Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

- Lightning prospect Slater Koekkoek played just 2 games with the Windsor Spitfires before being shut down. Koekkoek lost time with the Peterborough Petes last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. After a trip to Tampa where he was examined by team doctors, it was determined a second operation was needed. Expected healing time is 4-6 months. Tough break for a kid who played just 26 games last year due to the same injury.

-The Syracuse Crunch traded future considerations to the Florida Panthers yesterday. In return the Crunch add forward Jean-Francois Jacques to their ranks.

“We felt like we needed to add a power forward to our group,” Crunch general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Someone who brings some size, some grit, and who can score.” (Quote Source: Official Lightning Site)

While the Crunch gained Kyle Wilson following Tampa’s training camp, they lost Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie to their parent club. This move will add some more depth for them as Syracuse moves towards the playoffs.

-The Bolts will honor captain Vinny Lecavalier’s 1,000th career game with a pre-game presentation. As part of the festivities, Reebok is giving away 1,000 tickets to the game against the Ottawa Senators. You can enter the contest at the Lightning’s Facebook page.

Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

Junior hockey fans on Twitter are all…a-flutter over a tweet from Barrie Colts beat writer Gene Pereira: Lightning prospect Slater Koekkoek has requested a trade from the Peterborough Petes.  Pereira also says that Alan Quine (Red Wings) and Nick Ritchie (not yet draft eligible) have requested trades as well.  Petes Insider also tweeted this rumor.  Even if this proves to be untrue (of course there will be denials), it is easy to believe given that Peterborough is dead last in the OHL with a record of 8-23-3-1 through 35 games. » Continue reading “Rumor Mill: Slater Koekkoek Requests Trade From Peterborough”

Schemin’ Steve Yzerman honed his skills on the forest moon of Endor.

While doing a little research on the 2013 draft class I came across Nikita Zadorov.  The 17 year old Russian-born defenseman is playing his first North American season for the London Knights of the OHL.  Despite not being a legal adult in the eyes of many countries, Zadorov clocks in at 6′ 5″ and 229 lbs.  Many pundits see Zadorov’s stock rising and Brendan of Dobber Prospects sees him as a top 10 talent that could be the first OHL defenseman taken in 2013.  If the Tampa Bay ends up in a similar draft position (10th overall or so), could Zadorov be on their radar? » Continue reading “Le Cinq Nikitas: A Lockout-Induced Thought”

Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

It was a draft pick that caught everyone off guard.  With highly touted forwards like Filip Forsberg and Teuvo Teravainen still on the board, Steve Yzerman announced his team’s 10th overall selection this past June – defenseman Slater Koekkoek from Peterborough in the OHL.  Koekkoek has undeniable talent, but was considered a very risky pick after a severe shoulder injury in November of 2011.  Yzerman has shown the hockey world that he’s not afraid to gamble on young players with injury histories.  In two of his first three drafts, Yzerman’s Lightning drafted a player in the top 10 with injury concerns: Brett Connolly, 6th overall in 2010 and Koekkoek.

Thus far, Connolly’s hip problems haven’t been an issue.  However, it took all of one game back for Koekkoek’s injury history to rear its ugly head.   During the Peterborough Petes’ first exhibition game, he took a huge hit from Oshawa’s Boone Jenner (Columbus) and, after serving a delay-of-game penalty later in the shift, left the ice and didn’t return.  Had Yzerman bet the house and lost? » Continue reading “For Petes’ Sake: Slater Koekkoek Injured in Preseason Action”

Steven Stamkos Photo by Linda Hamilton

With the owners and NHLPA effectively walking away from the negotiating table last week, the prospect of a new season starting in October is pretty grim. Anything resembling an actual game is more than welcome in these tough times. Enter the annual BioSteel Camp that took place in Aurora, Ontario last week.

BioSteel is a system of training, nutrition, and supplements that a growing list of NHLers participating in. Some of the notable guys at the camp were Tyler Seguin, Carey Price, P.K. Subban, and Tampa’s own Steven Stamkos.

On Friday the participants were divided into four teams for a round-robin scrimmage tournament. When Team Stamkos matched up against Team Seguin, Stammer bested goalie Eddie Pasquale with an absolute beauty of a shootout move.

» Continue reading “Stamkos Stuns At BioSteel Hockey Camp”