#100

Biscuits and Breezers

  Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! If you haven't noticed the huge 100 or the cellying Minnetonka hockey players, this is the 100th regular blog I have posted! You can take a minute and celly if you want to I won't mind! 100 regular blogs that is amazing!!! Thanks for all of the support everyone!!! But now enough of the celebration we can do that when I put my 25k view blog out! Since I have missed quite a bit of news over the past few days, I have 5 stories for you all! The news I am reporting on would be New York Ranger Carl Hagelin's first career hat trick, Rich Peverley collapsing on the bench in Dallas, the death of OHL player Terry Trafford, Nicklas Backstrom receiving his silver medal, and Pittsburgh's Jame Neal out indefinitely. First off with Hagelin! Carl Hagelin, forward for the New York Rangers, has recorded his first ever hat trick in the game that lifted the Rangers over the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Now you might be thinking I am mistaken but I assure you I am not. This is his first ever hat trick, not one was previously recorded and not even in his college days at the Univeristy of Michigan, so this is a huge congratulations to him! Hagelin told reporters after the game, "It feels good, I've never had one before, not even in College," (via NHL.com) Hagelin is one of the best Swedish forwards in the show right now, in my opinion and statistically, so hopefully we will see more of these amazing feats happening soon!

Hagelin in the "Broadway Hat" (Credit to Google Images - franchise101.net)

  Next off we have Rich Peverley. 6:23 into the first period of the Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets game, Rich Peverley of the Dallas Stars collapsed on the bench causing the game to be stopped and postponed until further notice. This cardiac event was caused by his heart condition and what he experienced was his atrial fibrillation (the most common heart arrhythmia.) Quickly after Peverley collapsed, he was carried off the ice by team doctors where he was resuscitated in the hallway behind the team bench and rushed to the St. Paul University Hospital for treatment. It was released early this week that he will be out indefinitely after choosing to have surgery to correct his condition. The surgery will aim to regulate his heart beat and will take a few months to recover from. You could tell the severity of the situation when Rich walked out of the press conference, at the hospital where he remains hospitalized, wearing a heart monitoring vest that monitors his heart beat regularly and will go to corrective measures if anything would to go wrong such as his heart getting out of rhythm. The match up against the Blue Jackets and the Stars is rescheduled for April 9th at 7:30 pm CST in American Airlines Center. Best wishes to Rich and his family and I hope he has a speedy and safe recovery!

(Credit to Google Images - stars.nhl.com)

    After being released from the Saginaw Spirit (OHL) for supposedly violating team rules and partying on a team road trip, Terry Trafford was last seen on March 3rd around 9:30 am at the Dow Event Center. He was supposed to return to his home town of Toronto but unfortunately never completed his journey. Trafford was found dead in his truck in the parking lot of a Walmart located in Saginaw.  The cause of death is reportedly self-inflicted asphyxiation. The Michigan State Police released the cause of death on March 13th but still haven't released the details. Terry was never thought to have had a serious case of depression but now that possibility is being reconsidered. League officials are looking into this to see if there is any way an event like this could be prevented in the future. This is incredibly sad and heart wrenching to find out about because no matter who you are or what you do, life is a serious thing and shouldn't be taken away so easily. My sincerest condolences to Terry's family and to everyone involved. RIP Terry.

(Credit to Google Images - thestarphoenix.com)

  Next off on our list of news, we have an update on Nicklas Backstrom! After being controversially suspended from the gold medal against Canada after testing positive for high amounts pseudoephedrine, Swedish forward Nicklas Backstrom will finally be able to receive his silver medal. The Olympic Committee ruled that he was not trying to use the drug to enhance his performance and have now laid blame on the Swedish team doctor. In my opinion, this ruling was blaringly obvious from the beginning and never should have resulted in a suspension. I don't think that it was necessary at all to pull Backstrom and the events that followed never should have happened in the first place. It's in my opinion that if the committee and the medical officials performing the testing would have looked at his previous international playing records with this medicine, they should have seen that it was not used in a way to be performance enhancing. I thought this was absolutely ridiculous. I am so thrilled that Nicky will receive his rightful silver medal but I feel sorry for him that he was not able to earn it in the game that really counted. Backstrom told reporters, "While I will always be disappointed that I wasn't able to play in the gold medal game with my fellow countrymen, I'm pleased that my name has been cleared by the IOC. It is important to me that the IOC has acknowledged that I had asked for and received specific advice from my team doctor that taking this allergy medication would not be a violation." Also he stated, "In addition, I had disclosed my use of over-the-counter medication prior to being tested." (Both quotes via ESPN.com/nhl) The Swedes are furious, as they should be, and are not letting this be laid to rest until everything has been cleared out of the way and they know the real and true reason for this suspension. Congratulations Nicklas upon receiving the medal that was rightfully yours and hopefully everything will be done with soon!

(Credit to Google Images - bleacherreport.com)

  Last but not least we have one last headline. Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal has been diagnosed with a concussion and will be out indefinitely. Neal saw the team doctors on Thursday and the news was reported on Friday. Get well soon James!

  Now for the "Player of Today" segment of our blog! For the Prospect pick we have Dubuque Fighting Saints forward Shane Eiserman. For the goalie pick we have Wenatchee Wild goaltender Gustaf Johansson. For the European pick we have Rochester Americans defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

   Gustaf is 6 ft 4 in, 185 lbs, and is from Uppsala, Sweden. In the 2013-2014 season, he had 10 wins in 17 games played,  6 losses, 1 shout out loss, 1002:30 minutes played, 40 goals against, 2.39 goals against average, 408 saves, and a .911 save percentage. If you are looking for a goaltender whose skills extend beyond his years, Gustaf Johansson is the tendy you want. I have worked with many goaltenders in the past and I have to say that he is, without a doubt, at the top of the list. He is absolutely incredible in the cage and seems to improve with every game. He takes the flow of the game and adjusts his techniques just right so that he is finely tuned to all of the players around him. Gustaf is constantly on top of his game and always has a sharp eye out on the puck. He plays with ease and finesse and is always trying to be at the peak of his game. Johansson has an incredibly high hockey IQ and uses that to his advantage every time he is in the net. He is fantastic with his glove side and is great working his pads. I am always impressed with him during matches because he plays a phenomenal game and, in my opinion, is one of the top players in his position. He plays as if every game is his last, he is constantly pushing the boundaries to make his game better, and always makes sure that his game is the best it can be. I think everyone should take a look at this beauty because he is going all the to the top of the hockey world whether that is playing or coaching. Good luck Gustaf with the Wild and your future hockey career! Go like his athlete page on Facebook if you can! (Gustaf Johansson Athlete Pages) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gustaf-Johansson/176135745924018

(Credit to Facebook - Emily Pflugrath)

   Shane is 6 ft 1 1/2 in, 201 lbs, and is from West Newbury, Massachusetts, USA. In the 2013-2014 season, he had 14 goals in 45 games played, 21 assists, 35 TPs, and 71 PIMs. Shane is a hugely strong forward and uses his size to advantage. His playing style is strong, full of effort, and he is willing to put in the time to constantly make it better. He is expected to be one of the top picks at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, likely going to the New Jersey Devils. Eiserman has incredibly quick skates and always packs a punch in his checks because of that. He is constantly chasing after the puck and will always try to make sure that he is the one coming out with it. He isn't afraid to get physical with players and rough people up a little bit. Shane easily cuts through the traffic and isn't afraid to work the boards to make the games go his way. I can't wait to see where this guy goes because wherever he ends up, they are going to get one bull of a player. He is committed to play at the University of New Hampshire for the 2014-2015 season. Good luck Shane with the Saints and your future hockey career!

(Credit to Google Images - ca.sports.yahoo.com)

   Rasmus is 6 ft 3 in, 207 lbs, and is from Turku, Finland. In the 2013-2014 season, he had 6 goals in 30 games played, 12 assists, 18 TPs, 20 PIMs, and a +/- of -4. He was drafted 8th overall in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL Draft to the Buffalo Sabres. He is a very calm player on the ice and keeps his cool during stressful situations. He is very mature compared to most players and is very technical with the puck. Even though he is a blue liner, he is very offensively minded. He is incredibly confident on the ice and knows that he is going to be the best player out there. He may not be a huge aggressive guy like he could be, he has no concerns about working the boards and banging bodies. I really like Rasmus as a player because he is always looking to what might happen in the game and predicting what everyone's next move will be. He is a very talented and confident defenseman that knows his limits during the game and tries to expand his skills at any moment he can. I cannot wait to see where his career takes him because Ristolainen is a very valuable defenseman and is an important asset to any team he plays on. Good luck Rasmus with the Sabres/Americans and your future hockey career!

(Credit to Google Images - buffalohockeybeat.com)

   Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog 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!

(Pictures in heading credit to Google Images, ibat.com, mnhockeyhub.com)