REMEMBERING SEPT. 11 with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet September 11 always elicits memories of that fateful trip down the Merritt Parkway. A decade ago, I was passing through Meriden on the way to the opening day of Rangers’ training camp at Madison Square Garden when a news flash on the…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet After the horrific off-season that hockey has experienced, it was with joy that I could tune in to the NHL Network at 7 p.m. Saturday and watch most of the New York Rangers top young players in their opener in the prospects tournament in…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
BY: Bruce Berlet After a stellar first season with the New York Rangers, it has been a difficult 12 months for Marian Gaborik. First, the right wing who signed a five-year, $37.5 million free-agent deal with the Blueshirts on July 1, 2009 saw his goal…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet The New York Rangers will continue a new tradition when many of their top young players participate in a prospects tournament beginning Saturday in Traverse City, Mich. All but five of 24 players have their NHL rights owned by the…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Not surprisingly, the mother of Wade Belak said the former NHL player suffered from depression before committing suicide last Wednesday. “I think he was taking control of that,” Lorraine Belak said in a phone interview with the Canadian…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Two former New York Rangers/Hartford Wolf Pack players were on the opposite ends of the happiness scale Wednesday. Defenseman Fedor Tyutin hit the jackpot, while center Marc Savard’s career sadly could be over far too soon. Tyutin, the…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Dave Scatchard is the latest example of why all of hockey should do everything possible to prevent headhunting. Scatchard, a center who played three games with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the 2007-08 season, has decided to end his 14-year…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Colin McDonald didn’t hide his feelings – and didn’t want to, either. After scoring an AHL-leading 42 goals with the Oklahoma City Barons last season, the Wethersfield native felt slighted when the Edmonton Oilers made an offer he could…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Talk about a worthwhile confab. The Houston Aeros were floundering in January when coach Mike Yeo, elevated to coach of the parent Minnesota Wild on June 17, called a team meeting. “It was a decision that we decided to make and kind of a…
FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET
BY: Bruce Berlet Matt Zaba didn’t particularly enjoy his last season playing goal in North America. While the Hartford Wolf Pack, now Connecticut Whale, were missing the playoffs for the only time in the franchise’s 14 seasons in 2009-10, Zaba was…