Adam Hall Photo by Linda Hamilton

It’s been a while since we checked in on the Lightning players plying their trade in European league. With NHL negotiations essentially exploding last week, this list is probably going to get a bit longer in the near future.

- Friday’s game that saw the Ravensburg Towerstars fall to the league leading SERC 5-2. The loss was forward Adam Hall’s 7th consecutive game with a goal. Adam Hall: Scoring Dynamo. Who knew?

- Goalie Anders Lindback.. seems to be doing well. We’re assuming this based on the numbers Bolts Prospects is coming up with. Apparently Google Translate has issues with Finnish. For example, a translated excerpt of an Ilves game recap:

“The second tranche was dominated by IFK. Away team statistics, the Lynx did not get any item category one paint the place. Got a great job with Lynx goalkeeper Anders Lindbäck rejected item 15 times.” (Source: YLE.fi)

Sure.

» Continue reading “EuroTrip: Catching Up With The Bolts Abroad”

Anders Lindback Photo by Linda Hamilton

Tampa’s new goalie who has yet to see any time between the pipes in a Lightning sweater is heading overseas. Anders Lindback’s agent Michael Deutsch announced that his client will be playing for Ilves Tampere according to Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times.

Deutsch said that Lindback is “chomping at the bit” to make his debut with the Lightning. Getting some ice time in actual competitive games could be a huge benefit as Lindback only played 38 games in the last two years as Pekka Rinne’s backup in Nashville.

He’s headed to a prestigious team in Finland’s SM-Liiga. Ilves has won 16 championships in their history. Some of these may have come when opponents were distracted by the insane cat on the front of their jerseys. Seriously, look at that thing.

Lindback becomes just the third Bolt to go to Europe during the lockout. Previously Adam Hall joined Ravensburg in Germany and Victor Hedman joined Astana Barys of the KHL. Fellow Lightning netminder Mathieu Garon is playing in exhibition games with fellow NHLers in Quebec and Nate Thompson is suiting up for his hometown ECHL team in Anchorage Alaska.

Adam Hall Photo by Linda Hamilton

Another Lightning player has made a lockout contingency plan. Forward Adam Hall has signed with Ravensburg in the German second division. He is expected to make his debut with the team on Friday as they host Rosenheim.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity. It’ll be great to play and keep that competitive edge. You have to do whatever you can, whether it’s here in Tampa or guys going back home or finding other places to train or play,” Hall said. (Quote Source: Tampa Tribune)

Adam has stayed in Tampa up until this point. He has joined his teammates in skating at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum. Per Erik Erlendsson, there were about 17 guys skating as of Monday. That number should start to shrink as more guys head abroad. Marty St. Louis did say he would start considering other options if the work stoppage stretched into mid-October.

Hall is the second Bolt to head overseas. Victor Hedman is currently playing for Barys of the KHL.  It might also not be terrible encouraging as Adam is Tampa’s representative to the players’ association.

Victor Hedman Photo by Bridget Samuels / Flickr

The exodus of locked out NHL players to European hockey leagues has finally hit the Tampa Bay Lightning. Defenseman Victor Hedman’s agent Peter Wallen said that his client has signed a contract with Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League. Barys is based in Kazakhstan.

 Damian Crisodero broke the news that Hedman will report to his new team on Friday.Swedish Leagues recently opened their doors to the displaced players, so it’s a bit surprising that the Swedish native didn’t return home to play.

This is most likely just the start of a lot of our Lightning boys heading overseas. There have been quite a few Twitter rumors that Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis are near signing in Switzerland.

For now, we wait . We wait and grumble that our timelines are filled with talk of replacement refs and not preseaon hockey.

Steve Yzerman keeps right on working. The Lightning announced that they have signed 2011 second-round draft pick Nikita Kucherov today. The signing is for a three year, entry level contract.

Kucherov is currently playing for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL after being selected in the 2012 CHL Import Draft. He hasn’t seen any playing time for the Remparts due to continuing to recover from shoulder surgery.

Nikita was on the roster for the Lightning’s Development Camp earlier this summer, but didn’t appear on the ice due to his recovery.

The 19 year old right wing played 18 games for CSKA Moscow of the KHL, notching a goal and five points. He also saw 23 games with CSKA’s junior team and recorded 23 goals and 24 points. He represented his native Russia in the 2012 World Junior Championships, scoring two goals and 7 points on the team’s journey to the silver medal.

Needless to say, he’s pretty stoked.

» Continue reading “Lightning Sign 2011 2nd Round Pick Nikita Kucherov”

Steven Stamkos & Marty St. Louis Photo by Linda Hamilton

September 15th is a few short days away without any formal negotiations for the NHL and NHLPA in sight. If no new CBA is in place, Gary Bettman has said the players will be locked out and the season will be delayed. It’s understandable that some NHLers are looking for contingency plans with both sides seemingly still miles apart.

Various European hockey leagues saw an influx of NHL talent during the 2004-2005 season lost during the last lockout. Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Ricards suited up for Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL. Dan Boyle headed to Djurgårdens IF, then a part of the Swedish Elitserien. Marty St. Louis played for HC Lausanne in Switzerland and Pavel Kubina for HC Vítkovice in the Czech Republic.

If you think it’s tough keeping up when your team is on a West Coast road trip, try when they’re on the other side of the world. Unfortunately it’s looking like many of us are going to have to renew our relationship with Google Translate.

» Continue reading “St. Louis & Stamkos Look Abroad With Lockout Looming”

Love For Lokomotiv

The following was written on September 9th, 2011.

Hockey fans aren’t like other fans. We don’t wash our jerseys out of superstition.. all season. We put voo doo dolls in the uniforms of opposing teams. We forgo the beach on the last days of summer in favor of watching prospects practice in a frigid ice rink. We spend a large part of the season disagreeing with each other very loudly.

After a summer where three enforcers left us far too early, our community has been united in mourning again. We are shell shocked by the horrific plane crash that decimated Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, killing 44 of the 45 people on board.

I haven’t followed the KHL since Lightning players went to Russia during the lockout. In spite of this, Wednesday’s heart breaking news has shaken me to the core. I have been a wreck. Judging by the comments of other fans around the world, I am definitely not alone in this.

» Continue reading “Remembering Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 Year Later”

Evgeny Artyukhin vs. Chris Thorburn Photo by Linda Hamilton

Newer Lightning fans may not be familiar with the name Evgeny Artyukhin. Besides having a name that’s very hard to spell, he was one of the toughest customers to don a Tampa sweater post lockout. He had a bit of a cult following at the Forum. Not because of his prolific scoring ability. He never managed to score more than 20 points in a season, but he was more than willing to drop the gloves. And to beat Antoine Vermette with his own helmet.

Following the 2008-09 season, Arty was traded to the Anaheim Ducks and later the Atlanta Thrashers. After the NHL season ended he returned to his native Russia and has been playing in the KHL for SKA St. Petersburg.

Since leaving the NHL, Evgeny has carved a path of destruction through International tournaments like the Czech games and the IIHF World Championships.  At 6’5″ and 255 pounds, the hulking right winger was built for this type of carnage.

It’s not surprising that his physical ways have continued, most recently in the Donbass Open Cup this week in the Ukraine.

» Continue reading “Remember Evgeny Artyukhin? Pakhrutdin Gimbatov Will”

Jaroslav Janus Photo by dbfoto® / Flickr

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s (well, Syracuse Crunch’s) three-headed goalie monster scenario appears to be resolved.

In a very roughly translated article, it appears that Jaroslav Janus has signed a tryout contract with HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL.  His KHL rights were held previously by Yaroslavl.  Per the article, Yaroslavl has allowed him to play elsewhere.  The story was first broken by Corey Pronman on Twitter and later shared by our friends at Bolt Prospects.

What does this mean for Janus’s development?  It’s a chance for him to play in a lot of games as a potential starting goaltender.  Despite his talent level, he wasn’t going to get that chance with Dustin Tokarski and Riku Helenius likely being the other two goaltenders in Syracuse.

Janus posted solid numbers in 34 appearances for the Norfolk Admirals last season: 23-8-2, 2.36 GAA, and a .914 save percentage.  He stepped up admirably for Norfolk when Tokarski spent time in Tampa last season and did not allow Norfolk’s tremendous winning streak to be broken.

There’s always a chance that he could end up staying overseas.  However, as we saw with Helenius, the team is not afraid to pursue players in the organization who have gone overseas.  It will all come down to Janus’s progression and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.