Tag Archives: #Preseason

The Evolution of Technology in the NHL: A Revolution on Ice

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Ice hockey has long captured the imaginations of millions, from the fans who fill the arenas to the coaches strategizing behind the benches and the players bringing the tech2game to life. Yet, as with many sports, the National Hockey League (NHL) has seen a radical transformation over the past two decades, driven primarily by technological advancements. This evolution has changed the game for everyone involved, bringing unprecedented insights, excitement, and opportunities.

 For the Fans: Enhanced Viewing Experiences

Remember the times when fans had to rely solely on television broadcasts and radio commentaries to track Stanley Cup odds and game results? Fast forward to today, and we have augmented reality (AR) experiences and virtual reality (VR) simulations. The NHL has been at the forefront of adopting these technologies to improve fan engagement.

Through AR, game stats, player profiles, and real-time insights pop up on screens, offering a multi-dimensional view of the game. Meanwhile, VR takes it a step further. Donning a headset, fans can now immerse themselves in a 360-degree virtual arena, feeling the rush as if they were seated right next to the rink. Such innovations have transformed passive viewing into an interactive experience.

 For the Coaches: Advanced Analytics and Strategy

Coaching in the NHL has always been a complex task. With technology, the nuances have only deepened. High-definition cameras installed in arenas track every move, every pass, every shot. This data is then crunched by sophisticated algorithms, providing coaches with in-depth analytics.

Such insights have given rise to a new era of strategy. Coaches can identify players’ strengths and weaknesses, pinpointing areas of improvement or capitalizing on opponents’ vulnerabilities. It’s not just about intuition anymore; it’s about informed decision-making, a blend of the human mind and machine intelligence.

 For the Players: Equipment and Performance

For the athletes who grace the ice, technology has been a game-changer, quite literally. The evolution in equipment, for instance, is noteworthy. Skates are now ergonomically designed, using advanced materials to ensure maximum speed and agility. Sticks are lighter and more durable, allowing for powerful shots. Even protective gear, like helmets and pads, have benefited from material science breakthroughs, ensuring player safety without compromising on comfort.tech3

Moreover, wearable technology offers real-time performance metrics. Players can monitor their heart rates, energy expenditure, and even muscle engagement. This data is invaluable, allowing them to fine-tune their training regimes, optimize recovery, and elevate their game to unprecedented levels.

 Conclusion: A New Dawn on Ice

The confluence of technology and ice hockey over the past twenty years has been nothing short of a revolution. From enhancing the fan experience to equipping coaches with sophisticated tools and empowering players to reach their peak potential, technology’s impact is undeniable.

Yet, while the tools and techniques may evolve, the heart of the game remains unchanged. It’s the passion, the adrenaline, the thrill of chasing the puck, and the roar of the crowd that truly defines the NHL. Technology, in all its glory, merely amplifies the magic that unfolds on the ice.

Use CodePHN15 Yes there’s new technology, but there is also the old tech of sitting back and enjoying the game too.

In this new dawn, as the lines between the digital realm and the physical world blur, one can only anticipate the innovations the next two decades will bring. Whatever they may be, they will undoubtedly honor and elevate the timeless spirit of the NHL.

Images courtesy of NHL.com

Carolina Hurricanes season preview

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In Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes have been heaped with praise, and an enormous amount of expectations.

Brady Skjei is a trade option for the Hurricanes?

They have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs the last five seasons after strong regular seasons in the Metropolitan Division.

The Canes do not have a Cup to show for the effort. They manage to find a way to lose in the playoffs and not compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Last season they were bounced from the playoffs in an Eastern Conference Final sweep at the hands of the Florida Panthers.

Granted the Panthers were on a run, but swept? And managing just six goals?

“We’ve gone five years making the playoffs, and I think we’re right in the heart of our window to keep moving forward,” general manager Don Waddell said. “… We’re a franchise that doesn’t want to win one Cup. We want to try to win 10 Cups, and you’ve got to put yourself in position to compete for the Cup every year and we think we can do that for numerous years coming up.”

Let’s start with one, and build from there.

The off season featured the re-signing of Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast  to line up as well as goalies Antti Raanta and Frederik Andersen.

“I liked the fact that we kept a lot of our guys that we needed to keep,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “The questionable guys that, ‘What are we doing with them?’ we wanted to keep them in the fold, and we were able to do that.”

The Canes also added free agent signings to the activities over July.  Dmitry Orlov, Tony DeAngelo Michael Bunting, and Brendan Lemieux were added to the Carolina bench.

“I think I can bring the energy, bring my skill set and be able to move the puck and get to the hard areas,” Bunting said after signing. “That’s where I excel the most is kind of in front of the net, in the corners and distributing the puck but also being able to put it in as well.”

Sebastian Aho was signed to an eight-year deal over the summer as well.

“We think we’ve had a very good offseason, not only signing the players from our team last year that we needed to bring back, but also the additions of some of the free agents we added,” Waddell said. “My job as the general manager is just to stay on the phone every day and continue to look to see if we can make our team better. … I can’t say anything’s going to happen between now and the start of the season, but certainly we’ll continue to talk to different teams and free agents and see what shakes out here.”

Three prospects are expected to be in Raleigh this season.

Forward Vasily Ponomarev iced for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL last season for 64 games and collected 24 goals and 46 points on the season.

“We think he’ll play games this season for us,” Waddell said. “We think he’s really close.”

Scott Morrow was drafter in 2021 and has been playing for the University of Massachusetts. As a defenseman he had nine goals and 41 points in 35 games last season.

“[UMass] has a good program there and he’s done well there,” Waddell said. “He plays a ton of minutes, so certainly another year there is not going to hurt his development at all.”

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Jack Drury is the most prepared for Carolina as a prospect. He skated in 35 games for the Canes last season with two goals and eight points. He also iced in Chicago with the Wolves for 11 goals and 24 points through 37 games.

“It was tough when we had to send him down last year, but he went with a great attitude, and he played well down there,” Waddell said. “And he brought that game and attitude right back to us when we brought him back, and we see him being ready to take even bigger strides this year.”

The Canes will carry three goalies this season with Raanta, Andersen, and Pyotr Kochetkov. That’s hefty bit of juggling. Who gets the ice time? Who gets a chance to get hot, and stay hot?

The Hurricanes scored six goals in their season ending four games against the Panthers. The Canes believe they have addressed that issue. That remains to be seen.

Carolina has been juggernaut in the regular season, but seems to find a way to lose in the post season.

The faith in the core of the roster is encouraging for those on the bench. The question is whether they are now predictable in their playoff runs.

Everyone has improved in the Metropolitan Division. Did the Canes tread water, or improve?

Blackhawks’ Savoie has surgery on right femur

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Samuel Savoie had surgery on his right femur in Minnesota on Sunday, the Chicago Blackhawks announced.

The surgery comes one day after the 19-year-old forward was taken off the ice on a stretcher after awkwardly sliding into the boards during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said after the game that Savoie “was in a little bit of pain, so you know, we’re just hoping for the best for him.”

Savoie was skating for a loose puck along with Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski, who pulled up before Savoie slid into the boards legs first with 2:24 remaining in the second period. He grabbed his right leg while lying on the ice.

chi_savoie_injury_stretcher

© Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

As he exited, Savoie gave a thumbs-up and fist-bumped with several Wild and Blackhawks players, which Richardson said was “a good relief” to see.

Savoie, who was making his preseason debut, played 9:00 prior to the injury.

Selected by Chicago in the third round (No. 81) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Savoie had 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 60 games last season for Gatineau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

New York Rangers season preview

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New head coach Peter Laviolette has been facing the same maddening Rangers squad that helped send Gerard Gallant to the unemployment line after the 2022-23 season.

Kevin Labanc (62) attempts to tip a shot past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) as defenseman K’Andre Miller provides support – Photo by Jack Lima

The exhibition games are for learning what teams have, and need to do.

Laviolette is seeing how the Rangers are as inconsistent, lackadaisical, and uninterested as they have ever been.

A recent loss to the New York Islanders in preseason summed up the Rangers. A poor first period, a middle frame with all the emotion of a wet paper towel, and third period filled with pseudo urgency.

This is a make or break season for the veterans on this club. Too many are being paid too much for too little.

“There is a really good team here,” Laviolette said after being hired. . “I think any time that you don’t get to the level of success that you want or you’re expecting from inside your organization, and this goes for any team not necessarily just the New York Rangers, there is a sense of disappointment and there is a hunger to do more, to achieve more. I definitely picked that up from him and that’s a really positive thing for me as a coach to know that there is a thirst in there to be successful.”

It would be interesting to hear his inner thoughts now as he navigates the cloud of mystery in Manhattan.

“Everyone who I’ve talked to loved playing for him,” forward Barclay Goodrow said of Laviolette. “As players all you can do is prove yourself to him.”

Apparently not everyone is ready.

Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck have been injured or invisible so far in training camp. And don;t go down the road of then saving themselves for the regular season. This IS who the New York Rangers are.

It’s been the new faces who have brought the energy including Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick, and Erik Gustafsson.

The aging kids of the group can no longer blame youth and inexperience on their limited successes for the past two season. Kaapo Kakko, 22, Alexis Lafrenière, 21, and Filip Chytil, 23, will need to make dramatic changes to their game to see ice time.

“There’s definitely going to be competition to see where the lines and minutes fall out,” Laviolette said. “What’s exciting about training camp for me this year is to see who is going to bust through the door.”

Brennan Othmann is slated for next season, but has been making noise this training camp and has scored one of the few goals the Rangers have potted this exhibition season.

“Knowing he had to go back to junior last year, the message from the development staff is we want to see more of a 200-foot game, attention to details,” Rangers director of player development Jed Ortmeyer said. “It’s understanding what you’re going to have to do at the pro level to stay in the lineup every night. That was the idea going back to juniors, putting himself on the biggest stages and in the pressure moments and excel. It proves he’s a gamer.”

Will Cuylle has been making noise on the ice by throwing his considerable size around and impacting games. He is slated for this season, and if the veterans continue their lackluster approach to training camp he may end at Madison Square Garden and not Hartford this season.

“He has taken each step and then comes in last year ready for camp and solidified a role with Hartford on the penalty kill, some power play and led them in goals in his first-year pro [season],” Ortmeyer said. “Getting better one step at a time.”

Defenseman Zac Jones is expected to make the team next season, but again, if the Rangers continue to be well, the Rangers, he can expect to find himself in Manhattan sooner.

“He got some experience the last couple years,” Ortmeyer said. “Coming to Hartford last year he focused on his defensive play, getting a little bit stronger with his ‘D’ zone coverage and ending plays. He did everything we asked him to and the experience of playing a ton of minutes in all situations, I think that will help him and give him a lot of momentum going into training camp this year.”

Laviolette came to New York preaching hard work. His players seem to have not gotten the message. At least the lazy veterans have not.

“That’s why I said from Day One, it’s time to go to work,” Laviolette said. “It’s time to compete and go to work every day.”

It is hoped that Jonathan Quick can provide reliable back up to Igor Shesterkin in net this season. The preseason has shown he needs a better team in front of him to succeed.

The enigma is Lafreniere. The first pick in the NHL draft in 2020. He has shown flashes of what he can do. His time on ice was pitifully low last season, and seems to have been in Gallant’s dog house for much of the season.

“Opportunity is necessary for growth,” Laviolette said. “That’s what is going to be great about training camp, the slate is clean, and the door is wide open for anybody to kick it down. You can come in and bust through that door, say, ‘Here I am, and this is what I want to do.'”

It feels like Lafreniere was mismanaged by Gallant for two seasons, and that has been a huge drag of the skater’s abilities and his chances to grow into who is he was expected to be.
He signed a two-year extension over the summer and has maybe a year to prove he can sustain some progress.
Laviolette’s success will depe3nd on what he can get out of the aging youth this season.
If this season is anything like last, the Rangers will struggle, and their bench may change sooner than later to avert disaster.

Detroit Red Wings season preview

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In Detroit, there is hope that the Red Wings are one step, at least, closer to the playoffs than they have been the last few years.

Alex DeBrincat was acquired from the Ottawa Senators to provide offense in Detroit

The rebuild has methodical and purposeful thus far, but the fans  are restless.

And ownership needs to see progress.

Detroit acquired Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators after he stated he would not re-sign with the Sens after this season. So, Ottawa got what they could from Detroit and sent DeBrincat packing.

“You see a team that’s maybe frustrated with being in a rebuild and wants to get out,” DeBrincat said. “I’m excited to be here and kind of join that and hopefully be part of the solution to get out of that. I’m just really excited to join these guys, and I definitely see the potential in this group.”

The question is, what DeBrincat has Detroit acquired. The 40-goal scorer, or the average skater the Senators were saddled with.

He was not the only pick up in the off season. Detroit signed a host of skaters including J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, Klim Kostin, Christian Fischer; Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Holl.

“I have been on both sides of it, and I know what it takes,” Compher said. “I’m excited to be with this group and build towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship, and it starts with making the playoffs. I’ve been through it before and excited to take on this challenge as well.”

They also added netminder James Reimer.

“I’m excited,” Sprong said. “Detroit was only 12 points out of a playoff spot last year. You’re talking about maybe a six-, seven-game swing here and there during the year. You don’t want to get too high. You don’t want to get too low. But you’re not far out of the race. It’s going to be a fight for playoffs, and I think that’s everyone’s goal in the organization this year.”

That’s a great deal of new faces in the lineup for this season.

“I think the guys will feel good that we’ve added NHL-quality players to the roster, and we hope to be more competitive, and the players will feed off that,” general manager Steve Yzerman said.

Add to those new skaters two prospects to the lineup. Defenseman

Simon Edvinsson and forward Marco Kasper are expected to make the roster this season.

Edvinsson picked up two goals in nine games with the Red Wings last season. The rest of his season was spent with the Grant Rapid Griffins of the AHL.

Kasper iced one game for Detroit last campaign after coming over the Swedish Hockey League.

His one game ended early after a broken kneecap in the game in early April.

“Just trying to come back strong out of that, working hard in the offseason and being ready for next season,” Kasper said on NHL.com.

Ville Husso will be the likely number one goaltender for Detroit. He had an up and down campaign in 2022-23, and his play will need to improve if the Red Wings are make a push for a playoff spot.

Reimer as his back up is a questionable ask. The 35-year old was in a shooting gallery in San Jose with the Sharks last season, but was less that consistent.

“Seems like a great guy,” Reimer said of Husso. “Looking forward to pushing each other and trying to give this team the best puck-stopping as possible.”

The real question is DeBrincat. Is a true 40-goal scorer? The Chicago Blackhawks sent him packing to Ottawa, and now the Senators have off loaded him Detroit.

The Red Wings may have a couple more seasons of treading water, Yzerman  needs to get production from some suspect skaters and thin goalie tandem, to make any progress.

New York Islanders season preview

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In Elmont, the New York Islanders will roster the 2022-23 Isles for the coming campaign.

Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders watches the puck sail high over the goal.

That’s how confident and comfortable the organization is with the players they had last season.

“When you look at the roster, you’re talking about the stability,” assistant general manager Chris Lamoriello said. “That’s what we feel the strength is. The Islanders are always going to be a team that should be able to play different styles, play different opponents, be successful with different styles and different opponents.”

The Islanders made it to the playoffs last season, but were bounced in the fist round by the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Isles re-signed goalie Ilya Sorokin to an eight-year deal in the off season, locking up their Vezina candidate from the last season.

The number two goalie in net for New York will be Semyon Varlamov  who signed a four-year deal in July.

“I think my dad said it many times,” Chris Lamoriello said. “He likes to build teams from the net out and we feel very fortunate that these two players (Sorokin and Varlamov) are with us, they signed long term and they’re a huge part of our present and our future. When you start with those two goaltenders, you know that every night you’re going to have a chance to win.”

The stalwarts of the roster, Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri, Oliver Wahlstrom, Cal Clutterbuck, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Simon Holmstrom, Adam Pelech, and Noah Dobson will be back, and presumably healthy after a difficult season with injuries last campaign.

“It’s going to be similar faces,” New York’s Brock Nelson said. “Unknown right now with Zach, but a lot of guys coming back that we’ve had for a while, so I think everyone has a lot of belief and confidence that we have what it takes to go out there and go further.”

Two forwards from the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL are expected in the lineup this season.

Ruslan Iskhakov, 17 goals and 51 points in 69 games, and William Dufour, 21 goals and 48 points through 69 games, are both slated for the new season in Elmont.

“You look at his (Iskhakov) statistics and I think it’s evident, his talents, and they’re not just on the power play, they’re 5-on-5,” Lamoriello said. “One of the things that is so impressive about him is his attitude. He comes to the rink every day with a smile on his face, great enthusiasm, great energy. Now it’s just acquiring all those other things that a National Hockey League player needs to be able to do to play 82 games and a seven-game series.”

Defenseman Samuel Bolduc, 10 goals and 35 points in 56 games in Bridgeport, iced 17 games for the big club last season.  With all the injuries, his services were required in Elmont. He manged two goals and three points.

“I think that he hit the ground running,” Islanders assistant general manager Chris Lamoriello said. “He also knew that some of the stress he went through wasn’t necessarily anything he did or anybody else did wrong. It’s just part of what happens sometimes in hockey, and that’s where he showed maturity and really handled it well.”

One issue for the Isles is getting Bo Horvat better adjusted to the system and his linemates. His acquisition from the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline was a plus, but not nearly what New York had hoped for.

Barzal may be expected to move out of his comfort zone at center to accommodate Horvat for the benefit of the team.

That fix may pay dividends on the power play where the Islanders were woeful, ranked 30th in the NHL last season.Chemistry is the key for the Islanders headed to the new season. The team has opted to roll with last season’s roster with the hope that blending Horvat into the mix will be the answer to a second playoff spot this season and a deeper run beyond the first round.

A healthy Sorokin in net, and a healthier skater corps will make that possible.