”. But we really liked the whole kind of “Fix You” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” just an epic, surreal feeling. You’ve got the lights moving around, the team skating around, you can barely hear it, because everyone is so loud.”

On how they selected the goal song “Hell Yeah” by Rev Theory

“The way I found it was I got a disc sent to me, from a music producer, saying “new band, new, song, have a listen, this isn’t on the charts yet, this isn’t out.” I thought, awesome song, we’ve got to use that, nobody knows who this band is but who cares, it’s about the sound of the song, not necessarily who the band is.”

“We ran with it, it worked really well, the problem was we only played two home games that playoff season, we realistically only used it for two games. We said hey, you know what, we don’t like to recycle things, but we only used it for two games. It’s tough (to hear), after goals its super loud too, so you don’t even hear it.”

On the Goal horn – the old one from the Winnipeg Arena

“That one’s now been in use for, 30 years probably. What it is; is a train horn from the old CP or CN yard. We actually increased the volume a little bit this year, we added another set of horns, but it still gets drowned out a little bit. It’s a legacy thing, it was the Moose thing, and was the Jets thing. It’s Winnipeg’s hockey staple. It’s a flashlight case, that has a button on it. I’ve blown the goal horn for every Moose goal since 2002”.

Deriving from the Jets theme that True North has emphasized this season in their marketing and branding , the song played after a Jets win is “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters.  A person in the sales department suggested it to Kyle and he liked it immediately.

“There are times; powerplay, penalty kill, end of game, where you want a signature song. Learn to Fly is great, its Foo Fighters, it’s a rock song, it works. There are a lot of other songs about airplanes, or flying, that would have sounded terrible. Learn to Fly, it makes you feel good, it’s awesome.”

While Kyle is proud of his song selection, he understands that when it comes to music, you can’t please everyone. It’s important for his team to realize that everyone has different musical tastes, and continue to try to put out the best hockey experience for Winnipeg fans.

Other music selections  for the MTS Centre:

Before the videos are played:
Young the Giant – My Body

Warm up song (selected by the players):
Eminem (not sure the song name, asking for help from readers) Til When I Collapse (thanks to those who posted in the comments)

Snoop Dogg – Sweat (feat David Guetta)

Video songs:
Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight Tonight
Foo Fighters – Times Like These
(please note that the “history of the Jets” video will no longer be played before games as we are changing our focus to the 2011-2012 season rather than remembering the past and how we got here.)

Song played immediately after the anthem before puck drop:
Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song

There you have it.  The man behind the music and how the songs were selected.  What do you think of the music choices?  What would you do differently?  Let us know your ideas/thoughts in the comments section.

Here are some closeups of his mask and Peter’s reasons for putting the images on the masks that he did:

Front of mask:  “I really like a white background, I think it kind of pops the paint job.”

Right side: ”I put the new Jets logo on the side as it is pretty sweet so I wanted to get that going so the fans could enjoy that!”

Left side:  “There is a little guy that I incorporate on all my helmets.  Its an old logo from back in school and I always incorporate him on something new.  So this year he’s in a bomber jet with an old leather helmet on”.

Back of helmet:  “Importantly, on the back I’ve got a lot of symbolic stuff.  My family went through a lot of tough stuff this summer, a couple of cousins battling diseases, its a reminder of who you play for and your thankful every day”.

Mannino talks more in-depth about his helmet, the transition to Canada and playing and winning the 2005 NCAA Championship.

Listen to all the audio of our interview with Jets goalie Peter Mannino:

But is Ondrej Pavelec really that good?

Before I attempt to answer that question, I must say that I am not backing down from anything I’ve already written on the website or said on The Illegal Curve Hockey Show. I strongly believe that the Jets can earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and I believe that Ondrej Pavelec has the ability to be one of the best goaltenders in the National Hockey League.

More on why Ez feels that Pavelec will be a difference maker this season after the jump.

Is this assertion unrealistic? Some of our readers (and members of Illegal Curve) have told me that I’m being too optimistic and that is fine because they’ll be buying me beers next April (just kidding).

Because of his age (23 years old), NHL experience (119 games) and location the last two years (Atlanta), Pavelec remains somewhat of an unknown in the hockey world. Pavelec is considered to be above-average but not elite, technically sound but not flashy.

Here is what friend of Illegal Curve, Gus Katsaros, Pro Scouting Coordinator for McKeen’s Hockey, said about Pavelec:

“He’s a bona fide NHL starter having endured some bumps along the way. Included as a back up to Tomas Vokoun on the Czech Olympic team and had a marvellous first half of ’10-11 – stealing some games outright – before faltering down the stretch in conjunction with a total team collapse. Not necessarily right to pin the second half woes on goaltending. His save percentage was a remarkable .914 for only 21 wins and sub-.500 record (21-23-9).

He’s grown into a capable NHL starter with a bright future. He’s very athletic, flexible and quick. Plays his angles well and starting to put it together in terms of rebound control and not getting drawn out of position, but has improved year over year. His stickhandling is a work in progress as well. There’s a star in there somewhere, but still questions as well.

It’s a pivotal year for him becoming a restricted free agent at the end of the season. His contract negotiations could be hinged directly to his Jets debut. Regardless, he’s the right player to kickstart the franchise and build on a solid foundation from the crease on out.”

This is pretty high praise from Katsaros as well as good insight into the Jets Number-1 goaltender that many remain on the fence about but not quite an affirmation of my thesis though.

A statistic that IC’s Richard Pollock likes to use when analyzing goaltenders is Even Strength Save Percentage, a statistic that is a little more telling than the basic save percentage stat that doesn’t exclude power play goals against. Last season, in 58 games, Pavelec’s E.S.S.P was .928 (or 92.8%) which was 14th best in the National Hockey League. This is impressive when you consider that the Atlanta Thrashers had the third worst goals against total in the National Hockey League, surrendering 269 goals and also that the average E.S.S.P. in the NHL last year (for goaltenders who played a minimum of 20 games) was .921.

Using the regular old save percentage statistic, Pavelec was better than Martin Brodeur, Miikka Kiprusoff, Jimmy Howard, Jaroslav Halak and Steve Mason. This is by no means proof that he is a better goaltender than these established tenders, but this also doesn’t hurt my case either does it?

Look, Ondrej Pavelec is a good, even great goaltender, but I think he has been overlooked as an excellent goaltender capable of becoming an elite goaltender. People forget that Pavelec came into the NHL at the tender age of 21 years old in 2007’08 and ran former 1st overall draft pick Kari Lehtonen out of town a few years later.

Pavelec won a Calder Cup Trophy in the American Hockey League (in 2008, he won all 16 games for the Chicago Wolves and posted a superb .921 save percentage) and has proven time and time again that, even at a relatively young age, he can play night in and night out and lead his team to victory.

Pavelec is a quintessential winner and he has not been given as much credit as Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, another young goaltender who won a Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs (2007). Now, before you start rioting Habs fans, I am not saying that Pavelec is as good as or better than Price, but I am saying that he is in the same league as Price and certainly has the ability to post similar numbers to what Price did last year (38 wins, 8 shutouts, .923 save percentage). The reason I believe Pavelec can post these numbers in 2011’12 is that Winnipeg’s defense will be better this year (Zach Bogosian has improved, Mark Stuart was a nice addition and Randy Jones is better than Brent Sopel).

Fundamentally, Pavelec is an A goaltender. He is tall, quick and covers the net almost as good as anybody, with the exception of maybe Price, Henrik Lundqvist and a handful of others. He has posted very respectable numbers on poor Atlanta Thrashers teams the last two seasons and has proven that he can be the Number-1 guy at a very early age.

There are some negatives to Pavelec’s game and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of them here. Firstly, Pavelec has shown signs of extended inconsistency and his play has tailed off immensely in the second half of the last two seasons but as Gus Katsaros mentioned, this cannot be fully blamed on Pavelec as he was negatively affected by the team’s overall downslide. Pavelec’s stickhandling is also poor and he does still struggle up high.

In conclusion, Pavelec is ready to take the next step this season and will benefit greatly from more stability in Winnipeg.

Whether or not that means a Vezina-caliber season remains to be seen.

Hey, at least I made my argument.