Welcome to Board Play!

So, my name is Rob Mahon, I'm a new member of the blogging community with lots of hockey-related thoughts to get off my chest. I'll be stopping in at the very least every week, more if there's something I really need to get out there. This blog will focus on hockey-related news and analysis, and within that I'm going to focus heavily on my two favourite teams, the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets. Because one of those teams is poised for a great year and the other probably not so much, there are going to be some contradictory moods to the posts at times. When the two teams play against each other is when this post will get really strange but don't worry, strange is the bread and butter of the internet, so I should be right at home here.

I'm also going to talk a lot about junior hockey, with a focus on certain prospects for upcoming draft years and prominent drafted players, as well as a few specific teams I really like. Some other news, like information about junior hockey here in Manitoba, may creep in here from time to time as well. Since hockey season is still, sadly, a month or so away, news may be a bit thin on the ground, but I'll try to throw in a few tidbits, particularly about the training camps of both the Avs and the Jets, as well as information about the rookie tournament in Penticton, in which the Jets will be appearing. So here, for the first week of my blog, are a few thoughts about the upcoming training camps.

- It's actually, statistically, pretty rare for newly drafted players to make the lineup right out of training camp their first year. Every year you get exceptional players like Nathan Mackinnon, Sean Couturier, Gabriel Landeskog, Taylor Hall etc. but we forget how few in number those players actually are compared to the number of people drafted. First overall picks tend to jump right in, yes, but they are the exception. You don't see, for example, tenth overall picks jump straight to the NHL very often, with last years Valeri Nichushkin being an exception. A lot of players in recent years get the standard seven game tryout before being sent back to junior, with Mark Scheifele being an example close to home. But he's not the only one. Mikhail Grigorenko,  Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan Strome, and Nikita Zadorov (a lot of Buffalo Sabres on that list) being examples of players who started the year in the NHL but were sent back to junior.

-With that said, there are a few players from this year's draft class who look like they could stick. Aaron Ekblad has nothing more to prove at the junior level, and the Panthers need defensemen so badly that he could step right in with ease. All the scouts agree he's physically and mentally mature enough to go straight into the big leagues, a rarity for a defenseman. As for the second overall pick, Sam Reinhart, good luck sending him back to junior. Three seasons of him terrorizing the WHL were quite enough, and while Reinhart doesn't impose physically the way the 6'4 Ekblad does, his game is very cerebral; he sees the ice beautifully, a skill that translates to the NHL better than strength, because being the strongest kid in junior puts you behind a lot of NHLers, but seeing the ice better puts you in a category all your own. As for the third overall pick, Leon Draisaitl, I can't see the Oilers keeping him out of the lineup, since he's already one of their biggest forwards and among the most talented. A skilled forward of his size is exactly what the doctor ordered in Oil Country.

-Speaking of Draisaitl, Jets fans will get a chance to see him in action at the Penticton Young Stars Tournament from September 12-15. All Jets games will be streamed live on the Jets website, and if you want a good look at the rookies, this is your chance to get it. The Avs, who do not participate in a rookie tournament, will have to wait until training camp (starting September 15) to see guys like Connor Bleackley and Chris Bigras.

-The Jets are going to have a talented roster in Penticton, but every team has players to watch. In addition to Draisaitl, the Oilers have invited small but ultra-talented Vladimir Tkachev to the tournament as a potential sign-ee. Does that name sound familiar? If you're a fan of the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats it absolutely does. This past season was Tkachev's first in North America and the diminutive forward didn't disappoint, putting up 30 points in 20 games for the Wildcats. Other Canadian fans will remember Tkachev as that silky-smooth skater with the ridiculous hands from the World Juniors and the Subway Super Series.

-There are times when I want to see the Jets clean house as far as the staff goes, but one group I hope they keep if that ever happens are the scouts. The lineup the Jets are sending to Penticton looks like something special. Sure, Nikolai Ehlers was kind of obvious, but getting players like Scott Kosmachuk, Adam Lowry and J.C. Lipon in the later rounds was some shrewd drafting. Kosmachuk and Ehlers, in case you're wondering, are likely to be line mates in Penticton. One Jets official said as much during the prospects camp back in early July, and there's no reason to think the Jets have changed their minds. Kosmachuk is a natural scorer, as his 49 goals in the last OHL season would indicate, and he and the supremely skilled Ehlers together could be a real treat to watch. As I said, the Jets games are being streamed on their official website, and I encourage you guys to watch.

-As for the Avs, there's not a ton of news this week, but I am looking forward to seeing how Connor Bleackley handles his first taste of pro hockey. While he likely won't play in the NHL this season, anyone who can wear a letter for Brent Sutter at the age of 17 is mature beyond his years. More importantly for Avs fans, news out of Andy O'Brien's camp is that MacKinnon is bigger and stronger and faster than ever. Remember the speed he showed last year, that crazy, mind-bending speed? Picture that, but now make him faster and harder to knock off the puck. The Avs may have drafted a true monster, and Bob McKenzie himself has taken notice here: http://www.nicholsonhockey.com/worthreading/2014/9/9/mckenzie-skys-the-limit-for-avs-mackinnon