Yardbarker: Tyler Arnason

Puck Headlines: Disappearing Havlat; Nylander-to-Russia close?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:12:06 -0500

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.Remember: Jersey Fouls Wednesday. Rumors Chat Thursday. Rise, repeat. • Tantalizing Tweets from Bob McKenzie of TSN: The Panthers claim Steve MacIntyre(notes) from Edmonton on waivers; Drew Miller(notes) of the Tampa Bay Lightning is on waivers; Adam Mair(notes) inexplicably clears waivers; and Michael Nylander(notes) ...

Forget Ocho-Cinco We Got Nueve-Seis

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:58:00 -0500

Oh why not get the season started with some stars of the night already as if you caught the New York Rangers/New Jersey Devils on Wednesday evening then you saw a lot to like from the kids in this game.

First Star

In his first appearance with the Rangers Chad Johnson did not disappoint despite the Rangers losing in the shootout 3-2, Johnson showed that the Rangers picked up a pretty good goalie for just a 5th round pick.

Johnson gave up just one power play goal while facing 20 shots and it took an almost perfect shot from Travis Zajac to beat him in the shoot-out. Johnson showed that he is not going to be just your average first year player as he displayed the form that made him a finalist for the Hobey Baker last year while with the Alaska Nanooks.

Showing no sign of nerves, it was as if after giving up that power play goal on the first shot he faced that Johnson got confidence in his game. Johnson displayed all the good parts of his game from staying in position, reading through screens, limiting any rebounds and showing off a very solid glove hand.

Johnson has good size (6'3, 200) and a composure that flat out impresses as you wonder what it takes to rattle him. The Devils tried screens, they tried contact and nothing they did got Johnson off his game.

But even though this was just one game this is exactly the kind of performance the Rangers need to get from the backup goalie for Tortorella to feel confident in giving Henrik a night off. You could see that the Rangers knew that if they gave up an odd man rush that Johnson would cover for them.

In our book Johnson could be exactly what the Rangers need should anything happen to Henrik.

Second Star

Once upon a time former Ranger coach John Muckler said for a rookie to make his team they had to out perform the veterans. One has to think that after 2 games Matt Gilroy would make a Muckler team.

Gilroy is leaving little question that one of the open spots on the blueline belongs to him. It appears that John Tortorella has a lot of confidence in last year's Hobey Baker winner as Gilroy lead all Rangers in ice time with 28:00.

Even better is that Gilroy performed well whether it was on the power play (5:30), the penalty kill (4:36) or at even strength (17:54). After some jitters in the first period against the Bruins; Gilroy has been a steady performer at both ends of the ice.

During the off-season, we felt that Gilroy could make Michal Rozsival expendable because of Gilroy's stronger defensive play by mid-season. Gilroy is actually much further ahead of what we thought his learning curve would be.

Against the Devils we just loved the backhand Gilroy used to score the Ranger's first goal and it had a lot more on it than your average backhand. The way Devil's goalie Yanik Danis reacted said the same thing as there was nothing Danis could do to stop it.

Gilroy also scored the Ranger's only goal in the shootout showing a nice head and shoulders deke that caught Danis off-guard. John Tortorella has once decision being taken out of his hand which is exactly what you want to see in training camp.

Still we believe the best pairing for Gilroy remains Dan Girardi and not Wade Redden.

Third Star

Can not take any credit for saying Jordan Owens is a player as it very much belongs to Mitch Beck of Howlings. Beck has been saying for the last year that Owens was not just an AHL player and deserved a shot at the NHL.

Owens made old Mitch look pretty good with a 2nd star performance scoring the tying goal with a wicked looking wrist shot off a feed from Michael Del Zotto at 11:46 of the 3rd period. It also made John Tortorella look pretty good as well since Owens was not originally scheduled to play in this game but Tortorella wanted a look at him and inserted him into the lineup.

Now we got to say that Owens deserves a second look rather than a cut to the Hartford camp. Owens made a good case for himself and one of the openings on the 4th line. He also did not look like playing at this level rattled him as he played with a nice confidence as if he had been playing in the NHL for a while now.

Owens was used on both specialty units and played within himself not trying to force issues, staying in his defensive coverages and on the attack going right to the net. We liked how Owens held his own in corner battles while finishing off his checks.

Owens is also the kind of story Ranger fans just love; an undrafted free agent who started with a Hartford contract not an NHL one and worked his way up the ladder from Charlotte of the ECHL. Owens earned himself a Ranger contract and against the Devils showed why he deserved it.

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Thoughts

Yes Michael Del Zotto has not had a bad camp and has not played that badly in the 2 exhibition games but if we was to offer advice to MDZ it would be as our friend Kate said: "Breathe." The Del Zotto you guys are seeing is not the same one we know from Oshawa and London.

To us it looks like Del Zotto is fighting with himself to make sure he does not make any mistakes which as everyone knows is the best way to insure that you will make the mistakes. Michael is not being the fun loving guy we know he is and that to us is why he has not broken out.

We would say to Michael to stop worrying if you are going to make mistakes because the best way for you to develop is go ahead and make your mistakes in order to learn from them. Stop worrying about the expectations of anyone and just go play hockey the Michael Del Zotto way.

Relax, go have some fun on the ice, be that creative player we know you are and everything will work out. The world will not end if you do not make the team this year as you can ask your buddy Staal what that extra year in the OHL did for him.

Then we have Evgeny Grachev who played 10:17 with most of his ice time coming on the power play. Sorry Coach but only 3+ minutes at even strength is not a good idea whether or not you want to look at others.

Grachev needs his ice time and as much as he can get if you want to speed up his development. Having him play limited minutes does not help him get into the flow of the game and make the case for why he should be at Hartford playing 20+ minutes a night rather than limited minutes as a special teams player.

Now let us see if John Tortorella walks his talk as the Ranger cuts have not been made yet public but if we were making the cuts then Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle, and Patrick Rissmiller deserve a chance to hook up with someone else now cause they are not the right players for this system.

Pierre Parenteau showed he is a better skater and as a 4th liner would offer more offense than any of those 3. His size would not be a problem given that his linemate would be Donald Brashear and despite not liking Brashear ourselves, even we acknowledge only a fool would run Brashear's linemate.

Parenteau showed a good 2 way game which made those 3 expendable. For now we keep Tyler Arnason for his experience as a penalty killer but he is on the bubble as well.

Among the kids, we feel bad but Cory Potter is a victim of numbers and is not going to make the Rangers but he too deserves a chance to show someone he can play in the NHL. We also seriously doubt the Rangers because of the cap will be able to carry a 7th defender and will use the excuse that Hartford is real close just in case of emergencies.

We believe the final spot on the Blueline is between Michael Sauer and Bobby Sanguinetti with Sauer the favorite because he plays a better defense and could partner with Redden or Rozsival better than Sangs can. Ilkka Heikkinen discovered playing against AHLers that the North American game is a bit harder to adjust to than he thought. Some time in the AHL would not hurt him.

As for goalies, the question is who to keep at the moment Matt Zaba or Chad Johnson? We say keep Johnson as you can still use Zaba in one of the exhibition games without his being on the roster.

In any case it will be interesting to see which "lucky" 8 are kept tomorow.

(All pictures courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Rangers Fill Their Quota of Players Named "Vaclav"...

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:13:00 -0500

No, his real name isn't Vincent. He isn't Italian; he's Czech.

With the signing of Vaclav "Vinny" Prospal, the Rangers have added one more 3rd/4th line player, to join Artem Anisimov, Tyler Arnason, Donald Brashear, Enver Lisin, Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle, and anyone who might join the team from Hartford, namely Dane Byers, Pat Rissmiller, and P.A. Parenteau.

That's a lot of people for 6 or 7 roster spots. The Rangers also have 7 players for the top 2 lines: Drury, Higgins, Gaborik, Callahan, Dubinsky, Avery, Kotalik.

What am I saying? I'm saying something's got to be up, unless Sather forgot what happened last year.

Last year, he traded away Ryan Hollweg for a draft pick. Excellent move, especially when Hollweg got suspended during the preseason for checking from behind. To replace him, he signed Voros and Rissmiller with Colton Orr, Lauri Korpikoski, and Freddy Sjostrom already on the team. Bad move. That resulted in a salary cap ordeal, with Rissmiller being sent to the AHL and Voros riding pine until he was needed as an injury replacement for Drury and Blair Betts.

This year, there are a lot of forwards again. As the players keep signing and there is only 1 real scoring threat - Gaborik, obviously - the mind gets going.

Trade?

Probably something is in the works.

I'm not going to say that Dany Heatley will be a Ranger in the next 48 hours. I don't even know if I want that or if it's going to happen. But there is a glut of forwards for 13 or 14 roster spots, and that doesn't include a surprise that might happen, like Dale Weise or Brodie Dupont.

I am saying that this situation does lend itself nicely to a trade. It would appear Sather is stocking up forwards to package a few to get a superstar. Maybe not even a superstar, but a first-line center to feed Gaborik the puck, or a second-line sniper to take the defensive pressure off the first-line to free up ice for Gaborik. Of course, we can never underestimate the fact that this is Glen Sather we're talking about, and he might have no actual clue of what he's doing.

Of course, Dubinsky is the name that will be floated around, but don't be surprised if a Voros, Boyle, or Anisimov is included in the mix.

* * *

On Prospal: Prospal himself isn't a bad player, despite being bought out by Tampa Bay. He would've been great as a Ranger in 2005-06 as one of the Czech Mates, when he scored 80 points in 81 games. But since that is not an option, you have to assume that John Tortorella knows enough about him from their time in Tampa that he thinks he can contribute in New York.

He didn't score much last year - 19 goals, 45 points - but he does come at a discount. He had a 4 year, $14M deal with Tampa Bay ($3.5M/year) and since he was bought out, he is still getting $1.67M for the next 6 years, so him being a Ranger at $1.1M for one-year really isn't bad at all for either party.

Rangers Fill Their Quota of Players Named “Vaclav”…

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:13:00 -0500

No, his real name isn't Vincent. He isn't Italian; he's Czech.With the signing of Vaclav "Vinny" Prospal, the Rangers have added one more 3rd/4th line player, to join Artem Anisimov, Tyler Arnason, Donald Brashear, Enver Lisin, Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle, and anyone who might join the team from Hartford, namely Dane Byers, Pat Rissmiller, and P.A. Parenteau.That's a lot of people for 6 or 7 roster spots. The Rangers also have 7 players for the top 2 lines: Drury, Higgins, Gaborik, Callahan, Dubinsky, Avery, Kotalik.What am I saying? I'm saying something's got to be up, unless Sather forgot what happened last year.Last year, he traded away Ryan Hollweg for a draft pick. Excellent move, especially when Hollweg got suspended during the preseason for checking from behind. To replace him, he signed Voros and Rissmiller with Colton Orr, Lauri Korpikoski, and Freddy Sjostrom already on the team. Bad move. That resulted in a salary cap ordeal, with Rissmiller being sent to the AHL and Voros riding pine until he was needed as an injury replacement for Drury and Blair Betts.This year, there are a lot of forwards again. As the players keep signing and there is only 1 real scoring threat - Gaborik, obviously - the mind gets going.Trade?Probably something is in the works.I'm not going to say that Dany Heatley will be a Ranger in the next 48 hours. I don't even know if I want that or if it's going to happen. But there is a glut of forwards for 13 or 14 roster spots, and that doesn't include a surprise that might happen, like Dale Weise or Brodie Dupont.I am saying that this situation does lend itself nicely to a trade. It would appear Sather is stocking up forwards to package a few to get a superstar. Maybe not even a superstar, but a first-line center to feed Gaborik the puck, or a second-line sniper to take the defensive pressure off the first-line to free up ice for Gaborik. Of course, we can never underestimate the fact that this is Glen Sather we're talking about, and he might have no actual clue of what he's doing.Of course, Dubinsky is the name that will be floated around, but don't be surprised if a Voros, Boyle, or Anisimov is included in the mix.* * *On Prospal: Prospal himself isn't a bad player, despite being bought out by Tampa Bay. He would've been great as a Ranger in 2005-06 as one of the Czech Mates, when he scored 80 points in 81 games. But since that is not an option, you have to assume that John Tortorella knows enough about him from their time in Tampa that he thinks he can contribute in New York.He didn't score much last year - 19 goals, 45 points - but he does come at a discount. He had a 4 year, $14M deal with Tampa Bay ($3.5M/year) and since he was bought out, he is still getting $1.67M for the next 6 years, so him being a Ranger at $1.1M for one-year really isn't bad at all for either party.

Avs fan say good bye to Tyler Arnason.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:18:00 -0500

Sounds like Avs fans are ecstatic to get rid of former SCSU Husky Tyler Arnason. The Comments on this subject are comical and worth the read. I first saw Tyler Arnason play for the Ice Sharks of the USHL in 1997-1998 and my first impression of Arnason was that he was lazy, a weak player that shied away from contact in the corners. The fact that he has made it this long in the NHL puzzles me.
Relief is finally here, Avs fans. No more startling, sweat-soaked leaps from the pillow at 3 a.m., following visions of Tyler Arnason playing for your team.
No longer will you have to pound the table after seeing Arnie get the puck taken off his stick, then watching him casually skate back to the bench with that “who cares?” look on his face.

No longer will you have to pull your hair after seeing Arnie misfire on another shot, or have it easily blocked and taken the other way, Arnie a full three strides behind in pursuit.

No longer will you have to look at an Avalanche payroll list and see Arnie making more money than guys like Lappy. No longer will you have to see Arnie shy away from making any contact with an opponent, which if he’d done so might have resulted in the Avalanche having the puck.

It’s all over. Arnie is, appropriately enough, a New York Ranger - the team that never saw an over-the-hill, overpaid Avs player they didn’t like.

Bon voyage, Arnie.

Or should it be: bon bon voyage? [All things Avs]

Our painful Arnie nightmare is over

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:26:06 -0500

Relief is finally here, Avs fans. No more startling, sweat-soaked leaps from the pillow at 3 a.m., following visions of Tyler Arnason playing for your team. No longer will you have to pound the table after seeing Arnie get the puck taken off his stick, then watching him casually skate back to the bench with that [...]

Rangers sign Arnason

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:35:09 -0500

According to reports, Tyler Arnason has signed a two-way contract with the Rangers. Steve Zipay had it in his blog. More details to follow. Here’s the official word: RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD TYLER ARNASON New York, July 3, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today [...]

Rangers agree to terms with Arnason

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Tyler Arnason, the son of former NHL player Chuck Arnason, has played in 487 games with Chicago, Ottawa and Colorado and has been a regular in the league for six seasons. ...

Isles prospect already feels at home on Long Island

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:01:00 -0500

With alumni that include Lightning forward Ryan Malone, Maple Leafs defenseman Jeff Finger and Avalanche forward Tyler Arnason, St. Cloud State University is developing a strong reputation for preparing players for the NHL.

Manny Fernandez to Colorado trade imminent?

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:39:30 -0500

Boston Bruins goaltender Manny Fernandez was held off the ice for practice today even though he has no injury at this time.? Tuukka Rask has been recalled from Providence of the AHL yet no reason has been given.? Some people are saying it is on an emergency recall basis, but why when Fernandez ...

Tonight's Top Scorers - December 9

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:51:44 -0500

Goals Robert Lang - Montreal Canadiens - 2 Cody McLeod - Colorado Avalanche - 2 Assists Mike Richards - Philadelphia Flyers - 2 Alexei Kovalev - Montreal Canadiens - 2 Alex Tanguay - Montreal Canadiens - 2 Tyler Arnason - Colorado Avalanche - 2 T.J. Hensick - Colorado Avalanche - 2 Points Andrei Markov - ...

Updates on a former WCHA players.

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:18:00 -0500

*Former SCSU player Tyler Arnason was a healthy scratch and his head coach Tony Granato isn't all that happy with his play so far. I have always thought that Arnason was a player that lacked a consistent work ethic to be a great player in the NHL. I am surprised that Arnason has made it this long in the NHL.
Avalanche report: Arnason called out
By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News
Granato said center Tyler Arnason, who was a healthy scratch Saturday, has to play better to return to the lineup.

"The bottom line is we have to dress the 12 forwards that give us the best chance to win, and I didn't think 'Arnie' was one of those 12 forwards for that game," Granato said. "It's pretty simple; there's other guys that deserve to be playing in front of him.

"He has to get into the game and do what he does best, and that is play hard. If he doesn't play hard and doesn't do the little things that we're asking him to do consistently and others guys will, then other guys will play."

Arnason has two goals on 17 shots and a minus-2 rating in 13 games. He had 10 goals and 21 assists in 70 games last season in the first year of a two-year, $3.35 million contract he signed after posting 16 goals and 33 assists in 82 games in 2006-07.
*From the same article former Gophers and Hobey Baker winner Jordan Leopold is enjoying success on the ice again after being hurt for a big part of the last two seasons.
Leopold shining

After missing 106 games during his first two seasons with the Avalanche because of injuries, Jordan Leopold finally is healthy and has been one of the team's top defensemen.

"I feel good. I haven't had any hiccups or anything," said Leopold, who has played in all 14 games and has three goals and three assists. "This is probably the healthiest I've felt probably in four years, since before the lockout. I kind of feel like a kid again.

"It's nice. I can come out and practice and not have aches and pains and stay on the ice the whole time. It's a little bit different, but that's what I used to do when I was younger and I felt better."
*Former Golden Gopher Nate Hagemo is back and playing in the ECHL. While it is not the NHL it is a first step in the right direction.
No points and a minus-2 rating usually isn't something to write home about, but for Elmira Jackals defenseman Nate Hagemo, there's another stat that's much sweeter: four games played.

Hagemo, a second round pick (58th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005, has been to hell and back a?" and he's only been back for a short time. The highly touted blueliner skipped his final year of high school in order to suit up for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, but shoulder problems derailed his career before he was even old enough to buy a beer.

After sustaining a "stinger" in his freshman year, Hagemo was hit in the same place at the 2005 World Junior Championship while playing with Team USA and the injury became too much to bear. He played just three games as a sophomore and despite a comeback attempt in 2006, would never play college hockey again.

"It was the most difficult thing I've experienced," said Hagemo, currently in the ECHL. "Especially then. My mind was set on me being a hockey player; that's what I was."

Without game action, or even practice to look forward to, Hagemo's life began to unravel.

"You feel so isolated," he said. "When you're hurt, you're not part of the team a?" you're not in the locker room, so you're not hanging out with the guys; you feel disconnected."

*Former C.C. Tiger Curtis McElhinney is getting slivers sitting on the bench in Calgary and has yet to play this season.
The Calgary Flames season is now 13 games old and Keenan has yet to call upon backup Curtis McElhinney for a start or even mop-up duty. Doesn't the coach realize the 82-game NHL season is a marathon and not a dash?

Doesn't the coach realize wearing down Kiprusoff by the middle of November probably isn't a good idea? Doesn't the coach realize letting McElhinney freeze on the bench for more than a month doesn't do a whole lot for his psyche and well-being?

*Former Warroad Warrior and Fighting Sioux star T.J. Oshie could be out till December.
The Blues really miss energetic rookie T.J. Oshie, whose high ankle sprain could disable him well into December. Veteran winger Paul Kariya departed Wednesday night's game with a unspecified "lower body" injury.
The injuries continue to pile up in New Jersey as former Gophers Paul Martin was placed on the Injured reserve.

*Former Sioux Zach Parise and current New Jersey Devil is on fire scoring 13 points in 10 games. Zach Parise is also tied for second over all in the NHL with Alexander Semin for goals scored. Former Gopher Thomas Vanek is number one.

Week 17 Frozen Waiver Watch

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:51:33 -0500

One of FIO's weekly fantasy hockey columns, staff writer Rob Edwards clues you in on some possible fantasy free agents to lookout for in Week 17 - check to see if any of these guys are on your league's waiver wire.