Bon Voyage Boychuk

Boychuk headed overseas (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

61 days into the NHL lockout another Boston Bruin decides it is time to play hockey again.  On Thursday afternoon CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty tweeted that B’s blue-liner Johnny Boychuk was headed to Austria to play.  Johnny will be playing for EC Red Bull Salzburg, a team that currently sits 9th out of 12.

Boychuk is the first of his teammates to sign with Austria, but joins current division rivals Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek of the Sabres whom have been playing for the country since the fall.

The defenseman is coming off of a career-year, finishing eighth overall in plus-minus with an impressive plus-27.  He is most commonly heard of for his ‘Johnny Rocket’ from sports commentator Jack Edwards, registering 5 goals and 10 assists last season.  The defenseman is a vital piece of the Bruins organization and will no doubt make himself known in Austria.

Current members of the Bruins organization aren’t missing a beat when it comes to scoring and making themselves at home as forwards Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are all currently averaging more than a point per game.  Seguin netting the game-winning overtime goal tonight against defending Champions.  Tuukka Rask is also dominating between the pipes for HC Plzen, despite the rumors of re-injuring his groin.

As the lockout continues we can only expect a few more of posts like this one with practices in Boston getting smaller and smaller as more and more players ship overseas.  The NHL is reportedly resuming negotiation talks on Monday, with any luck they will be able to find some common ground and make some headway to try and salvage this season.

 

Kelly Signs With Swiss

Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Today a tenth member of the Boston Bruins decided to pack up and head overseas to play hockey.  It was announced that forward Chris Kelly, who in July signed a $12 million contract extension, will be heading to the Swiss League to play for HC Red Ice.  Kelly signed a month-long deal with the team with an extension option as well as an out clause should the NHL and NHLPA come to an agreement.

Kelly is coming off of a career-best year with 20 goals, 19 assists combining for 39 points and a +33 rating.

As the Bruins were one of the largest groups present at the NHLPA/NHL meetings in New York they also have the largest number of players overseas.  I guess the saying is true that family sticks together through anything and that Boston has a unique and special bond that no one other team can match.

Keep being so brilliant Boston, despite a lockout, you are still making us proud to be your fans.

Bruins Abroad: Breaks Are Coming

Zdeno Chara (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

As we all know nine members of the Boston Bruins organization are currently playing overseas in Europe for various clubs.  In recent news it was reported that goaltender Tuukka Rask had re-injured his groin, an injury that sidelined him from March of last year right up through the playoffs.  We also got word that forward Patrice Bergeron had an upper body injury, but that it wasn’t that serious.  Bergeron spent a week resting an injured hand and returned to the HC Lugano line up today.  He managed to post a goal and two assists in his debut game since the injury, contributing in all three goals the team scored today in their 4-3 loss.

Rask, was back to work on Friday, the 27th proving that his groin injury is not a major concern.  His return was exciting for Boston fans around the nation as we were able to breathe a sigh of relief, but also because he was taking on teammate David Krejci.  Rask was able to lead HC Plzen to a shootout victory entering the game with a 93.55 save percentage and now holding a 7-2 record.

Rask played the entire game against HC Pardubice and saved 29 of 32 shots he faced, coming up big in the shoot-out.  His health will continue to be questioned by Bruins fans as we sit with anticipation for every game he is in net for, but for now we can be proud of his triumphs.

While we have all been hearing about Tyler Seguin and how the Swiss love him with his scarves and 15 points in 11 games, David Krejci hasn’t been doing bad either.  In nine games he has five goals and four assists, not bad for the struggling center.  It seems as though he has found his style of play again, let’s just hope he can keep up the consistency if and when the NHL season starts.

For captain Zdeno Chara, he got to play for a new head coach on the 29th, scoring a power play goal for Lev Praha instilling an early 2-0 lead.  While the lead didn’t withstand, and Lev lost in overtime to Metallurg Novokuznetsk.  However, the captain will have a bit of a break coming up from November 4 – November 13 along with forwards Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley.  Goaltender Anton Khudobin will also have a break while the Finland Karjala Cup and German Deutschland Cup are being held.  Both are round-robin tournaments that are a part of the Euro Hockey Tour used to find future talent for World Championship teams.

While it has been reported that Tyler Seguin is expected to come home on his break and visit Boston and Toronto, it has yet to be determined if the rest of the Bruins members will do the same.  Only time will tell, until then we will keep cheering them on from across the ocean. Keep up the good work men!

Bergeron Injured, Rask Okay

Patrice Bergeron (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Earlier this week we reported that goaltender Tuukka Rask had injured his groin while playing for HC Plzen of the Czech League.  It was later stated yesterday that he had only tweaked the injury and would be perfectly fine.  He is expected to play in Friday’s game.  As fans around the nation breathed a sigh of relief as word spread of the goaltender, we awoke to this:

Forward Patrice Bergeron has suffered from an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. However, NESN’s Naoko Funayama reported this morning that he did participate in today’s practice and is questionable for tomorrow’s game for HC Lugano.

In April the forward was burdened with an upper body injury that limited his capabilities and performance for the last two games of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals.  He also suffered from a broken nose from Alex Semin during Game 5 of the first round playoffs and begrudgingly admitted his injury limited him.

While this news may sting, a team source told Funayama that the injury sounded minor.  The game in question Friday happens to be against HC Davos, which features NHL stars Rick Nash and Joe Thornton.  Currently Bergeron has six goals and five assists in just five games and is +13.  Not bad for the current Selke contender.

Krejci Speaks And Retracts…Somewhat

David Krejci (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

As we all know nine members of the Boston Bruins organization are currently playing overseas.  As if the recent news of Tuukka Rask injuring himself isn’t enough to get bummed about, we know have some hastiness from forward David Krejci as well.  While he isn’t necessarily pulling the Tim Thomas and making a mountain out of a mole hill, he is making some waves over in the Czech Republic.  A couple days ago in the locker room after a game he spoke about the lockout to a Czech sports website.  (Interview has been run through Google Translate, but it gets the general message across)

“We want to play, we’re the ones who are doing the show in the NHL, but Bettman thinks it makes him. It is unfortunate that the NHL have such a guy. It’s a shame for the entire hockey world. Treats us like animals. Really a shame that he is in the lead,” Krejci said about the commissioner.

He also mentioned the meeting between representatives of the NHL and NHLPA last week, which did not end well.

“Our Association will give the owners three proposals and they get blown out on the table in 15 minutes. I have to say about it. Bettman took in $ 3.5 million of last choice and it is now at eight,” he said, mentioning how Bettman’s salary rose from $3.5 million in 2004-05 to $8 million today. “I was hoping that at least one of our proposal to adopt or abide at least addressed. I expected their interest, but not a clue. They would not mind as much if the year was wrong. It’s very frustrating for us,” he added. (via Emma Harger)

Over the course of the past couple of days the center has been portrayed in a not-so-positive light and e-mailed CSNNE.com to make a statement regarding his comments.

“I regret my recent comments about the lockout which were made flippantly in the locker room after our last game. I did not intend for them to be recorded,” said Krejci. “Specifically, I have been treated very well by the Boston Bruins and wish to confirm that my comments should not reflect on my club in any way. I regret any inference to the contrary.”(via csnne.com)

While he may have clarified he did not mean to speak negatively about the Bruins organization, he did not retract any statements made about Bettman.  At least the center is owning up to what he said and standing behind it rather than hunkering down in a hut somewhere in Florida hunting gators…just saying.

 

Rask Re-Injured (UPDATED)

Tuukka Rask went for a butterfly save in the second and never got back up (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

While in between the pipes for HC Plzen Tuukka Rask suffered what was later determined to be a groin injury.  He played the first period and never returned.  Just to remind you, last season Tuukka sat out for 4-6 weeks with a lower body injury and returned in time for the last few games of the playoffs. Coming into this season Rask was to take on the role of starting goaltender for the Bruins, with Tim Thomas taking the year off to focus on friends,family and faith.  This injury could be some serious bad news for the Bruins as they are relying solely on the Finnish goaltender to carry them into cup contention should the season begin.

When healthy last season he had a 2.05GAA and .929 save percentage.  When he went down March 3 against he Islanders the bruins signed goaltender Marty Turco to a deal.  With Turco remaining unsigned and Thomas out of the picture the Bruins have net minder Anton Khudobin to look at.  While he made a stellar debut in the single game he played in for the Bruins, he has yet to really prove himself.  However, it seems as though he may get a chance to sooner than later should this injury be serious.

Entering this season Rask was signed to a one-year contract, one that would be based merely on how he was able to handle the 55-60 game schedule that was being entrusted upon him along with a probable post-season playoff run.

With so much responsibility relying on Rask’s shoulders and the severity of the injury unknown, it doesn’t look good for him or the Bruins team should a season commence in the coming month.

[UPDATE: OCTOBER 24,2012 9:45AM] Tuukka did not re-injure himself.  He felt a little tweak stemming from the March injury and decided to sit out the rest of the game.  He is expected to play in Friday’s game for HC Plzen.

Seguin Gives Swiss The Shakes

Seguin seems to have found his skates in Switzerland and captured the hearts of many (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

It appears as though Boston’s most eligible bachelor has given Switzerland a case of the shakes as they now offer Tyler Seguin scarves.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, you can now order yourself an HC Biel Tyler Seguin scarf to wear this winter.  Seguin is the first Bruin to have his own “clothing line.” (If you want to call it that.) Personally, I would have thought we would see this from best dressed Bostonian Brad Marchand.

As if having scarves made with your name on it isn’t enough to make your head inflate, they also showcased Seguin on their website for “Interview of the Week,” his first ‘official’ interview with the Swiss.  Here’s a recap of how it went:

Seguin and the Swiss

Tyler Seguin excited to be playing in Switzerland (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

The past two weeks have proven to be some many firsts for Bruins forward Tyler Seguin.  It’s his first time playing overseas, his first lockout and his first goal.  Naturally, Seguin takes all of his firsts in stride, careful not to slip up too much aside from a little language barrier mishap in an interview here and there. However, Switzerland was still able to get an interview with the young superstar and here is what he had to say about his time in the country so far:

European News In Exchange For Bruins Season Opener

Tuukka Rask and his team NC Plzen are set to take on the Knights today at 2:30ET (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight was supposed to mark the beginning of the 2012-2013 season for the Boston Bruins, who were set to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on nationally aired television.  But alas, we must settle for ESPN 3 online coverage of the KHL.  Don’t get me wrong, the European games are intriguing and fun to watch, but it’s not the same.  I would rather watch the teammates play on the same team rather than against each other, it makes it seem more like a scrimmage than a real game.  Yet, some hockey is better than no hockey at all, right?

Today Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask‘s team NC Plzen is set to take the ice at 2:30EST against Kladno.  The last time Tuukka was in goal for NC Plzen he helped lead the team to a 2-1 victory.  In the three games that Rask has been in net for NC Plzen, he has provided 78 saves and two victories.  Today Tuukka will face his old Stanley Cup teammate Tomas Kaberle along with Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec. The last time these two teams met up the Indians(plzen) fell to the Knights 4-0 on home territory. As they head back to the Kladno Knights ice they are looking to bounce back and earn themselves a win.  This game has a lot of hype around it and according to the Indians’ preview, tickets have “long since sold out.” If you would like to see this game, you can watch it here.

Other European News:

While Tuuka’s team may be the only game on the television-internet today, there are plenty of other players with some pretty cool news.  For instance Patrice Bergeron debuted in his first game for HC Lugano of the Swiss League a couple of days ago and managed to put up four points. Yeah, you read that correctly.  Perfect Patrice scored two goals and had two assists for four points in his first game.  If that isn’t a current-reigning Selke Winner showing his talents, I don’t know what is.

Patrice isn’t the only one showing off his skills on the ice from the Bruins squad either.  Take a look at this swift pass from Seguin for the game-winning goal for HC Biel (Grey team):

Also his first goal for HC Biel was c’est magnifique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH 8uhA-xcis

Captain Zdeno Chara also had his fair share of excitement as his team Lev Praha faced off against Alex Ovechkin‘s team Dynamo Moscow.  It was the first time the two captains met since the Capitals eliminated the Bruins in Round 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Quarter-Finals. Just as the announcers were stating the KHL isn’t as physical as the NHL, Chara unleashed a heavy check sending the home-crowd into a roaring cheer.  Unfortunately this game came down to a single goal, one scored by none other than Alexandre Ovechkin himself.  A goal that could have easily been waived off per NHL officiating as goaltender interference.

For now this European stuff will have to suffice until the NHL decides to stop being stubborn.  We can still dream dear Bruins fans.

 

 

Khokhlachev Leaving KHL

(Photo Credit: circlingthewagon.com)

Over the summer the Boston Bruins signed 19 year-old Russian forward Alex Khokhlachev to an entry level contract to which he was to serve after spending the season in the KHL rather than finish his last season with the Windsor Spitfires of the CHL.  It was reported today that the Spitfires have claimed him along with Juraj Bezuch on re-entry waivers. To simplify, the team has the rights to the two players should the KHL prove to be too advanced.

“This is a window of opportunity for Alex to come back to Windsor,” Rychel said. “If he is going to play in the CHL this year, it’s going to be for the Spitfires. And he will be welcomed back.” (Windsor Spitfires press release)

While there is nothing concrete of this move as of yet, the potential is there.  The typical timetable for a teen playing overseas to come to the CHL seems to be around late December-early January.

Currently the Spitfires hold a  3-2-0-1 record, but have been outscored 22-15 on the season. Unless Brady Vail  is able to continue factoring in 60% of their scoring for their entire season Khokhlachev is well worth the wait.