Latest news with #CanadianOlympian
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
The Oilers' Skinner and Panthers' Bobrovsky have been solid, despite the scoreboard
Article content 'I was pushed (by Mattias Ekholm). I think the goalie kicked out my heel that made me fall,' said Bennett, who didn't have his hand on a bible as he took the stand, though. Article content The real heel in Oiler Nation is clearly Bennett, but we digress. Article content Maybe Kevin Bieksa put it best after the first 20 minutes. Article content 'There's an awful lot going on out there and not around the puck,' he said. Article content Like when Bennett casually kicked Ekholm's fallen stick away just as the Oiler defenceman was bending down to grab the twig, with Florida scoring on a power play in the first frame. Article content Article content Tracking a prospect Article content While the Oilers have rolled into the Cup final, London Knights' right-shot centre Sam O'Reilly, their first-round 2024 pick after they traded up with Philadelphia to take him at No. 32, was dynamite for the London Knights in their recent Memorial Cup victory. He had 71 points in 62 league games, 22 in 17 OHL playoff games and five points in five Memorial Cup games as the Knights won it all. He was fifth in Memorial Cup points. Article content Article content 'I really like Sam. He plays hard and he's smart. I think after one more year in junior, he could be ready (NHL),' said Craig Button, TSN's draft guru, who didn't dispute the idea that Sam O'Reilly plays a similar style to Ryan O'Reilly. The Oiler draft pick has third-line NHL centre written all over him. Article content Article content Florida's Gustav Forsling, Sweden's best D man heading into the Olympics, had a tremendous Game 2 with his skating and his terrific stick on Oiler rush chances, on top of his dives to block shots. Article content 'He's one of the elite skating defencemen in our league, and most of those elite guys have a completely offensive bent,' said Maurice. 'If you skate that well as a young man, you're put into offensive situations, like being a power play guy but he's taken that skill and applied it to the defensive side of the game.' Article content 'To fully appreciate it, you have to be down at ice-level to see how fast Connor McDavid is and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers have a really fast team overall, and he (Forsling) excels at that game,' said Maurice. Article content Article content This 'n that: For all of Bennett's villainous behaviour, he's a heckuva player, and a surefire Canadian Olympian next February in Italy, unless he gets hurt. He leads the playoffs with 13 goals, 12 on the road in the Panthers' 12 away games. That's an NHL record for road goals in a playoff season. Thoughts of him getting, say, $9 million AAV for seven or eight years as a free-agent July 1 are probably misguided, though, because he's a No. 2 C, not a No. 1. The Panthers are most likely not paying him more than Sam Reinhart's $8.63m AAV… That Darnell Nurse-Brett Kulak second D pairing isn't working through the first two games, and they need a shake-up. Best idea: move lefty Jake Walman (plus 11), the Oilers second-best defenceman behind Bouchard, alongside Nurse and have the lefty-righty with Kulak and John Klingberg in the third pair, but off Sunday's practic,e Paul Coffey isn't listening. He threw all the pairs in a blender. Nurse with Bouchard, Walman with Kulak, Ekholm and Klingberg. On game day? Likely TBD… Connor Brown doesn't seem as energetic on the third line as he was before he took that hard hit from Alex Petrovic in the Dallas series and possibly suffered some concussion-type issues… Is it just me, or are we all waiting for Trent Frederic to show more, and wondering if that high ankle sprain is still compromising his play? One goal and four points and only 19 shots in 18 playoff games. He's a big body and the Oilers are likely trying to re-sign him before he hits free-agency July 1, but there aren't a lot of thumping hits… Reinhart, who took an open-ice hit from Carolina's Sebastian Aho in round 3, has been a shadow of his usual dangerous self through the first two games with no points and -3. He missed the net cleanly on an OT breakaway in Game 2, unlike him. It looked like he hurt his left hip or leg on the Aho smack. Florida captain Sasha Barkov, Reinhart's linemate, hasn't arrived in the series yet, either, but he's not hurt. He has zip for points and is -4… Sad news that former Oilers first-round pick winger Scott Metcalfe passed suddenly on Friday at 58. Metcalfe was the 20th overall pick in the '85 draft, but he had little chance of cracking the powerhouse Oilers in those days, and he only got into two Oiler games before they traded him to Buffalo for defenceman Steve Dykstra in 1988. Metcalfe played just 19 NHL games (17 for the Sabres), over 500 AHL games, and several years in Europe… Aaron Ekblad, who took a shot off the back of his left hand by Nurse in OT and looked in major distress as he tried to get off, is fine according to Maurice, but of course, we don't force coaches to take lie detector tests in the playoffs. The Panthers could have been called for too many men on the play because Ekblad was five feet from the bench when the defender jumped on for him and got in the way of Arvidsson along the boards, but the zebras took a pass on calling it… The Oilers signed Euro free-agent forward Viljami Marjala, who became a free agent June 1 when the Buffalo Sabres chose not to sign the drafted player in the two-year window after taking him from Quebec (junior) Remparts in 2023. He played junior for Patrick Roy with the Blues' Zach Bolduc as a teammate. He's small (176 pounds), but the LW/C did have 52 points for TPS Turku, 12th in scoring, no mean feat for a 22-year-old, who was going to play for Karpat in the Liiga until the Oilers came calling. He's a passer (44 assists, eight goals)… Oiler farmhand Drake Caggiula won't be back. Word is he is looking at Switzerland… Oilers didn't see enough upside in their draft D Luca Munzenberger over four years of college (Vermont), and he's likely signing in his home country, Germany.
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
The Oilers' Skinner and Panthers' Bobrovsky have been solid, despite the scoreboard
Article content 'I was pushed (by Mattias Ekholm). I think the goalie kicked out my heel that made me fall,' said Bennett, who didn't have his hand on a bible as he took the stand, though. Article content The real heel in Oiler Nation is clearly Bennett, but we digress. Article content Maybe Kevin Bieksa put it best after the first 20 minutes. Article content 'There's an awful lot going on out there and not around the puck,' he said. Article content Like when Bennett casually kicked Ekholm's fallen stick away just as the Oiler defenceman was bending down to grab the twig, with Florida scoring on a power play in the first frame. Article content Tracking a prospect Article content While the Oilers have rolled into the Cup final, London Knights' right-shot centre Sam O'Reilly, their first-round 2024 pick after they traded up with Philadelphia to take him at No. 32, was dynamite for the London Knights in their recent Memorial Cup victory. He had 71 points in 62 league games, 22 in 17 OHL playoff games and five points in five Memorial Cup games as the Knights won it all. He was fifth in Memorial Cup points. Article content Article content 'I really like Sam. He plays hard and he's smart. I think after one more year in junior, he could be ready (NHL),' said Craig Button, TSN's draft guru, who didn't dispute the idea that Sam O'Reilly plays a similar style to Ryan O'Reilly. The Oiler draft pick has third-line NHL centre written all over him. Article content Article content Get on your horse, Gus Article content Florida's Gustav Forsling, Sweden's best D man heading into the Olympics, had a tremendous Game 2 with his skating and his terrific stick on Oiler rush chances, on top of his dives to block shots. Article content 'He's one of the elite skating defencemen in our league, and most of those elite guys have a completely offensive bent,' said Maurice. 'If you skate that well as a young man, you're put into offensive situations, like being a power play guy but he's taken that skill and applied it to the defensive side of the game.' Article content 'To fully appreciate it, you have to be down at ice-level to see how fast Connor McDavid is and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers have a really fast team overall, and he (Forsling) excels at that game,' said Maurice. Article content Article content This 'n that: For all of Bennett's villainous behaviour, he's a heckuva player, and a surefire Canadian Olympian next February in Italy, unless he gets hurt. He leads the playoffs with 13 goals, 12 on the road in the Panthers' 12 away games. That's an NHL record for road goals in a playoff season. Thoughts of him getting, say, $9 million AAV for seven or eight years as a free-agent July 1 are probably misguided, though, because he's a No. 2 C, not a No. 1. The Panthers are most likely not paying him more than Sam Reinhart's $8.63m AAV… That Darnell Nurse-Brett Kulak second D pairing isn't working through the first two games, and they need a shake-up. Best idea: move lefty Jake Walman (plus 11), the Oilers second-best defenceman behind Bouchard, alongside Nurse and have the lefty-righty with Kulak and John Klingberg in the third pair, but off Sunday's practic,e Paul Coffey isn't listening. He threw all the pairs in a blender. Nurse with Bouchard, Walman with Kulak, Ekholm and Klingberg. On game day? Likely TBD… Connor Brown doesn't seem as energetic on the third line as he was before he took that hard hit from Alex Petrovic in the Dallas series and possibly suffered some concussion-type issues… Is it just me, or are we all waiting for Trent Frederic to show more, and wondering if that high ankle sprain is still compromising his play? One goal and four points and only 19 shots in 18 playoff games. He's a big body and the Oilers are likely trying to re-sign him before he hits free-agency July 1, but there aren't a lot of thumping hits… Reinhart, who took an open-ice hit from Carolina's Sebastian Aho in round 3, has been a shadow of his usual dangerous self through the first two games with no points and -3. He missed the net cleanly on an OT breakaway in Game 2, unlike him. It looked like he hurt his left hip or leg on the Aho smack. Florida captain Sasha Barkov, Reinhart's linemate, hasn't arrived in the series yet, either, but he's not hurt. He has zip for points and is -4… Sad news that former Oilers first-round pick winger Scott Metcalfe passed suddenly on Friday at 58. Metcalfe was the 20th overall pick in the '85 draft, but he had little chance of cracking the powerhouse Oilers in those days, and he only got into two Oiler games before they traded him to Buffalo for defenceman Steve Dykstra in 1988. Metcalfe played just 19 NHL games (17 for the Sabres), over 500 AHL games, and several years in Europe… Aaron Ekblad, who took a shot off the back of his left hand by Nurse in OT and looked in major distress as he tried to get off, is fine according to Maurice, but of course, we don't force coaches to take lie detector tests in the playoffs. The Panthers could have been called for too many men on the play because Ekblad was five feet from the bench when the defender jumped on for him and got in the way of Arvidsson along the boards, but the zebras took a pass on calling it… The Oilers signed Euro free-agent forward Viljami Marjala, who became a free agent June 1 when the Buffalo Sabres chose not to sign the drafted player in the two-year window after taking him from Quebec (junior) Remparts in 2023. He played junior for Patrick Roy with the Blues' Zach Bolduc as a teammate. He's small (176 pounds), but the LW/C did have 52 points for TPS Turku, 12th in scoring, no mean feat for a 22-year-old, who was going to play for Karpat in the Liiga until the Oilers came calling. He's a passer (44 assists, eight goals)… Oiler farmhand Drake Caggiula won't be back. Word is he is looking at Switzerland… Oilers didn't see enough upside in their draft D Luca Munzenberger over four years of college (Vermont), and he's likely signing in his home country, Germany.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Canadian teen McIntosh shatters 400 metres freestyle record
FILE PHOTO: Aug 23, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Multiple gold medal winning Canadian Olympian Summer McIntosh poses with her Olympic medals at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports/File photo REUTERS Canadian three-times Olympic champion Summer McIntosh set a world record in the women's 400 metres freestyle at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia, on Saturday. The 18-year-old clocked 3:54.18 to better Australian Ariarne Titmus' mark of 3:55.38 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. "Going into tonight, I knew that my training has been really good these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special," McIntosh told public broadcaster CBC. "So being able to input my training in doing that - I didn't think my training would be 54.1 but I'm really happy with that." At the Paris Olympics, McIntosh became the first athlete from Canada to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. In Paris, the four-times World Aquatics champion won gold in the 400 metres individual medley, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, as well as taking silver in the 400 freestyle. But things felt different at the Canada trials. "I just felt so strong throughout, and that's never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I'm always really, really hurting. "But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising, so I knew that I was having a strong swim. I could tell by the crowd and knew the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record. "So I really tried to push that last part for them." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Swimming-Canadian teen McIntosh shatters 400 metres freestyle record
FILE PHOTO: Aug 23, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Multiple gold medal winning Canadian Olympian Summer McIntosh poses with her Olympic medals at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports/File photo (Reuters) -Canadian three-times Olympic champion Summer McIntosh set a world record in the women's 400 metres freestyle at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia, on Saturday. The 18-year-old clocked 3:54.18 to better Australian Ariarne Titmus' mark of 3:55.38 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. "Going into tonight, I knew that my training has been really good these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special," McIntosh told public broadcaster CBC. "So being able to input my training in doing that - I didn't think my training would be 54.1 but I'm really happy with that." At the Paris Olympics, McIntosh became the first athlete from Canada to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. In Paris, the four-times World Aquatics champion won gold in the 400 metres individual medley, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, as well as taking silver in the 400 freestyle. But things felt different at the Canada trials. "I just felt so strong throughout, and that's never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I'm always really, really hurting. "But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising, so I knew that I was having a strong swim. I could tell by the crowd and knew the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record. "So I really tried to push that last part for them." (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Cap, Hab, Wing Finds New Home In Germany
American winger Riley Barber, 31, has signed a one-year contract with ERC Ingoldstadt, the DEL club announced on Wednesday. 'I had very good discussions with (club management), which were very helpful and ultimately reinforced my decision,' said Barber. 'Ingolstadt is one of the best teams in the DEL and had a fantastic season last year, so I'm looking forward to joining the team, finding out where my place in the lineup will be, and then hopefully winning a lot of games.' Advertisement 'We are convinced that Riley will play an important role for us,' said club sports director Tim Regan. 'He has a successful career in North America and was also productive in the KHL. Riley has the goal-scoring gene and can also play a decisive role on the power play. The fact that he is a right-handed shot makes him even more valuable.' The son of former NHLer Don Barber, Riley was born in Pittsburgh and played youth hockey in Michigan, eventually playing in the U.S. National Team Development Program, the 2012 IIHF U-18 World Championship and two World Juniors, winning a gold medal at each level. He was drafted in the sixth round, 167th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. After playing three NCAA seasons at Miami University in Ohio, Barber signed with Washington in 2015 and, over the next eight seasons, played in the organizations of the Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars. Although he spent the majority of the time in the AHL, he played three NHL games with Washington, nine games with Montreal and four with Detroit, recording no points and four penalty minutes in 16 games. Barber spent the last two seasons in the KHL playing for Barys Astana, Ak Bars Kazan and Neftekhimik Nizkhnekamsk, recording 64 points in 102 games. Advertisement Barber joins an Ingolstadt team that finished first in the DEL regular season but lost in the semifinals to Kölner Haie. The team also has former NHLers Kenny Agostino and Morgan Ellis under contract for 2025-26. Photo © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images: Washington Capitals right wing Riley Barber (24) and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Trevor Carrick (46) battle for the puck during the 2017 pre-season. Ex-Hab, Canadian Olympian Signs Contract Extension In Germany Ex-Hab, Canadian Olympian Signs Contract Extension In Germany ERC Ingolstadt finished first in the DEL regular season and, with the playoffs about to start, announced on Friday that an important piece of this year's team will be returning in 2025-26, in the form of Canadian defenseman Morgan Ellis.
