Illegal Curve Hockey

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Afternoon Delight: Do You Know the Way to Sioux Falls?

Sarah Millar takes a look at the NHL mascots, and how they affect the team’s play.
Check out Goon’s World for the latest college hockey rankings.
Things You Might See at Bates Battaglia’s bar, courtesy of Barry Melrose Rocks.
Are the Dallas Stars cursed when Karen Newman sings the anthem in Detroit?
Jeff Marek believes Craig Hartsburg is just the first of many dominoes to fall in Ottawa.
Some must watch tournaments for scouts.
Take a look at North American Central Scouting’s Mock Draft:

Pick	NHL Team	Player	Pos.	Thumbnail Report
1	NY Islanders	John Tavares; London	C	The no-brainer pick that will hopefully lead the Isles back to respectability. Expect big pressure to deal pick but they will keep it.
2	Atlanta Thrashers	Victor Hedman; Modo	LD	Another potential deal because Atlanta needs and wants more immediate help but he is a potential franchise defender.
3	Ottawa Senators	Matt Duchene; Brampton	C	Ottawa picks up the talented speedster that will help the rebuilding. They want to get back to being a fast team and Duchene is one of the fastest.
4	Tampa Bay Lightning	Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, Timra	LW	Had a great World Juniors and showed that he’ll go into traffic or anywhere else to get points.
5	St. Louis Blues	Evander Kane; Vancouver	C	With the back end in good shape for the future, they get one of the best finishers in the Draft.
6	Toronto Maple Leafs	Brayden Schenn; Brandon	C	Brian Burke has shown an interest in brother acts and this kid can play it any way you want which is also what Brian loves.
7	Colorado Avalanche	Jared Cowen; Spokane	LD	Colorado needs help everywhere and some think Cowen is the 3rd best prospect so they would be ectatic to get him here.
8	Nashville Predators	Jordan Schroeder; Minnesota	RW	Another team that has set their back end so they could go for the US born Schroeder who has been very good at Minnesota.
9	Los Angeles Kings	Nazem Kadri; London	C	LA has put a premium on character and this kid oozes it along with some very good skills.
10	Vancouver Canucks	Simon Despres; Saint John	LD	This kid has really picked it up in the past 2 months and was arguably the best defenseman at the Prospects game.
11	Phoenix Coyotes	Dmitri Kulikov; Drommondville	RD	The Kitchener…aaagh Phoenix Coyotes are loaded up front and the best remaining Defenseman is the skilled Russian.
12	Pittsburgh Penguins	Ryan Ellis; Windsor	RD	Sergei Gonchar is reaching the end of the road and this offensive whiz will capably take up his role.
13	Columbus Blue Jackets	Jeremy Morin; US NDTP	C	Another pure goal scorer who will continue that hobby in the NHL.
14	Edmonton Oilers	John Moore; Chicago	LD	A bit of a reach but this kid just keeps getting better every day and they need a stud prospect on the blueline.
15	Minnesota Wild	Peter Holland; Guelph	C	If Jacques Lemaire is still the coach in June, this high hockey-IQ kid would be a great fit for the Wild’s system.
16	Dallas Stars	Jacob Josefson; Djurgarden	C	The skilled Swede played good leading up to and including the WJC’s and his play against men has caught everyones eye
17	Florida Panthers	Zach Kassian; Peterborough	RW	Peter Deboer is the Head Coach and doesn’t scout but he knows Kassian well and will “urge” the team to take this multi-talented and tough winger.
18	Anaheim Ducks	Louis Leblanc; Omaha	RW	His great speed and ability to finish is impressive but does anyone remember Trevor Lewis? We do and he reminds us of him.
19	Carolina Hurricanes	Landon Ferraro; Red Deer	LW	The next in the line of prodigal sons of former NHL greats is very good both ways and is under-rated in his ability to finish.
20	Buffalo Sabres	Kyle Palmieri; US NDTP	C	The future star of North Dakota has really picked up his play and is producing points on a nightly basis.
21	Philidelphia Flyers	Scott Glennie; Brandon	C	One of our favorite players in the Draft, the Flyers recent string of great picks will continue with this hidden gem.
22	NY Rangers	Ethan Werek; Kingston	LW	Another team that has been fantastic of late at the Draft table, the Rangers will scoop this skilled winger that is being tutored by the great Doug Gilmour.
23	Montreal Canadians	Dylan Olsen; Camrose	LD	This stud defender is shooting up teams charts while playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
24	Chicago Blackhawks	Calvin Dehaan; Oshawa	LD	The Hawks are loaded up front so this super skilled defender would be a great fit. Once he gets there, he can learn from Brian Campbell and then take over once Campbell leaves.
25	Calgary Flames	Ryan O’Reilly; Erie	C	Smooth, skilled and very smart are keys to having long careers in the NHL and this kid has all of those and in a lot of ways reminds us of Darryl’s kid Brett.
26	New Jersey Devils	Stefan Elliot; Saskatoon	RD	David Conte has been quiet lately but if they can get Elliot at #26, they will be very happy because this puck-moving defender has huge upside.
27	Washington Captals	Tim Erixon; Skelleftea	LD	Another Team loaded up front with skill would like a defenseman and the European invasion continues in the Capital.
28	Detroit Red Wings	Tysen Barrie; Kelowna	LD	Once again the Wings think outside the box and get the highly skilled defender out of Kelowna. He has some work to do on his defensive game but his vision and first pass are already on an NHL level.
29	San Jose Sharks	Zach Budish; Edina	C	The Sharks have shown a willingness in the past to draft high schoolers and this man-child would be a solid selection. A future power forward will get some seasoning at the University of Minnesota before he joins the Sharks organization.
30	Boston Bruins	Taylor Doherty; Kingston	RD	The Director of Scouting for Boston has ties to Kingston and this behemoth has a lot of potential. He is limited offensively but he could become a shutdown defender.