Don't Look Now

Two weeks ago I wrote about Ryan Murphy getting hit by Tom Kuhnackl, and how this would be a huge blow to the Kitchener Rangers... What was I thinking? The team has now won 5 straight, and are 8-1-1 in there last 10. Anyone seen the Midwest division standings lately? The boys in blue are only 4 points back of the mighty London Knights, a team they beat in a shoot out not too long ago.

So what's going on here? Has it been a lull in the schedule, playing only weak teams? Sarnia, Guelph, Erie, Oshawa and Sudbury (in no particular order) all fell victim to the Rangers over the last 5 games. Those teams, With the exception of Sarnia, are at the lower ends of their respective divisions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad teams. Regardless, the Rangers should have had 8 out of 10 points easy, and they got all 10. That's impressive. So whats with this sudden surge?

Look no further than John Gibson, Radek Faksa, Tobias Rieder and Zach Lorentz. Why Lorentz? As the kids say, he's got mad shoot out skillz bro. He came in to camp determined to be a better player and he has improved over last season, and he's continuing to get better.

Gibson has been incredible between the pipes, and Rieder and Faksa seem to score on almost every shot lately.

So far in the Month of November, Gibby has a 2.17 GAA and 0.941 Save percentage. When was the last time a Rangers net minder had those stats? Steve Mason? The guy is stopping and blocking almost everything out there and impressing everyone around the rink. He proved it even more on Thursday against Sarnia, when he outplayed former Rangers tender Brandon Maxwell. Maxx got pulled in that game after allowing 3 goals, while Gibon only allowed 2 goals on 40 shots.

Faksa has 9 points in seven games so far this month, good enough to get him placed on the top 5 of the OHL's Preliminary draft list for the upcoming NHL draft this summer. It seems he's found his stride in this country and is on his way to a great season.

The other import playing on East Ave, Tobias Rieder, has 10 points in the last 7 games including A three point night last night against Erie. In his sophomore season in Kitchener, Rieder has really stepped his game up and impressed all the fans in Kitchener. I'm sure there's a few scouts in Edmonton who are quite happy too.

The return of Captainacci (Rangers captain Michael Cattenaci) has been great as well. In his two games back the captain has 5 points including 4 last night against Erie. Hopefully this team can start getting healthy soon and we'll get Creszenci and Murphy back soon (and maybe McEnemy for the playoffs).

One more topic of note, City Council approved the expansion the the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, so at this time next year there will be an additional 1000 seats plus all new media boxes (more leg room for people 6ft tall maybe?) and private boxes. It only took 2 months to get this approved. Maybe Niagara's city council should pick up the slack too?

Debate Time: Clint Windsor vs. Daniel Altshuller

As per request from @lpunkari I have decided to take my time on this subject matter.  The subject at hand you ask, how is Clint Windsor rated higher than Daniel Altshuller. It is a good topic, one that I already have strong feelings about. SO lets try and take a look at this as impartial as possible… as if.

Lets look at the things that ‘matter’ right now. The Stats. Both goaltenders are sporting almost identical stats in the 2 areas that matter most. Goals against average and save percentage. Clint Windsor is not even listed amongst the top 32 goaltenders in the GAA category. Windsor is spotting a big ol’ 3.98 while Altshuller has a 3.50 GAA. Sure Altshuller is not exactly turning heads considering his Team Canada pedigree and Jr. A resume.  But for a goalie who has played 2.5 times more games, the GAA should be waited considerably more in favour of Altshuller.

Looking at the Save percentage, another ‘key’ stat when evaluating goaltenders, both goaltenders are tied at .898. but again, it should be noted that Altshuller has played in 2.5 more games than Windsor. Where Windsor has had 166 shots, Altshuller has had 509 save attempts.

The main topic of contestation I have, is how do you rank a back up goaltender higher than a starter goaltender.

Sure, as pointed out by Thayne Hallyburton in the ‘shootout’ we had for this week’s Radio Show, I just seem to hate everything that is Clint Windsor. The kid who is 6’4” plays like he is 5’6” in the net. He stays deep in the net, his ‘rebound control’ consists of making sure he stops the puck and hoping his D can clear the puck. His glove is average, he can not play the puck and I see no athletic ability.

When I look at Daniel Altshuller I at least see potential to be a great goaltender. Yes, as mentioned he has not turned heads in a positive manner. The Oshawa Generals look like fools for trading for Altshuller but I still say that Daniel is the better prospect. His rebound control is solid. Athletic ability rivals some of the top goaltenders in the OHL. Great glove, great stick side, my only argument is that he is playing like Jack Campbell. Last season when Jack Campbell came into the league he was completely unprepared for what the OHL is, bigger faster stronger. That is an absolute fact. Daniel is coming into that right now, basically being shelled shocked by much better talent than he faced all last season in the CCHL.

What is never factored into goaltender draft rankings is their athletic ability and the odds/percentage of recovery. Altshuller in all those ‘intangible’ categories leads Windsor, but his numbers given the level of expectation is horrendous. I still believe the last half of the season will show a night and day revelation in the Generals goaltenders numbers and ability. On the flip side, Mathias Neiderberger will continue to carry the load in Barrie and thus limit Clint Windsor to less than 17 starts this season.

Which goes back to one of my main arguments, how do you rate a back up higher than a starter?

It is moments like this that I believe these scouting services should hire Thayne and myself, besides our absolute A+ analysis of prospects, we also input common sense into our potential draft rankings. And in ours, I can guarantee We agree that Altshuller is higher than Windsor. 

ITO Prospect Files: Kristoff Kontos

This week, we head north to the nickel belt to take a look at the play of second generation player, Kristoff Kontos. Let's get to know his game a little better...

NHL Draft Prospect: Kristoff Kontos--Sudbury Wolves

The Line:
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 203 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Draft Eligible: 2012

The pride of Penetang, Ontario, Kontos is a big, bruising center who plays the game hard, both ways. The late 1993 birthday held him back a draft year and that's a good thing as far as his status is concerned. He has gotten off to a hot start and that has caused his stock to rise.

Kontos is most effective in games where the intensity and physical play is cranked up to 10. When he is going hard, he is a tough player to stop. When the game is more of a finnesse style, he tends to fade into the background. it's not that he doesn't have the skill to play that game, it just appears that he isn't as into it.

I think Kristoff's game is one that will improve at the next level, where the intensity will be dialed up every night and he will have to bring it every night. With that said, he has gotten off to a hot start, scoring 6 goals and 13 points in his first 18 games this season and the scouts are noticing.

Kontos is a pitbull in front of the net, and is next to impossible to move. He is an adequate skater and has an NHL-caliber shot to go along with a very deft set of hands. The pedigree is also there as Kontos's father, Chris, played in the NHL and pro over seas for a long time.

Kontos projects to be a late second or early third rounder and, if his play continues on this pace, he could move up even more. The power game is something that is hard to find and although his power game is raw, it is there...and NHL teams will want it.

NHL Player Comparison: Todd Bertuzzi (now, not-so-much 10 years ago)

The Ryan Rupert Saga

Special Thanks To Bryan Thiel

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There’s a saying out there that goes something along the lines of “you can do something right 1,000 times, but still slip up that 1,001^st time.”

While the OHL may not have gotten each of the last 1,000 right, they were on a hot streak. But that 1,001^st time? Well…it turned a lot of heads.

By now you’ve probably heard that Ryan Rupert of the London Knights received a five-game suspension for his chop to the mid-section of Sault Ste. Marie’s Nick Cousins, an action that sparked a bench-clearing end to their game on November 11^th. As the weekend passed, many awaited the discipline that would be handed down to one half of the Rupert twins, and many speculated on the length of the suspension.

There were those out there that didn’t think the incident necessitated anything more than a 10-game ban. Others began with 15, trying to use the recently-handed down Tom Kuhnhackl suspension as a basis for comparison. Along with those two groups, there was the more serious stratosphere, where ideas of suspending Rupert for the bulk of 2011/12 or longer lived.

A majority of the people fell within the last two groups, so you can imagine the outpouring of confusion and ire when it was announced the Rupert would miss five games for his actions. Just five. No more, no less.

In a league where double-digit suspensions have been consistently handed out for dangerous incidents this season marking a step forward in discipline and on-ice awareness, Rupert’s ban is a step backwards. Along with Kuhnhackl, Oshawa’s Christian Thomas was handed a 10-game suspension for a stick-swinging incident against Saginaw. The Spirit’s Josh Shalla was saddled with a ten game ban for a headshot and (ironically on the same day Rupert’s suspension was announced) both Dean Pawlaczyk and Alex O’Neil received 15 and 10 games respectively for head hits. Those are just a few of the more serious suspensions this year.

Along with that, in a multi-media world that’s dictated by video evidence and social networking, the glare on the perceived ‘miss’ intensified when the realization was reached that there was no video explanation from the OHL. Pawlaczyk had one and so did O’Neil, but if you search for a video detailing the events of the incident and the determining criteria in the suspension, you won’t find it.

OHL Commissioner David Branch did release a statement on the discipline handed down and his views on it however.

"We didn't see a baseball-style swing as some accounts had it. We viewed it as more of a chopping action. Illegal use of the stick is something of concern, but he also hit the Soo player in a place on the body that is well-protected."


Branch also took into account that Rupert was reacting to Cousins, who was suspended two games for enticing the Knights player after the final buzzer.


He discounted further discipline for bullying after Rupert threw off his gloves and punched the Greyhound player. "We looked at that, but we didn't see that as the classic case of bullying. He did hit the player, but then realized what he was doing was wrong and stopped." Courtesy: London Free Press, Slash in the Pan

The common factors in each of the suspensions up until Rupert’s were simple, with the suspensions looked upon as a lesson and a punishment rather than just a one or the other. Lessons in how to identify a player in a vulnerable position and not take advantage of him. Lessons in how to think before you act and to try and control your emotions in the heat of battle. Lessons in how to take responsibility for your actions.

If Cousins wasn’t in a vulnerable, unsuspecting position when Rupert struck him across the midsection, then he certainly was when Rupert tossed his gloves aside and jumped atop his back to pummel the crumpled heap lying on the ice. If Rupert had controlled his emotions, the argument of whether Cousins goaded him or not would be moot because this would have never happened. And in terms of Rupert taking responsibility for his actions? He instead skated away relatively free, although he lost the ‘no previous history’ argument in the process if any of this happens again.

The reasoning was there for a longer suspension, and whether you believed he should get eight or 80 games, the recklessness and irresponsibility of Rupert’s decision could hardly be disputed.

And while this has all been about Rupert and his actions, has anyone bothered to ask the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds how they feel about this? If you were to watch one of your players felled by this action and see the offender get five games, what would your reaction be?

Even more than to save it’s face today and tomorrow, a longer suspension would help the OHL going forward. Not just to support the standard they’ve implemented, but to protect Rupert. On the day of the suspension, the next matchup with the Greyhounds is 17-games away. A 5-game ban all but ensures Rupert is in the lineup for that one. While a 17-game suspension wouldn’t save Rupert from the repercussions in future meetings, you can bet that first one between the Soo and London won’t be friendly.

Should a suspension be designed to not only punish but protect? Perhaps. But these days suspensions are also designed to send a message or teach a lesson. And those messages that were delivered crystal clear before are now lost in translation thanks to this.

The 5 Game Dilemma... and other issues

So upon hearing that London Knights forward Ryan Rupert only received 5 games for impersonating a lumber jack, I wanted to do what many people have done. And write my initial reaction to the situation providing complete knee jerk reaction.

Well I decided to fester on the manner before providing my knee jerk reaction.

I think the main problem with Ryan Rupert getting 5 games for his slash and mugging of Soo Greyhounds' Nick Cousins is the fact that a) it was only 5 games and b) Nick Cousins got 2 games for his 'part' in the altercation.

SO lets just look at the first issue here. Only 5 games for a first time offender who freely slashed an opposing player who was 'defenceless' and then proceeded to use his aggression to pounce on the fallen Greyhound and punch him with his bare hands. Mr. David Branch has proved again, as a Yahoo! Sports writer likes to say, 'the only thing consistent about the OHL is its inconsistency.' This season has set the precedents further than before by practically stating, if you attack a player in the head in any way, shape or form, it is 10 games and possibly more. Lets look back at 2 other suspensions that were 20+ games. former OHLers Zack Kassian and Zac Rinaldo both received indefinite suspensions for basically open ice hits that did make contact to the opposition players head. Yes, they were repeat offenders but those were also hockey plays. Ryan Rupert did not openly slash Cousins during a hockey play. The game was over, the buzzer went, and the Greyhounds got onto the ice to celebrate their new goaltender, Jack Campbell, first win as a member of the Soo. So how is this less of a suspension? This shows a great level of 'lack of respect' for your fellow league mates. and again, it was not a hockey play. This is equivalent to the instances where legal action is pursued due to stuff that happens in the confines of the game. Am I saying that legal action should be pursued? no. I believe that if it happens in the sporting world, during a period of time designated as 'playing time' then the law does not apply. That said, there should be a stiffer penalty for Rupert.

Now looking at point b, I have talked to many a media and players in regards to whom Nick Cousins is... needless to say, I am surprised to admit that 80% of these people agreed that if it would happen to a player in the OHL it would be Cousins. Fine, the man has a mouth on him, plays that agitator card and gets under your skin. Sean Avery made a career out of it, Steve Ott is doing the same in Dallas and there are countless others around the world who get paid to be that person. The issue with Cousins is that Branch actually suspended Cousins for 'taunting'? or did he suspended him for being in striking distance of a London Knights players' stick? 2 Games for 'excessive celebration'? I don't know. I am unsure how the victim got penalized 40% of what the attacker received... and he was suspended before the attacker was. Mathematically this makes Rupert's actions only 250% more heinous than Cousins 'taunting' the player. how you can suspend the player who was hit with the slash, and then a few more blows from bare knuckled fists is beyond me... then again it is the OHL... Nothing should surprise me anymore. But thank you David Branch for keeping this guy on his toes.

Oh yeah, here is the consistent part of the OHL. Dean Pawlaczyk and Alex O'Neill each received suspensions for head shots on the same day as Rupert got 5. Pawlaczyk earned a 15 game suspension for being a repeat offended, Dean was already suspended for 10 games earlier this season. If healthy and he does not get another suspension, Pawlaczyk would only play, at best 35 games this season, just over half the season. As for O'Neill, he fell under the head shot equals 10 games minimum theory.

Consistency meets inconsistency... Or maybe, us as media who was declaring that there should be at least 15 game suspension for Rupert are nothing but hungry sharks wanting blood... Nah, lets go with the inconsistency thing. The court of public appeal has spoken. Thank you Mr. Branch for ignoring it entirely.