Thrashers.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA — Only a few minutes remain in the quietest month of the hockey year.

Not much happens in August. The buzz of the draft and the major free-agent signings has faded. Prospects camp still is a few days away. Training camp will open in a couple of weeks. The puck drops on the new season 40 days from now.

For the Atlanta Thrashers and the rest of the National Hockey League, the quiet time that marks the dog days of late summer rapidly is approaching its conclusion. That’s good news for the Thrashers and their fans.

The memories of last season’s disaster, the 0-6 start, the injuries, the trades, the firing of Bob Hartley, the disappointment of plunging from Southeast Division champs to next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, remain. But as September arrives and the pace picks up in preparation for the new season, it’ll be easier to pack away everything that went wrong in 2007-08, and focus on doing things right in 2008-09.

It can’t get here soon enough. Hurricanes? Let’s talk Carolina, not Gustav. Roster speculation? Let’s see these guys on the ice, instead of talking about them over a glass of iced tea. Nights in Philips Arena? Time to push the WNBA out of here and get the Thrashers back in front of the fans.

September almost is here. Hockey is about to start.

Finally.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – Unlike many guys, I have no trouble remembering my wedding anniversary.

I married my best girl six months to the day after we met (actually, we celebrate two anniversary dates each year: the day we met, and the day we tied the knot). It capped a whirlwind weekend for me, which went a little something like this:

Friday night: Cover a high school football game.

Saturday afternoon: Cover a college football game.

Sunday afternoon: Cover an NFL football game.

Monday morning: Get married.

In case you’re wondering, we both returned to work on Tuesday. No frills, no major expense … and yeah, neither one of us would do it any different if given the chance.

So what in the name of Ilya Kovalchuk does this have to do with the Atlanta Thrashers, you may ask? Fair question. But stick with me. It’s late August, and precious little is happening in advance of prospects camp and training camp next month. From there, it’s full-steam ahead into the season.

Back to my big weekend. It came in October 1999. I pounded out my college story on Saturday, filed it with the newsroom, and raced 70 miles back to my Northeast Georgia home. Once I arrived, I grabbed my radio and tried to listen through the static to the frenzied voice of Scotty Ferrell calling the first game in Atlanta Thrashers history.

Yes, the Thrashers are two days older than my marriage. The bond with my wife is even stronger than it was that day we said “I do.” And my enjoyment of the Thrashers, which came into reality on that first Saturday night in October nearly nine years ago, continues to grow.

A couple of weeks after that opening-night loss to New Jersey, the bride and I attended our first Thrashers game in person. I proudly wore the white home jersey my mother-in-law purchased for me as an early Christmas present. We sat one row from the top of Philips Arena at center ice and cheered on the Thrashers as they beat Tampa Bay. It was my first NHL game, and although I had covered plenty of International Hockey League contests when the Atlanta Knights were in town, seeing the NHL in person was a beautiful thing, like eating prime rib when you’re accustomed to a lesser cut of meat.

Hopefully, the Thrashers can rebound from last season’s abysmal showing and move back into playoff contention. We moved away from Atlanta shortly before the puck dropped on the Thrashers’ second season. Back in the Big A for the Southeast Division championship season of 2006-07, I can tell you it was one of the biggest thrills of my sporting life to go to games during that surge to the playoffs.

I’m really looking forward to the season starting. True, there are plenty of questions about this team, some which we’ve already addressed here in the past month. True, nobody gives this team much of a chance of being in the thick of things come March.

But as in marriage, when you pledge your allegiance to a sports team, you do it for better or for worse. Here’s hoping for the Thrashers, the best is yet to come.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – It’s as inevitable as the sun rising in the east.

Ilya Kovalchuk breaks into the offensive zone, a pack of opposing defenders nipping at his heels, a nervous goaltender setting up for one of Kovy’s patented slapshots or drives to the net. The Russian scoring machine – with 50-plus goals in two of his past three seasons – feels the smothering effect of an entire defensive unit collapsing on him, and assesses his options.

There aren’t many. Shoot, or pass, and option No. 2 isn’t exactly a Thrashers’ strong suit.

When Kovy skated with fellow All-Star Marian Hossa on the top line for parts of the first half of last season, Atlanta placed two of the top offensive talents in the NHL on the ice at the same time. But now that Hossa is gone, the question looms:

Who is going to help Kovalchuk shoulder the scoring load?

Of the eight Thrashers who accounted for 30-plus points last season in an Atlanta uniform, three are no longer with the team: Hossa (56 points in 60 games before the deadline deal to Pittsburgh), Mark Recchi (48 points) and Bobby Holik (34 points). A fourth member of that group, defenseman Tobias Enstrom, only tallied five goals.

Again, who else besides Kovy – who finished with 52 goals and 87 points – will light the lamp for Atlanta this season? He’s going to need help; no player can do it alone, although Kovy tried after the Hossa trade. He may be carrying more of the weight than is fair this season, because the cupboard isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with goal scorers.

Eric Perrin was a nice surprise last season, finishing with 45 points, 12 coming on goals. Slava Kozlov endured a miserable season and, at age 36, one wonders if the veteran will be able to match his 17 goals and 41 points from a year ago. Other than Kovy, Kozzy scored more goals last season than anybody else currently on the roster.

Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen – both acquired in the Hossa deal – will have to contribute. Armstrong finished with 13 goals and 35 points last season, 11 coming in 18 games with Atlanta. Christensen only played 10 games with the Thrashers, totaling four points with Atlanta in a 24-point season (11 goals total, two with Le Thrash).

A big part of the focus falls on center Todd White, who signed a four-year contract with Atlanta entering last season, then struggled to adjust. White still finished with 37 points (14 goals), but off some of his scoring numbers from the past (20 in 2001-02, 25 in 2002-03, 19 in 2005-06).

If not White, then maybe new center Jason Williams. Signed in the offseason, Williams totaled 13 goals and 36 points for the Blackhawks last season. He scored 21 goals for Detroit three seasons ago and could at least pick up some of the slack left from the departures of Hossa and Recchi. Forward Marty Reasoner, signed from Edmonton, tied a career high with 11 goals with the Oilers last season.

We know this much: Kovy will get his goals, many of them causing jaw-dropping ah-has from the denizens at Philips Arena. But he’s going to need some help if the Thrashers intend to contend in 2008-09.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – When you talk toughness, you’ve got to look really, really hard to find an Atlanta Thrasher who embodies that adjective.

That might sound like a jab at the organization, but it’s not. I realize all hockey players are tough. I know that from standing in the Atlanta Knights’ locker room countless times in the mid-1990s, as a college sports reporter, watching those guys unwrap their bandages and hobble to the training room. It comes from standing at the corner of the glass at ice level and watching the head-on collisions that come from racing an opponent into the corner for a loose puck.

With all that said, there’s just not many guys who have donned the Thrashers’ sweater since the team’s inception in 1999 that leaps to mind as tough. Eric Boulton fit the bill from last year’s team. His 127 penalty minutes led a team that many in the NHL viewed as, well, soft.

But one former Thrasher comes to mind immediately in thinking about toughness: Jeff Odgers. No way I’d ever cross that dude in an alley … come to think of it, I think if I ever saw Odgie, I’d just quietly stop and stand and let him pass my way.

Odgers, for those of you who don’t know, has spent the past two seasons calling Thrashers hockey with the ever-entertaining Dan Kamal on the radio. He doesn’t have the smooth-as-silk delivery you might want from a broadcaster, but he does possess a deep knowledge of the game and wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions on the air.

Odgers is leaving the booth to spend more time with his sons back in Canada. He definitely will be missed, if for nothing else the thought that if somebody took a cheap shot at a Thrasher on the ice, old No. 20 might come out of the booth and drop the gloves at center ice one more time.

Best of luck, Odgie.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – “And a babe will lead them from the wilderness …”

Can’t blame Thrashers fans from looking at Zach Bogosian and uttering that phrase. The team’s top pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old might look more suited for a seat in a college classroom.

But make no mistake: The 6-foot-2 defenseman can play.

And where he plays is why Thrashers’ fans are singing the praises of the youngster. In case you missed last season, words can’t describe how bad Atlanta was on defense. Beyond allowing the most goals and the most shots of any team in the NHL in 2007-08, it was the inability of the Thrashers’ blueliners to keep opposing players from camping in front of Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg that doomed this team to a 14th-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Enter Bogosian, who isn’t a bruiser by trade but knows when to lower the boom on speedy wingers and crafty centers. He logged 135 penalty minutes the past two seasons with Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League, and is skilled enough to jump into the fray offensively. Bogosian scored 61 points (including 11 goals) last season in the OHL, ranking second in the league with 50 assists and leading his team in scoring.

Under normal circumstances, Bogosian would be heading to the minors for another season of seasoning. But with the Thrashers in dire need of shoring up their defense, it’s certainly possible Bogosian is donning Thrashers’ blue for the season opener Oct. 10 against Washington at Philips Arena. He turned enough heads during last month’s developmental camp to warrant a long, hard look when training camp opens in September.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – So, you want to see the Atlanta Thrashers play on the tube in 2008-09, but you don’t live in Georgia.

Your options are limited.

When national TV executives study the schedule, a team that finished with the third-worst record in the NHL doesn’t exactly make them drool. Perhaps that’s why the Thrashers will appear on national TV only twice this season: Oct. 28 against the Flyers and March 16 vs. the Capitals. Both games will be televised on Versus, which – unfortunately – remains the main NHL cable carrier in the U.S.

Seriously, sidetracking from the Thrashers’ lack of exposure for a second and speaking about hockey’s lack of exposure in the U.S., having the games on Versus is always going to hurt the NHL. ESPN barely shows highlights anymore now that the Worldwide Leader In Sports doesn’t broadcast games. It’s a shame, too, because there are a lot of people who would watch the sport if they could get Versus.

OK, back to the Thrashers: of course, no games on NBC as of right now (the network will pick up games for late in the season, so if the Thrashers aren’t contending, they aren’t playing on NBC this season. You saw the Thrashers from time to time last season on NBC and Versus, but remember, Atlanta was coming off the Southeast Division title and did play host to the All-Star game. No All-Star game plus a bad season means if you want to watch the Thrashers and you live away from the Peach State, coughing up the cash for the NHL Center Ice package is your only option.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – Sitting here on a pleasant night in mid-August, trying to pay attention to the Braves (who for a change are actually winning), and thinking ahead to how good that chilly air inside Philips Arena is going to feel on opening night.

And with that thought of Thrashers’ hockey, a few random questions as we remain in summer’s grip:

What’s the over/under on how many points the Thrashers have to finish with in order for Don Waddell to have a job on June 1?

Wait, didn’t Waddell have a five-year plan?

What year is this?

Surely the defense has to be better, because it can’t be any worse, right?

Why would Ron Hainsey sign a five-year deal to come play for a defense that gave up more goals and more shots than any other in the NHL last season?

The Thrashers are paying him 20-million-what over those five years?

Is he the next Chris Chelios?

OK, Hainsey isn’t, but is first-rounder Zach Bogosian? Can the 18-year-old come out of training camp with a roster spot?

Given how bad the defense was last year, isn’t Bogosian a lock to make the team?

How long will it take for Ilya Kovalchuk to make SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays with one of his patented blasts from the point?

Who else is going to score goals other than Kovalchuk, and how long until the nightly double- and triple-teams set off the fiery Russian?

Who is going to center the top line? Todd White? How’d that work out last season?

Which Kari Lehtonen will we see: Kari The Great, or Kari Let-Em-In?

How long until fans start calling for Johan Hedberg to start?

How long until Kari gets yanked from a game in the second period?

What’s the over/under on number of times opposing announcers will show a picture of John Anderson behind the bench and comment, “You coached in the minors for 13 years for this?”

How many days until the puck drops? That’s one I can answer: 54. And while it’ll take time to sort through all the questions we have about this franchise, I for one am getting antsy. Opening day, hurry up and get here already.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

A little sound of the Thrashers on the Olympic soccer coverage this morning.

JP Dellacamera, the Thrashers’ play-by-play man for TV broadcasts, called the two women’s soccer semifinals on MSNBC today. And, I have to admit – cruel as it may be – that every time somebody scored and I heard JP make the call, I looked at my TV thinking I’d see Kari Lehtonen sprawled out in the crease and a couple of Thrashers’ defenders standing around staring off into space.

One person who it doesn’t appear will be manning the Atlanta blueline this season is Russian national team defender Ilya Nikulin. Published reports earlier this offseason speculated the 6-foot-3 defender was ready to leave Russia to play for the Thrashers, but recent news from Russia indicates Nikulin will spend this season playing over there as opposed to over here.

Nikulin definitely would upgrade an Atlanta defense that ranked last in the NHL last season in goals allowed and shots allowed. Doesn’t look like he’ll be here, though.

A final note on Dellacamera’s call of the Beijing Games: How fitting was it that a goal was scored for Team USA today by Lori Chalupny? Why, you ask? She wears No. 17, and we’ve heard plenty of goal calls from JP when a certain other No. 17 lights the lamp.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – When you have the worst defense in the NHL, you’ll take just about anybody.

Which makes the free-agent signing of Ron Hainsey all the more surprising.

No, this isn’t 37-year-old Ken Klee coming to town. This is Hainsey, who may not be a household name and probably isn’t among the elite defensemen in the league. Yet, it’s a guy who stands 6-foot-3, has played all but six games the past two seasons and has topped the 30-point plateau in both 2006-07 and 2007-08.

In other words, it’s not an aging veteran at the end of his career, or a marginal player on the downside slide toward a coaching job in the minors.

Hainsey is physical, can move the puck well and, at age 27, figures to be moving into the prime years of his career. The 13th overall pick in the 2000 NHL draft by Montreal, Hainsey has played with the Canadians and Columbus in his career, totaling 85 points in 245 NHL games.

Last season, Hainsey scored eight goals for the Blue Jackets, all coming on the power play. He finished with 24 assists and a minus-7 rating.

He might not be a Hall of Famer or even an All-Star, but he comes into a defensive corps that gave up more goals than any team in the NHL last season. It has to be an improvement.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA – Want the recipe for a rotten season? Here you go: allow the most goals in the NHL, allow the most shots in the league and play defense like you’re allergic to stopping the opposition.

Voila! You have last season’s Atlanta Thrashers.

It doesn’t take a lot of scientific research, deep fact finding or a PhD in Hockey 101 to realize the Thrashers were abysmal on defense last season … wait. Abysmal just called, and he’s offended we’d associate him with the pitiful excuse of a defensive unit the Thrashers employed in 2007-08.

Maybe horrendous is a better word. Putrid, maybe? How about just plan out-and-out suck?

And to think, it could’ve been even worse. Where would the Atlanta blueliners have been without Tobias Enstrom, the undersized rookie who led all NHL first-year defenders in points and ice time?

Don’t answer that.

The Thrashers gave up an NHL-worst 272 goals last season (an average of 3.32 per game). They allowed 33.9 shots per game, also worst in the league. Only one defender, Niclas Havelid, finished with a plus-minus rating in positive territory (just barely, though, at plus-2). Alexi Zhitnik, acquired from Philadelphia for promising prospect Braydon Coburn at the 2007 trade deadline, spent the tail-end of the season on the bench, then was released in the offseason.

In 21 games last season, Atlanta allowed five goals or more. Its record in those contests? 0-21.

Yeah, gotta fix the defense obviously. And the Thrashers have made some moves to try and shore up their blueline, signing veteran Ron Hainsey and using the third overall pick in the draft on super prospect Zach Bogosian, who could make the opening-night roster. Enstrom will have to avoid a sophomore slump, and the Thrashers have to get better performances from Garnet Exelby and Ken Klee.

With just five defensemen on the roster, the battles to fill out the blueline spots will occupy plenty of the spotlight during training camp next month. It has to be, because if the Thrashers don’t have better production from their defense this season, a new head coach and the brilliance of Ilya Kovalchuk and everything else won’t mean squat.

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