UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (11/22/98)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

The NHL in 1998-99: a season of change

Here's Part II of our annual NHL preview, giving you the plusses and minuses of the teams of the Western Conference, by division, with teams listed in order of predicted finish in 1998-1999.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Detroit Red Wings

Good news: Essentially the same team that won the past two consecutive Stanley Cups. Darren McCarty, Martin LaPointe and Anders Eriksson are all still improving. Captain Steve Yzerman is one of the most respected leaders in pro sports today.

Bad news: Coach Scotty Bowman's status up in the air. Key players Yzerman, Igor Larionov and Larry Murphy getting up there in age. D Niklas Lidstrom talking about returning to Sweden after this season.

Uke(s): Veteran enforcer Joey Kocur (63 GP-6 G-5 A-PTS 92 PIM and four goals in 18 playoff games) returns for a try at a three-peat.

St. Louis Blues

Good news: The Blues held on to free agents Al MacInnis and Geoff Courtnall. MacInnis has the most feared slap shot in hockey. Chris Pronger seems to be an even tougher version of Larry Robinson. LW Pavol Demitra, 23, is showing signs of becoming a star.

Bad news: Brett Hull represented a high percentage of the team's offense in 1997-1998. He's gone. GT Grant Fuhr wasn't as good as he was expected to be. Blues need youngsters (Marty Reasoner and Michael Handzus) to mature quickly.

Uke(s): None.

Chicago Blackhawks

Good news: Doug Gilmour gives the Hawks a high-gumption two-way centerman. Jeff Hackett is the best goaltender you've never heard anything about. Eric Daze, 23, already has two 30-goal seasons.

Bad news: The Blackhawks went only halfway to improve their offense, leaving free agent Brett Hull to be scooped up by Dallas. Gilmour is 35 and has many miles on him. It's been a while since everything has gone right for this team.

Uke(s): Eddie Olczyk returns to the Windy City: not only his place of birth, but also his first NHL home. Selected by Chicago in the first round, third over all, in the 1984 entry draft, Olczyk played his first three seasons at home. After Chitown came stints in Toronto, Winnipeg, New York, back to Winnipeg, L.A. and lastly in Pittsburgh. Now the ultimate return to finish out a storied career at home under the new regime of ex-Hawk Dirk Graham. He'll be a steadying influence over a promising group of young forwards with lots of up potential. Winger Ryan Huska was recalled to Chicago for one game last season. Huska was released by the Blackhawks following the 1997-1998 season.

Nashville Predators

Good news: They're faster than your average expansion team. Andrew Brunette has vast potential. Now in a honeymoon period, the Predators need only to be competitive to win fan approval.

Bad news: They don't seem as strong as the expansion Florida Panthers were when they entered the NHL. Their goalies have promise, but are very much untested. They have no star in a season when the league wants to let stars shine.

Uke(s): None.

NORTHWEST DIVISION

Colorado Avalanche

Good news: Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg are the league's best one-two center combination. Patrick Roy is the winningest goalkeeper in playoff history. Right or wrong, the departure of coach Marc Crawford gives this team a fresh start.

Bad news: Role players didn't perform well last season. Adam Deadmarsh is coming off a disappointing season. Avs might struggle to fill hole left by Uwe Krupp's departure on defense.

Uke(s): Young tough guy Wade Belak made the parent club coming out of training camp. He'll be the last defenseman or fourth right wing. Last year he got into eight games and had 27 minutes. His role will be second enforcer until he learns the ploys of the backlines.

Vancouver Canucks

Good news: Brian Burke's hiring as GM leaves no doubt as to who's in charge. Mattias Ohlund and Bryan McCabe (unsigned) are two of the NHL's best young defensemen. Mark Messier wants to reclaim his place among the game's elite.

Bad news: Pavel Bure is sitting out, demanding a trade. A deal could take time. Messier went from 84 points in 96-97 to 60 in 97-98. The team needs help on defense, particularly a power-play point man.

Uke(s): None.

Edmonton Oilers

Good news: GM Glen Sather has managed to bring in some hope despite the team's small-market status. Now that Douf Weight has finally signed, the Oilers have one of the best carrying their offensive flag. Team boasts an impressive collection of offensive-minded defensemen.

Bad news: GT's Mikhail Shtalenkov and Bob Essensa are credible, but not equal to Curtis Joseph. Money is a barrier to success in Edmonton; couldn't keep Joseph and encountered tough negotiations with Weight and Ryan Smith. Andrei Kovalenko went from 32 goals in 96-97 to six in 97-98. Ugh!

Uke(s): Defenseman Drake Berehowsky mirrored Tony Hrkac as a fellow comeback kid with the Oilers. After several years of paying his dues back in the minors, Berehowsky (67-1-6-7-169 and 12 games in the playoffs) got a final chance in the NHL and made the most of it. Just after the opening face-off of the current campaign, he was traded in a six-player deal to the expansion Nashville Predators. Here he will be a major contributor on a club searching for an identity.

Calgary Flames

Good news: Goalie Ken Wregget, 34, solidifies the goaltending. Even on a bad team, Theo Fleury is a premium player. Phil Housley may be one-dimensional, but he'll help immensely on the power play.

Bad news: If they don't get Fleury signed soon, he will have to be dealt away. Their defense was just short of brutal in 97-98. Their defense is also quite young by NHL standards.

Uke(s): Utility forward Todd Hlushko saw action in 13 games for the Flames, amassing 27 minutes in penalties. Hlushko traded to Pittsburgh this summer and currently in minors.

PACIFIC DIVISION

Dallas Stars

Good news: Added Brett Hull line-up that won the President's Trophy (top regular season record). The team's power play, one of the best, will improve even more with Hull. Shot-blocking defense might be the league's best. Mike Modano's skating scares defensemen.

Bad news: Playing well in the regular season doesn't mean much at playoff time. As a group, the Stars haven't yet developed a good playoff history. Coach Ken Hitchcock is a disciplinarian whose methods might not always sit well with Hull.

Uke(s): Oft-injured defender Richard Matvichuk has become a stalwart on the blueline. He tallied 18 points with 63 minutes in 74 regular season games, and two points and 14 PIMs in 16 playoff matches. Center Tony Hrkac made it back to the big show after several seasons in the IHL. He earned frequent flyer miles last year, starting with Dallas, being traded to Edmonton, then to Pittsburgh, selected by Nashville in the expansion draft, only to be re-acquired by the Stars in the off-season. He is an offensive force, especially on the power play. Brad Lukowich will be the Stars' first defensive call-up from the minors.

San Jose Sharks

Good news: The Sharks have a nifty collection of talented young players. Additions of Bob Rouse and Gary Suter (power play leader) should tie together the defense nicely. Mike Vernon's goaltending keeps the Sharks in every game.

Bad news: The team has averaged 2.6 goals per game for the past two seasons. Another poor season by Owen Nolan would be disastrous. The team's most talented players (Jeff Friesen, Patrick Marleau and Andrei Zyuzin) are very, very young.

Uke(s): Veteran netminder Kelly Hrudey hung up the skates, glove and goalie pads after a long and productive career between the pipes. This hockey season finds him spinning color commentary for one of the national hockey networks in Au Canada. Based on some auditions, Hrudey showed lots of promise in his new endeavor.

Los Angeles Kings

Good news: Led by Rob Blake, the Kings boast one of the league's top defenses. Larry Robinson is an underrated coach. The team has two quality goalies in Stephane Fiset and Jamie Storr.

Bad news: Haven't demonstrated a consistent ability to get key goals beyond first line. Luc Robitaille has been undermined by injury. Not too much depth up front. Not too much history of team success.

Uke(s): None.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Good news: Paul Kariya has no headaches remaining from last season's concussion. New coach Craig Hartsburg has no headaches about his offense. The Kariya-Teemu Selanne pairing rates with Mike Bossy-Bryan Trottier and Jari Kurri-Wayne Gretzky in terms of top offensive tandems over the past two decades.

Bad news: Kariya and Selanne can't play 40 minutes a game. Ducks seem to be in the NHL's toughest division. Disney hasn't opened up the vault to buy any premium free agents.

Uke(s): None.

Phoenix Coyotes

Good news: With everyone predicting Keith Tkachuk would have to be traded, GM Bobby Smith got him signed. Rick Tocchet doesn't need a "C" on his sweater to be a leader. Speedy Oleg Tverdovsky is a Coyote that rips along ice rinks like a roadrunner.

Bad news: Lots of rumbling about the Coyotes being a divided dressing room. Jeremy Roenick's numbers have been on the decline. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin doesn't seem to bewitch shooters as he once did.

Uke(s): Captain Coyote Tkachuk held out last season, yet still managed to post 40 goals in 69 games. He's a sniper, witnessed by his low assist total of 26. Still likes to mix it up in the corners as shown by 147 minutes in the sin bin. Added six points in six playoff tilts. Partner Oleg Tverdovsky, another holdout, never really got untracked after returning. Only seven goals and 12 helpers in 46 games. Added seven assists in the post season. If Phoenix goes anywhere in 1998-1999, these two Ukrainian gunners must perform. Darcy Wakaluk, battling serious knee problems for the past three years, retired rather than risk more damage.

PART I

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