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Category: Columbus-Blue-Jackets

Hitchcock & “The Boss”

by Paul on 10/24/07 at 06:13 PM ET
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from Adam Kimelman at NHL.com,

Hitchcock did catch a Springsteen show at the United Center in Chicago on Oct. 22, so he was able to scratch that itch, but it was a chance meeting a few years ago in Philadelphia that turned Hitchcock into a fan of the New Jersey-born singer-songwriter.

Thanks to a friendship between Flyers equipment manager Anthony “Rock” Oratorio and a guitar technician who was part of Springsteen’s tour group, Hitchcock was able to attend a Springsteen sound check the day of a show at Lincoln Financial Field.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, Hockey Related Stories, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets

Columbus Beats Chicago - All Impressed By Kane

by Paul on 10/24/07 at 08:28 AM ET
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from Puck-rakers, a Blue Jackets blog at the Columbus Dispatch,

Hitchcock on Kane: “(The coaching staff) was trying to figure out a player you could compare him to. We haven’t found the right guy yet. If you’re sitting here in Chicago, a hockey fan, you’ve got to be thinking that you’ve got a chance over the next 10 or 15 years to watch this guy play hockey. He has an ability like very few players.”

Michael Peca on Kane: “I think he’s dynamite. He’s got that nose for the puck. I love watching guys like that. I know he was No. 1 overall and there are a lot of expectations. But a lot of people like to knock the little guys. I’d take his skill over the size of some guys in this league. He’s going to be a 100-point guy year after year after year.”

more on the Blue Jackets

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: chicago+blackhawks, columbus+blue+jackets, michael+peca, patrick+kane

Blue Jackets Thinking About Luongo

by Paul on 10/21/07 at 11:02 AM ET
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from the Columbus Dispatch,

The puck drops for the Blue Jackets against the Canucks today in Nationwide Arena.

But will it ever get past Luongo?

“I’ve played against him a lot of nights when it’s … well, it’s never impossible, but it seems like it,” said Blue Jackets left winger Fredrik Modin, who saw a lot of Luongo—too much, he might say—when Modin played for Tampa Bay and Luongo played for Florida two seasons ago.

“Guys get frustrated. What would be goals against other goalies, Luongo saves. So you feel like you have to be perfect to beat him, and it gets into your head.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, goalies, roberto+luongo, vancouver+canucks

Columbus Trying To Play Sabres Way

by Paul on 10/20/07 at 10:24 AM ET
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from Puck-rakers,

“We’re learning the lessons with our team that Buffalo learned five or six years ago,” Hitchcock said. “This team (the Sabres) never gets the credit for the work they put in. Yeah, they can finish (their chances), but it’s not like the other team gives them the puck and says, ‘Have a go at it.’

“They win all the races to the puck and do something with it. That’s why it looks like you get overwhelmed with their speed.

“That’s the kind of game we are learning how to play.”

more

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  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets

Modin Out With Groin Tear

by Paul on 10/17/07 at 04:00 PM ET
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from Puck-rakers,

Left winger Fredrik Modin has a small tear in his groin. That’s what the MRI revealed yesterday. Modin is expected to miss 7 to 10 days.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, fredrik+modin, injuries

Columbus Still Looking For #1 Center

by Paul on 10/16/07 at 09:21 AM ET
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from the Columbus Dispatch,

At practice yesterday, Michael Peca became the seventh forward since training camp opened to audition for the role skating between Nash and Nikolai Zherdev.

Since an opening-night 4-0 win over Anaheim, the Blue Jackets’ top four scorers from a season ago—David Vyborny, Nash, Fredrik Modin and Sergei Fedorov—have combined for one point.

Vyborny had been the one constant for Nash, but yesterday, the Blue Jackets’ right winger found himself on a line with Fedorov and Curtis Glencross.

“I don’t think we have gotten the continuity yet offensively that we thought we would have,” Hitchcock said.

read on

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  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets

Vyborny Still Using “Old School” Stick

by Paul on 10/13/07 at 10:30 AM ET
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from the Columbus Dispatch,

And then there are David Vyborny’s sticks: short, stubby, all wood and spray-painted black.

It’s like wandering into Circuit City and finding a shelf stocked with 14-inch, black-and-white televisions. Forget high definition. In the world of hockey innovation, Vyborny isn’t even cable ready.

“I’m an old-style guy,” said Vyborny, a right winger and the franchise leader in assists and points. “When I find something I like, I want to keep using it.”

more

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  Tags: david+vyborny, ottawa+senators

Wayne Gretzky on Rick Nash

by Alanah McGinley on 10/10/07 at 04:32 PM ET
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From the Puck-Rakers at The Columbus Dispatch,

Following morning skate on Wednesday, Gretzky offered his assessment of Nash:

“There are few guys in the league of that caliber at power forward. He goes to the net and sees the ice extremely well. Good goal scorers have one thing in common: They love to score, they can never score enough.

“Everyone likes to score, but good goals scorers love to score. There is no question (Nash) loves to score goals.

more comments from Gretzky

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, rick+nash, wayne+gretzky

Fitness Counts In Columbus

by Paul on 10/10/07 at 10:57 AM ET
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from the Columbus Dispatch,

Barry Brennan is the Jackets’ strength and conditioning coach. He laid out offseason regimens for each player. The regimens were detailed. All a player had to do was check the date, read the requirement—and do it.

“We needed to think a little bit outside the box and really apply ourselves,” Brennan said. “To play the style Hitch wants us to play, and to sustain it, we needed to be bigger and stronger. Hitch told the players that we need to be the fittest team in the league. It made things easier for me. I had a little more of a hammer.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, training

Columbus Fans Ready For A Playoff Chase

by Paul on 10/05/07 at 11:11 AM ET
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from Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch,

It’s going to be an interesting season. Can new GM Scott Howson build something? Can coach Ken Hitchcock do anything with overpaid leftovers and wet-eared kids? Is there any leadership in the locker room? Any fire? Is the younger talent worth a reinvestment? A good number of fans, thousands of jaded consumers, are taking a wait-and-see posture. That’s fair enough.

If there’s a mere glimmer of hope, they’ll be back. And if there’s something more, they’ll be filling the building before long. Good God, if there’s just a whiff of the playoffs, Columbus will be gripped by the chase.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: columbus+blue+jackets

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