June 2009 Archives

Luca Sbisa disclosed Sunday that he has a groin injury, but that should not void the blockbuster trade that brought standout defenseman Chris Pronger to the Flyers, general manager Paul Holmgren said Sunday.

"It's nothing serious, so it shouldn't be anything to hold it up," Holmgren said.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray could not be reached for comment. The 19-year-old Sbisa showed poise and promise as a rookie last season. On Friday, the Flyers sent the young defenseman, forward Joffrey Lupul, two No. 1 draft picks, and a conditional third-round selection to Anaheim for Pronger and minor-league forward Ryan Dingle.

Speaking Sunday from his temporary home in Stratford, N.J., Sbisa said he had been bothered by a sore groin and said Anaheim wanted one of its doctors to examine him shortly. He is waiting for the Ducks to call with the examination date. The doctor is in Toronto, Sbisa said.

Sbisa said the groin pain started during training camp last year, "but I didn't say a lot because I was trying to make the squad. It was good for a while, and then (the pain) was off and on" during the season. "I don't think it's a big deal."

He said Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin told him that even if he needs surgery, it should not prevent him from being ready for the start of the 2009-10 season.

Martin Madden, the Ducks' director of amateur scouting, said his first draft with Anaheim went "very well."

"In a draft situation, there's so many permutations that people will tell you it doesn't go exactly how it wanted to ... but they're trying to fool you. Some guys we would have liked, but you look back and you look at the players that we did get, and they all add up to the modus operandi we had for this job: To find kids with talent who compete with passion. I think we were able to do that from the first pick to the last."

Madden, general manager Bob Murray and company certianly bucked one trend of the Brian Burke era: Of the Ducks' seven selections, two were Canadian, two were American, and three were born in Europe (specifically Russia, Finland and Slovakia).

That's more international flavor than Burke (to borrow a pun from his own phraseology) might sample at a United Nations banquet. In the previous three drafts combined, the Ducks took four European players and 19 from North America.

"It's certainly not by design that we ended up with fewer Canadians than in past years," Madden said. "We worked on our list five different times. We analyzed it five different times. We had characteristics we were looking for in players. Even Brian Burke would agree it doesn't matter what nationality they are as long as players play with heart, desire and character off the ice; that they have a self-starter attitude. We took a few big swings to try to hit some home runs in the middle of the draft. We'll see how those turn out, but we're really happy with the quality of the individuals. The bottom line is, that's good enough for us: Canadian, Finnish, American or Slovakian."

Here's what Madden had to say about the second-round picks:

Scott Niedermayer will end his latest flirtation with retirement and return to the Ducks next season. The 35-year-old defenseman, who becomes a free agent on July 1, will sign a new contract in the near future, a team spokesman said. 

Morrison said he could even understand it if they denied him his money for his last two seasons when he wasn't able to fulfil his schooling obligations, but finds it hard to swallow that they won't come through for the seasons he did meet the league's requirements. He is now considering legal action.

"Even if they decided to give me the money for the years I met the requirements, at least that would be something to show for my four years," he said.

Here are the final results for every award handed out today, 1 through 3, all in one place, with my votes thrown in for purposes of humility.

Craig Heisinger, the general manager of the AHL's Manitoba Moose, told the Winnipeg Sun that the Ducks aren't a strong candidate to be a secondary NHL affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks in Winnipeg. Last season, the Dallas Stars had a secondary affiliation with the Moose, but will have their own primary affiliate in Texas this season.

"I think Anaheim, at the end of the day, is going to have their own team," Heisinger told the paper. "The Dallas thing worked for different reasons and as much as think it would be a benefit to add some top prospects, I just don't think the Anaheim situation would be a very good fit."

The Ducks have a strong connection to the Moose: Randy Carlyle was their head coach before making the leap to the NHL with the Ducks in 2005.

Meanwhile, the Ducks' AHL affiliate last season is up for sale and relocation, the Des Moines Register reports.

McMillan, 19, along with teammate Tyler Myers, has been invited to attend Team Canada's National Junior Team development camp, the first step towards naming Team Canada for the 2010 World Junior tournament.

"I was going out on the boat last week when I got the phone call," said McMillan. "I was really excited. I was hoping to get named to this camp. It's a great honour and I'm just really looking forward to it."

McMillan will be looking to make the team for the first time. He does have international experience with Canada, however, having played at an Under-18 event in Russia last year and helping his team bring home a gold medal. But being in the running for the World Junior tournament is something special.

"I've been watching the tournament ever since I was a young kid," said McMillan. "It's that tournament where everyone loves to watch it during Christmas. All of Canada gets on your back. You have tons of support from all of Canada."

McMillan showed great flexibility this year with the Rockets, dropping back to the blueline and skating as a defenceman for the second half of the season.

During the camp with Team Canada, he will be back at forward, playing a two-way style that got him drafted in the third round by the Anaheim Ducks last summer. He says playing a new position made him a better overall player.

"It was fun while it lasted," he said. "I like the position. It gives you a different perspective. I thought I made myself a more well-rounded player."

Perspective is also what McMillan and the rest of the Rockets are getting, now that some time has passed since their run to the final of the 2009 Memorial Cup. The 5-foot-11 spark plug says it was tough to lose after getting so close.

"It was really tough but our team gained a lot of experience from that and I did as well," he said. "I gained so much out of that tournament and the season. I was really proud of all the guys and what we accomplished."

The National Junior Team development camp will take place in Saskatoon from Aug. 5 to 10. A total of 41 players are invited, 11 of them from the WHL. McMillan will also take part in an Anaheim Ducks camp this summer.