Latest news with #Ceci
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Why Cecilia Zandalasini has been Valkyries' X-factor in postseason pursuit
WASHINGTON — Ever since Kayla Thornton suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-July, the Golden State Valkyries have sought to replace her scoring. Over the past three games as the starting small forward, Zandalasini has averaged 12.7 points, third on the team behind season-long starters Janelle Salaün and Tiffany Hayes. In those games, Zandalasini is shooting 44.8% and leading the team with 2.7 made 3-pointers per game. In the team's past three wins, she's averaging 16.3 points and hitting 52.6% from deep. In the past two victories alone, she has gone 7-for-14 from beyond the arc. Zandalasini's game-winner in Atlanta on July 29 gave the Valkyries a needed lift after starting a five-game road trip with a 31-point loss to Connecticut. In another critical contest on Saturday, she scored 14 points in a win over Los Angeles. On Monday against the Sun, Zandalasini tallied 17 points, one off her career high. 'When she was available in the expansion draft, I jumped for joy. You don't understand how excited I was to get Cecilia,' head coach Natalie Nakase said. 'If you watch Ceci's shot, it's one of the most beautiful shots. She has a beautiful release. She never hesitates. She has confidence that's unreal.' In the nine games since the injury to Thornton — whose averages of 14 points and seven rebounds per game are team highs — Zandalasini's scoring average (11 ppg) ranks behind only Salaün's 11.3. Zandalasini's 47.9% shooting also ranks second among players with at least five appearances in that span. Zandalasini has long been known as a reliable 3-point shooter off the bench, and that had mostly been her role with Golden State until Thornton's injury. After two seasons with Minnesota from 2017-18, she spent five years playing overseas and returned to the Lynx in 2024. Last season she ranked sixth in the league in 3-point percentage at 44.3% for the WNBA Finals runners-up. 'Ceci is one of the most steady players I think I've ever played with,' point guard Veronica Burton said. 'Just her ability to come out and be so unfazed, whether she's hit the last three 3s or missed the first three, she's just ready to take the next one. When she gets us going, it just again spaces the floor. You have to respect her.' This season, not only is Zandalasini doing more, but more is being asked of her. According to analytics program Synergy, just 50.6% of her shots have been off a catch-and-shoot, compared to 69.2% last season with the Lynx. She's also facing tighter defense, with 62.8% of her attempts coming against defenders, up from 55.6% last season. Nearly half of her shots this season (48.2%) have come off the dribble, a sharp rise from 30.8% a year ago in Minnesota. 'We want her reading defenses, that's when she's at her best,' assistant coach Kasib Powell told the Chronicle. 'We like putting her in positions where she can make those decisions.' Zandalasini's 23.4 minutes per contest are the most in her career by a good margin. She missed time this year due to injuries, including two separate foot issues, and playing in EuroBasket in June, which prevented her from getting into a consistent rhythm. The Valkyries are 5-9 with Zandalasini in the lineup, but 4-2 with her since June 25, when she's played her best this season. Her consistency will be key to their playoff push. 'She's always been a sniper,' Nakase said. 'I remember, because I had the scout, and she knocked down three 3s against us last year in Vegas. So she's always been like this.'
Ottawa Citizen
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Gulutzan officially hired by Stars; Perry's new jersey; Arvidsson's bear tale
Article content Article content Viktor Arvidsson, a healthy scratch for Kasperi Kapanen in Game 6 in Florida last month, is really a third-line player now, but the Bruins, who are woefully weak of NHL veterans on the wing, might well give their trade add a look on left side with Swedish countryman Elias Lindholm on their second line after the Oiler trade. Article content The Bruins only have four real top-six players pencilled in now — David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and Lindholm — so Arvidsson will get a look there in training camp, most likely, but maybe on his off-wing, playing for Marco Sturm. Sturm was an L.A. assistant coach for one of Arvidsson's earlier years with the Kings. They may try another Swedish kid, Fabian Lysell, on RW on a second line with Arvidsson on left. Article content 'I've been lucky in my career to have Swedes on all the teams I've played on, That's really important. You go to a team first, and that (familiarity) helps,' he said. Article content Article content This 'n that: Oiler UFA John Klingberg's $4M AAV for one year in San Jose is peanuts compared to what guys were signing for, but he now is the highest-paid Sharks D. Mario Ferraro is next at $3.25 million. The Sharks are miles under the salary cap floor… No surprise that Ken Holland is signing Cody Ceci in Los Angeles after scrambling to bring him to the Oilers when Adam Larsson left for Seattle. Holland gave Ceci a four-year deal here with 10 teams trying to sign Ceci as a UFA for three years in 2021. Same four years in LA on Canada Cay at $4.5 million AAV. Good for Ceci, now on his fourth team since the 2024 Cup final (Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas and L.A.) but that's a lot of cheese for a guy who might be in the Kings' third pair. So now (check notes) we've got ex-Oilers Ceci and Perry, also Warren Foegele in LA now…. Kings signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin at a combined $8.5 million AAV to try and mitigate the loss of their UFA D Vlad Gavrikov to the Rangers, but with all due respect to those vets, they aren't Gavrikov. He was the Kings' most consistently good D last season… Amazing what a Cup ring will do. Florida's third-pairing D Nate Schmidt, on a slim $800,000 last year, just got three years in Utah at $3.5 million AAV. And the smart Panthers are replacing Schmidt with Jeff Petry at $775,000 with bonuses… If Oilers are into buy-low on UFA's there are a few still out there. Like Victor Olafsson (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Anthony Mantha (Calgary), and some fourth-liners like Curtis Lazar (New Jersey) and Joel Kiviranta (Colorado). Justin Brazeau (Minnesota) signed a two-year deal in Pittsburgh, Adam Gaudette, another possibility, signed two years with the Sharks… Ryan McLeod's new four-year, $20 million deal to stay with the Sabres is maybe a tad low for the ex-Oiler who had a career high 53 points this past season… When the Oilers didn't qualify farmhand starter Olivier Rodrigue, it sounds like they made an organizational decision that the 25-year-old wasn't going to be an NHL goalie, or they have a veteran in mind to take his spot in Bakersfield. Late Tuesday afternoon, they announced they had signed Edmonton-born Matt Tomkins, most recently of Tampa Bay, to a two-year, two-way contract with $775,000 AAV… One-time Oiler draft pick Matej Blumel, who had 86 points in 81 games on Dallas's Texas Stars team last season, signed in Boston for $875,000 one-way. Mistake, it says here, not to have signed Blumel… Ex-Oiler D Ethan Bear, who played for Washington's farm team last season, is on the move again, signing a two-way deal for $775,000 (NHL) and $325,000 (AHL)… The Avs signed Bakersfield UFA defenceman Ronnie Attard, who came to the farm last season from Philly for Ben Gleason, to a one-year deal… Ex-Oiler Kailer Yamamoto, who had 56 points in 54 games last year in the AHL, decided to re-sign with Utah, a two-way deal just like last year, with guaranteed $500,000 to play in Tucson. Article content
Calgary Herald
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Gulutzan officially hired by Stars; Perry's new jersey; Arvidsson's bear tale
Article content Article content Viktor Arvidsson, a healthy scratch for Kasperi Kapanen in Game 6 in Florida last month, is really a third-line player now, but the Bruins, who are woefully weak of NHL veterans on the wing, might well give their trade add a look on left side with Swedish countryman Elias Lindholm on their second line after the Oiler trade. Article content The Bruins only have four real top-six players pencilled in now — David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and Lindholm — so Arvidsson will get a look there in training camp, most likely, but maybe on his off-wing, playing for Marco Sturm. Sturm was an L.A. assistant coach for one of Arvidsson's earlier years with the Kings. They may try another Swedish kid, Fabian Lysell, on RW on a second line with Arvidsson on left. Article content Article content This 'n that: Oiler UFA John Klingberg's $4M AAV for one year in San Jose is peanuts compared to what guys were signing for, but he now is the highest-paid Sharks D. Mario Ferraro is next at $3.25 million. The Sharks are miles under the salary cap floor… No surprise that Ken Holland is signing Cody Ceci in Los Angeles after scrambling to bring him to the Oilers when Adam Larsson left for Seattle. Holland gave Ceci a four-year deal here with 10 teams trying to sign Ceci as a UFA for three years in 2021. Same four years in LA on Canada Cay at $4.5 million AAV. Good for Ceci, now on his fourth team since the 2024 Cup final (Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas and L.A.) but that's a lot of cheese for a guy who might be in the Kings' third pair. So now (check notes) we've got ex-Oilers Ceci and Perry, also Warren Foegele in LA now…. Kings signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin at a combined $8.5 million AAV to try and mitigate the loss of their UFA D Vlad Gavrikov to the Rangers, but with all due respect to those vets, they aren't Gavrikov. He was the Kings' most consistently good D last season… Amazing what a Cup ring will do. Florida's third-pairing D Nate Schmidt, on a slim $800,000 last year, just got three years in Utah at $3.5 million AAV. And the smart Panthers are replacing Schmidt with Jeff Petry at $775,000 with bonuses… If Oilers are into buy-low on UFA's there are a few still out there. Like Victor Olafsson (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Anthony Mantha (Calgary), and some fourth-liners like Curtis Lazar (New Jersey) and Joel Kiviranta (Colorado). Justin Brazeau (Minnesota) signed a two-year deal in Pittsburgh, Adam Gaudette, another possibility, signed two years with the Sharks… Ryan McLeod's new four-year, $20 million deal to stay with the Sabres is maybe a tad low for the ex-Oiler who had a career high 53 points this past season… When the Oilers didn't qualify farmhand starter Olivier Rodrigue, it sounds like they made an organizational decision that the 25-year-old wasn't going to be an NHL goalie, or they have a veteran in mind to take his spot in Bakersfield. Late Tuesday afternoon, they announced they had signed Edmonton-born Matt Tomkins, most recently of Tampa Bay, to a two-year, two-way contract with $775,000 AAV… One-time Oiler draft pick Matej Blumel, who had 86 points in 81 games on Dallas's Texas Stars team last season, signed in Boston for $875,000 one-way. Mistake, it says here, not to have signed Blumel… Ex-Oiler D Ethan Bear, who played for Washington's farm team last season, is on the move again, signing a two-way deal for $775,000 (NHL) and $325,000 (AHL)… The Avs signed Bakersfield UFA defenceman Ronnie Attard, who came to the farm last season from Philly for Ben Gleason, to a one-year deal… Ex-Oiler Kailer Yamamoto, who had 56 points in 54 games last year in the AHL, decided to re-sign with Utah, a two-way deal just like last year, with guaranteed $500,000 to play in Tucson. Article content
Edmonton Journal
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Gulutzan officially hired by Stars; Perry's new jersey; Arvidsson's bear tale
This 'n that: Oiler UFA John Klingberg's $4M AAV for one year in San Jose is peanuts compared to what guys were signing for, but he now is the highest-paid Sharks D. Mario Ferraro is next at $3.25 million. The Sharks are miles under the salary cap floor… No surprise that Ken Holland is signing Cody Ceci in Los Angeles after scrambling to bring him to the Oilers when Adam Larsson left for Seattle. Holland gave Ceci a four-year deal here with 10 teams trying to sign Ceci as a UFA for three years in 2021. Same four years in LA on Canada Cay at $4.5 million AAV. Good for Ceci, now on his fourth team since the 2024 Cup final (Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas and L.A.) but that's a lot of cheese for a guy who might be in the Kings' third pair. So now (check notes) we've got ex-Oilers Ceci and Perry, also Warren Foegele in LA now…. Kings signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin at a combined $8.5 million AAV to try and mitigate the loss of their UFA D Vlad Gavrikov to the Rangers, but with all due respect to those vets, they aren't Gavrikov. He was the Kings' most consistently good D last season… Amazing what a Cup ring will do. Florida's third-pairing D Nate Schmidt, on a slim $800,000 last year, just got three years in Utah at $3.5 million AAV. And the smart Panthers are replacing Schmidt with Jeff Petry at $775,000 with bonuses… If Oilers are into buy-low on UFA's there are a few still out there. Like Victor Olafsson (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Anthony Mantha (Calgary), and some fourth-liners like Curtis Lazar (New Jersey) and Joel Kiviranta (Colorado). Justin Brazeau (Minnesota) signed a two-year deal in Pittsburgh, Adam Gaudette, another possibility, signed two years with the Sharks… Ryan McLeod's new four-year, $20 million deal to stay with the Sabres is maybe a tad low for the ex-Oiler who had a career high 53 points this past season… When the Oilers didn't qualify farmhand starter Olivier Rodrigue, it sounds like they made an organizational decision that the 25-year-old wasn't going to be an NHL goalie, or they have a veteran in mind to take his spot in Bakersfield. Late Tuesday afternoon, they announced they had signed Edmonton-born Matt Tomkins, most recently of Tampa Bay, to a two-year, two-way contract with $775,000 AAV… One-time Oiler draft pick Matej Blumel, who had 86 points in 81 games on Dallas's Texas Stars team last season, signed in Boston for $875,000 one-way. Mistake, it says here, not to have signed Blumel… Ex-Oiler D Ethan Bear, who played for Washington's farm team last season, is on the move again, signing a two-way deal for $775,000 (NHL) and $325,000 (AHL)… The Avs signed Bakersfield UFA defenceman Ronnie Attard, who came to the farm last season from Philly for Ben Gleason, to a one-year deal… Ex-Oiler Kailer Yamamoto, who had 56 points in 54 games last year in the AHL, decided to re-sign with Utah, a two-way deal just like last year, with guaranteed $500,000 to play in Tucson.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ceci on the other side of Oilers-Stars battle as NHL's west final gets underway
DALLAS – Cody Ceci's on the other side now. The Dallas Stars defenceman and the Edmonton Oilers are frenemies in the NHL's Western Conference final. Ceci was a key cog on the back end and prime penalty killer for the Oilers in their run to Game 7 of last year's Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers. The 31-year-old from Ottawa helped the Oilers reach the conference final in two of his three seasons in Edmonton. 'It'll definitely be weird playing against that group,' Ceci said Wednesday before Game 1 at American Airlines Center. 'We've spent a lot of time together the last few years and went on some deep runs, so it will be a little weird, but I've just got to stay focused on the task.' Ceci was traded to the San Jose Sharks in August for a draft pick and defenceman Ty Emberson, shortly after Stan Bowman took over as Edmonton's general manager. The Stars acquired Ceci and forward Mikael Granlund from San Jose at the March 7 trade deadline for a first-round pick and a conditional third-rounder. 'It's been a crazy year, moving twice, and it's been kind of a whirlwind but it's nice to end up on a playoff team and get this opportunity,' Ceci said. The six-foot-three, 210-pound defenceman was a key part of Edmonton's penalty kill, which posted a 94.3 per cent success rate in the 2024 playoffs that ended with a Game 7 loss to the Panthers. That run included holding Dallas to zero power-play goals on 14 chances to take the Western Conference final in six games. Ceci now brings those skills to a Dallas penalty kill that ran at 86.1 per cent through the first two rounds. He also averaged nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game. 'He is a huge part of our kill that's been great and just defends super well,' said Stars centre Wyatt Johnston. 'He's even able to get up into the play and create some chances as well.' Ceci says he'll put friendships with Oilers players on hold during the conference final, and former partner Darnell Nurse plans to do the same. 'I'm not going to pump up Cees too much here,' Nurse said. 'He's on the other team here, but he was a great partner to play with. 'He's having success here, and good for him. Hopefully that doesn't carry on through the series.' — ROAD WARRIORS: After dropping their first two games of the playoffs in Los Angeles, the Oilers won four straight away from Rogers Place, including a sweep of the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Oilers forward Zach Hyman says that's a product of a third conference final appearance in four years, and the Oilers being the oldest team left in the final four with an average age of 30.7 years. 'It comes with experience, just being able to play in those environments,' Hyman said. 'Playoffs bring out the best in everyone, in the fans as well, and it's louder the further you get, so having the experience to know that you've been there and you know how to play those environments, I think helps.' — RESTRICTING RANTANEN: Containing Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who led all post-season scorers with nine goals and 10 assists entering Game 1, was among Edmonton's top defensive priorities to start the conference final. When asked how to contain the big, skilled Rantanen, Oilers forward Evander Kane replied, 'Play big, powerful, and skilled.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'He's a big body out there and a great set of hands,' Kane continued. 'Like any player, you want to play them hard, whether that's Rantanen, whether that's Tyler Seguin or Cody Ceci. 'You want to play them hard. At this time of the year, both teams understand that. It's going to be a battle with everybody in their lineup and with everybody in our lineup. He's had a great playoffs. Hopefully, we can play him hard.' Rantanen's first game as a Dallas Star came the day after the March 7 trade deadline — a 5-4 loss to the Oilers in which he had a goal and an assist. Rantanen's knee caught Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner in the head during a March 26 rematch, sidelining Skinner for eight straight games. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025.
