Can He Score 100?

With the Tampa Bay Lightning moving to the newly-anointed Atlantic Division, they find themselves in a division with several heavyweights in terms of the scoring done by their division rivals. Even more shocking was the scoring the Lightning gave up when they bought out Vincent Lecavalier, putting more pressure on the Stamkos-St. Louis duo to score more often. Needless to say, if you're a Lightning fan, you're hoping that Ben Bishop and Anders Lindback suddenly become Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy in a hurry.

St. Louis and Stamkos were the top scorers on the Lightning last season. Teddy Purcell finished with a respectable 36 points, but the fourth- and fifth-best scorers are gone from Tampa Bay's roster. Vincent Lecavalier scored 32 points to finish fourth, and Cory Conacher - currently with the Ottawa Senators - finish fifth in Lightning scoring with 24 points. There's a significant gap between the top-three scorers and the rest of the team.

St. Louis and Stamkos scored 31.3% of the goals in 2012-13 for the Lightning. That's a lot of goals to put on two players, but the Lightning were the third-best team in terms of scoring last season. Losing Lecavalier and Conacher - 12.9% of Tampa Bay's goals - hurts the overall production when going into a division that has three of the five best teams in preventing goals - Ottawa (second), Boston (third), and Detroit (fifth). If Tampa Bay isn't going to replace those two key players, it might be a long season in Tampa Bay this year.

Steve Yzerman appeared to be a pretty good general manager in his first season at the helm. His second season saw the Lightning take a step back. This season? It might be one giant leap for them in the wrong direction. I appreciate Steve Yzerman's responsibilities with Team Canada, but he gets paid by the Lightning to build a team that will compete for the Stanley Cup. It appears that, barring some miracle, the Lightning will not be competing for the Stanley Cup this season based on the roster that the Yzerman has chosen to ice this season thus far.

What I do know is that Steven Stamkos has the ability to be very good this season, and he'll have to be with the current crop of players. If he and St. Louis scored 31.3% of all Lightning goals this past season, they may have to up that production to around 70% if the Lightning are going to have a shot at the playoffs.

The other thing I know? Stamkos is pretty strong.

That's 500lbs that Stamkos is lifting. Wanna know why his one-timer feels like a bullet?

The Lightning will need someone other than St. Louis and Stamkos to step up and provide a major spark if the Lightning are to make the playoffs this season. Teddy Purcell appears to be the man to do it, but Ryan Malone, Tyler Johnson, and Alex Killorn will have to bring the offence for the Lightning to succeed. Otherwise, Stamkos and St. Louis may only have Team Canada and the Olympics to look forward to this season.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

NoDak's Best

North Dakota has a rich hockey history with the NCAA's University of North Dakota being a perennial favorite to capture collegiate hockey's highest honor. The USHL's Fargo Force have shown some talent over the last five years as shown yesterday, and high school hockey is on the rise in the state. In short, hockey is doing well in North Dakota, so it was a surprise to me that there have only been thirteen players who were born in North Dakota that have skated in the NHL!

Everyone is aware of Minnesota's propensity for sending players to the NHL, so you'd think that the neighboring state would want to keep pace with the Land of Lakes, right? Apparently not. Of the thirteen North Dakota-born players who have skated in the NHL, only four have played more than 100 games! And of those four, only one has more than 100 career NHL points! This list is going to be short, but here are, in my opinion, the top-five North Dakota-born NHL players.

5. MIKE PELUSO - BISMARCK. Mike didn't play in the NHL for a long time, but his 38 games is enough to get him on this list. Mike played 37 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2001-02, and played one game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003-04. Mike recorded four goals and two assists with the Blackhawks, giving him career totals of four goals and two assists. Mike has had a better AHL career, though, where he played 335 games, amassing 116 goals and 126 assists with the Portland Pirates, Worcester IceCats, Norfolk Admirals, and Philadelphia Phantoms. He didn't win any awards, but he does come in as the fifth-best North Dakotan to have played in the NHL as per HBIC.

4. FIDO PURPUR - GRAND FORKS. Fido had an interesting career as he broke into the NHL with the St. Louis Eagles in 1934-35 at the age of 20 after spending three seasons with the CHL's Minneapolis Millers. He spent 25 games with the Eagles before being sent back to the minors. In 1935, he joined the American Hockey Association's St. Louis Flyers where he played for six seasons before joining the Kansas City Americans in 1941-42. His contract, however, would be bought by the Chicago Black Hawks, and he would finish the season in Chicago with an eight-game stint. Fido would spend the next two seasons in Chicago before being sent down to the minors in 1945 for good. In his 144 NHL games, Fido Purpur scored 25 goals and 35 assists. Like Mike Peluso, Fido Purpur didn't win any awards, but he is, in my opinion, the fourth-best North Dakotan to make it to the NHL.

3. RYAN POTULNY - GRAND FORKS. Ryan Potulny wasthe 87th-overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers. He broke into the NHL with the Flyers in 2005-06, playing 44 games over three seasons with the club. He was traded to the Oilers for Danny Syvret in the summer of 2008, and he would play 72 games for the Oilers over the next two seasons. It was in Edmonton where Potulny would post career-best marks of 15 goals and 17 assists in 64 games. He was shuffled between Chicago and Ottawa in 2010-11, but he has been a very popular AHL player for a long time. He helped the 2010-11 Binghamton Senators capture the Calder Cup, and was the man who ended the longest playoff game in AHL history with his goal after 142:58 of game play.

Potulny is currently playing for Avangard Omsk in the KHL. The third-best North Dakotan has a Calder Cup championship and a memorable AHL goal to his name! Not bad for a guy who played 126 NHL games with 22 goals an 27 assists!

2. TIM JACKMAN - MINOT. Tim Jackman was chosen 38th-overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2001, and broke into the league with Columbus in 2003-04 by playing 19 games. He was off to Phoenix in October 2005 in the trade that sent Geoff Sanderson to the desert, but he saw action in only eight games with the Coyotes. In March 2006, he moved again as he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. He played in a mere five games with the Kings in 2006-07, and moved on as a free agent with the New York Islanders. In three seasons on Long Island, Jackman saw more ice time, scoring ten goals and 15 assists in 159 games. But he would be on the move again in 2010-11, signing with the Calgary Flames. It was in Calgary that his defensive game began to flourish, and Jackman has scored 12 goals and 23 assists in his 199 games with the Flames. Jackman last played in the AHL in 2008-09, making him a full-time NHLer for the last few seasons. While he has yet to win any awards, he has played in 390 NHL games, amassing 23 goals and 40 assists in his defensive role.

1. PAUL GAUSTAD - FARGO. Paul Gaustad was drafted 220th-overall by the Buffalo Sabres, and he quickly established himself as a full-time NHL player in the 2005-06 season. Gaustad is a solid defensive forward who is used to kill penalties, check top lines, and win key face-offs. He was valued in Buffalo for these assets, but Gaustad also put up some points when given the opportunity. In 479 games with the Sabres, Gaustad scored 71 goals and 110 assists while playing primarily in a defensive role. The Nashville Predators acquired Gaustad in a 2012 trade deadline deal for his defensive and face-off abilities as they looked to push deep into the playoffs. Gaustad was a key face-off man as the Predators knocked off the Anaheim Ducks in their first playoff series win in franchise history. While he was injured for the majority of last season, Gaustad has had the most NHL success of any North Dakotan as he has played 516 games while scoring 73 goals and adding 117 helpers. He signed a four-year, $13 million deal in 2012 to remain with the Predators, ensuring he'll add to his totals until 2016 at least.

While Ryan Potulny certainly has won more accolades in his career, Paul Gaustad has obviously scored the most NHL points, arguably making him the most successful North Dakotan to have played the game at the highest level. There could be a case made for each of the North Dakotans on this list, but these five men have played at the highest level the longest, and fit the mold as the best hockey players North Dakota has produced.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

May The Force Be With USHL

Hockey is certainly alive and well in North Dakota with the NCAA's University of North Dakota being one of collegiate hockey's more prolific teams, but there is another option when it comes to North Dakotans' hockey dollars. The USHL granted an expansion franchise to Ace Brandt to play out of Fargo, North Dakota, and the Fargo Force began its illustrious history in 2008.

The USHL is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States, consisting of sixteen hockey teams from the American midwest. Much like the CHL, the USHL permits plays aged 20 and under to compete in the league. Because the USHL is an amateur league, the players who graduate from their respective teams are still able to enroll in the NCAA and play hockey there if accepted.

The Fargo Force are officially the northernmost team in the USHL with their closest rival being three hours away in the Sioux Falls Stampede. It's a long trek to their furthest rival in the Youngstown Phantoms who play out of Youngstown, Ohio - a mere 895 miles away. While their outpost-like status makes travel a little difficult on some occasions, it hasn't slowed down the Force as they've seen some incredible success since taking the ice in 2008.

The team held a name-the-team contest in 2007 that resulted in the following three names being selected as finalists: Force, Fire, and Phantoms. "Force" was chosen as the name, setting the franchise in motion to take the ice.

The Force went out and found themselves an incredible person to guide the ship as former University of North Dakota bench boss Dean Blais was given the titles of general manager and head coach. Blais found himself a number of very capable players to lead the Force to a 32-23-0-5 record and third in Western Conference. They earned a playoff spot, leading to an opening-round series with the Omaha Lancers. Fargo made quick work of them in dispatching them 3-0 to advance to the second round. Fargo would hammer the Lincoln Stars in three games as well, advancing to the USHL Final against the Indiana Ice. The magic would run out, though, after the Force won Game One, dropping three straight games to Indiana by a combined 16-3 score.

Despite losing in the Clark Cup Championship Final, the first season for the Force was a resounding success. Andy Taranto led the team in goals and scoring with 34 goals and 59 points. Taranto tied for the league lead in goals scored, and was tied for tenth in points. Matt Leitner would end up in fourth-place for assists in the league. Mike Lee played 48 games between the pipes, leading the team with a 26-15-4 record, a 2.40 GAA, and a .918 save percentage. Clearly, the team had a few stars and almost did the unthinkable in winning a championship in their inaugural season!

Dean Blais, however, would leave in the summer as he took the head coaching job with the NCAA's University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. The Force began their search for a new man to lead the team, and they appointed Steve Johnson, a former assistant coach, as the new head coach. Johnson led the Force to a 37-17-1-5 record in their second season, good for second-place in the Western Conference. This, of course, put them into the playoffs where they caught fire again. The Force ended the Sioux Falls Stampede's playoffs in three games, leading to a series with the Omaha Lancers. These two teams traded blows, but Fargo would dismiss Omaha in a 3-2 series count. Once again, Fargo would be in the Clark Cup Championship. Fargo would win Games One and Two, but dropped three straight games to finish second for the second-straight season.

Being finalists in their second season kept the crowds happy and box office rolling, but there was some disappointment in falling short again. Matt Leitner was the top scorer for the Force with 25 goals and 41 assists, putting him as the tenth-best scorer in the USHL. Leitner's 41 assists were good for eighth overall in the helpers category. Chase Grant would finish tied for eighth in the league with 28 goals. Ryan Massa was the top goalie for Fargo as he went 19-7-2 in his 33 appearances, posting a 3.18 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Once again, Fargo had a number of stars on the ice, but fell just short in the end.

Like the summer before, the head coach vacated his position as Steve Johnson followed Dean Blais' lead in jumping to the NCAA. Johnson accepted an assistant coaching position with the NCAA's St. Cloud State Huskies. The coaching carousel began again, and another assistant coach was promoted as Jason Herter was named as the head coach of the Fargo Force for the 2010-11 season.

Herter led the team to a 33-22-2-3 record, tying them with the Lincoln Stars for fourth-place in the Western Conference. They would qualify for the playoffs, and these two teams would meet in the opening round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. Fargo would have little trouble in dismissing the Stars 2-0 in their best-of-three series, pitting them against the powerful Dubuque Fighting Saints. Dubuque played nearly flawless hockey in sending the Force home three games. For the first time in their history, the Force would watch another team compete for the Clark Cup.

Jimmy Mullin was the offensive leader for the Force, scoring 23 goals and 37 assists on the campaign. His 37 assists were ninth-best in the USHL, and his 60 points were seventh-best in the circuit. Ryan Massa was the main man in the blue paint, playing 33 games to amass a record of 19-9-4, a 2.37 GAA, and a .908 save percentage. Pushing Massa hard in the nets, though, was Zane Gothberg. Gothberg went 14-8-0 in 23 games with a 2.23 GAA and a .908 save percentage. There wasn't as many offensive stars to go around in 2010-11, but the defensive game stepped up their end.

Guess what happened in the summer? Head coach Jason Herter stepped away from the Force for an assistant coaching position with the NCAA's University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, marking the fourth time in the team's four-year history that the Force were searching for a head coach in the summer. They would look north as they brought in former UND head coach and MJHL's Winkler Flyers coach John Marks to steer the ship as they looked for some continuity in their head coaching position.

Marks led the Force in their 2011-12 season to a 31-23-0-6 record, landing them in fourth-place in the Western Conference. This would qualify them for the playoffs once again, leading them to an opening-round matchup with the Sioux City Musketeers. Fargo won the first two games of the best-of-three series to advance to the second round where they ran into the Lincoln Stars. Fargo would take Game One by a 2-1 score in overtime, but Lincoln would rally to take the next three games to eliminate the Force in the second round for the second-straight season.

Austin Farley would lead the Force in scoring with 28 goals and 59 points in 51 games. Farley and teammate Bryn Chyzyk would tie for eighth-place in league goal-scoring with their 28 goals apiece. Farley would end up in a tie for the tenth-highest point total in the USHL with his 59 points. Zane Gothberg played the vast majority of time in the blue paint, logging a 26-16-4 record in 46 games while posting a 2.22 GAA and a .921 save percentage with seven shutouts. The Force fell short once more, but four straight years of playoffs is nothing to be ashamed of when looking at the league.

For the first time in team history, a coach returned! John Marks took the team into the 2012-13 campaign, and finished up with a 38-19-0-7 record to put Fargo in second-place in the Western Conference. Fargo would square off with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the opening round, and these teams would need all five games to determine a winner. Fargo would dent twine at 6:38 of overtime in Game Five to advance! The Force would again need five games against the Sioux Falls Stampede, but skated to a 7-4 victory in Game Five to push them into the Clark Cup Championship! In the final, though, they ran into the Dubuque Fighting Saints who played superb hockey. Like their previous matchup, Fargo did not record a win in a three-game sweep, and the Force were bridesmaids once more.

Dominic Toninato and Brendan Harms finished tied with 70 points to lead the Force in scoring. Harms was fifth-overall in the league for assists with 45 while Toninato finished tied for tenth-place with 41 helpers. Both players finished tied for eighth-place in league scoring. Gabe Guertler finished in ninth-place overall in the league with 31 goals. Brendan Jensen was the man between the pipes for Fargo as he appeared in 38 games, posting a 24-11-1 record with a 2.92 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

If there was a team in the USHL who could be considered the model franchise, the Force have been finalists three times and were ousted in the second round twice. In five seasons, they have played for the league's playoff championship five times. And they did this under four separate men who have coached and been the team's general manager.

Well done, Fargo Force, and here's hoping your future successes can be as good as these. Or better!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Metropolitan?

I'm still struggling with this new divisional name anointed to the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania-DC-Ohio-Carolina division. I get that they aren't truly the Atlantic Division with the Blue Jackets being quite inland, but "Metropolitan"? This may be one of the worst names in the history of the NHL. The population is dense in the area so I understand the reference, but why is the NHL trying to push "metropolitan" as a geographical region? I'm not sure anyone has associated the eight teams making up the division as a metropolitan. The Rangers, Islanders, and Devils? Yes. Everyone else? Not so much.

According to deputy commissioner Bill Daly in an email to ESPN, "A number of alternatives were considered for Metropolitan, but due to the make-up of our divisions, none were perfect. So that was, obviously, the toughest one to nail down. But, ultimately, you have to come to a resting place."

There are so many things wrong with his statement that need to pointed out, but the biggest one is "you have to come to a resting place". That reeks of laziness and an unwillingness to teach fans about the history of the game. As the curators of this game, the NHL Offices in New York should be ashamed of this statement and decision.

The NHL had incredible names before in the Smythe, Norris, Patrick, and Adams divisions. They harkened back to the days of the men who molded the game in their visions, and provide a link back to the history that is slowly being erased by the geographical names. The four men whose names adorned the divisions before the changes made by Bettman and Company were arguably more important than the current regime in helping the game evolve into what the current regime inherited.

Personally, I've never been a fan of the geographically-named divisions, and this new Metrosexualpolitan Division is the dumbest name of all. In my protest of these stupid names, I'm officially changing the names here on HBIC. Going forward from this day forward, the old names will be used when describing the new divisions.

Ladies and gentlemen, HBIC welcomes back the Patrick Division.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

CBC's Hockey Schedule

With the Olympics being included into next season's scheduling for the NHL, the CBC unveiled its highlighted games today. Needless to say, there are more than one outdoor game on this season's televised games thanks to the NHL's need to have approximately half the schedule played outside. There are some other games, though, that should be noted thanks to the CBC's involvement in the NHL and its scheduling, and this gives the CBC exclusive rights to these games. If you're Canadian and you like hockey, the country's public broadcaster has some great games scheduled for this winter's television season.

Let's start with January 1, 2014 when the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Detroit Red Wings from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The Bridgestone Winter Classic will take center-stage on CBC on New Year's Day as Canada finally has a team playing in the big game. While I feel that Toronto won't be the winning team that day, there should be some great story lines surrounding the game as Toronto and Detroit are division rivals this coming season.

The following day, the Tim Hortons Heritage Classic takes place in Vancouver as the Canucks host the Ottawa Senators in an outdoor game. These two teams don't have a ton of history between them, but there will be some good players on the ice as Spezza, Karlsson, and newly-acquired Bobby Ryan battle the Sedins and Robert Luongo. Vancouver's weather could be a factor in this one, so you may want to turn in just to see if the two teams play street hockey outdoors over ice hockey.

Later in the month, CBC is the Canadian rights-holder to the 2014 Coors Light Stadium Series. The Coors Light Stadium Series features the rest of the non-Winter Classic outdoor games. CBC will feature the Anaheim Ducks visiting the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, January 25, and they'll jump across the country for the New Jersey Devils hosting the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, January 26.

Kraft Hockeyville on Saturday, September 14 will see former division rivals play one another in Belleville, Ontario when the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals descend upon the town. The township of Sterling-Rawdon, Ontario will host the majority of the events for Kraft Hockeyville.

Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada will take place on Saturday, January 18 as the city of Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan welcomes the CBC crew to town. Games featured that day will include the New York Rangers visiting the Ottawa Senators at 2pm ET for Ontario-East, and the Edmonton Oilers play the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre at 2pm ET for Manitoba-West. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7pm ET nationally, and CBC closes out the night with the Calgary Flames visiting the Vancouver Canucks.

In total, CBC's Hockey Night In Canada will air 94 games including:

• 33 all-Canadian matchups.
• 16 Original Six matchups.
• 4 "Battle of Alberta" games.
• 4 Chicago Blackhawks games.
• 4 Boston Bruins games.
• 3 Pittsburgh Penguins games.
• 3 Washington Capitals games.

For Jets fans, I have taken the liberty of scouring the CBC schedule to pull out these games:

• Tuesday, October 1 at Edmonton.
• Saturday, October 26 at Dallas.
• Saturday, November 3 vs. Chicago.
• Saturday, December 7 at Tampa Bay.
• Saturday, December 14 vs. Dallas.
• Saturday, January 11 vs. Columbus.
• Saturday, January 18 vs. Edmonton (Hockey Day In Canada).
• Saturday, January 25 vs. Toronto.
• Sunday, February 2 at Montreal.
• Thursday, March 6 vs. Los Angeles.
• Saturday, March 8 vs. Ottawa.
• Saturday, March 22 vs. Carolina.
• Saturday, March 29 at Los Angeles.
• Saturday, April 5 at Toronto.

There are your CBC games, kids. Clear your calendars on those days and night because it's nealry hockey season again!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!