Hamilton says goodbye to players and 15-16, looks forward to future...

AP Hamilton:

The atmosphere in the bowels of Copps Coliseum is particularly sombre as the Tigers clear out their lockers.  There are a few small jokes and a couple smiles but as a whole the guys just want to go home after yet another disappointing season.  Posted on the big black board are lists of players that GM Taylor wants to speak to before they leave.

Deryk Engelland, Kyle Quincey, Steve Ott, Brendan Morrow, Travis Moen,  & Geoff Lupul troop along one by one for their hand shakes and best wishes on their future endeavors.  Taylor will of course try to trade these guys but they know they won't be back in black and gold next season.  In the case of Lupul the team will exercise their buy-out option on him.

Once that older group has departed Taylor then meets with 5 youngsters and one older player.  Matt Fraser, Mike Latta, Eric Gelinas, Brandon Gormley, Greg Pateryn & Brian Boyle are told that the team will attempt to move them to a place where their talents can shine.  There are simply too many prospects and not enough roster spots for everyone.

Next Taylor calls in Evander Kane, Jonathan Drouin, Kari Lehtonen, Nazem Kadri, Lars Eller, Nick Cousins, Quinton Howden Mark Pysyk, Curtis Lazar, Stefan Matteau, Mike Chaput, Seth Griffith, Justin Fontaine & Kevin Connauton get read the off season training riot act and are told this upcoming season will be their last chance.

Once that group is gone Taylor is left with his young core. Ryan Spooner, Kevin Hayes, Bo Horvat, Tanner Kero, Darcy Kuemper, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nathan Beaulieu, Ryan Murray, Mark Boroweicki, Boone Jenner, Max Domi, Joe Blandisi, Darnell Nurse, Nathan MacKinnon, Joel Armia, Logan Shaw and John Marchessault.  This group which will make up most of the 16-17 starting roster also gets a lecture about off season training and is then sent off into the world.  The next few years should be very interesting for the players management and fans in tropical Hamilton Ontario.

Jenner		Spooner		MacKinnon
Domi		Horvat		Lazar
Kane		Hayes		Donskoi
Howden		Kadri		Fontaine
Murray		Lehtonen		Ekblad
Beaulieu		Vasilevskiy		Dumba
Borowiecki		Kuemper		Nurse

Regular Season Ends, Playoffs Start Tomorrow!

The 2015-16 CCHL Regular Season has ended and the playoffs begin tomorrow. (Sunday).

A few notes..

* I don't create special playoff datafiles....playoff teams should continue to submit lines as they wish until they are eliminated or crowned champion...

*The Puffin finished with a 19 game winning streak. The last team to beat REK was Georgetown back on January 20th. That's 39 days ago... Wow! Way to heat up for the playoffs, Chris! Congrats!

*We've set ANOTHER record for the most lines submitted ever with 1057, which is 17 more than last year's record. Each team averaged 48.05 lines sent in. The top team? MIN and FOR tied for the msot profiles with 92. That's awesome as is our continued streak of seeing a higher level of involvement. Thank You!

*More thanks are extended as for the first time that I can remember, we have ZERO overuse violations!

*Remember two days are ticked off daily during the playoffs, not just one for injuries...

*Please be mindful of how many games your goalies are allowed to be used during a playoff series. That detailed info can be found in the rules, Section Q.

*The playoff links for playoff results, injuries, scoring leaders, team rankings, team stats, etc.. have been added to the league homepage, just under the datafiles link on the top left of the page.

Thanks for another fantastic season, good luck to all the playoff teams!

Bill

Seattle Brew #5 A look at the playoff races as we head into the last week of the season...

After the games of Febraury 20th and with just 1 week remaining in the regular season all the
participants for the 2015-16 CCHL playoffs are known. Which teams will be playing which is still a
jumbled mess in one conference while things are just a little hazy in the other so here is how things
stand as the season winds down.

CANOSA Conference

REK – 109 points, 1st place, 1st Rd Bye - Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs MTL & VIC - Road (2) at SPR & SIB

Remaining opponents winning % .380

Highest scoring and currently the hottest team are in prime position to hold on to 1 of the top 2 seeds in the Conference and both season series against Copenhagen and Minnesota.

COP - 109 points, 2nd place, 1st Rd Bye – Games remaining (3) – Home (1) vs VIC – Road (2) at HAM & GEO

Remaining opponents winning % .513

Defending champs have a tough task to guarantee a 1st Rd bye as they lose both tie-breakers in season series to Minnesota and Reykjavik so they need to win out or hope either of those other teams stumble.

MIN - 107 points, 3rd place, 1st Rd vs LIE – Games remaining (3) – Home (0) – Road (3) at ISL, SPR & MTL

Remaining opponents winning % .380

Minnesota will need to be like Mad Max as all 3 games are away from the land of 10,000 lakes. There is also a chance that they could finish in 4th place if they fail to get a couple of wins.

GEO - 104 points, 4th place, 1st Rd vs VIC – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs COP & HAM – Road (2) at SAN & MTL

Remaining opponents winning % .414

If the Millers finish strong they could find themselves with a 1st Rd Bye, although they would need to beat Copenhagen in the final game between the two and get some help. If they really struggle in the final week they may drop into 5th place and start the playoffs on the road.

VIC - 99 points, 5th place, 1st Rd at VIC – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs SIB & SAN – Road (2) at REK & COP

Remaining opponents winning % .522

Victoria is almost certainly going to finish in 5th place and be travelling to start the playoffs. However if 4th place Georgetown sputters in their final quartet of games Victoria could slip into 4th and host the Millers in the 1st Rd. Victoria won the season series against Georgetown (3-1-2).

ISL – 84 points, 6th place, 1st Rd at MIN.

The Express are locked in as the 6th seed but they are invited to the big dance but in which city they will be on night 1 of the playoffs is not quite set. They may still not know where to book their flight to until the last day of the season.

SAN, MTL, SPR, SIB & HAM have all booked their tee times and have begun planning their moves for the 2016-17 CCHL season

CORFIELD Conference

DAY – 130 points, 1st place, 1st Rd Bye.

The Musicmen will rest up and await their 2nd Rd opponent knowing they have home ice throughout the playoffs as they have clinched 1st overall in the CCHL

CGY – 110 points, 2nd place, 1st Rd Bye – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs WPG & BOS – Road (2) at DAY & POR

Remaining opponents winning % .490

The Chinook only need 1 point in their final 4 games or Niagara Falls to lose or tie one of their remaining games to clinch the 1st Rd Bye that finishing in 2nd place grants. Will the Day 148 matchup against Dayton be a preview of the Corfield Final?

NIA – 102 points, 3rd place, 1st Rd vs FOR – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs WIS & DAY – Road (2) at SEA & HAL

Remaining opponents winning % .510

The Thunder are almost locked into the 3rd place spot with just an infinitesimal chance to move up to 2nd place. Who they host in the 1st Round is not quite known yet so they will have to play a wait and see game and maybe rest a few players.

WPG – 90 points, 4th place, 1st Rd vs SEA – Games remaining (3) – Home (2) vs LNZ & DAY – Road (1) at CGY

Remaining opponents winning % .673

A big win in game 79 against Seattle provided Winnipeg with a bit of cushion over the Reign and Fort Erie. Considering how tough their final trifecta of games are having that cushion may be just what was need to hold onto 4th place and beginning the playoffs at home.

SEA – 86 points, 5th place, 1st Rd at WPG – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs NIA & POR – Road (2) at LNZ & FOR

Remaining opponents winning % .482

The Reign will finish somewhere from 4th to 6th however they lost the season series to Winnipeg and won the season series against Fort Erie but the Falcons host the Reign on the final day of the season and that may hold the fate of the playoff seedings of 3 teams.

FOR – 85 points, 6th place, 1st Rd at NIA – Games remaining (4) – Home (2) vs POR & SEA – Road (2) at BOS & HAL

Remaining opponents winning % .342

The Falcons are looking to move up a ranking or 2 for the 1st round of the playoffs and the schedule is a favorable one. If the Ferrets struggle and Fort Erie find themselves within striking distance of Winnipeg and Seattle their final home game against the Reign may be the springboard for the Falcons to make another long playoff run.

LNZ, WIS, BOS, POR & HAL are preparing to pack up their lockers at the end of the week as the teams will look forward to making strides towards the playoffs in the 2016-17 CCHL season.

Kallum's Kids: A look at the prospects of the Minnesota Norsemen...

Kallum's Kids: A look at the prospects of the Minnesota Norsemen...

....a look at the prospect pipeline of the CCHL teams.

Top 6 Forwards Grade: B

Anthony Beauvillier, LW

Kyle Rau, C

Hudson Fasching, RW

Alexander Khokhlachev, C

Top 4 Defensemen Grade: B

Ryan Collins

Joe Hickett

Mike Reily

Top 2 Goalies Grade: E

Comments:

Khoklachev and Reilly leading the way for the Norsemen into the future, then comes a few and then the other are pretty far behind right now. As long as they are alive there is hope, but it is a long way to catch up. Still a shallow pool to dig from but the above mentioned is a good start to build on for the future.

Total grade: C

AP SPORTS IN DEPTH: What really happened in Dayton on New Year's Day with the Seattle Reign...

Dayton (AP) – Recently speculation was rampant that the CCHL Seattle Reign led by owner, philanthropist, visonary and business mogul Cameron McCurdy were partying into the wee hours on New Year’s Day which led to an embarrassing display of hockey later that day against the hometown Dayton Musicmen.

One of the Learjets belonging to McCurdy was indeed at the James M. Cox International airport on December 31st and witnesses did verify that a large enterourage was seen disembarking. It was confirmed that McCurdy was the last one to emerge from the jet escorted by Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Chastain. Neither of the actresses’ representatives would confirm their agenda or activities on the day in question other than to say they were researching roles for upcoming films.

Reign players led by Patrice Bergeron and Evgeni Malkin were seen exiting the Dayton Marriott hotel at around 5:30 pm. Players signed autographs and memrobilia for fans who were waiting outside before the team climbed into several stretch limosuines. Players had been heard stating they were just going out for dinner and a quiet New Year’s celebration because of the impending game versus the Musicmen the next day.

Patrons at several Dayton bars, The Dublin Pub, Blind Bob’s and South Park Tavern to name but a few stated they saw members of the Seattle Reign enjoying themselves and consuming alcoholic beverages. Some even complained that the lineups to get in to the bars were longer than normal and some persons were denied access because of a “private party” taking place inside.

An annoynomous source told the Dayton Daily News that members of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lebron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were also spotted in the area along with Cleveland Indians Corey Kluber, Jason Kipnis, Danny Salazar and Michael Brantley. The same source also stated that these players were in possesion of Seattle Reign t-shirts and baseball caps but photos have yet to emerge to substaniate that claim. The only Cleveland Browns players seen in the area was Johnny Manziel but that was most likely just a couincidence. 

One interesting thing of note was that Dayton Musicmen owner Bill Corfield was seen in the area and rumour has it that he was going from bar to bar using his connections to sneak into the bars and asking the bands to play the longer versions of such songs as Brown Eyed Girl, American Pie and Sweet Caroline so that the parties would be extended for as long as possible.

One person also stated that they believe Corfield was in disguise and joined one of the bands on stage to sing a stirring rendition of Starships “We Built This City”….heartfelt, inspirational and haunting were just a few of the adjectives used to describe the performance. Confirmation is also being sought that other CCHL GM’s Matt Young, Zak Davis, Gayle Zuk, Chuck Taylor and Brandon Zoladz were also seen partying the night away at the same places

We do know that McCurdy a long time Republican supporter and Ted Cruz endorser was seen dancing with Mayor Nan Whaley, maybe even during Corfield’s performance. He was also spotted doing shooters with Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown just after midnight. Governor John Kasich was also seen leading a conga line outside from one of the bars with Gustav Nyquist, Jeff Petry, Corey Crawford and McCurdy near the front of the line.

The teams on ice performace may have been influenced by the celebrations that took place the night before however allegations have surfaced that Dayton has been keeping the pucks used at all home games at slightly warmer temperatures than what the league rules stipulate. These warmer pucks tend to bounce a little more causing opposing goalies and teams fits. 

This has become known in CCHL insider circles as “rubbergate” not to be confused with recent laws passed related to the adult film industry. No word from the league if there is any truth to the rumour but based on the goals given up Crawford in the Reign net that night there may be more to it than just a simple rumour.

Marriott hotel staff confirmed a procession of limosuines did stop at the hotel just near 7:00 am local time and it appeared to be Seattle Reign players and coaching staff who entered the hotel in various stumbling states.

No one from Seattle Reign’s offices was available to shed light on any of the activities that Reign players and staff may have participated in that night although an airport employee did see McCurdy boarding a learjet with Jennifer Lawrence and Halle Berry at approximately 7:30 am New Year’s Day.

He was not in the vistor’s owner box on gameday and all requests for interviews have yet to be answered.

(Reporting by Jim Naseum and Art Ruum, editing by Candy Kane)

Kallum's Kids: A look at the prospects of the Long Island Express...

Kallum's Kids: A look at the prospects of the Long Island Express...

....a look at the prospect pipeline of the CCHL teams.

Top 6 Forwards Grade: A

Matthew Barzal, C

Sonny Milano, LW

Ryan Gopp, LW

Alex Tuch, RW

Anthony Mantha, RW

Gabriel Gagne, RW

Top 4 Defensemen Grade: A

Brady Skjei

Dominik Masin

Shea Theodore

Alex Lintuniemi

Top 2 Goalies Grade: A

Linus Soderstrom

Samuel Montembeault

Comments: This team has all the prospects it need to be able to provide the big club for years. Forwards is very strong while a top notch goalie would be handy. On the other hand goalies are hard to predict and there are several propects in the system. All in all a strong prospect pool on the island!
Total grade: A

Records set in DAY/SEA contest today...

Today's game between the Dayton Musicmen and the Seattle Reign produced three new current season records.

1) Most shots in a game by one team: DAY with 73...

2) Most shots in a period by one team: DAY with 37...

3) Most saves by a goaltender in one game: SEA's Corey Crawford with 67 saves out of 73 chances...

DAY's Tyler Seguin led the barrage with 14 shots on goal and Dan Hamhuis was the only Musicman to not register at least one shot on the Reign's Corey Crawford.

There were no injuries in today's game that would've contributed to the high number of shots by Dayton, nor was there an unusual number of power play opportunities for the Musicmen as they had just three, all two minutes in duration. Seattle killed all three shorthanded situations they faced.

While press reports found no late-night activities from any Musicmen celebrating New year's Eve in Dayton, there are several unconfirmed reports that GM Cam McCurdy took his team out to the big party in downtown Dayton and danced the night away. Not known previously as much of a dancer, there are multiple reports that McCurdy did a highly suggestive dance to "Wrecking Ball" when the DJ fired that tune up for the large crowd, with some estimates putting the oversized gathering for Dayton in the dozens of people.

According the Dayton Police Department there were no arrests and no fatalities.

Unconfirmed reports from the clubhouse staff working the Seattle room for the game described several of the players and coaches as looking "rough" when they arrived for the morning contest.When asked about his team's readiness for a game against the CCHL's top team, McCurdy said, "I never knew you could have so much fun in Dayton Ohio of all places. On the other hand, I must say I'm not real happy with (Dayton GM Bill) Corfield. We'd asked him to move the start time back a few hours and he literally laughed in my face. "Yeah, he just looked at me kind of funny and said, "No Cam...we're not moving the start time of today's game...See you boys at 8:00am..."

Seattle is a little more civilized than apparently Dayton Ohio is and we certainly would've accomodated them if they asked for a little flexibility in the game time.