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Friday, September 14, 2007

Part 3 - Friday News

So here is the rest of the news that is not related to Teemu Selanne or to last nights game.  I've got Stanley Cup coverage, training camp coverage and more.

Hockey Hall of Fame has updated their Stanley Cup Journal.

When you achieve a dream, you want to share it with those who helped you along the way and, as a result, will revel in your successes most. Sean's first stop was to visit his grandmother at St. Patrick's Home, a long-term care facility. The affection was evident, as Sean had long intended that should he win the Stanley Cup, he'd bring it to show his grandmother, who had encouraged him through many an early morning boyhood hockey game. "I've been coming here for 15 years," Sean mentioned. "My grandmother's here. She wouldn't be able to come to see the Cup anywhere else, so I thought I'd bring it to her. She was pretty excited about it!"

The Stanley Cup had actually arrived in Ottawa early, and O'Donnell had called to see if he could arrive a little early at St. Patrick's. "I'm sorry, but would you mind waiting for a little while? Thursdays are our bingo afternoons," he was told. Sean could only grin. "Fine, I'll see you a little later then," he responded.

At the Ottawa Hospital, even Senator fans were pleased to be greeted by O'Donnel and the Stanley Cup. (Mike Bolt/HHOF)

The Ducks' defenceman then took the Stanley Cup over to The Ottawa Hospital, where he walked the hallways visiting youngsters who were receiving treatment. The spirit of kids is amazingly resilient, and belies bandages and tubes. You wouldn't know that any of them had a care in the world when they got to see, touch and get a picture with the Stanley Cup. There's an amazing healing quality that seems to emanate from Lord Stanley's mug.

Sean then pulled up with the Stanley Cup to 24 Sussex, the well-known address of the Prime Minister of Canada. Once he was ushered in, Sean was greeted by Stephen Harper, his wife Laureen and their children Ben and Rachel. The Prime Minister greeted O'Donnell wearing a Ducks' jersey, one that been given to him during the Stanley Cup final by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Asked why he wasn't wearing an Ottawa jersey, the Prime Minister responded, "I'm wearing the Anaheim jersey out of respect to Sean. By winning the Stanley Cup with Anaheim, we have reason to celebrate, because Sean O'Donnell, a hometown boy, has brought honour to our city."

Read the rest of it here - Link

The Cup Keepers journal has been updated as well

See the rest here - Link

The Duckcast has been resurrected.  The first one of the season features an interview with Brad May - Link

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NHL.com has a quick look at players who are ready for their best season.  Chris Kunitz is on that list.

Chris Kunitz: It's great to ride shotgun with a star. Just ask Kunitz, who put up 16 goals in 35 games - just three short of what he managed all last season. His goal-scoring has slowed, but he's been piling up assists and showing he's worthy of first-line time.

To see who else is on that list go here - Link

The Sporting News has a look at the Anaheim Ducks

With the possible retirement of Scott Niedermayer, the Ducks will rely more heavily on a potential-laden young forward line led by Ryan Getzlaf in their quest to repeat.

Even while the confetti was still fluttering in the air and the Stanley Cup was swaggering from one victory party to another, the questions had already begun.

Can the Anaheim Ducks repeat? Can they do it if two key players retire? Few NHL teams in recent years have stepped up to meet preseason expectations and hype as well as the Ducks did last season.

After adding Chris Pronger to a team that had reached the Western Conference Finals in 2006, Anaheim was a consensus Stanley Cup favorite before the first puck was dropped last October.

The Ducks responded by setting an NHL record for earning standings points in their first 16 games.

The team essentially led the Pacific Division from wire to wire and quickly advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs. There were a couple tough moments early in the conference finals against Detroit, but Anaheim won the final three games of the series and dispensed with the Ottawa Senators in five games to win the first Stanley Cup for the state of California.

Read the rest here - Link

MVN has a look at day three of training camp

It’s been a whirlwind week for the Ducks, who are on an accelerated schedule for training camp. Monday saw physicals and assessments. Tuesday and Wednesday were two heavy practice and scrimmage days. Thursday saw the first pre-season game. Friday brought another practice and scrimmage day as a prelude to three more games in three days.

As of yet, there have been no cuts made to the roster, but those are likely to come after the next three games. Therefore the team still practiced in two groups. Group A was on the NHL rink again and they went through the usual drills and sprints for an hour. Everything has a harder, faster tempo and the players are looking much sharper than they did on Tuesday.

After a brief break to resurface the ice, the two groups had another scrimmage. Group A was in black and group B was in white. The first scrimmage black came out on top. On day 2 the white team managed to put together a narrow victory. Today was another blow out, with the white team coming out on top. 24 year old right winger, Brandon Segal, who was acquired from Nashville for future considerations in June, stood out in the scrimmage with three goals (a penalty shot, banging in a rebound and a nice shot that clanged in off the post) . The final score was 8 - 2, with the black team only scoring on Todd Bertuzzi and Andy MacDonald’s penalty shots. If the black team had converted on more penalty shots (which were used instead of 2 minutes in the penalty box), the scrimmage would have been much closer.

Read the rest here - Link

The Portland(Maine) Press Herald has a look at Ducks prospect Clay Harris

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Clay Wilson got a chance to add to his playing resume while spending last season with the Portland Pirates, and it's made him a unique player in the Anaheim Ducks organization.

After spending his entire career playing defense, the speedy Wilson was inserted into one of the Pirates' forward lines in the second half of the season.

That move was made when the Pirates, Anaheim's AHL affiliate, ran short of forwards.

Wilson has become a swing player, a role seldom filled in professional hockey.

"There are not a lot of those types of classification of those players who play to the highest level in the American Hockey League and the NHL," Anaheim Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. "We think it's unique for him."

The move was made during the offensive-minded Wilson's first full professional season.

"About halfway through the season, we were kind of short up front," Wilson said.

"I had a little bit of success and got the hang of it toward the end of the year."

Last season, Wilson, 24, was the Pirates' third-leading scorer with nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games.

Before he went home for the summer, he was told by the Ducks' management he would continue to play a dual role.

"I don't mind at all," he said. "Anything that will give me a chance to spend more time with Anaheim is a positive thing."

He's listed as a left wing on the Ducks' training camp positional roster.

However, he spent the first three days of practice playing defense.

Read the rest here - Link