Mailbag: Versus, Don't Miss A Second-- Miss Entire Periods!

ARTHUR:
So, checking the Anaheim Calling inbox this morning, I found a message from a Versus rep, inquiring into whether or not Daniel and I would like to be pimped-

DANIEL:
--ahem --

ARTHUR:
That is, whether or not we'd like to participate in an NHL on Versus promotion. Rather than give them a straightforward 'yes' or 'no,' Daniel and I thought we'd do an honest write up, and then take it from there.

So, Daniel, as someone trying to watch the Ducks games from an Illinois grad school-- who ended up missing the 1st period of Game 6 on Monday --what's your beef with Versus?

DANIEL:
Well, first let me start by saying that I had prepped a meal for puck drop and everything. So, here I am with taquitos and guacamole that I made from scratch-- God that sounds so stereotypical --rocking my Ducks sweater, only to have the Blackhawks on Versus AND the local channel. Now, I can understand feeding the Blackhawks game to Illinois if there is no local coverage, but if there IS local coverage, why am I watching the Hawks game on two channels when there's a deciding game in another series? I could have been on Hockey overload. My cable guide said I should have been watching the Ducks game. I'm just wondering how Versus is going to let me know, as a fan, which game I will be watching.

ARTHUR:
Yeah, there's a lot of that sort of mismanagement. I also don't see how their advertising campaign was "Don't Miss A Second," and then on the night playoffs start, we missed the 1st period of the last two games. They missed 2,400 seconds on the first night of play!

Though, in their defense, they're a startup cable network with ONE channel trying to manage the rights to air three hockey games in one night. But let me just say this, and you know what I'm going to say: hockey fans were spoiled by the TV deals in the '90s.

DANIEL:
Oh, here we go. Are you going to be preaching for long? Should I get a drink and come back?

ARTHUR:
When they signed with FOX in '94, the NHL hadn't been on network TV from 1981 to 1989, and they hadn't signed a long-term deal since they left CBS in 1972. That's 22 years out of the spotlight.

Now, I grew up in the Bay Area in the 80s. We had no team, and I had no cable. No USA network. No ESPN network. Certainly no Sportschannel America. And so, no NHL. And there was a time when that was the story: if you moved away from Canada/the Canadian border or a major hockey market, then you lived in a hockey-less world. Even if you had cable, you got a handful of games and the channel that carried the NHL kept changing.

So, you can't convince me that no coverage is better than coverage. The NHL went a long time without any kind of TV deal, at all. And since Bettman scorned FOX and refused to give ABC a discount, he's stuck with NBC and Versus. He may end up putting every non-Finals game on Center Ice or NHLTV, and out-of-market fans will have to pay just to watch the playoffs.

DANIEL:
Okay, I'll admit that hockey fans have come to expect a little more from hockey TV coverage after the 90s, but is that really an excuse for Versus not to get their act together?

I grew up on ESPN double headers and NHL2Night. I think Versus can do a lot more in terms of coverage. Even a nightly show a la NHL2Night would go a long way in keeping more viewers interested in the few games they can actually watch. I'm saying that Versus may have limited resources, but there's certainly more they can give us to make sure fans see a little more hockey related content on a regular basis. Plus, it'll increase general traffic for their channel and possibly raise viewership for the more obscure sports the station airs.

ARTHUR:
Well, I definitely agree that it does wonders for the NHL and its stars to show Ovechkin's and Malkin's highlights every night, and break them down for the casual fans. I don't know how much it would cost to produce an NHL2Night. Maybe not more than that Sports Soup show that Versus has, and maybe it's a wise investment with how much they're paying for their TV contract with the league. But that's all assuming Versus WANTS to invest in its NHL coverage.

Let me break you off with a little trivia, here. First of the major sports broadcast on ESPN? NHL games. They negotiated TV contracts with the Whalers and Capitals. Versus is probably using the NHL the same way that ESPN did back then. They're just trying to show the other major sports that they can handle a broadcast. I'm sure they don't want Bettman any more than he wants them.

DANIEL:
That's a fair observation; I certainly don't think Versus treats hockey like a flagship sport. Not the way a TNT treats the NBA. I know TNT doesn't have a nightly NBA show, but they have programs other than sports. Versus advertises itself as a sports channel. They don't have to go ad nauseum like ESPN, but give me something.

TNT at least has a great personality that mixes things up for the rest of the group, one Sir Charles Barkley. That's the main difference between what happens with other sports and what happens with the Versus coverage. The Versus crew doesn't have a lot of personality. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a bunch of guys who know nothing about hockey. Not because the info isn't good. Engblom, Clement and Jones know their stuff. They just never seem comfortable in front of the camera. They laugh awkwardly and just aren't engaging. I teach public speaking, and I'm not convinced these guys took it in high school or college. They stare at the camera and they seem to get excited about all the wrong things. I don't know. I'm just never excited when I watch the games, and I don't feel like I get the insight into the game that I do when I listen to Hayzie (Brian Hayward for those of you unfortunate enough to not know who he is). I know a lot of fans don't like Hayzie, and think he's a homer, but you haven't heard these midwest commentators. These motherf***ers are something else.

ARTHUR:
[laughing]
I agree that the Versus crew needs a Barry Melrose-type, but here's the thing, how easy was it for ESPN to replace Barry Melrose this year? Suddenly, Scott Burnside *shivers* is a hockey expert? Maybe there aren't a lot of old NHL coaches/players that have personality.

At the end of the day, Versus is not avoiding those basic scheduling mistakes that plague an upstart cable network and they need to invest in more NHL programming and better color guys. BUT I'm glad someone's carrying hockey, and really, it's not their fault that a fledgling network has to carry the majority of the NHL programming. It's Bettman's.

DANIEL:
That is the truth, and we, as Hockey fans, just have to deal with Bettman's mistakes...all the time. I hate that guy.

Okay. Keep this in mind, folks, Arthur and I will be doing a split experience for Game 3 at the Ponda Center (eat it Honda that stadium will forever be the Pond and y'all just piss me off) for CLS. That is, I will be talking about what it's like watching the game on Versus, and Arthur will be providing you with his analysis as a live fan. It's gonna be different-- we hope --and hopefully you all will enjoy it. This was Anaheim Calling to the Hockey world. Enjoy your playoffs.

Read more...

Trimming The Playoff Tree 2: Bonsai Edition

DANIEL:
So, the first round is over, and it's time to look at how we did. If Buccigross can admit his shortcomings, then we at Anaheim Calling can do the same. So let's do it, Arthur. Tell us what happened that affected your predictions in the first round, and lay down some predictions for the 3 series of the Conference Semis that don't involve our Ducks.

ARTHUR:
First, I'll point out to our readers that Daniel and I don't do series predictions for the Ducks because that's 7 years bad magumbo. And Daniel remembers what happened when I said the Sabres would win the Cup during the '99 All-Star Break and when I said it was the Ducks' year to win the Cup during the 2003 All-Star Break. Although, in my defense, the Sabres still haven't lost that '99 Finals (and they better hurry up and finish those games before Guy Carbonneau dies). For our breakdown of the keys to the Ducks/Wings series, head over to the CLS mini-blog.

On my first round calls, I got my winners right 5/7 and correctly predicted a Boston sweep. However, I was VERY wrong about the Blues, and I overestimated Brodeur. Though in my defense, Brodeur was the difference in those last two games. If he focuses as the clock winds down, it's NJ in 6.

East

Washington-Pittsburgh: From the regular season matchups, I want so desperately to pick the Capitals. Watching Ovechkin laugh and push Crosby around while Sid is on the verge of tears-- priceless. But the Capitals had trouble last series, and they had trouble at home. Fedorov AND Ovechkin would have to take this series over. And I don't think they will.
Pens in 6.

Boston-Carolina: After the end of their series with NJ, the Canes clearly have the hockey gods on their side. Boston's Irish Catholic population might be the only thing that can combat that. I'm going to say that Cam Ward has at least one bad game, and that Chara shuts down Staal. And since you have to score to win...
Bruins in 5.

West

Vancouver-Chicago: I picked the Hawks in a sweep last round and Vancouver losing a in a long series. Since I got those totally backwards, you'd think I'd pick the 'Nucks right? Nope. Unless I see a 100% Mats Sundin, I say Chicago keeps rolling.
Blackhawks in 6.

DANIEL:
Well, I was also 5/7 in my predictions, probably because we picked the same teams. Sadly, we'll do it again, although for different reasons. I'd also like to point out that I had exact matches on 3/4 of the Eastern Conference series, and was sorely let down by Brodeur. I have nothing but shock over that game 7. I still don't know how Carolina did it. As for the Blues, I just don't know where they went. They didn't look at all like the team we'd seen at the end of the year, and maybe all that youth just wilted in front of Luongo and the Sedins. So, predictions for the next round:

Eastern Conference

Boston-Carolina: My heart wants to pick Carolina: they're coming off a great upset of New Jersey, Cam Ward looks like he could steal some games and that top line with Staal and Whitney looks pretty dangerous. I love a good upset as much as anyone, but Boston has too much up front and Tim Thomas doesn't look like he's getting rattled anytime soon. Still, I think Carolina gives Boston a little bit of a scare.
Bruins in 6.

Pittsburgh-Washington: I love Ovechkin, like I'd-let-him-date-my-daughter-if-I-had-one love him. He plays a style that the league hasn't seen in years. I know everyone knocks him for celebrating too much, including me, but the kid is just exciting. Whenever he touches the puck I'm waiting for something amazing to happen. But you know what happened to Wayne Gretzky when he ran into Patrick Roy, the same thing that's going to happen in this series. I'm not saying Marc-Andre Fleury is Roy-- I'm not stupid. I'm just saying that Pittsburgh wins the goalie battle by a lot. And I think people who pick Washington are forgetting something, Kunitz used to play on a very defense-oriented Anaheim team, and that guy knows how to piss people off. If I'm Bylsma, I let Kunitz go loose all over Ovechkin. The Pens are too strong up front, and they have the experience. This isn't Washington's year.
Penguins in 5.

Western Conference

Chicago-Vancouver. If I love Ovechkin enough to let him marry my hypothetical daughter, then the youth movement in Chicago can date my sister. Not all of them at the same time,-- this isn't that kind of website --but Toews, Sharp, or Kane can take a shot and try to tame the shrew.* The Sedins might be the best workers in the league that don't reside in Anaheim. They can cycle on a level similar to the RPG line. It's not really their game, but I've seen them do it. Sadly, that's not going to be enough. Mats isn't 100%, no matter how much rest he's had. Mostly because he is just out of gas. Chicago is too young, too fast and they just look hungry. They had so many opportunities to fold to the Flames, but they kept coming back. Others might say that Luongo can win this series for the Canucks, but I think he's going to be blinded by the glint coming off Khabibulin's '04 Cup Ring. That's right, I said it!! The Bulin Wall is going to outduel Vancouver's darling of the pipes. Look for Luongo to give up another softy when it matters most, like he did in Vancouver's defeat at the hands of the '07 Ducks.
Blackhawks in 6.

*ARTHUR:
In reference to Daniel's sister: I wouldn't call her a shrew, but I AM surprised I've never found her on "that kind of website."

Read more...

The Handshake Line - WCQF 2009: San Jose

ARTHUR:
The history books will tell you that Canada's English settlers instituted hockey's traditional handshake line, hoping to imbue the rough and tumble game with an air of sportsmanship. However, I prefer to believe, as I do about fighting, that the practice has its roots in the Iroquois lacrosse tradition. Tribes would settle their disagreements on the field in ferocious competition, but the field is where the disagreement stayed. You battled as hard as you could, but you accepted the final score, if not out of respect for your opponent, then out of respect for the game.

We respect the handshake line here at Anaheim Calling, and would like to start a handshake tradition of our own. So, Daniel, walking through the line of Sharks fans, Sharks players and the Sharks coaching staff, what are the positives beyond 'good game' that you would like to express?

DANIEL:
I'd be lying if I said I didn't hate the Sharks, but maybe it's the hate that makes me like them so much. I don't know what I'd do without the Sharks. My dislike of them makes my love of hockey that much stronger. I didn't get to attend any games, but from what I watched on TV, props to San Jose fans for sticking it out. They never gave up. Too often, fans know the series is over and will resign themselves to waiting for the end to come. I'm always impressed by San Jose fans' undying loyalty to their squad despite the recent failings. I once dated a Sharks fan; she was crazy. But, she did take me to a playoff game after we broke up, which was very classy, especially since I broke her heart. The important thing to remember is that you still have the most talented corps in the league; your day will come. I just hope it's never at our expense.

[To Dan Boyle]
You tried as much as any D-man can to strap this team to your back. You had so many bounces go against you, and you had to battle what might be the best cycling line in the NHL, night in and night out, and you made them earn every inch of ice. Your performance in Game 3 pulled your team back from the abyss and made this a series. You showed incredible poise and work ethic. You put a mark on this team, and showed a leadership that will last this team well into next year and possibly/hopefully long after.

[To Rob Blake]
What do you say to the best hip checker in the league except don't go. One of the most memorable defensive plays I've ever seen belongs to you. I remember neither the team nor the game, but you were, as you usually were and rightfully so, wearing a Kings sweater and you reached around a forward protecting the puck with his body, got all puck and then finished by taking him to the ice. In this series, you showed again why you will be in the Hall of Fame, battling and still unleashing that bomb from the point. I haven't seen anything that says you're done, and if Chelios can still go, you've for sure still got it in you.

[To Joe Thornton]
I think you finally get it. The Joe Thornton that showed up to the last 3 games of this series is the Joe Thornton that all of Hockey has been waiting to see in the playoffs. I'm excited and worried. If the Sharks are smart, they'll keep you and Marleau and put you on a line with Cheechoo, again. One day you'll put your hands on the Cup and it'll be sweet.

[To Patrick Marleau]
You're a lifer; don't go anywhere! Just as I need to hate the Sharks, I need to hate you. You were a captain this series, a real one, the one that the Sharks always knew they had. You belong in a Sharks sweater, and when you finally hoist your cup for San Jose you'll be what Arthur and I always wanted Paul Kariya to be, the franchise player who won the Cup where he was supposed to win the Cup. You are synonymous with San Jose Hockey and that's how it should be.

[To Jonathan Cheechoo]
You are a sniper, and you are gritty. You are not a third line winger, and perhaps the abundance of talent in San Jose has been bad for you. I don't know. What I do know is that you can still win another Richard, and you showed in this series how you did it. You didn't find the back of the net as much, but I still remember why you were so deadly, and you will be again.

[To Todd McLellan]
Your system is great; you just ran into a great goalkeeper. You transformed a team coming off a sour playoff performance and got them to focus on the task at hand. You'll be around for a long time. And I hope that you and Carlyle can match wits for years to come.

ARTHUR:
[To All Sharks Fans]
I was able to shake a few hands and say, "good series" when the San Jose fans in my section made their way out. That sentiment goes for all Sharks fans. You made the Tank raucous and inhospitable, you brought an impressive contingent into the Ponda Center and you never stopped cheering a squad that wasn't always rewarded for its play. A team could not ask for more from its followers.

As to the personal fights or NorCal vs. SoCal trash talk, I'm afraid I'm handicapped in that debate. You see, I'm from the Bay Area-- born San Francisco General, raised ten blocks from Candlestick in the 80s, die hard Niners fan, die hard Giants fan. I moved away the year after the Sharks were formed, and by the time I came back to attend Berkeley, I was parading my Kariya jersey through HP Pavillion. If there's some kind of regional war, I'm afraid I'll have to opt out.

[To Patrick Marleau]
You went out there with a bum wheel (or some other lower body car part), and you produced to the tune of 2 GWG. The "C" is the heaviest patch on the jersey and you carried it well, presumably on one leg.

[To Joe Thornton]
I knew I was looking at a different Joe when I saw you jawing at Getzlaf during the opening faceoff of the 2nd period in Game 5. Then you backed it up to open Game 6. That's the playoff Joe we've been looking for. I hope to see him next year, though I hope we don't play him next year. Oh, and secure your fight strap next time you go toe-to-toe, will ya?

[To Devin Setoguchi]
They say you can't teach size, and you can't coach poise. You came out swinging in Game 1. And far more impressive than your 65-point sophomore campaign was the goal you scored in Game 5. You knew you were facing a hot goaltender, but you took what you knew from scouting him, you gave yourself space and you were patient with the puck. You're a playoff performer, and you will be for years to come.

[To Jonathan Cheechoo]
You ran the spectrum in Game 2: the Verbeek-ian grit that draws penalties and the Bossy-an hands that force a team to pick its mistakes out of the back of the net. You're a duck killer. We were lucky to get away.

[To Todd McLellan]
After they shut you down in the neutral zone, you made all the right moves. You might've breezed through this series if the goalie had been more cooperative.

Read more...

Follow Up: PK - John Moore

ARTHUR:
Anaheim calling to the hockey world...

This is a follow up to my Penalty Kill profile on John Moore. If you read this post, where I admitted that I tend to agree with Bryan Murray on Draft day, then you were probably scratching your head when I weighed the Ducks' blueline options this summer, and came up with Moore-- making NO mention of the top secret European player that the Senators GM told USA Today was "not as ready" but "could be better than Hedman."

I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that Murray is talking about Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. I'm guessing Larsson because a scout alerted Murray to this mystery player's existence, and I think it was the same scout who came back from Sweden last year insisting the Senators pick up Karlsson in the first round. Also, the buzz on Ekman-Larsson is mammoth, especially after his strong tournament play. As of April, he is now officially projected as a top ten player in the ISS Rankings.

Does that mean I'm going to recant my declaration of Moore as the 3rd best blueliner? Hell no. First of all, I don't live and die by the ISS Rankings. Ekman-Larsson went from 28th to 9th in a matter of weeks, and I refuse to believe the U18 Canada-Sweden game proved he'd addressed everything they were worried about in February. Central Scouting is high on him, too, placing him as the 2nd best International defenseman, but Central Scouting is also down on Cowen, meaning that as far as they're concerned Moore is still the 3rd best defenseman overall.

In Ekman-Larsson's defense: I don't read Swedish, I'm skeptical of any player whom I can't follow from scouting report to scouting report and I refuse to believe everything I read on the Hockey's Future message boards. But he's got tremendous promise, and I feel about him now the way I did in February-- he's all potential, and teams will either see that as a project or a perfect fit, meaning he'll either go in the top 10 or the last 10 of the first round.

I stand by Moore because he's a good pick if the Ducks are around 15th, and because he fits the mold of Anaheim's recent first-round blueliners: Mitera (2006) and Gardiner (2008)-- both strong skaters in, or committed to, college programs.

Tune in next Penalty Kill when I take a look at the Top Sixers I think Anaheim should consider.

Read more...

Penalty Shot: 3-1 On The Number 1

ARTHUR:
Anaheim Calling to the hockey world...

Game 5.

The Ducks MUST close this team out. While 3-0 is a dominating force that only two NHL teams have ever overcome, 3-1 is a bit of a manageable beast. NHL teams are 20-230 in series where they were down 3-1. A long shot sure, but as recently as 2003, the Minnesota Wild did it TWICE (to COL and VAN) to reach the Western Conference Finals.

The Ducks have a 10-2 record when closing out a series, and are 2-1 in games where they own a 3-1 lead. The Sharks are 6-12 when facing elimination, and 1-1 in games where the opponent holds the 3-1 edge. But don't forget that this is essentially the same team that forced Dallas to six games (and a bounce away from seven) last year after the Stars went up 3-0 in the series.

The Ducks are 3-2 at HP this year, and Sleek has broken down the Sharks' general home record for you. Suffice to say, the Ducks aren't afraid of The Tank, but the Sharks might have reason to be.

A Mover And A Shaker - A note on Game 4:
I prepared some earthquake info on my way home from the game, but decided to post about the empty seats at Ponda instead. Rather than waste the information, I thought I'd tack it onto the end of this short post.

Daniel and I attended the January 8th game at The Staples Center (Bobby has since signed this game program for me, though the Kings charged me $5 for it) where a 5.0 earthquake gently rocked the stadium at 7:15 of the 1st Period. After a scoreless 1st for the Ducks, Bobby Ryan opened the floodgates at 19:14 of the 2nd, closing them at 1:35 of the 3rd with a Denis Savardian spin that tied the game and capped off a natural hat trick. We were sitting up top, center ice and I wasn't wearing a hat, but I was screaming for Kings fans to throw theirs.

Then on Thursday, the aftershocks of a 4.0 hit The Ponda Center during the 1st intermission of a scoreless 1st. I had my feet up on the rail in front of me and noticed that my legs started to sway gently. Bobby Ryan scored 6:33 into the 2nd and after a 15-minute delay to fix the glass, found the net again at 10:13 of the 2nd. I was so amped, I climbed the very same rail that had made me question its structural integrity just minutes earlier.

Give him a rattle and a 15-minute break, and you basically pull the pin out of the grenade. Must be the spores in the air or something. Check this kid for milky tears!

Read more...

Penalty Shot: Empty Seats

ARTHUR:
I was in the queue for the bathroom during the first intermission last night when a group of Sharks fans decided to get in line and talk trash. Normally, I wouldn't mind it. We were an 8 seed up 2-1 in the series. If anyone was going to feel self-doubt after hearing a little trash talk, it would be a San Jose fan. But these fans weren't calling out the Ducks. They were calling out Ducks fans, and the number of them that did and DIDN'T show up.

Neither Game 3 nor Game 4 sold out. And though the Ponda Center was by no means half-empty, the 200-300 levels (the TV levels) were heavily checkered. Game 3 seated 16,277 in a building that holds 17,174. And two nights later, 344 cushions remained vertical.

Now, lest you San Jose fans buy into the East Coast bias and Kevin Lowe hate on the Anaheim hockey market, I remind you that Anaheim sold out its entire schedule last season and seven straight rounds of playoff play before Tuesday night's game. The Kings haven't sold out an entire season since 1991. And the Sharks, good as you were this season, were one game short of selling out all 41.

So, why the empty seats this week? A lot of people will tell you that fans were home watching the Laker game or attending the Angels game. Or maybe that playoff ticket pre-order was poor because sales opened when the Ducks had yet to clinch a playoff spot. I don't buy any of that, really. Even if there were no scheduling conflicts and the team clinched a spot earlier (provided it was still 8th), I'd guess that the games still wouldn't sell out. The economy has been roughing up the Ducks' ticket sales all year.

I point you to the attendance numbers for Anaheim and San Jose for the past two seasons. You'll notice that Sharks average attendance increased by around 70 from last season to this season, while Ducks average attendance dropped by 200 in that same time frame. Before you go and attribute those changes to fan enthusiasm, I now point you to the Sacramento Bee unemployment map. As you can see, the Bay Area is a healthy green (only Santa Clara and Alameda are experiencing double-digits), while Southern California is hit much harder. A green Orange County is surrounded by much larger counties that are experiencing 11.3% (LA), 12.5% (San Bernardino) and 13.2% (Riverside) unemployment.

So, all of you Sharks fans that were heckling attendance? You were basically laughing at people that lost their jobs. Classy.

On the bright side, if we do eliminate you, I think we'll find some of that fan enthusiasm you accuse us of lacking.

Read more...

Penalty Kill: John Moore

ARTHUR:
Anaheim calling to the hockey world...

Last week, Central Scouting released their final rankings for this year's Entry Draft. This is an important draft for the Ducks, who have amassed an Iowa team stocked with two-way forwards and frequently called-up defensemen. And while that is exactly the kind of team that Brian Burke intended to build, many are putting the smart money on the Ducks picking a Top Six scorer or a solid blueliner to balance out their prospect pool.

I secretly believe the Ducks will ignore those smart money decisions and pick someone like Zack Kassian, but I feel it important to profile some of these "smart" picks. If Anaheim is indeed picking a defenseman this year, they have no shot at Victor Hedman and Jared Cowen's size (despite his shiny new ACL) will get him picked in the top 10. For my money, the third best defenseman in the draft is John Moore, and he may just fall into the Ducks' wheelhouse.


[UPDATED VIDEO: NHL.com feature to replace that camcorder vid.]

Moore may be higher in your mock draft (or lower-- we'll talk about that later), but as he blossomed late in the scouting cycle, I think he will be there right around 15th.* Central Scouting places him as the 6th best skater in North America and the 2nd best College or College-committed player available on draft day, while the ISS Rankings from March place him as the 17th best overall.

John Moore is a native of Winnetka, the suburb 10 miles north of Chicago that passed for the fictitious Shermer in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In 2007, after a growth spurt that carried him to the 6-ft. mark, he tried out for the USHL's Chicago Steel. Although he missed the cut, a member of the Steel roster moved on to the OHL, which opened a spot for Moore at 7th defenseman. He made the most of the opportunity, posting 4G and 11A with 2A in the playoffs and ending the season as a Top Four in the depth chart.

Moore added some juice to his scouting buzz when he helped the USA win the Gold at the World Junior A Challenge in Camrose. Among the skills he displayed on the international stage were a big shot, natural offensive talent and dynamite skating ability, which he honed under the tutelage of power skating coach Rafe Aybar.

Going into his second year with the Steel, Moore worked to improve his strength, conditioning and nutrition, bringing the 6'2" blueliner to the 190 lbs+ mark. The improved regimen showed in his puck-handling, skating and scoring touch, prompting Steel coach Steve Poapst to declare him "head and shoulders above anyone at [the USHL] level." For proof of that, you need only look to the rearguard's 2008-09 USHL Defenseman of the Year award, an honor he won with a 14G 25A campaign that featured a natural hat trick, 18P on the power play and 3P on the PK.

Moore describes himself as a puck-moving defenseman, a strong skater and a good passer. When modeling his game, he looks to players like Duncan Keith and Scott Niedermayer, who use skating ability to position themselves and be effective on both sides of the puck. As far as the improvements required to bring his game to the next level, Moore cites gap control, positioning, down low 1-on-1 and better work along the boards.**

The main concern when scouting Moore was his offensive decision making; his coach and teammates often razzed him for trying to be the fourth forward on every shift. However, halfway through this season, Moore made the conscious effort to pass on entry and to survey his options from the blue line, rather than bring the puck in and attack on his own. He's also worked hard to find consistency in his mental approach to the game. The increased discipline has shown on the ice and on the scoreboard. And his ability to make these minor adjustments shows he has a strong work ethic and a coachable personality.

Moore went undrafted by the Canadian leagues, and has committed to play at Colorado College next year. If I were Murray, I pick Moore for these three reasons:

1) Skating. No one is the 'next' Scott Niedermayer, but strong skating defensemen play well in the Anaheim system. And not only is Moore maybe the best skating d-man in the draft, but he consciously works to make skating the cornerstone of his game.

2) Still improving. The kid has a smiling and hard-working approach to hockey, and he's eager to address any shortcomings in his game. Not to mention the fact that he's still hitting growth spurts and may end up 6'4" 210lbs+ when all is said and done.

3) WCHA scouting reports. Anaheim has always had faith in the US College programs and the structured year-to-year progress reports that they offer an NHL team. If Moore indeed attends Colorado, he will be brought along properly and methodically, while being consistently tested by WCHA teams that are heavy in NHL drafted forwards.

Now, remember when I said we'd talk about YOUR mock draft, which so clearly disagrees with mine? Let's do that now. First, if you have Cowen falling out of the top ten and into the Ducks' system-- awesome, you're an optimist. I just don't think that the teams ahead of the Ducks will let a blown ACL scare them off of the second best defenseman in the draft (though he will miss the draft combine). If you agree with me there, you probably have Ryan Ellis, Dmitri Kulikov or Simon Despres as better options than Moore.

I'm going to dismiss Ellis as a good fit for Anaheim. They tried bringing a small defenseman into Carlyle's system as recently as Bergeron, and it didn't work. Ellis is good, but at 5'9" he's not a Carlyle blueliner. Kulikov is a good choice (especially if he's still available around 15th): naturally offensive but able to play purely defensive hockey when asked. He's been great in the QMJHL, but he's not quite the skater that Moore is, and he lacks the physical presence that Despres can bring. Also, the Ducks have managed to get rid of almost every Russian/E.European player and prospect in their system-- that's right, Daniel, I went there --so I don't see him as a likely pick. I like Simon Despres, and I think he offers tremendous shut down skill at the expense of offensive production. I will try to cover options like Kulikov, Despres and others if I have time in future PK posts.

*An estimation based on the end of the season standings, not a forecast of actual draft position (if you know what I mean).

**Comments culled from his interview with The Pipeline Show.

A follow up to this post is available here. Read more...