- Brandon Bochenski (Astana) is currently second in the KHL with 11 goals and fifth with 19 points through 19 games. Additionally, his three game winning goals are tied for third and his +14 rating is fifth best.
- Rastislav Spirko leads Spartak Moscow (KHL) with 14 points (6G, 8A) in 18 games.
- Danny Kristo (Hartford) is second among AHL rookies with 7 points (4G, 3A) in six games.
- Kristo and Brad Malone are among the AHL's leading goals scorers with 4 each.
- Corban Knight is tied for second on Abbotsford (AHL) with five points (1G, 4A) through seven games. His five points are also sixth most among AHL rookies.
- The Ulmer brothers are off to strong starts in the Austrian elite league. Jeff leads Ljubljana with 14 points (7G, 7A) in 14 games while Jason leads Linz with 21 points (7G, 14A) in 15 games. Andrew Kozek (6G, 4A) and Curtis Murphy (3G, 7A) are also among the top scorers for Linz.
- Jake Marto and Jason Gregoire are each among the top four scorers for Sodertalje (Sweden tier 2). Marto has nine points (2G, 7A) in 13 games while Gregoire has eight (2G, 6A) in eight.
- Ryan Bayda's eight points (5G, 3A) are tied for the Augsburger (Germany tier 1) team lead.
- Carter Rowney was signed by the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers and has two assists through two games.
- Aaron Dell has signed a Professional Try-Out (PTO) contract with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) but has yet to see game action. Earlier this fall Dell signed an ECHL contract with the Utah Grizzlies.
Showing posts with label Brad Malone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brad Malone. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Sioux in the Pros Update
Here's an update on how some of the Sioux alums playing professionally are faring early on this season:
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Thursday Morning Post
- Cousins Paul LaDue and Luke Johnson are set to make a big impact on UND during their collegiate careers.
- UND junior forward Andrea Dalen has been awarded Norway's Gold Puck for 2013.
- UND freshman defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak is preparing for her first season of college hockey.
- Johanna Fallman is a part of North Dakota's strong group of European talent.
Former Player Updates:
- Matt Frattin has had a strong preseason debut for the Los Angeles Kings' second line left wing spot. The style of play and the skill set Frattin possesses are exactly what the Kings are looking for in that spot, and that could have the Sioux alum primed for a breakout NHL season.
- Already having racked up a career's worth of accomplishments at the age of 25, the Chicago Sun-Times asks what's next for Chicago captain Jonathan Toews? Toews was recently ranked as the third best player in the NHL by a panel of NHL GM's and head coaches, while Zach Parise came in at number 23.
- Brock Nelson has made a strong push to make the New York Islander roster out of training camp, having earned enough trust of the Isles' staff along the way to have been spending time on the top penalty killing unit as an NHL rookie.
- Brad Malone is another former Sioux looking to make an opening night roster as he has had an impressive preseason thus far for the Colorado Avalanche.
- Former UND standout goaltender Jordan Parise has decided to call it a career as he is retiring from professional hockey.
- A healthy TJ Oshie could be what St. Louis needs to get them over the hump in the postseason.
- In what came as a bit of a surprise, the New York Rangers sent Danny Kristo down to their AHL affiliate in Hartford. By most accounts Kristo appeared to be having a strong preseason, and with the Rangers facing some injury and contract issues up front he appeared to be in line to take the battle for a roster spot down to the wire. Regardless, he showed several promising flashes during the preseason, so don't be surprised if he gets called up at some point during the season.
- Travis Zajac is looking forward to putting a frustrating 2012-13 season behind him.
- Chris VandeVelde was invited to Philadelphia's training camp after signing an AHL deal with Adirondack, and he is now part of a trio trying to crack the Flyers' opening night roster.
- Andrew MacWilliam was re-assigned to the Toronto Marlies, but not before he left a positive impression on the Maple Leafs' staff.
- Quick Hits: Evan Trupp re-signed with the Alaska Aces (ECHL)...Aaron Dell signed with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)...Ryan Hill signed with the Mississippi RiverKings (SPHL)...Derek Forbort, one of the top players under the age of 25 within the LA King organization, was assigned to Manchester (AHL) after a solid preseason camp in LA...Darcy Zajac is lending a veteran presence to the Albany Devils (AHL)...Carter Rowney is attending Wilkes-Barre (AHL) training camp...Joe Gleason is attending Rockford (AHL) training camp...Updated Sioux in the Pros roster for 2013-14...
- UND received a big verbal commitment this week from Christian Cakebread of the Fargo Force, a 1997-born forward who comes out of the Arizona Bobcat AAA program.
- Recruits Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Mantha, and Shane Gersich are all set to take part in tonight's All-American Prospects game in Pittsburgh (6:00 PM CDT start). Austin Poganski was originally scheduled to participate as well, but a minor injury will keep him out of the lineup. The United States of Hockey has a preview of the event, which can be viewed free of charge via FastHockey.
- The NHL's Central Scouting Service released its Preliminary Watch List for the 2014 NHL Draft, and a handful of North Dakota recruits are on the NHL's radar. Nick Schmaltz is listed as an A Skater (potential first round pick), Ryan Mantha, Austin Poganski, and Chris Wilkie are listed as B Skaters (potential second to third round picks), and Rhett Gardner and Shane Gersich are C Skaters (potential fourth round and later picks).
- Schmaltz came in at number 13 on Bob McKenzie's 2014 NHL Draft Preseason Report.
- Charlie Pelnik is expected spend the next couple of seasons playing for the Langley Rivermen (BCHL).
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Thursday Morning Coffee
- Following this season, it looks like there will be at least a four-year hiatus in the Minnesota-North Dakota men's hockey rivalry (unless, of course, they were to meet in postseason play). Minnesota currently has four-year scheduling agreements with the in-state schools, Notre Dame, Boston College, and Northeastern beginning next season, its first in the Big 10 Conference. Per school policy, Minnesota was not allowed to schedule non-conference games with North Dakota while the Fighting Sioux nickname was in use, and the scheduling agreements with the aforementioned schools filled the U of M's non-conference schedule while the scheduling ban was in effect. Thus it appears as though the earliest North Dakota could face Minnesota in regular season play would be the 2017-18 season.
- On Tuesday Brad Malone was named an alternate captain for the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL). Malone is the third former Sioux to wear an AHL letter this season, joining Chris VandeVelde (alternate captain, Oklahoma City) and Taylor Chorney (alternate captain, Peoria). Aaron Schneekloth is an alternate captain with Colorado (ECHL), while Jonathan Toews (C, Chicago), Drew Stafford (A, Buffalo), Matt Greene (A, Los Angeles), and Zach Parise (A, Minnesota) all wear NHL letters.
- The Edmonton Journal's Cult of Hockey blog says VandeVelde is making a hard push for the Edmonton Oiler fourth line center job.
- North Dakota women's hockey recruit Halli Krzyzaniak was named captain of the Team Manitoba Under-18 team.
- UND recruit Chris Wilkie and the US NTDP Under-17 team will soon be off to Monthey, Switzerland, where they will be competing in the 2012 U-17 Four Nations Cup November 6-11. Keaton Thompson and the Under-18ers, meanwhile, will be hosting the U-18 Four Nations Tournament November 6-10 in Ann Arbor, MI.
- The Canada West World Junior A Challenge Selection Camp wrapped up last night, and it was a good night for UND recruits, with Wade Murphy (two goals) and Adam Tambellini (one goal) helping lead Team Blue to a 5-1 win over Team White. The final Canada West roster is expected to be announced today, with an exhibition game against Luke Johnson and Team USA scheduled for Saturday night in Nova Scotia.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Corban Knight, A Center of Attention
Corban Knight's prowess at the faceoff dot is well known among North Dakota hockey fans. As a sophomore, Knight set the UND single-season record by winning 59.9% of his draws, and he has a career faceoff success rate of 59.1%. Included in those career numbers is the 58.7% clip he recorded last season while playing a good portion of the season with a broken hand. That's right. Not even a broken hand could deter Knight's faceoff dominance. In UND's two recent exhibition games, the senior centerman won an astounding 78.3% (36 of 46) of his draws. So how do his numbers compare to those of UND's recent notable centers? Take a look below.
*Just a couple of notes on the numbers:
The "% Taken" column represents the percentage of the team's draws the player took, while the "Team Rank" column represents where the player's individual Faceoff Percentage ranked on the team (a player must have taken at least 10% of the team's faceoffs to qualify for the Team Rank).
Also, this comparison only dates back to the 2004-05 season. Otherwise, Zach Parise would be very prominently featured as he was very good in the faceoff circle. As a sophomore in 2003-04 Parise won 59.1% of his draws, but the numbers from his freshman year were not readily available, thus his exclusion from this comparison.
Travis Zajac is currently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, much like he was while at North Dakota. What's particularly impressive about Zajac's numbers is that he was the primary faceoff man for North Dakota from day one, taking nearly a third of UND's faceoffs during his two years with the Sioux. His workload as a sophomore (he took 36.4% of the team's draws) is topped only by Knight's 37.2% last season. Of course, Knight missed three games a year ago, and his pro-rated "% Taken" number would have been 40% had he played every game. Zajac's 649 total faceoff wins as a sophomore is the highest total of anyone in this comparison. Knight won 581 draws as a junior, and if he's healthy I'd expect him to threaten Zajac's number this season.
Like Zajac, Jonathan Toews is one of the NHL's best at winning faceoffs. During his two year stint at North Dakota, he won 56.7% of his draws while taking 18.6% of the team's faceoffs. Interestingly, Toews was never the top faceoff man for the Sioux. As a freshman he was second to Zajac in faceoff percentage while as a sophomore he was bested by T.J. Oshie.
T.J. Oshie played on the wing for a good portion of his UND career, much like he does with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but when he took to the faceoff dot he was very effective. His 58.6% success rate as a sophomore is the highest in this comparison aside from Knight's sophomore and junior seasons. One caveat to Oshie's numbers as a sophomore is the relatively small number of draws he took. Taking 10.9% of the team's faceoffs very narrowly qualified him for the Team Ranking as he played right wing much more frequently than he played down the middle.
Chris VandeVelde was one of UND's main faceoff men over the entire span of his four year career, taking 23.6% of the team's faceoffs from 2006-07 to 2009-10. And for as prolific as he was, he was equally consistent. During his career he won 54.8% of his draws, and the lowest percentage of his career came as a freshman when he won 53.9%.
Brad Malone developed into a very good faceoff man during his four year Sioux career. Just a 50% centerman through his first two seasons, Malone topped 57% during both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior he led UND with a 57.3% success rate, while his career-best 57.7% rate as a senior was second on the team, bested only by Knight's single-season school record 59.9%.
Mario Lamoureux took a limited number of draws as a freshman and sophomore, but as an upperclassman he was one of the top faceoff men for the Fighting Sioux. His 57.3% mark as a senior ranks as UND's sixth best single-season percentage since the 2004-05 season.
Knight's numbers are fantastic across the board. He's assumed a heavy faceoff workload, and as mentioned earlier, his career success rate is a sterling 59.1%.
Below is a summary of the top single-season and career faceoff numbers:
*Just a couple of notes on the numbers:
The "% Taken" column represents the percentage of the team's draws the player took, while the "Team Rank" column represents where the player's individual Faceoff Percentage ranked on the team (a player must have taken at least 10% of the team's faceoffs to qualify for the Team Rank).
Also, this comparison only dates back to the 2004-05 season. Otherwise, Zach Parise would be very prominently featured as he was very good in the faceoff circle. As a sophomore in 2003-04 Parise won 59.1% of his draws, but the numbers from his freshman year were not readily available, thus his exclusion from this comparison.
| Travis Zajac | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (04-05)
|
485
|
363
|
848
|
0.572
|
27.7%
|
1624
|
1442
|
3066
|
0.530
|
1
|
SO (05-06)
|
649
|
502
|
1151
|
0.564
|
36.4%
|
1642
|
1520
|
3162
|
0.519
|
1
|
Career
|
1134
|
865
|
1999
|
0.567
|
32.1%
|
3266
|
2962
|
6228
|
0.524
|
-
|
Travis Zajac is currently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, much like he was while at North Dakota. What's particularly impressive about Zajac's numbers is that he was the primary faceoff man for North Dakota from day one, taking nearly a third of UND's faceoffs during his two years with the Sioux. His workload as a sophomore (he took 36.4% of the team's draws) is topped only by Knight's 37.2% last season. Of course, Knight missed three games a year ago, and his pro-rated "% Taken" number would have been 40% had he played every game. Zajac's 649 total faceoff wins as a sophomore is the highest total of anyone in this comparison. Knight won 581 draws as a junior, and if he's healthy I'd expect him to threaten Zajac's number this season.
| Jonathan Toews | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (05-06)
|
204
|
162
|
366
|
0.557
|
11.6%
|
1642
|
1520
|
3162
|
0.519
|
2
|
SO (06-07)
|
443
|
332
|
775
|
0.572
|
26.2%
|
1541
|
1421
|
2962
|
0.520
|
2
|
Career
|
647
|
494
|
1141
|
0.567
|
18.6%
|
3183
|
2941
|
6124
|
0.520
|
-
|
Like Zajac, Jonathan Toews is one of the NHL's best at winning faceoffs. During his two year stint at North Dakota, he won 56.7% of his draws while taking 18.6% of the team's faceoffs. Interestingly, Toews was never the top faceoff man for the Sioux. As a freshman he was second to Zajac in faceoff percentage while as a sophomore he was bested by T.J. Oshie.
| T.J. Oshie | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (05-06)
|
154
|
139
|
293
|
0.526
|
9.3%
|
1642
|
1520
|
3162
|
0.519
|
-
|
SO (06-07)
|
190
|
134
|
324
|
0.586
|
10.9%
|
1541
|
1421
|
2962
|
0.520
|
1
|
JR (07-08)
|
343
|
273
|
616
|
0.557
|
21.9%
|
1452
|
1356
|
2808
|
0.517
|
1
|
Career
|
687
|
546
|
1233
|
0.557
|
13.8%
|
4635
|
4297
|
8932
|
0.519
|
-
|
T.J. Oshie played on the wing for a good portion of his UND career, much like he does with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but when he took to the faceoff dot he was very effective. His 58.6% success rate as a sophomore is the highest in this comparison aside from Knight's sophomore and junior seasons. One caveat to Oshie's numbers as a sophomore is the relatively small number of draws he took. Taking 10.9% of the team's faceoffs very narrowly qualified him for the Team Ranking as he played right wing much more frequently than he played down the middle.
| Chris VandeVelde | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (06-07)
|
152
|
130
|
282
|
0.539
|
9.5%
|
1541
|
1421
|
2962
|
0.520
|
-
|
SO (07-08)
|
366
|
299
|
665
|
0.550
|
23.7%
|
1452
|
1356
|
2808
|
0.517
|
2
|
JR (08-09)
|
479
|
384
|
863
|
0.555
|
29.5%
|
1510
|
1413
|
2923
|
0.517
|
1
|
SR (09-10)
|
477
|
403
|
880
|
0.542
|
32.4%
|
1460
|
1253
|
2713
|
0.538
|
3
|
Career
|
1474
|
1216
|
2690
|
0.548
|
23.6%
|
5963
|
5443
|
11406
|
0.523
|
-
|
Chris VandeVelde was one of UND's main faceoff men over the entire span of his four year career, taking 23.6% of the team's faceoffs from 2006-07 to 2009-10. And for as prolific as he was, he was equally consistent. During his career he won 54.8% of his draws, and the lowest percentage of his career came as a freshman when he won 53.9%.
| Brad Malone | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (07-08)
|
36
|
27
|
63
|
0.571
|
2.2%
|
1452
|
1356
|
2808
|
0.517
|
-
|
SO (08-09)
|
199
|
204
|
403
|
0.494
|
13.8%
|
1510
|
1413
|
2923
|
0.517
|
4
|
JR (09-10)
|
360
|
268
|
628
|
0.573
|
23.1%
|
1460
|
1253
|
2713
|
0.538
|
1
|
SR (10-11)
|
490
|
359
|
849
|
0.577
|
31.6%
|
1514
|
1175
|
2689
|
0.563
|
2
|
Career
|
1085
|
858
|
1943
|
0.558
|
17.5%
|
5936
|
5197
|
11133
|
0.533
|
-
|
Brad Malone developed into a very good faceoff man during his four year Sioux career. Just a 50% centerman through his first two seasons, Malone topped 57% during both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior he led UND with a 57.3% success rate, while his career-best 57.7% rate as a senior was second on the team, bested only by Knight's single-season school record 59.9%.
| Mario Lamoureux | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (08-09)
|
18
|
24
|
42
|
0.429
|
1.4%
|
1510
|
1413
|
2923
|
0.517
|
-
|
SO (09-10)
|
79
|
69
|
148
|
0.534
|
5.5%
|
1460
|
1253
|
2713
|
0.538
|
4
|
JR (10-11)
|
252
|
201
|
453
|
0.556
|
16.8%
|
1514
|
1175
|
2689
|
0.563
|
1
|
SR (11-12)
|
236
|
176
|
412
|
0.573
|
15.5%
|
1441
|
1221
|
2662
|
0.541
|
2
|
Career
|
585
|
470
|
1055
|
0.555
|
9.6%
|
5925
|
5062
|
10987
|
0.539
|
-
|
Mario Lamoureux took a limited number of draws as a freshman and sophomore, but as an upperclassman he was one of the top faceoff men for the Fighting Sioux. His 57.3% mark as a senior ranks as UND's sixth best single-season percentage since the 2004-05 season.
| Corban Knight | ||||||||||
Year
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
% Taken
|
Win
|
Loss
|
Total
|
FO %
|
Team Rank
|
FR (09-10)
|
73
|
53
|
126
|
0.579
|
4.6%
|
1460
|
1253
|
2713
|
0.538
|
-
|
SO (10-11)
|
469
|
314
|
783
|
0.599
|
29.1%
|
1514
|
1175
|
2689
|
0.563
|
1
|
JR (11-12)
|
581
|
409
|
990
|
0.587
|
37.2%
|
1441
|
1221
|
2662
|
0.541
|
1
|
Career
|
1123
|
776
|
1899
|
0.591
|
23.5%
|
4415
|
3649
|
8064
|
0.547
|
-
|
Knight's numbers are fantastic across the board. He's assumed a heavy faceoff workload, and as mentioned earlier, his career success rate is a sterling 59.1%.
Below is a summary of the top single-season and career faceoff numbers:
| Top 10 Single-Season FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12 | |||
| Player | FO % | Year | |
| 1. | Corban Knight | 59.9 | 2010-11 |
| 2. | Corban Knight | 58.7 | 2011-12 |
| 3. | T.J. Oshie | 58.6 | 2006-07 |
| 4. | Brad Malone | 57.7 | 2010-11 |
| 5. | Brad Malone | 57.3 | 2009-10 |
| 6. | Mario Lamoureux | 57.3 | 2011-12 |
| 7. | Travis Zajac | 57.2 | 2004-05 |
| 8. | Jonathan Toews | 57.2 | 2006-07 |
| 9. | Travis Zajac | 56.4 | 2005-06 |
| 10. | Jonathan Toews | 55.7 | 2005-06 |
| 10. | T.J. Oshie | 55.7 | 2007-08 |
| Top 5 Career FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12 | |||
| Player | FO % |
Years
|
|
| 1. | Corban Knight | 59.1 | 2009-10 to 2011-12 |
| 2. | Travis Zajac | 56.7 | 2004-05 to 2005-06 |
| 3. | Jonathan Toews | 56.7 | 2005-06 to 2006-07 |
| 4. | Brad Malone | 55.8 | 2007-08 to 2010-11 |
| 5. | T.J. Oshie | 55.3 | 2005-06 to 2007-08 |
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