#65

Biscuits and Breezers

    Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! I recently said that I would have a blog out fill of player requests, player news, game reviews, and much more, so here it is! The player reviews I have for today are Carl Hagelin, Koen Bakker, Tor Tornqvist, Artur Drindrozhik, Luc Boby, and Cody Ogrin. I will be talking about Eric Wellwood's skate cut, the BHL, the Helena Bighorns season end, and Scandinavian Hockey Consulting. I hope you guys like it and it makes up for me forgetting my agenda at home!

   Lets start out with the BHL. If any of you have been with me long enough you would know that awhile back I put out a blog over the BHL or most commonly known as the Basement Hockey League. Together and over the past few months we have decided that the BHL could potentially be a partner league of Biscuits and Breezers! I would just like to talk about them for a moment because I believe they need more recognition. Recently they were in the Northwest Classic and did quite well in fact! A lot of memories were made and many players were reunited in Spokane, Washington for 3 days before the Easter weekend to play some great hockey. Before I go on any further I would like to congratulate all of the Western Washington University hockey boys but especially the Basement Boys Brett Tobin and Tyler Zetting for winning at Nationals in Buffalo, New York! Made up of many students and post-students of various colleges around the state of Washington, the BHL gives an opportunity to the players that have aged of juniors and college to strap the skates back on and feel again what it is like to have 20 brothers and to win as a single unit. I really applaud them for giving chances back to players who otherwise wouldn't have them. The BHL is all around a great organization that has grown considerably since I met with them last and we both hope it keeps growing larger and larger. I think once they hit their main streak, which is soon, that they will become a very public and popular league that will appeal to all hockey players in all leagues all around the world. I am ecstatic about this partnership and I can't wait to work with them! If you could, go check them out on Facebook and give 'em a few likes. Spread the word! Watch out these beauts are going to dominate!

(Credit to BHL)

  The next thing we are going to talk about is Eric Wellwood. Recently prospect for the Philadelphia Flyers Eric Wellwood cut the tendon and artery in his right calf similar to Erik Karlsson's season ending injury. It was unclear whether he was wearing a Kevlar-reinforced "cut proof" sock but it was clearly visible to where he had sliced through the muscles. To describe what happened was, he fell awkwardly into the boards after a penalty kill and caught his right leg with his left skate. It was reported that after he got up off the ice there was an immediate trail of blood following him. It was even reported by some of the staff and players that his skate was filled up with bright rather than dark red blood. He was a very talented and high prospect playing on the Flyers' farm team, the Adirondack Phantoms. New reports have come in that he has had his surgery at Bridgeport Hospital and that it went very successfully. It turns out that his Achille's Tendon was 70% severed and 3 other tendons were completely severed. Here is a picture of the skate and let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart. I found it off of Google. Just as I said before with Erik Karlsson, I wish that most, if not everyone, would wear these socks. So many of these injuries could be prevented just by the simple use of these under-gear garments. Best of luck to Eric in his recovery and I hope he can be back on the ice soon! Best wishes and good luck!

(Credit to Google Images)

       Now I would like to talk about Scandinavian Hockey Consulting. Recently I was sent some of their merchandise (incredible winter hat and t-shirt) and I thought that I should thank them for it. Working with this  incredible company has boosted my career and my accessibility to players. I have gotten noticed by quite a bit of people because I have been associated with them and words can't even think how I would describe the thanks I would like to tell them. The one thing I can't describe is the friendships I have made with players and the new families I have gained. I have made friendships with players all around the country and the world for that matter from New Hampshire to Chicago, St. Louis to San Diego and everywhere in between. But the 3 in particular I had the most time with would be expert defenseman John Petersson, incredible forward and scorer Christian Axelsson, and all around fantastic forward Viktor Steenson. Even though they were on separate teams, I got a similar experience and even learned something from each. What I learned from John was that even though you might have great things going right for you all at once, the things that aren't going right are the ones you have to fight for. The ones that if you fight hard enough and believe hard enough, they will allow you to succeed. Even though he isn't a self-proclaimed "fighter", I have almost never seen a player that fights as much as he does. He tries, and tries, and tries again and if he can't get his goal he will work 10 times harder each time to reach it until he prevails. I am very glad I had the opportunity to meet him and I will never forget this incredible defenseman. He came to Helena a young Swedish player and he will leave a future draft contender. Thank you for your great season in the USA and I can't wait to see your future hockey career! The next player I learned something from would be Christian Axelsson. What I learned from this action packed forward was that if you want to succeed badly, you will have to forget your past and pave your own future. Chrisitan was definitely an outstanding player this season. He was a major team player kind of guy. He communicated very well with his line mates. Although he works well with everyone else, he is a very strong leader. Christian was for sure one of the "Alpha Male" players for the Bighorns. I am really interested in where his career will head because there is so much potential stacked here. Thank you for your fantastic season in the USA and I can't wait to see your hockey career unfold! The last but certainly not least player would be Viktor Steenson. I knew this player the best out of all of them and I am certainly glad I did. I learned so many things from this guy it was unbelievable. But, the main thing I learned from Viktor was that if all the odds are stacked against you in some possible way, you have to break out all you have and succeed no matter how hard things get. When Viktor first arrived in Missoula, he wasn't quite sure what to do outside the rink but after a couple of days, he was definitely positive of what his goal was and how to achieve it. He is such a strong person and I am so glad I met him. One of the reasons that he is so strong is because of his incredible family that is behind him 210%. Not only did I have a lot of support from other people but tons of support comes from this family. His mother, father, and his brother are all incredible people and I am so fortunate that I had the great chance to meet them. Words can not describe how much thanks I would like to say to them. There is so much belief and balance I have from the Steenson family that Biscuits and Breezers and I would most definitely not be where we are today. Viktor was a fantastic asset to Missoula this year and I hope that he is promoted to a higher level because his physical game and his strength will carry him a long way. His strength and size are no where compared to the size of his heart. He is so passionate about what he does and that passion will carry on for a long time. Thank you Viktor for your great season in the USA and I can't wait to see where you go in your hockey career! Thank you to the Steenson family for all the support you have given me and I can't even think of a word to describe how to thank you back. What an incredible family you are and I am ecstatic that I got accepted into it, even if it was only a tiny bit. You are all amazing! I see a couple of future Tre Kronors here from these three players! I am honestly very excited to see where they head next! Thank you everyone and I am looking forward to staying in contact with all of you!

   The last thing I want to talk about is the Helena Bighorn's season end. After their unfortunate loss of their beloved team mate Wyatt Winfield, these boys were driven to succeed and go all the way and win in the Tier 3 Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota. Coming in as 2013 Regular Season champions, back to back AWHL Lewis and Clark Champions, and one of the strongest teams in the AWHL, they were a huge threat. They made it all the way to the semifinals where they were unfortunately defeated by the North Iowa Bulls who play  in the NA3HL. It was a great run this year with a great roster and I can't wait to see what they bring to the ice next season. Congratulations on going all the way to the semi-finals at Nationals and being a great band of brothers the whole season through! Coaching was impeccable this year as well! This team always brings everything out on the ice so it should be interesting to see how they top it next season! Well done boys well done!

(Credit to Helena Bighorns)

   We have come to the "Players of Today" portion of this blog! Since I had forgotten my agenda I have almost doubled the list for today! Now the players are New York Rangers forward Carl Hagelin, Missoula Maulers forward Cody Ogrin, Kalamzoo Jr K-Wings forward Luc Boby, CSKA-Krasnaya Armiya Moscow forward Artur Drindrozhik, Dells Ducks forward Koen Bakker, and Overkalix IF goaltender Tor Tornqvist. I also have 2 interviews for you as well! 

  The first player I am going to start out with is Luc Boby. Luc is 6 ft 3 in, 209 lbs, and is from Oswego, Illinois, USA. He is playing for the Kalamazoo Jr K-Wings in the NAHL. During the 2012-2013 season he had 17 goals in 50 games played, 15 assists, 32 TPs, 33 PIMs, and a +/- of 12. Now I had the great opportunity of having an interview with Luc, but before I get to that I want to do his player review! Luc is a self-proclaimed 4th line grinder and plays his position very well. He is one of the players that is fun in the locker room but takes his game very seriously. He is a very big player and definitely uses that to his advantage. He cares very much about where his shifts will go and puts every ounce of effort he has into his  plays. Luc is one of those players that definitely makes every second count he is on the ice. He is a terrifically hard worker and is very driven in what he wants to do! He will fight for what is rightfully his and he never gives up. He is not only strong physically but he is also strong mentally and emotionally. I love watching him play because I know whenever he goes out, something good will happen. Luc makes the great connections to score, has a great shot, and his on-ice vision is amazing! Now here comes the interview! The first question I asked him was, "How do you think your season went with the Kalamazoo Jr K-Wings?" He then responded, "Well I had a great start to the season. Came out of the gate on fire. Then started to struggle and pretty much went into a downward spiral because of my mental side of the game. Couldn't really figure it out till about 2 weeks prior to playoffs, and since then I feel like I have my confidence back and now I feel like I did at the beginning of the year." With that great answer I asked him, "Being in the NAHL with two different teams which one did you prefer and why? St. Louis or Kalamazoo?" Luc said, "Well the season is not over yet. And I will not pick either one. I really really enjoyed myself in St. Louis. Although I struggled all year long personally I finally realized that in order for myself and my team to be successful I needed to play my role in which case was a 4th line energy player. Once I started playing my role I was in lineup almost every night. And we won a lot of games. And even though we didn't get a lot of fans St. Louis is an awesome city, I had a lot of fun. When it was official that there was going to be no Bandits after that season, the first team I thought about going to was Kalamazoo. My former teammates Hamburg and Appleyard, played for Kalamazoo and said nothing but good things. Also I was about to tender with K zoo before I decided to go with the Bandits. Our coach/general manager Marc Fakler is a great coach and really takes care of his players. From what I have heard and seen Kalamazoo is one of the best treated teams in the NAHL." The next question was, "So since you said that you were a fourth line energy player, how do you enforce that in your games? From what I have seen you are a very big and strong player out on the ice, do you think that you will stay fourth line for the rest of your career or do you think you will eventually move up?" He answered with, "Well I never thought of myself as a grinder until half way though my first year of juniors. My line mates on the Bandits were with my pretty much all year and when we took ownership or responsibility as energy fourth line guys, that's when we started playing well. And I really feel that our line had a big impact in our team's success last year. When I play college hockey I will have to play the same way. I can score goals and make plays. But my success comes form keeping it simple. And Coach Fakler has helped me realize that this year." The next question in this interview was, "I want to ask you what you thought of the success of the music video you and your team put together. I mean I love that video, what is your take on it?" Boby replied, "Haha yeah. It was a lot of fun. We had no idea what song we were doing or anything all we knew was that we were doing a music video. It ended up being a lot of fun. While making it we weren't too optimistic. But when we saw it all put together we were really excited for it. And it ended up making national news, So glad we did that. And I love the face time." The next thing I asked was, "After the NAHL, what are your plans for your future hockey career? College? European leagues?" He answered, "Yes college hockey is next. Although I am still not sure where I will be attending next year. I do plan on playing pro hockey over seas. For at least a couple of years if I can stay healthy after I graduate from college." "Okay my second to last question for you is, if you could sum up all of your hockey experiences in one word what would it be? What drives you to play even through the lowest of the the low?" He said, "Blessed. I am so fortunate to be where I am right now. Yeah it would be sick to be in the USHL or already be committed to a D1 school but hockey has given me way more that I could ever ask for. I am honestly blessed to be where I am today. What drives me is the love for the game. I want to get better everyday. Just so I can keep playing for as long as I can." The last question I had for Luc was, "When you are out of college and out of the junior leagues, would you ever consider being a coach or a mentor to the younger generation of hockey players? I think that you have a fantastic outlook on the game and it is very inspiring. Will you keep hockey running through your veins forever?" His final answer to this great interview was, "Yes of course I already love working with younger hockey players I definitely see myself coaching. Whether it be my son's squirt house team or maybe even juniors. I would love it. And hockey will always be with me. I won't be able to stay away." I really enjoyed this interview. It was great to talk with Luc because he was such a personable guy and he was filled with so much passion for the game. As I said in the interview, his outlook is very inspiring. Some of the things that he said made me take a second look at what I thought of some of the aspects of the game. Thank you so much for the interview! Good luck Luc with the Jr K-Wings and your future hockey career!

     Koen is 6 ft 4 in, 205 lbs, and is from Veldhoven, Netherlands. In the 2011-2012 season, Bakker had 7 goals in 16 games played, 4 assists, 11 TPs, 2 power play goals, 16 PIMs, and .69 average points. Koen is a very good player who plays extraordinary well. He is a huge player and makes it known to his opponents. He plays his game very large and likes to take up a lot of space on the ice when he is on a shift. Bakker has an incredible shot that is a key role on difficult shifts. From what I have seen of his games, he is very close to his team mates. This is very important for players, especially for exchange players, to be close to their team mates because it forms a bond that is extremely hard to break. They depend on each other immensely and if that trust and loyalty isn't there, they have nothing to support themselves with. Koen has very fast skates, great on-ice vision, and has a great sense of leadership. He definitely knows how and when to make the big plays and uses it very wisely. Koen is one that they scouts should look out for in my opinion. I can tell he is going places and from here he is just going to go one place and that is up. I hope that I can see more of his games whether it be in the Netherlands or it be in America, because his style of play improves with each game. He is constantly adapting to his surroundings and is always modifying or adjusting to push him into the future. Good luck Koen in the Netherlands and your future hockey career!

   

    Tor is 6 ft 0 in, 145 lbs, and is from Overkalix, Sweden. In the 2012-2013 season with the Overkalix IF Division 2 team, has 4.00 goals against average and has a save percentage of .917. He is a great goaltender who has fantastic control of his cage. He may be young and may have time to grow, but Tor is definitely on the right track. He shows a lot of determination and perseverance on the ice and won't stop for anyone. He is incredibly talented and shows a lot of prospective future for many teams in the area, in Europe, and many teams in North America. I really love the way he plays his games because he not only takes a mental approach to the game, but he also takes a personal approach. Everything he does in his crease, is done for a reason. Not only for the team's sake but also to what he feels is right. I think that you could almost compare his style of play to that of Pekka Rinne's or Viktor Fasth's. He is a very large player who loves to take up the whole entire net. Surprisingly he also likes to use his leg pads more often than he uses his glove. Now this is uncommon, but not rare. It is a very good technique for him that suits him well. I interviewed Tor as well so that will be happening right now! It was all in Swedish so I will have both languages for you! The first question I asked him was, "How would you describe your style of play? Do you model yourself after anyone? ( hur skulle du beskriva din stil som målvakt? inte modell du själv efter någon?)" Tor replied, "I try to be a fairly quiet goalie and to stand as much as I can. Often they think I can be a bit flighty haha. My idol is Viktor Fasth. (Jag försöker vara en ganska lugn målvakt stå så mycket jag kan. ofta händer de att jag kan vara lite fladdrig. Min idol är Viktor Fasth.)" The next question I asked was, "Where do you think your goaltending will take you? All the way to the NHL? (var tror du att din goaltending tar dig? hela vägen upp till NHL?)" Tor's answer was, "I hope they do! They are practicing a lot and like to be the best. NHL's my goal in life. (Jag hoppas de. De gäller att träna mycket och allt vilja vara bäst. Nhl är ju mitt mål i livet.)"  My next question to Tor was, "If you could say a strength of yours in the cage what would it be? Do you take a mental approach to the games as well? (om ni kunde säga ett styrkan i din när du befinner dig i buren vad skulle det vara? tar dig en mental inställning till spelet också?)" His answers to this question were, "My strength is that I have pretty good reflexes. Yes usually before every game to be really focused and go in my little bubble, you could say. (Min styrka är att jag har ganska bra reflexer. Ja brukar före varje match bli riktigt fokuserad och gå i min lilla bubbla skulle man kunna säga.)" My next question to Tor was, "Do you think you will goaltend in the Swedish Elitserien or do you think you will play more in America in the future? (tror du att du kommer att goaltend i den svenska Elitserien eller tror du att du kommer att spela mer i Amerika i framtiden?) His response was, "I do not know right now but I hope for America. (De vet jag inte just nu  men hoppas på Amerika.)" One of my last questions for Tor was, "Tor, you are a very skilled goalie for your age. How do you keep up with the new styles of play and faster game? (Tor, som en mycket skicklig målvakt för din ålder, hur du hålla jämna steg med nya spelstilar och snabbare spel?)" His answer to me was, "I think you have to have a strong desire to want to constantly evolve, plus a lot of training! (Jag tror att man måste ha en stark vilja att vilja utvecklas hela tiden plus mycket träning!)" I had only a couple of more questions for Tor and one of them was, "If you could play for any team in the world what team would it be and why? (om du kunde spela på något lag i världen vilket lag skulle du spela för och varför?)" He said, "Then I would play for the Anaheim Ducks for they seem to have very good fans and is a nice place to stay. And they have a good team right now also. (Då skulle jag spela för anaheim ducks för de verkar vara mycket bra fans och fint ställe att bo på. Och dom har ett bra lag just nu också.)" I asked Tor, "Do you have any pre game rituals or superstitions? ( har du några pre spel ritualer eller någon vidskepelse?)" He answered, "Oh, I have so many rituals that I start with the more days before the match. I usually put my right skate out and the rest of the equipment from the left side of me and I do heats in a special way and such small things are what seems like forever and I always listen to the same music that I can "turn" to. (Oj jag har så mycket ritualer att jag börjar med dom fler dagar före match. Jag brukar sätta på mig höger skridskon förs och resten av utrustningen från vänster sida jag och jag uppvärmer på ett speciellt sätt och såna små saker finns hur mycket som helst och så lyssnar jag alltid på samma musik för att jag får "tur" av de.)" The second to last question was, "If you could summarize all of your hockey experiences in one word what would it be and why? (om du kunde sammanfatta alla dina hockey erfarenheter i ett ord vad skulle det vara och varför?)" His answer was, "Team! Team is always important! (Laget! Laget är alltid viktigast!)" My last question for this great goalie was, "What drives you to play your best even through the lowest of the lows? Will hockey run in your veins forever? (vad som driver dig att spela din bästa även genom den lägsta av de dalar? kommer hockey köras i dina ådror för evigt?)" His last answer was, "They apply that when you go into a slump is to grind down hard and think positive. I usually do! I will always love hockey! (De gäller att när man åker in i en svacka är att nöta mycket grunder och tänka positivt brukar jag göra!  jo jag kommer alltid att älska hockey!)" Thank you very much for having the interview with me Tor! Tor is a fantastic goalie who really knows what he is doing and is going to go very far in whatever league he chooses to go into. His drive is phenomenal and his personality is just as great! I can't wait to see where he goes because he will surely make an impact on everyone around him. Good luck Tor with Overkalix and your future hockey career!

  The next player I have a review for is Artur Drindrozhik! Artur is 5 ft 11 in, 141 lbs, and is from Moscow Russia (Grodno, Belarus). In the 2011-2012 season he had 3 goals in 40 games played, 6 assists, 9 TPs, 8 PIMs, a +/- of -2, 27 shots on goal, and a 11.1 SOG%.  Artur is a very good player who is always circling the puck and always fast-thinking to what plays need to be made. I really like when he came over from Russia and played in Atlanta for the Knights because you could most definitely see his original style of play. He fuses Russian hockey and the typical North American hockey types to create a style that is commonly seen in the show. You can see it in a lot of prominent Russian players like Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Datsyuk, or even Alexei Kovalev. He plays big and very strongly. I think that one of his strong points are his feet. He skates very fast with a lot of precision. That is very important but when he pairs it with his shot it is incredible in my opinion. Watching some of his videos, he can almost score out of thin air sometimes. I mean I would have to go back and watch plays again just so I could I see how he could have possibly done it. I think that if  I had to classify him as someone for a team, he would be the play maker. Strong willed and very confident. I can tell already that he is on the right road to go straight up. Good luck Artur with Krasnaya Armiya and your future hockey career!

  Carl Hagelin is 5 ft 11 in, 186 lbs, and is from Sodertalje, Sweden. In the 2011-2012 season, Carl had 14 goals in 64 games played, 24 assists, 38 TPs, a +/- of 21, 24 PIMs, 2 short handed goals, 2 game winning goals, 131 shots on goal, and a 10.7 S%. Personally Carl is one of my favorite players on the Rangers. He is a very reliable player who can shoot a wicked shot and is very helpful to his team mates. He is an all around team player but at times I must say he can have his moments of personal "gain." I really like to to watch him play especially now because he has evolved so much since playing at University of Michigan. He has definitely become so much stronger and more of a physical player. Carl is for sure one of the most important power players on the New York roster. When he played in the Winter Classic against the Flyers, he seemed to fit right in almost back to his roots in Sweden. Lake or pond hockey with his old team mates. Over the years, I have said this before, Hagelin is growing to be not only a scorer but a huge checker. Each year you can see a little bit more of physical activity with him. I hope that he can keep up his scoring and his physical game throughout his NHL career. I can't wait to see him progress! Good luck Carl with the Rangers and your future NHL career!

   The last player we have for today would be Missoula Mauler, Cody Ogrin. Cody is 5 ft 10 in, 163 lbs, and is from Spokane, Washington, USA. In the 2012-2013, Cody had 9 goals in 38 games played, 8 assists, 17 TPs, 25 PIMs, and a +/- of -6. I watched Cody play numerous times this season and I think that he was definitely a prominent leader. In my personal opinion, and I do not in anyway mean to cause trouble but, I think that Cody should have been captain of the Maulers for sure. He had everything going right for him. Cody is a great goal scorer, quick feet, soft hands, I mean it is all there as a perfect candidate. He is a great guy to his fans off the ice, he communicates very well with his team mates. I honestly don't know why he wasn't chosen. Anyway, Ogrin plays to his best ability every time he goes out for a shift and you can tell that he is a very hard worker. He will even get into a fight or two to prove he will step up to the plate so to speak to defend his team and himself. I really like that quality about him because he doesn't let pride take over. When Cody steps onto the ice before a game you can almost always tell that he is ready for it. I think that he has a great mentality for the sport and when he goes and plays NCAA or upper level hockey, his mental game will take him past a lot of his competitors. I sincerely hope that Cody moves onto a higher level team because he is definitely ready for it. Good luck Cody with the Maulers and your future hockey career!

 Before I forget I want to put up Luc Boby's music video with the Kalamazoo Jr K-Wings. It is very cool and I think it is awesome that they put this together! Congratulations for the video going onto USA Today! Here it is, I hope you enjoy! (Found on YouTube) By the way, Luc is the first main "singer" and is #26!

   Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every episode will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't get your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifestyle not just a sport!