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The Web Hockey League News        Volume 07       01-18-2001

Table of Contents

1) Contributing Writers
2) Players of the Week 
3) Team News           
4) Special Articles    
5) Spotlight           
6) Classified Ads      


All items should be sent to:
mailto:magazine@platinumcomputing.com
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Contributing Writers

Michael Hebert
Lee McEwen
Rick Luschtinetz
Chris Kordyback
Chris Kubinec

Rather pathetic turnout this time...thanks to those who did contribute!
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Players of the Week

The winner of the Player of the Week award this week is...Eric Lindros of the Toronto Stallions who led the league with 10 points. The runner up was Marc Denis of the Chicoutimi Sparrows.

Note: There could have been a Co-winner of the Player of the Week award had someone chosen to enter his players name.


               Goalie               GP   MIN   AVG  W   L   T  EN  SO  GA   SA  PCT
Bulls:         Jeff Hackett          5   300  2.40  4   1   0   0   0  12  140 .914

               Player               GP   G   A  PTS +/-  PP  SH GW  GT    S  PIM   PCT
Chiefs:        Zac Boyer             5   2   2    4   2   0   0   0  0   10    2  20.0

               Goalie               GP   MIN   AVG  W   L   T  EN  SO  GA   SA  PCT
Dropkicks:     Olaf Kolzig           5   300  3.20  2   3   0   0   0  16  143 .888
                 Rebounding from four consecutive losses to win three in a row (and counting).
                 Has been the steady, reliable keeper the Dropkicks have been looking for
                 since Jeff Hackett left for Oakville.

               Player               GP   G   A  PTS +/-  PP  SH GW  GT    S  PIM   PCT
Sparrows:      Robert Svehla         5   3   5    8   7   0   0   0  0   13   11  23.1
               Pierre Turgeon        5   3   4    7   6   1   0   0  0   21    9  14.3

               Goalie               GP   MIN   AVG  W   L   T  EN  SO  GA   SA  PCT
               Marc Denis            4   240  2.25  4   0   0   0   0   9  122 .926


               Player               GP   G   A  PTS +/-  PP  SH GW  GT    S  PIM   PCT
Stallions:     Eric Lindros          5   7   3   10   3   5   0   0  0   25   11  28.0


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Team News

Darryl's Five Cents
Toronto - The Stallions rebounded from a poor showing two weeks ago to go unbeaten last week. Four wins and a tie gave Toronto 9 of a possible 10 points. A 7-1 demolition of the Chiefs to start the week was followed by a tight 2-1 win over a strong New England team. Toronto then faced two games against divisional rival Hamilton, in a quirk in the schedule both games were played in Hamilton. Toronto squeaked out a 2-1 win in game one, and managed a tie in game two. Hamilton is not as strong as they once were, but both teams appear to 'get up' for this rivalry; captain Joe Sakic: "Hamilton has always been a thorn in our side. Both sides love to hate each other. Not like the Icedogs, who we are unexpectedly in a leadership race with, we respect the Steelcats. They are a tough team and play that way. We still hate them, but we respect them."

The week ended with a bit of payback against Halifax in an 8-3 win. They had beaten us in two straight games and thoroughly embarrassed us two weeks ago.


The difference was the special teams:

Two weeks ago Toronto managed 4 goals on 27 chances(14.8%) with the man advantage.
While the penalty kill allowed 6 goals on 24 chances(75%).

Last week they scored 7 goals on 27 chances(25.9%).
And the penalty kill allowed only 4 goals on 24 chances(83%).


Coach Sittler; "We worked on the special teams. One of the things Eric Lindros was supposed to bring was an improved power play. He had five power play goals last week, and that is the difference. The penalty kill has been good, but when we lost Boris for two weeks we were concerned it might suffer. Fortunately it has not been affected, unless it has improved a little. Everyone is playing well right now, Sydor is still hearing it from fans and that is too bad. He is still playing with a nagging injury, but they won't lay off."

There has been some speculation that the Stallions and Vikings are talking trade again. Scout from each team have been seen at the others games.

Toronto now faces the struggling Vipers, lowly Raiders, league leading Voodoo, pathetic Bulls and the average Seagulls. The match up against the Voodoo should prove the most entertaining and telling.


Vikings News and Notes
Edmonton - Many things can be attributed to the Vikings poor start, but the play of captain Rod Brind'Amour has to be one of the biggest concerns to the Vikings rookie coaching staff. Brind'Amour is off to the worst start of his career with only 20 points in the season's first 35 games. He only has 5 goals at even strength and his usually steady defensive play has deserted him at inopportune times. While the club would prefer to see Brind'Amour play out of his slump, there are whispers that he may be on the move. Toronto Stallions scouts have been following the Vikings for the last two weeks and it's no secret that Brian Howe has been interested in Brind'Amour for some time.

An argument can be made that center Alexander Korolyuk has been the Vikings MVP to this point of the season. The scrappy Russian is third in team scoring with 32 points and has the highest +/- of any forward on the club.

Winger Vaclav Varada is growing disenchanted with his lack of ice time and has asked to be traded. GM Lee McEwen told Varada he would try and accommodate him but the fact is teams are not falling over themselves to acquire him.

Vikings scouts are very pleased with the development of Nikos Tselios and there is a good chance he will be called up for the second half of the season.


Jim Matheson for the WHL Weekly


Oakville News
Oakville - As things seemed to just keep getting worse and worse for this talented Oakville roster, the Bulls recaptured their lost chemistry and have put together an impressive week. Firstly, the Bulls knocked off the Lunatics 6-3; then the Bulls let another game slip away in the third period to the Icedogs and lost a heart breaker 3-2. Out to prove a point to their fans the Bulls have won 3 straight games. Oakville rebounded quite well and man handled the Corinthians 6-2 impressing many, and then beating the Seagulls 3-2, and the Saints 5-2. The last five games have seen the Bulls play some great hockey winning four of five. General Manager Chris Kubinec was very impressed with his teams recent performances and as silenced many of the trade rumours swirling around the club. GM Kubinec may not be throwing in the towel on this season just yet.


New England News

Injury Bug Stays
New England - Sean Hill returns to action vs the Hawks, a game after All-Star nominee Teemu Selanne hit the IR for the second time this year. He aggravated the knee injury that kept him out of action against the Corinthians.

"It's something that will take time to heal, needless to say it's extremely frustrating to be sitting out. Theo will be ahead of me in points for sure now."

The two are tied at 40 points despite the fact that Selanne has missed 9 games this season due to the wonky knee.

Random Kicks
-Dropkicks center Doug Weight has been named interim captain while Selanne heals, the A that he usually wears will temporarily go to Kyle McLaren.

-Krushers GM Jes Golbez has been lobbying fans to vote for his players in all star voting. He's gone so far as to take out an ad in the national newspapers that reads "Vote For The Krushers...We Suck As A Team But We Have Some Players With Individual Skill".

This scribe thinks that's about as lame as the infomercial Jon Lemoine recently produced called "Winning Friends and Influencing People: How I Turned the Icedogs Into Contenders" where Lemoine goes over the proper way to tell a player he's been traded without hurting their feelings. The said infomercial airs Sunday nights at 5:00 AM.


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Spotlight


No spotlight this week as I simply didn't have the time. (I've finally been recalled {Jan. 2} to work after a four month strike and a one month layoff)

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Special Articles


Future Watch

With this year's World Junior Tournament behind us, scouting for this year's entry draft has begun in earnest. There have been whispers from several WHL executives that the WHL7 Entry Draft could be the best in recent years. Based on an informal poll of WHL scouts, here is the early line on the top ten prospects for this year's draft.

1) Jason Spezza C, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
2) Ilja Kovulchuk LW, Moscow Spartak (Russia)
3) Brad Richards C, Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
4) Stephen Weiss C, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
5) Pascal Leclaire G, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
6) Mikko Koivu C, TPS Turku (Finland)
7) Alexander Svitov C, Omsk (Russia)
8) Dan Hamhuis D, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
9) Daniel Blackburn G, Kootenay Ice (WHL)
10) Tuomo Ruutu C, Jokerit (Finland)

A lot can and will change between now and August and the eventual order of player selection will depend a lot on which club is picking where. Spezza is ranked number one right now but he is by no means a consensus. Out of the 19 scouts we talked too, only 7 said they were positive they'd take him first overall. In fact 6 different players were mentioned by scouting departments as the current #1 prospect on their respective draft boards.

One name to watch is Alexander Svitov as he is on the fast track to the top of the draft class. As Svitov's status continues to improve, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Russians (Kovulchuk and Svitov) could go 1, 2. Chances are this year's draft will be as unpredictable as last year's which should have WHL scouting personnel keeping a close eye on the class of WHL7.

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Classified Ads


Oakville Bulls
 # Player               St Inj H  Ps   Ag Qk Pw Fa In Pn Sk Pa PC Ck Sh Ttl
23 Mike Watt             0      L  LW   6  7  7  5  7  9  6  5  6  6  5  69
73 Mike Sullivan         0      L  LW   7  7  5  6  6  7  7  5  5  6  4  65
43 Dan Bylsma            0      L  LW   7  6  7  7  5  7  6  4  4  7  3  63
32 Oleg Petrov           0      L  RW   4  8  4  6  4  9  8  8  6  5  3  65
42 Dan Kesa              0      R  RW   6  5  7  6  5  7  6  6  5  4  8  65
 9 Jeff Buchanan         0      R  D    9  6  8  7  8  3  7  7  6  7  6  74
 5 Uwe Krupp             0      R  D    5  5  8  6  5  7  5  6  5  7  6  65
 6 Remi Royer            0      R  D    6  6  5  5  7  3  7  6  7  4  8  64
35 Corey Hirsch          0      L  G    8  9  7  9  8  7  7  7  9  -  -  71
*I'm really looking to move Corey Hirsch ASAP, he's a great starter and could even be a great back-up.


Toronto Stallions
 # Player               St Inj H  Ps   Ag Qk Pw Fa In Pn Sk Pa PC Ck Sh Ttl
22 Andrei Nikolishin     0      L  C    5  8  5  7  6  8  7  6  7  6  5  70
36 Mike Eagles           0      L  C    7  6  7  4  6  8  6  5  5  7  3  64
21 Geoff Sanderson       0      L  LW   5  9  6  9  9  9  8  7  8  7  7  84
11 Todd Warriner         0      R  LW   6  8  7  7  7  7  8  6  6  8  6  76
15 Stephane Richer       0      R  RW   4  7  6  6  8  8  7  6  8  4  8  72
 7 Johan Lindbom         0      L  RW   7  5  8  6  7  4  5  6  4  6  7  65
 4 Michal Sykora         0      L  D    6  6  7  7  3  8  7  6  7  6  7  70
31 Kevin Dahl            0      R  D    8  6  7  6  6  8  6  5  5  7  4  68
32 Don Sweeney           0      L  D    5  8  5  7  7  7  7  6  6  7  3  68
34 Stewart Malgunas      0      R  D    7  6  7  6  6  6  5  5  5  7  5  65
 2 Jaroslav Modry        0      L  D    6  6  6  6  2  7  6  5  6  5  6  61
44 Dean Malkoc           0      L  D    8  5  8  6  4  2  5  3  3  6  2  52
 8 Corey Schwab          0      L  G    9  8  9  7  7  1  7  6  8  -  -  62
16 Darby Hendrickson     0      L  C    7  7  5  5  7  7  6  4  5  6  5  64
14 Yanic Perreault       0      L  C    3  5  2  4  5  5  3  4  5  3  4  43
 7 Derek King            0      L  LW   5  6  7  5  7  7  7  6  7  6  6  69
24 Chris Tancill         0      R  LW   6  6  7  7  5  8  6  4  5  6  3  63
53 Rusty Fitzgerald      0      L  RW   6  8  7  6  6  8  7  5  6  6  5  70
41 Tie Domi              0      R  RW   9  6  8  8  8  0  6  5  5  5  5  65
 6 Peter Ratchuk         0      L  D    5  6  5  6  6  6  6  6  5  5  5  61
23 J.J. Daigneault       0      L  D    6  6  6  6  7  6  6  4  5  5  4  61
33 Craig Billington      0      L  G    5  9  5  8  9  7  6  5  8  -  -  62
31 Kirk McLean           0      L  G    8  6  7  6  6  7  5  7  6  -  -  58


Spokane Chiefs
 # Player               St Inj H  Ps   Ag Qk Pw Fa In Pn Sk Pa PC Ck Sh Ttl
 7 Cliff Ronning         0      L  C    3  8  3  7  9  8  8  7  8  5  7  73
92 Mikael Nylander       1-     L  C    3  7  5  7  8  8  7  7  7  5  6  70
22 Dave Scatchard        0      R  C    7  6  8  7  9  4  5  5  6  6  6  69
30 James Black           0      L  C    7  6  7  6  6  7  6  6  6  6  6  69
45 Robert Lang           0      R  C    4  7  6  6  7  8  7  6  7  5  6  69
49 Travis Green          0      R  C    6  6  6  7  7  6  6  6  7  6  6  69
19 Mika Alatalo          0      L  LW   7  6  7  5  8  8  7  5  6  6  5  70
40 Russ Romaniuk         0      L  LW   6  6  6  7  3  9  6  6  6  6  6  67
47 Tom Chorske           0      R  LW   5  6  6  6  6  8  7  5  6  5  6  66
70 Marian Gaborik        0      L  LW   5  7  5  6  7  7  7  6  7  3  6  66
71 Vitali Prokhorov      0      L  LW   6  7  7  6  3  9  6  5  6  5  6  66
24 Brad Isbister         0      R  RW   8  6  8  6  6  5  6  6  6  6  7  70
26 Nelson Emerson        0      R  RW   4  7  5  7  6  7  7  6  6  4  6  65
48 Zac Boyer             0      R  RW   5  6  6  6  5  6  6  5  7  5  5  62
28 Rory Fitzpatrick      0      R  D    8  7  8  9  9  7  7  6  6  7  6  80
54 Dmitri Mironov        1-     R  D    6  6  9  7  7  8  7  6  7  5  4  72
 8 Vladimir Malakhov     0      L  D    6  7  7  6  7  6  7  7  6  6  6  71
12 Aki-Petteri Berg      1+     L  D    9  6  8  6  7  7  7  5  6  6  4  71
35 Jassen Cullimore      1-     L  D    6  6  7  7  8  8  7  5  7  6  4  71
37 Kevin Wortman         0      R  D    7  7  7  7  9  8  6  5  5  5  5  71
 6 Ken Daneyko           0      L  D    7  5  9  7  7  6  5  4  5  8  4  67
27 Murray Baron          0      L  D    7  5  7  6  9  5  5  4  5  6  3  62
 5 Colin White           0      L  D    7  5  7  5  5  4  6  5  5  6  5  60
29 Mike Vernon           0      L  G    6  9  4  7  7  8  9  5  8  -  -  63
33 Dwayne Roloson        0      L  G    7  7  5  6  6  6  6  6  7  -  -  56

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