Krejci - Must be Czech for complete SNUB!

I'll caution you that with this blog posting that I've now used this space as both a therapy session and as a way to gain for myself some level of comfort given the unjustified & unexplainable SNUB of David "The Krej" Kreji by the NHL's All Star Weekend committee not once but twice this week... But before I completely go off the rails here (and oh boy, I will...) Let me first off offer my sincere congrats to Claude "King" Julian (& his entire coaching staff) on being named coach of the Eastern Conference squad which is well deserved and must be SWEET for him seeing how it's back up in Montreal! Nice irony huh!

I send props & sincere congrats also out to both Looch & Wheels for their being added to the YoungStars squad for All Star Weekend as well as both deserve to recognized as part the seemingly endless group of young and extremely talented players in today's NHL... BUT putting all that aside for a minute. I find it a crime to not recognize David Krejci in the same way given the way he's played so far this year as well as him being a key part of the NHL's most successful team thus far... What gives? I mean to not even be named to the YoungStars squad? WTF is that NONSENSE!? Also for the sake for full disclosure and so we're 100% straight, I'll acknowledge but will put aside my fully public "Man Love" for "The Krej" for at least a few here minutes... I totally understand and accept that certain things about these kinds of "All Star Events" have never & will never be fair. Things like roster spots going to the unworthy due to ASININE Fan Ballot stuffing (See: Habs Fans, Montreal) Already having other that are equally or even more so named to the squad which in this case would be Chara, Thomas & Savard (where's Kess btw!) & the fact most young players outside of the true superstars have to wait their turn which I agree & understand for the most part... So now that I've accepted all that and because I believe in my heart of hearts that Phil Kessel should be next in line from the B's to be named to the big squad anyways that The Krej won't be one this years Eastern squad... OK. But now they really kick him, the Bruins organization & his other fans right in the stones by not AT LEAST naming Krejci to the NHL "YoungStars" game roster! God...Someone please help me this one add up and explain to me how that can be justified!?! This non-selection is just plain STUPID & makes NO SENSE at all! WTF?! Why am I making such a big thing out of this for only a "YoungStars Game" you ask?! Because even if you haven't had the pleasure of watching The Krej play game in/game out this season, you need only to look at just the most basic of stats that he's posted so far and you'll see that as of this morning (1/11/09) that he friggin' DESERVES IT that's why! To this point. Through 42 games so far in the 08/09 Season, Krejci's stats sit at:

*16 Goals/30 Assists for 46 pts (2nd of the team & tied for 8th in the LEAGUE!)
*He's at a plus/minus of +25 (3rd on the team / 3rd in the whole NHL)
*His shooting percentage stands at 21.6% (1st on the team / 7th in the NHL)

Add in the fact that he's played a solid if not spectacular at times "whole" game this year (I.e.- at even strength, on both the PP & PK teams, in his own zone, the face off circle etc...) and that he's been the center (no pun intended) of one of the NHL's most productive lines this year, along side Michael Ryder & Blake Wheeler. All of whom by the way play on one of the leagues most successful teams this season, that's why! HELLOOOOOO...

Look it, I'm sure there's many other teams and many other different fans that can and would make just as strong an argument or "their guy" needing to be there and them being boned out of an invite too and to them I say - GET YOUR OWN BLOG! :-) Seriously though does anyone feel the need to argue these facts after looking at even his stats and tell me he doesn't AT LEAST deserve a "YoungStars" slot... Thought not!

So after all that I guess I now just need to get over it and console myself by remembering that HOCKEY is a truly a TEAM game (ain't that right Montreal? -yeah right!) and so with this I now officially move past this BLATANT SNUB & will get back to the BRUINS TEAM and it's success... However not unlike the "Governator of California" I reserve the future right to say "I'll be BACK!" if this BS happens to him again so be warned all!

Until then though thanks for reading, Let's Go Broounze! & Long Live the New King (Krej!!) -KingKrej46

B's NewsBlast! - Looch & Wheels are NHL All Game Weekend Bound as they're named to "YoungStars" Game!

Released from the NHL & NHL.com;
NEW YORK (Jan. 9, 2009) -- The high-scoring NHL sophomore class, led by Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals, Bryan Little of the Atlanta Thrashers and Devin Setoguchi of the San Jose Sharks, will face rookie goaltending phenom Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets and other top first-year players in a non-stop, wide-open game of three-on-three in the NHL YoungStars

Game presented by Upper Deck, Saturday, Jan. 24 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Showcasing the best of the League's young talent, the 10-player sophomore and rookie teams will face off as part of the 2009 Honda/NHL SuperSkills (7 p.m., ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS). This marks the sixth consecutive YoungStars Game at All-Star Weekend and the first under the sophomores vs. rookies format.

The rookies will have to contend with a sophomore offense that features 2007-08 Calder Trophy runner-up Backstrom, who ranks second on the Capitals and 11th in NHL scoring with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists); Little, who leads the Thrashers with 19 goals; and Setoguchi, who ranks second among Sharks in goals (18). Completing the talented sophomore lineup is 2008 YoungStars Game MVP Brandon Dubinsky of the New York Rangers, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins, Andrew Cogliano of the Edmonton Oilers and Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks.

The sophomore defensemen are Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers, each of whom competed as rookies in last year's YoungStars Game in Atlanta. The goaltender is Erik Ersberg of the Los Angeles Kings, the 26-year-old Sala, Sweden native who was not selected in his draft-eligibility years, signed as a free agent with the Kings in May, 2007 and has gone on to win a full-time place with the club.
The rookies will be backstopped by Mason, who has captured NHL Rookie of the Month honors for each of the past two months. He capped his December performance by posting a franchise-record three consecutive shutouts, becoming the first rookie netminder to do so since Detroit's Glenn Hall in 1955-56. Mason enters tonight's game at Washington with a 13-9-1 record, leads the League in goal-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.934), and is tied for the lead in shutouts (five)

Mason's defense pair are both top-five 2008 Entry Draft selections, 19-year-olds Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Doughty, picked second overall, and Schenn, who went fifth, rank 1-2 among rookies in average ice time per game at 23:54 and 21:05, respectively.

The rookie offense will be led by three co-leaders in the rookie goal-scoring race with 13, Blake Wheeler of the Boston Bruins, Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and James Neal of the Dallas Stars. Rounding out the lineup is 2008 Entry Draft first overall selection Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Michael Frolik of the Florida Panthers, Mikkel Boedker of the Phoenix Coyotes and Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues.

YoungStars players were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department and the NHL Players' Association. in consultation with League General Managers."

The full press release can also be found here: http://bruins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=403157

*Photo credit for the above goes out to the folks at bostonbruins.com as well!

B's NewsBlast! - Claude "King" Julien Officially Named As All-Star Head Coach!

As Released by the NHL & NHL.com;

NEW YORK - Head coaches Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins and Todd McLellan of the San Jose Sharks will lead the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star Teams, respectively, at the 57th NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal (6 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS, NHL Radio)

Under the selection process for All-Star coaches, the head coach and assistant coach for the Eastern Conference All-Stars are the head coaches of the two teams with the top points percentages in the Eastern Conference through games of tonight, the halfway point of the 2008-09 regular season. The head coach and assistant coach of the Western Conference All-Stars are the head coaches of the two teams with the best points percentages in the Western Conference.

Julien has guided Boston to its best start since 1929-30 with a points percentage of .780, posting 64 points in 41 games (30-7-4); the Bruins are assured of having the Conference's top points percentage through Saturday. Julien will make his first career NHL All-Star coaching appearance in the city where he coached the Canadiens for 159 games over three seasons from 2002-03 to 2005-06.

The full press release can also be found here: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=403358

B's NewsBlast! - 3 Bruins Named as Eastern All Stars!

From BostonBruins.com;
Chara, Savard and Thomas are All-Stars & will play in the 57th All-Star Game in Montreal, Jan. 25

Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas will represent the Boston Bruins at the All-Star game again in 2009.Boston, MA - The NHL announced today that Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas have been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star roster for the 2009 NHL All-Star game, which will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montreal (National TV: VERSUS).

This marks the fourth all-star appearance for Chara, the second for Savard and the second for Thomas. All three players represented the Bruins at last year's all-star game.

The Bruins captain has posted 7-15-22 totals, a +17 rating and 48 penalty minutes on the year. Chara is also the two-time defending Hardest Shot contest winner at the NHL All-Star game, having recorded blasts of 100.4 MPH in 2007 and 103.1 MPH in 2008. The 2009 Cisco Hardest Shot contest will be held as part of the Honda/NHL All-Star SuperSkills Competition on Saturday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET (National TV: VERSUS)

Savard has tallied the fourth most points in the NHL with 49, trailing only Evgeni Malkin (63), Alex Ovechkin (53) and Sidney Crosby (51). His 36 assists rank third behind Malkin (48) and Joe Thornton (36) and he owns the best plus/minus rating in the NHL, along with teammate Dennis Wideman (+25). Savard scored the game-winning goal in last year’s All-Star game during an 8-7 win for the East.

Thomas, who has compiled a 16-4-3 record on the season, is among the league leaders in all major goaltending categories. He ranks fourth in Goals Against Average (2.13), tied for fourth in Save Percentage (.932), and tied for fifth in shutouts (3). Thomas played a key role in last year's All-Star game, as he played the entire third period and earned the victory for the East. For more information on the All-Star game, and the weekend festivities, visit www.nhl.com.

Eastern Conference All-Star Roster:

STARTERS:Goaltender: C. Price (MTL) Defensemen: A.Markov (MTL), M. Komisarek (MTL) Forwards: S. Crosby (PIT), E. Malkin (PIT), A.Kovalev (MTL)

RESERVES:Goaltenders: H. Lundqvist (NYR), T. Thomas (BOS) Defensemen: J. Bouwmeester (FLA), Z. Chara (BOS), M. Streit (NYI), T. Kaberle (TOR) Forwards: I. Kovalchuk (ATL), M. Savard (BOS), T. Vanek (BUF), E. Staal (CAR), Z Parise (NJD), D. Heatley (OTT), J. Carter (PHI), V. Lecavalier (TBL), A. Ovechkin (WSH)

Western Conference All-Star Roster:

STARTERS:Goaltender: J.S. Giguere (ANA) Defensemen: B. Campbell (CHI), S. Niedermayer (ANA) Forwards: P. Kane (CHI), J. Toews (CHI), R. Getzlaf (ANA)

RESERVES:Goaltenders: N. Backstrom (MIN), R. Luongo (VAN) Defenseman: N. Lidstrom (DET), S. Souray (EDM), S. Weber (NSH), D. Boyle (SJS) Forwards: J. Iginla (CGY), M. Hejduk (COL), R. Nash (CBJ), M. Modano (DAL), P. Datsyuk (DET), D. Brown (LAK), S. Doan (PHX), K. Tkachuk (STL), J. Thornton (SJS)