Tuesday Evening Post

On the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals, there's plenty of good reading material out there relating to hockey's most grand showcase. Here are some links of note, along with a few other news items:

• NHL.com had a nice feature on the former North Dakota teammates taking part in the Finals, one of a number of ties between the two finalists.
• Part of a nice contingent representing Manitoba in the Finals, Travis Zajac's late season return to full health has helped fuel New Jersey in its postseason run while causing others to take note of the rising star. (Note: the last piece says Zajac and New Jersey teammate Zach Parise played together at North Dakota, but as this post points out, they in fact did not.) 
• New Jersey's captain Parise, like his Los Angeles counterpart Dustin Brown, leads by example. The two Cup captains have already made American hockey history, and they'd both like to make a little more. Should Parise and the Devils claim the Cup, will it help the team's chances of keeping him in New Jersey?
• The United States of Hockey takes a look at the development paths of Matt Greene, Parise, and the rest of the American-born players in this year's Finals.
• Backhand Shelf breaks down some of the Conn Smythe candidates, while NHL.com listed its top six.
• Backhand Shelf lists ten reasons to be pumped for the Finals.
• Brad Schlossman assembled and posted the Media Day quotes from Parise, Zajac and Greene.
• SI.com put together an in-depth Finals preview, while the staff of NHL.com took their best shot at predicting which team will be skating with the Cup.

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The USHL announced its 2011-12 All-Rookie Team today, and though three defensemen made the cut, Lincoln blueliner and North Dakota recruit Paul LaDue was not one of them. LaDue had a fantastic first USHL season with the Stars and, while I certainly do not want to take anything away from the three outstanding players who received recognition, LaDue's numbers make a pretty strong case for inclusion:

Player	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
Paul LaDue	56	9	25	34	36	27	2	9	1	0	3
Eddie Wittchow	60	5	13	18	22	74	1	5	0	0	1
Nick Seeler	58	4	24	28	-16	65	3	10	0	1	0
Mike Matheson	53	11	16	27	0	84	3	8	1	1	3

Perhaps the league is taking the same approach with the All-Rookie Team as it did when it awarded the Rookie of the Year to Taylor Cammarata over Kevin Roy. Roy was hands-down the top rookie in the league this year, but the USHL opted to spread the wealth by naming Cammarata the Rookie of the Year even though they tabbed Roy as both the Forward of the Year and the Player of the Year. If the league applies the same logic to its All-USHL & All-Rookie teams, we might very well see LaDue wind up on one of the All-USHL teams.

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Matt Frattin's deep playoff run with the AHL's Toronto Marlies has come to an early end due to a knee injury suffered while scoring the series-clinching empty net goal against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals. The postseason's leading goalscorer (10) will have to undergo surgery to repair the knee. Video of the play can be viewed at the bottom of this post.

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Two days are in the books for UND recruit Jordan Schmaltz and the rest of the participants in the 2012 NHL Draft Scouting Combine. The first four days consist of player interviews, but the real fun begins Friday when the fitness testing kicks-off.