UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (11/30/03)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

NHL 2003-2004 preview

Hatcher's Wings? Fedorov's Ducks? Kariya's Avalanche? Oh yes, things are mighty different this season in Hockeyland. And not just because the clock is ticking away on the NHL's labor agreement. There's new money in Buffalo and Ottawa, new coaches in Pittsburgh, Boston and New York. Of course there's new hope in every locker room, as each team figures they have a chance to etch their names in silver.

The Detroit Red Wings are the easy Stanley Cup pick for anyone who puts stock in the return of the Dominator behind a formidable defense. Who could argue with picking Colorado, now that they boast such a potent offense? Another good selection would be the Devils, the defending Stanley Cup champions who have the best goaltender, Martin Brodeur, in the game.

But the pick here is the Ottawa Senators, an explosive team, to lift the Cup when this season is all said and done. Just like their ancestors, the Ottawa Silver Seven, did four times and the original Ottawa Senators did seven times in pro hockey's early days.

"They're a young team, and they are only going to get better," Devils' defenseman Scott Niedermayer says.

Agreed. In the following preview we rate the squads 1-30 with a mention of each club's top players, a scouting report for 2003-2004, and attention to Ukrainian contributors.

1. OTTAWA SENATORS - Marian Hossa scores, Wade Redden defends, Patrick Lalime knocking on the door of greatness in goal. Best team in its division, probably in the conference. Very well coached with a whole bunch of highlight forwards. Very good, underrated defense. Curtis Leschyshyn enters the season as the club's seventh defenseman in a rotation of six. Still valuable guy to have around.

2. DETROIT RED WINGS - GT Dominik Hasek returns after a year of retirement to re-join captain Steve Yzerman, who's recovering from knee surgery. Ray Whitney teams with Brendan Shanahan on the scoring line. Their blueline, with the addition of Derian Hatcher, can be as good as any in the league. Youngsters Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg must produce. No Ukrainians on roster.

3. NEW JERSEY DEVILS - Defending champs play tight trap with Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer anchoring defense in front of Vezina winner Martin Brodeur. Nobody really scores a lot here. They have a decent group of forwards, but will have to tweak a little with personnel to repeat. Tough guy Rob Skrlac still in Albany (AHL).

4. DALLAS STARS - Mike Modano adds the captain's C to his allround game. Sergei Zubov anchors strong power play from the point.

Marty Turco was terrific as starting goalie in 2002-2003. This team had one down year and then were right back on top. Lack of physical presence on defense will be addressed when needed. With Hatcher leaving as a free agent, Richard Matvichuk moves up into a key role as a top-four defender. Dave Bararuk shows promise for the future.

5. ST. LOUIS BLUES - Chris Pronger and top rookie Barret Jackman are superior defensemen. Pavol Demitra and Doug Weight are scorers. These big spenders slashed payroll to a lower $59 million. Still need a shutdown goalie, but will field deep lineup. Keith Tkachuk still one of the top power forwards in the game. Sergei Varlamov very close to becoming regular among forwards. Igor Valeev patrols the wing in Worcester, while Cody Rudkowsky is far down on the goalie depth chart.

6. VANCOUVER CANUCKS - Stars Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund are only a season or two into their primes. Ed Jovanovski is one of league's best blueline cops. Dan Cloutier has to prove himself in the playoffs or else goaltending will be questioned. Is the team tough enough? Zenith Komarniski and Rene Vydareny sent down for more seasoning in Manitoba.

7. COLORADO AVALANCHE - Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne come over as free agents to try and win a Cup with Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and others. The only things which could hold them back are health issues and suspect goaltending with Patrick Roy retiring. Andre Nikolishin acquired in off-season to anchor checking line. Jordan Krestanovich honing his skills in Hershey while Johnny Boychuk was returned to Moose Jaw juniors.

8. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS - Once again a playoff contender, but weak between the pipes. Jeremy Roenick leads the forwards, Eric Desjardins the defense. When healthy, new goalie Jeff Hackett is pretty solid. These Flyers are the flip side of the Devils, strong at forward, not as strong on defense. Todd Fedoruk is the enforcer on the fourth line. Jeff Woywitka should see NHL ice time for the first time.

9. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis are high octane on offense. Dan Boyle underrated as two-way defenseman. Nikolai Khabibulin needs to re-prove himself. Team has a lot of players on the cusp of being at the height of their game. Great leadership with captain Dave Andreychuk. This year's breakthrough 'Bolt could be Ruslan Fedotenko. Brad Lukowich moves up to No. 4 on blue line. Nikita Alexeev begins season in the minors.

10. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS - Joe Nieuwendyk's signing was a huge move. Alexander Mogilny and Mats Sundin are proven snipers. Ed Belfour will face tons of shots due to porous line of defense. Leafs seem like an old team of patchwork players with little bite. Wade Belak a very valuable commodity as forward/defenseman with tons of grit. Rookie Matt Stajan and Olympian Alexei Ponikarovsky both made the parent club coming out of training camp.

11. ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS - Sergei Fedorov and Vinny Prospal come over to kickstart the offense. Team lived and died with netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere in the past. Last year Giggy went from Who? to Wow! in 21-game playoff run. Vitaly Vishnevski is one of the best body checkers around on D. Will not duplicate last year's surprise in the Western Conference.

12. BOSTON BRUINS - Capt. Joe Thornton fast becoming an elite player. Glen Murray and Sergei Samsonov are major scoring threats. Atmosphere should improve with new coach. Defense is suspect on top of two new netminders (Felix Potvin and Andrew Raycroft). No Ukrainians on training camp roster.

13. MINNESOTA WILD - Their only name player, Marian Gaborik, remained unsigned into the start of the season. Goaltending duo of Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson had a combined 2.10 GAA in 2002-2003. Coach Jacques Lemaire and his neutral-zone trap yields great results, but a boring looking game. Chris Bala skating in Houston.

14. WASHINGTON CAPITALS - When he feels like it, Jaromir Jagr can be the best player in the world. Peter Bondra and Robert Lang add much potential and offensive pop. The perennial MVP is goalie Olaf Kolzig. The defense needs a total overhaul. Coaching is suspect. Steve Konowalchuk named team captain last year, one of few Caps to truly lay it on the line every night.

15. ATLANTA THRASHERS - Wonder wing Ilya Kovalchuk will be league's next Pavel Bure. He gets help from Slava Kozlov and Marc Savard. Superstar-in-the-making Dany Heatley's career on hold after horrific auto accident. Coach Bob Hartley did a great job coming in last season and getting the guys to buy into his team-defense system. Should be a surprise playoff team. Ex-first round draft choice Dave Kaczowka looks like a career minor leaguer.

16. N.Y. ISLANDERS - Alexei Yashin needs two good wingers. Captain Michael Peca needs to be healthy the whole year. Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik log lots of ice time. Very solid defense and strong up the middle offset by lack of depth and inexperience on the wings. Goaltending may be questioned. Wade Dubielewicz debuts in pros as backup goalie in Bridgeport (AHL).

17. CAROLINA HURRICANES - Looking to reverse the first to worst disaster in 2002-2003. Ron Francis still a sparkplug, while Rod Brind' Amour and Eric Cole are healthy again. Jeff O'Neill is established as scorer - Kevin Weekes in net. Team has improved their defense and added more grit. No way this season can mirror Murphy's Law from a year ago. Joey Tetarenko acquired as part of more grit. Ryan Bayda showed promise in late season call-up. Damian Surma hopes to do the same if given an opportunity.

18. LOS ANGELES - Last season was a big pain - Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh alone missed 118 games between them. Ziggy Palffy is still very dangerous with the puck. Roman Cechmanek comes over from Philly to tend the nets. Last year's injuries did allow them to look at younger players and build depth. If healthy, these guys should contend for a playoff berth. Zero Ukrainians in the organization.

19. MONTREAL CANADIENS - Travelled back in time when Bob Gainey was hired as new GM. He admits club is light years removed from its glory days. Goaltender Jose Theodore must rebound from very weak season while ignoring family's legal problems. Saku Koivu needs two functioning knees and Richard Zednik is quality to build around. Not a very good team probably in rebuilding mode. Haven't seen a Ukrainian puckster in these parts for a while.

20. N.Y. RANGERS - Recent coaches have had no luck turning highpriced stars Eric Lindros, Mark Messier, Bobby Holik and Alexei Kovalev into a cohesive unit. GM Glen Sather fired the coaches and hired himself. Pavel Bure may never see the ice due to bad knees. This team continues struggling for an identity. Compounding this are continuing defensive lapses and more chemistry problems. Maybe its a good thing there are no Ukes around.

21. FLORIDA PANTHERS - Franchise goalie Roberto Luongo, unexpected All-Star Olli Jokinen and cream-of-the-crop rookie D Jay Bouwmeester form strong foundation. Power struggle between coach Mike Keenan and GM Rick Dudley must be resolved to ascertain club's future direction. Lots of young talent includes Ivan Novoseltsev and thus far disappointing top draftee Denis Shvidki. To protect the crew of speedy imports, Darcy Hordichuk was added as on-ice cop.

22. EDMONTON OILERS - The Oilers are putting their trust in kids and the promise of a new labor pact. Ryan Smith, Eric Brewer and GT Tommy Salo will keep fans interested. This hockey organization has never lost their character or confidence. They're young, talented and exciting. A couple of very young Ukrainians, Curtis Sheptak and Kyle Brodziak could both be part of still another future youth movement in a small market town.

23. CALGARY FLAMES - New captain Jarome Iginla, veteran Craig Conroy and speedy Martin Gelinas are only proven offensive weapons. Goaltender Marty Turco is plagued by inconsistency. With coach Darryl Sutter, Calgary will be one of the hardest working teams in the league. They simply need more talent. No Ukes on Alberta horizon.

24. NASHVILLE PREDATORS - Bank on this: penny-pinching Preds get younger; coach Barry Trotz gets grayer; GT Tomas Vokoun gets better. David Legwand needs help on forward line while Kimmo Timonen begs for assistance on the back line. When their payroll dips below $25 million, Nashville replaces Minnesota as hockey's tighest unit. Down on the farm Darren Haydar hopes to duplicate his AHL All-Star status.

25. BUFFALO SABRES - Billionaire Thomas Golisano saved the franchise from relocation. Chris Drury comes over to join Miroslav Satan and Ales Kotalik as team's top guns. Deep in net with Martin Biron and Mika Noronen both still developing. Veteran Alexei Zhitnik quarterbacks the power play and leads the defense corps. Its another rebuilding year, but if some rookies pan out and Biron stiffens up, they might not be rebuilding for long.

26. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS - After Alex Zhamnov, Steve Sullivan and Eric Daze there are many questions and not enough answers. Netminder Jocelyn Thibault earned a lot of respect, but not many wins. Hawks can't wait for 6-4, 200-lb. Anton Babchuk to be recalled from AHL Norfolk - this top pick from two years ago is destined to be a great one. Scott Balan currently skating with Babchuk on the minor league blueline circuit.

27. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS - Loss of Ray Whitney to Detroit will hurt. C Andrew Cassels a gifted playmaker. Sophomore Rick Nash a superstar-in-the-making. Todd Marchant signed from Edmonton to offset Whitney's loss. Welcome aboard Darryl Sydor to the ranks of Ukrainian hockey stars in Columbus. Martin Kubaliak (juniors) and Joe Motzko (college) are junior Blue Jackets. Shane Bendera continues to learn the pro netminding game in the lower minors. President-GM Doug MacLean added head coach to his resume.

28. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS - New coach Ed Olczyk has Mario Lemieux and a bunch of newbies and geezers to work with after the team dumped all of their mildly pricey talent. Top overall draft pick Marc-Andre Fleury was so impressive in camp he stuck as the No. 1 goalie. Ross Lupaschuk has returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. At his advanced Mario cannot carry the load.

29. SAN JOSE - Centers Patrick Marleau, Mike Ricci and Vincent Damphousse make for a stout troika. Defense is very young which necessitates Evgeni Nabokov's comeback in goal. Two Ukrainian prospects in Cleveland: GT Seamus Kotyk tending behind defender Tyler Hanchuk. Sharks' free fall from the top of the Western Conference toward the cellar will likely continue.

30. PHOENIX COYOTES - Right wing Shane Doan and centers Daymond Langkow and Ladislav Nagy must step up as scorers. GT Sean Burke wins when he plays, which is when he's not on the injured list. This is now a team with few veterans, but with a bright future thanks to promising youth on the way up. Short term will be a struggle for the Desert Dogs, owned in part by No. 99.

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