Wednesday's news: Ryan Ellis named to Team Canada

by Dirk Hoag on Dec 15, 2010 7:44 AM EST in Nashville Predators News

It's Shark Night in Nashville as San Jose comes to town, in a relatively rare circumstance which has the Preds looking down the standings at their Western Conference rival. The Preds sit in 4th place this morning, a remarkable achievement when you consider all the key players who have missed time due to injury along the way.

Follow after the jump for your morning hockey news, which includes word that top prospect Ryan Ellis will go to the World Junior Championships for the third time, and more reaction to "Smashville", the new Predators-themed song which we'll hear live tonight at Bridgestone Arena...

The Preds have home games tonight against San Jose, and Saturday night vs. the Los Angeles Kings, so make sure to use our coupon code for discount Nashville Predators tickets. Remember, hockey tickets can make a great holiday gift, so you can also look through the schedule, and get seats for any other home game!

Nashville Predators News

Puck and Punk: Smashville's Newest Song... Unfortunately
Link's not exactly thrilled with the new tune debuting tonight at the game.

Tuesday AJenda: Apparently, Running This Town Isn’t In the Preds’ Business Plan " Pull My (Fang)Finger
AJ takes the Game Operations staff to task for switching the video intro from Jay-Z and Rihanna's "Run This Town", as well. You can tell this is Music City, the way Preds fans take such ownership over the game presentation!

Hockey Night in Nashville: Report Card
Robby reviews the roster, and really throws the book at two defensemen.

Game Preview #30: Niemi Returns To Nashville, Sharks Take On Predators - Predlines
Amanda points out that the goalie who knocked the Preds out of the playoffs comes into town tonight.

Red Light District: Nashville Gaining Steam
Ryan looks up and down the lineup and sees just about everything clicking these days.

Nugent-Hopkins among final cuts for Canada's junior team - TSN
To nobody's surprise, Ryan Ellis has made Team Canada's World Junior team.

Potential Preds investors prop up rivals - NashvillePost.com
J.R. Lind provides one interesting tidbit buried in this piece about upcoming ownership changes in the NHL, that apparently the league had the Ice Edge group (which is taking a minority position in Phoenix) meet with the Preds a while back.

Early offense a decidedly positive trend for Predators | Nashville City Paper
David Boclair finds a Zen-like balance in the Preds' scoring lately.

Around the NHL

Glendale City Council Approves New Coyotes Lease with 5-2 Vote - Five For Howling
There's no word if David Shoalts was in the back of the room, twisting his mustache and shouting "Curses! Foiled Again!"

Meet lovely ladies of Oilers Octane, Canada's 1st NHL cheer squad - Puck Daddy
Edmonton risks the wrath of the hockey gods by (gasp!) deploying a cheerleading team at their home games.

How Does Patrick Marleau Really Feel About His Slump? | PuckUpdate
3 points in his last 10 games, and a -16 on the season? Yikes.

Is Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit Red Wings greatest defenseman of all time? - ESPN
Pierre LeBrun profiles the greatest defenseman since Bobby Orr. I'd certainly put him at #2 overall, as winning multiple Norris Trophies is much harder in a 30-team NHL than in Doug Harvey's day.

Take your streak and shove it: Flyers down Penguins to steal Atlantic, NHL leads - Broad Street Hockey
Flyers fans are pumped after not only winning a big rivalry game, but keeping Sidney Crosby from taking a shot on goal. He did, however, rack up two assists to keep his streak going at 19 games with at least one point.

The Nabokov talk - Raw Charge
Former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov was able to get out of his KHL contract, and is returning to North America. Tampa Bay is one team confirmed to be looking into his services.

Burke would do Phaneuf deal all over again - The Globe and Mail
As the Leafs head in for a game at Calgary, Dion Phaneuf is the center of attention.

Brian Rolston on Waivers- What happens now? - In Lou We Trust
The Devils are desperate, and need to rid themselves of the veteran winger's $5 million cap hit.

Great Britain pulls an upset, full U20 IIHF Div. 1 and 2 coverage - Puck Worlds
Among other games, The Netherlands pulled out a close one over Spain.

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Comments

Rolston

Actually, even if he clears waivers and moves to the minor league team, the Devils will still have the cap hit, won’t they?

Haven’t kept up with him lately, but I know he used to be a pretty good player. Any chance the Preds look into him now that he’s on waivers? Not sure who they’d take out of the lineup though….

TN Sports fan in Hoosier Country....

by Evanbio on Dec 15, 2010 8:26 AM EST reply actions

I think the eventual idea with Rolston is to see if there might be interest in a team taking him on recall waivers, and splitting the salary with New Jersey. Part of the problem is that he’s got another year left on his deal, too.

He might actually make a good fit on the Preds. He’s a speedy, defensively responsible winger who shoots the puck like crazy. He’s had 6 seasons with more shots on goal than any Predator has ever had. That would make a nice complement on the opposite wing from Patric Hornqvist.

On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Preds (be sure to check out my discount offer on Nashville Predators tickets). Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker, or join our legions on Facebook at Facebook.com/OnTheForecheck.

by Dirk Hoag on Dec 15, 2010 9:31 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I have to say that that seems like a low-risk move. His propensity for shooting would really benefit a go-to-the-net player like Hornqvist.

I think the rumor was that Crazy Lou only waived him because (apparently) someone agreed to claim him on re-entry.

by Chris Burton on Dec 15, 2010 9:40 AM EST up reply actions

That's about the only thing that would make sense

by Dirk Hoag on Dec 15, 2010 9:55 AM EST up reply actions

Ellis and Watson

I think Ellis will really be able to help our team on the PP eventually. I know he is small, but I think this kid could be really good.

Also, someone wrote on here that Austin Watson is struggling. I should have looked for myself and not taken their word for it. He has 26 points in 30 games and is 2nd on his team in scoring. I hardly call that struggling.

by 29thWard on Dec 15, 2010 12:08 PM EST reply actions

Also,

I love that Ellis names Shea Weber as his favorite athlete. That kid must gain so much motivation from knowing he actually has the chance to play alongside his favorite player.

by 29thWard on Dec 15, 2010 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

When he was here for rookie camp, Ellis signed his name and number on autographs as #6, his number in Windsor.

Oops.

by Chris Burton on Dec 15, 2010 1:34 PM EST up reply actions

26 in 30 isn’t particularly impressive at the junior level, which features a higher level of scoring than the NHL. Watson’s Plus/Minus was also in the toilet, as the Petes have had a rough go of things so far.

by Dirk Hoag on Dec 15, 2010 2:33 PM EST up reply actions

The Ongoing Music Question

Don’t like country? Put on Paramore. Huge band but local with a ton of heat. Not country enough? Call up Dierks Bentley. Outstanding pipes, knows our game and the way the Preds play it. Or just ask Taylor Swift what she would do. Knows what works, loves the team. Plenty of possibilities, people.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Dec 15, 2010 12:09 PM EST reply actions