The NHL’s Winter Classic was a blast. It is very difficult to compare it to being at last year’s snow-filled, majestic afternoon in Buffalo where Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout to win the game for Pittsburgh in front of 72,000 passionate fans.

This outdoor classic at Wrigley Field combined everything. It started with a village. A community. Addison, Clark and Waverly. It started out with old-time hockey bitterness, as Detroit’s Dan Cleary was hit cleanly by Brent Seabrook of the Hawks. Cleary ended up in the Hawks bench. That set the tone. The day was a great one. The Wings showed why they hold the Stanley Cup.

It was a pleasure to be there, an honor to be a part of the two outdoor games in the USA. The Blackhawks, Red Wings and the NHL could not have been more organized or looked so good.

OK, that’s over with now, and the season really begins.

How will the Hawks respond? They have been the talk of the NHL, along with the Bruins, and they have been preparing for the Classic all season long, only to lose the game and consecutive games against the team they emulate, the Wings.

Will they have gas in the tank to challenge for the Central Division title? Or, will this deflate them? Can they dig down deep enough for the rest of the regular season?

They sure played well in their next home game after the Classic, beating a tough team from Calgary, 5-2, on Sunday night.

They are a young and hungry organization that is lead by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but there is much more to this team than just two highly-skilled players. The Hawks have underrated Patrick Sharp to go along with speedy Martin Havlat, a potential UFA. They have a Calder candidate in Kris Versteeg as a top-six forward, and he is a good one.

They have a future Selke Award candidate in David Bolland, a former second-round pick from the London Knights that has been patient in developing an NHL game and a role that gets the trust of his coaches. He and the Coyotes Martin Hanzal will be contenders for that award for the next 10 seasons, in my opinion.

On the blue line, they have a great tandem in Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Keith does the skating and when he gets in trouble he dishes it to Seabrook, who has some good hockey sense. They complement each other very well. They signed Brian Campbell to a huge UFA deal, and he adds an element of offense, flair, and hockey sense to go along with a great deal of experience in the playoffs.

Before the season began, the question I asked Hawks General Manager Dale Tallon was a simple one: “What are you going to do with $13 million worth of goalies and who will play?”

Dale told me both Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin would play. I will never be that naive to think he really figured that in the early days of January that would be the case. Heck, they told Khabibulin to stay home during training camp at one point. They thought he may even work out a deal in Russia.

Just goes to show you, patience and timing are essential. The best goalie is Khabibulin. That is simply my opinion. He has presence in the net. He can carry a team. He has shown that, although there have been injuries and inconsistent times in the past with Khabby. He was also on a losing team in a losing environment at the time. When he signed there originally, he thought they were going to be winners. They were not even close then, but the building blocks had started. This core of players lost a lot of games together, and now they are eager to be winners … together.

The Blackhawks locker room at Wrigley Field. Cristobal Huet is a solid goalie. He can get on a roll, as he did last season with Washington late in the season. He can also get into funks, and sometimes takes a long time to get out of them. He is a quality person that works hard though, and they are a darn good tandem.

The Coyotes and Hawks will play in Glendale on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in a re-match of a December game in Chicago, in which the Hawks gave the Coyotes a thumping. Versteeg fought Kyle Turris in final seconds of the game and got a one-game suspension for it.

It will be an enormous game for both franchises after the Coyotes lost a four-point game in Anaheim on Sunday night in a battle for second place in the Pacific Division. They didn’t compete hard enough against a team that was without Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, Francois Beauchemin and Kent Huskins.

What team will have the most gas in the tank as the real season begins? It begins on Tuesday in the desert. I can’t wait.

- Panger

I am on the plane, heading to the Windy City for the Outdoor Classic, and am getting more and more excited about the game!  I felt the same way last year, nervous, excited, not sure what to expect, broadcasting outdoors.

But this one IS different. Yes, I now know what to expect from the elements of an outdoor game, but this is closer to my heart. The Windy City. I lived in Chicago for 20 years. My son and daughter were born there. Loyola Medical Center in Maywood Illinois, saved our son,Tyler’s life. Twice. How can this not be a special place? We have some of our best friends still in this city. It will always be a special place.

I have been in broadcasting since I retired from the NHL in 1990. I played my last NHL game in the 1989 playoffs as a member of the Hawks, as we went all the way to the Western Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Calgary Flames.

My career ended a year later. I was 26 years old.  I tore an ACL before game 5 in practice vs Calgary in 1989 and re-habbed it with current Hawks trainer Mike Gapski.  He was awesome. We went hard at it and I came back to the ice in roughly 4 1/2 months. My surgeon was Dr. William Clancy, a man and surgeon that was way ahead of his time. We were aggressive and proactive and they did a great job of getting me back on ice in time to re-join the organization in time for the 1990 IHL regular season ending and the Play-offs with the Indianapolis Ice.

I had the pleasure of playing for Darryl Sutter, one of the very best Hawks leaders, as we won the Turner Cup Championship.  I was back in Chicago for the summer and training hard as I really thought I could get back in the NHL for the next season.

I hit a major road bump. I re-injured my knee a month before training camp. Should never have been playing tennis on clay courts!  Back to the Alabama Medical Center for repairs, and my career was in serious jeopardy. I hurried back from Alabama, where Dr.Clancy performed his 2nd surgery on my left knee, and 3rd overall on that same knee. I had to get back as the Hawks were having a going away party at Butterfield Country Club, for the recently traded Denis Savard.

Savvy is truly one of the very best. Love the guy. He deserves a lot of credit for this great young team in Chicago. He put his heart and soul into the franchise.  He was a great teammate and friend. He was my neighbor and we drove to the Stadium for many practices. Full of life. Smoked a lot of cigarettes. Still had great energy. He loved getting on the ice. He loved to dangle, laugh, deke you out of your jock strap and then do it again.  He was just traded to Montreal for Chris Chelios, a Chicago native that grew up loving Stan Mikita, Dick Butkis and the Chicago Bears.

As I get ready for the Outdoor Classic, I remember these things.  I remember how great a man Bill Wirtz was. He was loyal. He loved his players. He was a tough businessman. He taught you about loyalty and doing the little things the right way.  My 1st position with the Hawks when I retired was with WBBM News Radio 78, as they were the flagship station of the Hawks, the Mighty Blackhawks…you know the song.

Our studio before and after the game was in a small room, with a small bathroom in it. One night the Hawks weren’t very good and my partner, Brian Davis, started the show by having his mic nearly in the toilet, and he flushed it as we started the show….. ” Well….that about sums up the Hawks play tonight….”  We answered phone calls after games and tried as best we could to explain why Mr Wirtz wouldn’t put the Hawks on home TV. Tough to explain, but we did the best we could. Mr Wirtz would personally call me and say I was doing a ‘fine job’ with the callers. He always said, “I know it can’t be easy…”

Now its the Outdoor game in Chicago.  Wrigley Field.  Mark Grace and the boys. The Cubs. The summer sun beating down on the most loyal fans in all of sports. The ivory and bricks.

This morning I get up and look out the window of the Drake Hotel and for miles I see the shore and the Gold Coast. Oak Street beach is right below my window. A classic winter day as I get ready for the game.  I step outside and the brisk wind grabs my attention. It is the wind. Its not that cold, only 3 days before the game, but the wind will be the challenge for sure.

NBC did a great job last year in Buffalo letting the elements tell the story. The game was the story. The snow coming down. The players were cold and constantly wiping their eyes, face and visors if they had one on. Darryl Sydor started the game with one on, but ended the game without it. Too much maintenance, and dangerous as well as it was tough to see, even a few feet in front of you.

Our producer, Sam Flood, is an experienced hockey player himself, and makes sure the game is the main topic of conversation on the air. He allowed us, as broadcasters, simply tell the story. What is the wind like? What adjustments do the coaches have to make? Are the goalies able to see the puck? These are every analyst dream position to be in. Just relay the story to the audience. What a pleasure it was to be in that environment and hopefully the weather let’s us just tell the story.

Last year there were 72,000 passionate fans that wouldn’t leave their seats, all bundled up and trying to be as warm as they could be. It was truly a sight to behold. At one point, singing Neil Diamonds “Sweet Caroline”…and it sounded good!  Between the benches with skates on made it unique, as I hopped over the boards many times to interview a player, show the viewers the built up snow on the ice and how they have to battle the elements. I even tossed a snowball at the main men behind the mic’s, Doc Emrick and Ed Olczyk, a former teammate of mine with the Hawks, before he was traded to Toronto.

The fans love this stuff.

Casual fans love to see an outdoor stadium with grown men playing the sport they love. The same way most of these guys competed as kids. We all started out on outdoor rinks or ponds when I was growing up. In the elements. In the snow. Facing adversity. Laughing. Competing.  I can’t wait to get to Wrigley.

Several years back, I was up in the scoreboard and my duty was to change the score as the Cubs were struggling. I had to place the old tin #’s in the right spot. It was hot and muggy. It was so cool to be up there. What an experience that was.

In a few days I am able to see the 1st NHL game played at Wrigley and I can’t wait. No need for anyone up in that old scoreboard.

The Wings and the Hawks. The defending Champs vs the Contender, a real legitimate contender. Datsyuk and Zetterberg against Kane and Toews.  Outdoors.  Let the temperature drop and let the game begin!

- Panger

Hanzal will win the Selke Award, just a matter of time.  NHL.com recently did a “Coyote Ugly” story, highlighting the struggles of 2nd year players Martin Hanzal and Peter Mueller. I like to think when I watch a player game in and game out, practice in and practice out, that I have a pretty good feel as to whether that player is playing well or not playing well.

The Coyotes went into the season with a plan. They committed to 4 fresh faced rookies, to go along with 5 key sophomore players, with Mueller and Hanzal the centerpieces on their roster, as far as sophomores are concerned. That is more responsibility than any other team.

There have been definite stretches where Mueller has struggled. He worked hard in the off season, adding muscle and bulk, going from 206 lbs to 216 lbs. As a team, they determined that was too much so he has worked his tail off , getting his weight down and moving his feet quicker. As a result, he has created far more energy and increased his scoring chances per game. He has to continue to do that consistently, and the goals are certain to come. He is that good with the puck. Last season he came on and scored 22 goals. He spent lots of time on the point on the PP, scoring 7 PPG’s in the process. He also had 3 ROAD hattricks, pretty good stuff.

Last season, he could also be hidden by his coach, Wayne Gretzky, especially on the road , where Gretzky has been a master with his younger players. This season? Different story for a few reasons. Teams know who he is. He can’t hide. He gets to see the other teams best defenseman and best defensive forward. He has 5-10-15 pts at this point, below expectations by both Peter and the team. This season, the 1st 27 games, will add a few layers of skin to Peter for the future and all for the good. He is a difference maker in the best league in the world. He will score in bunches and when they start, it will take a long time for them to stop. I see it in practice and in games. I talk to the other teams goalies about the Coyotes players they have their eye on. Peter is at the top of the list.

In my conversations with Peter, I remember quickly how it went for me in my 2nd full season as an NHL’er. The criticism is far more stinging from the coaches, the expectations are higher, and the responsibilities to your “younger” teammates changes you for the better. So, while Mueller’s season is going to have to improve for this team to get in the play-offs, it hasn’t been as “ugly” as the headline puts it.Not even close.

For Martin Hanzal to be included in this column is baffling.

I know the “Western” National Hockey League doesn’t get as many eye balls as our friends to the East…but come on.  Hanzal will win the Frank J Selke Award. It may not be this season, but he will garner attention. I say here, he wins it next season.

As a 2nd season NHL player that played only 1 season of WHL hockey and then to the NHL, he will only get better and stronger on his 6′5 220 lb frame.  He is as good in his own zone as any centerman in the NHL. What position is the hardeset to break in at? Many say it is on the blueline. Hard to argue.

I for one, believe it is at center ice. The responsibilities are far greater than that of a defenseman. There is more confusion in your own zone, especially with so many cycles down low. A centerman has to win face offs, not lose his man, be down low in his own zone, often spending the whole shift from the hash marks to the boards. Then , if you get out of your zone, you are the guy that gets the puck through the middle of the ice and makes a play for your wingers.you need to create offense as well. Go for a line change, and do it all again.

Then there is Hanzal. He doesn’t get to do that against the other teams sophomores, or 18, 19, and 20 year old players.  No, he does that against the NHL’s BEST players. Every night.

If you are going to suggest a player is struggling and making it a headline, you better do some homework, watch some games and then ask some players he plays against.

In the West, he faces Joe Thornton, and did so all of last year as well, as a rookie. The Coyotes have a winning record vs the Sharks in the last 2 years.While Big Joe remains a very top player in this league, I can assure you he has had all he can handle in the 2 games this season against the Coyotes. The series so far is a 3-2 win and a 3-2 loss. We highlighted the two the entire game and could see that Hanzal was in his kitchen.

He does it the old fashioned way. He rarely takes penalties. He has a great reach and stick. He separates great players from the puck, not an easy thing to do.He brings a great attitude to the rink, he wants to win. He plays that way.

I mentioned Thornton. Lets continue with Ryan Getzlaf, Anze Kopitar and any one of the 3 headed monsters at center ice for the Dallas Stars. All in the Pacific Division. 6 games a season against them.
Last season, Hanzal had 8 goals and 35 points.

2 weeks ago he scored 3 goals against the Leafs and has 6 goals and 10 assists on the season, while defensively, is minus 1.

That includes a recent game in Chicago that was a team embarrassment, losing 7-1 and giving up an astonishing 6 goals at even strength.  There are going to be nights like that for every player and team, as bad as it seemed at the time. Young and old go through it. We all have.

I can assure you that sophomore players Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal will be at the other end of that score more than they will be at the losing end, in their NHL careers.

They are both special players that take pride in winning and care about their jobs on the ice.  To say they have been “Coyote Ugly” is extremely misleading and disrespectful to what they and the team are accomplishing.

- Panger

What’s a penalty?  You can stop, rewind, freeze the play then and do it all again.  You can watch Shane Doan’s hit on David Backes time and time again in the 1st game of the Coyotes 3 game road trip that began in St. Louis.

It is a hockey hit. It is not a hit from behind, nor is it a boarding infraction.  It is a battle for a puck, 2 players, and they actually brace themselves, nearly stop, and Doan is stronger on his feet and catches Backes not quite as well prepared for a hit and unfortunately, gets injured on the play.

It is not the Mike Van Ryn injury. It is not a case where a player is facing the boards and vulnerable, and gets drilled from behind.  It is a hockey hit.

Doan gets a 5 minute major and it is a case of an overreaction to the far too many bad hits in the game. There should not have even been a penalty called.

In the meantime, veteran defenseman Ed Jovonovski and Derek Morris both get blatent high sticks to the eye area, and there are no calls. In both cases, the puck was close to both players.  From the broadcast booth, it is a much easier game, I understand that.

Here is another issue I have been having.

We know the sticks have “weak points” after a stick on stick, or a blocked shot to the shaft of the stick.  So a player blocks a shot, and the defending player is strong on his stick and the opposing playerks stick snaps, as a result of the puck hitting it originally.

Penalty. For slashing. For slashing? Or for having a stick that is already weakened by a puck?  Just because a stick breaks, doesn’t mean its a penalty.

There has to be some reward for a player that is strong on the puck. You can ask any top player about an opponent that is soft on the puck or a player that is hard on the puck. It is a strength. It is an asset that you have from an early age and likely a big reason why a scout rated you high or even just had you on the radar.  So, why do we take that away?

Just because a player falls down, it doesn’t mean it is a penalty on the nearest player around him.  Let’s get back to some on ice hockey sense.

See the play develop. Use common sense. Get the flow back into the game. I personally don’t enjoy a specialty teams game, where the flow and pace gets going and then the whistle blows and 10 guys are on the ice looking around, wondering where the infraction took place. It likely had no bearing on the play anyway.

It is a far more entertaining game when there is constant flow, back and forth action where chances are exchanged.

The honour of battling through checks and sometimes sticks is what separates the soft perimeter player, to the guy you want in the trenches in close games. Let’s not confuse the two types of players.

Call what the penalty is. Not what you think it was, as you may not have seen anything but a player falling down. They have big cushy pads on. They can handle it.  The other part about honour, or lack of it, occurred in Chicago with 2 seconds remaining in a 7-1 Blackhawks win.

A scrum in front of Hawk goalie Cristobal Huet, and Enver Lisin gets poked at by Brent Sopel and then Kyle Turris and Hawks rookie Kris Versteeg pair up.  Both have their gloves on, and then Versteeg pops him square in the nose. He said after the game that Turris, the 19 year old 180 lb offensive minded kid “challenged” him. He is kidding, right?

I spoke with Turris about it. Not a chance he challenged him.

Wayne Gretzky wasn’t amused with Versteeg, and in a 7-1 humiliation with 2 seconds left, it wasn’t impressive and didn’t leave the Great One with a good impression.

The Coyotes next face Versteeg and the Hawks on Jan. 6 in Phoenix.

You can be sure the Coyotes will be ready for the game and not just for what happened at the end of the game, but the lack of preparation to begin the game.

- 40

Losing is never easy.

If you don’t have a sour feeling in the pit of your stomach after a loss, you shouldn’t be in the competitive business of pro sports.

The Phoenix Coyotes made an organizational decision last year when they committed to youngsters Martin Hanzel and Peter Mueller to go along with 2nd year pros Dan Carcillo and Daniel Winnik.  They took it a step further this season with Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Kevin Porter and Viktor Tikhonov.

That’s one heck of a jump.

They brought in Ollie Jokinen and Kurt Sauer, to go along with David Hale, Todd Fedoruk and Brian McGratton.

You know there are bumps in the road. This is the best league in the World, with time proven players that are battle proven during hard times. There are world class skill players that are good enough to represent their Countries in International competitions.

It can sometimes take young phenoms 2-4 yrs to be impact, go to players.

On a great team like Detroit, it took Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg 3 yrs to be top end, reliable players that could go against the other teams best defenseman and defensive specialists at the forward position. There are enough of them in this league.

This is the course that was chosen and the main thing to always keep in mind is the positive side of preparation, teaching and patience.

During an off day in Columbus after a really tough loss in NY, where 5 players played their 1st game at World Famous Madison Square Garden, Wayne Gretzky and his coaching staff put the players through a high tempo, technical specail teams practice that had all the energy of a team on a 5 game win streak instead of a team that has only been able to get secure points in a shoot out loss vs Chicago and an OT loss in Philly in last 6 games.

It is all about vision. It is about the big picture, but at the same time it is also about veteran players that want and need to win.

The vision is there. The Vets are all giving it there all. The Coyotes have great men in the room, guys that you can lean on in tough times. If there are older players that aren’t in the same boat, rowing in the same direction, then they would have to go. You can’t afford to have any bad guys, it makes for bad leadership and sends the wrong message.

I couldn’t be more impressed with the majority of these veteran players.  The plan is there. This team can win. They have as much speed and skill as any group of young players on any team in the NHL.  Now its about sicking with it. Score some goals and learn how to win, instead of finding small ways to lose games.

There are only 4 points separating the 8th from from the Coyotes.  They have given up the 5th fewest goals in the Western Conference.  They are in the hunt.

They have to look forward going into every game and if they play the way they did in NY in the 1st 30 minutes, there are plenty of wins the rest of the way.

- Panger, 40

Wayne Gretzky and his Phoenix Coyotes played the 1st game of a 4 games swing that takes them from the East Coast from Carolina to Columbus.

He had to be happy with certain parts of the teams performance, as the 5-2 loss didn’t tell the whole story. The Hurricanes scored late to make it 4-2 and into an empty net to finish it off at 5-2. He wanted more scoring from his 2nd tier, needing to take pressure off of Jokinen and especially Doan. Doan did score his 11th goal in another strong game, while Kevin Porter notched his 4th of the season.

Derek Morris only played 6:30 before leaving with an undisclosed injury, Gretzky saying after the game he has been “banged up” and had a previous ankle injury, to go along with a finger injury.

Gretzky found a solid pairing in Keith Yandle and Ed Jovonovski, who had a strong game, especially down the stretch when they were needing to get on the board and tie the game. Yandle continues to make great strides. He is strong on the puck, making plays in both ends and has a presence about him. He grew up idolizing Ray Bourque, he picked up a few things along the way. All of them good. Like taking pucks off the boards, bringing it to a better angle and getting pucks to the net. He has great hockey sense.

Jovonovski needs to just play the game, move his feet, get in on the play, get a good hit in early and then let the game come to him. He is too good of a player to be playing the way he has in most games this season. This was a game that he had legs, and that is everything this day and age.

As a whole, Gretzky’s squad has to read situations better in the defensive zone, and be stronger on loose pucks. They were loose in front of their net on this night, and saw Eric Staal snap out of an 8 game goal scoring drought, with 3 goals. He wanted pucks in the net more than the Coyotes were willing to defend.

The Coyotes did create plenty of good chances and never gave up, in fact should have had a powerplay with around 5 minutes to go, as Staal got his stick between the legs of Porter, clearly an infraction, and the score 3-2 ‘Canes.

Enver Lisin was recalled from the AHL and is likely to be in the line up in Philly on Saturday. The Coyotes can’t score goals and could use a spark, even if it is short term. Mikael Tellqvist will be in goal against ther Flyers as he played a great game last year there in a win.

From there it is on to NY for a rare Monday game for the Coyotes and the 2nd game coached by Gretzky at MSG, as he got a win in his 1st game there last season.

For Gretzky.com, I’m Panger 40

Another great Hall of Fame induction evening, another great Oiler enters. The competitiveness inside that locker fueled their play on the ice, with each and every player pushing their teammates to new heights. They had as much fun off the ice as they had winning on it, too. That Oilers Dynasty was something to behold.

You got spoiled if you were a fan. Every night the expectations were high, nothing but a win. Nothing but a blowout win. Try being a goalie, or a defenseman against that squad.

Today, there is another unique, dynamic player entering the Hall of Fame and it is the right call by the selection committee, just slightly overdue. Anderson was a gifted, free spirit off the ice and a competitive, free wheeling big time player on it. Maybe his loose and off beat personality kept his 498 regular season goals out of the Hall for this long, who knows. He was nearly a point per game when it mattered most, the postseason. He scored big goals at big times. Clearly a difference maker, but hidden somewhat behind the other big 3 up front.

Make no mistake, every dynasty has layers of great players, all put in a position to succeed. Would Glenn Anderson have been able to carry the mail for that franchise if he was the lone, go-to guy? Not likely. The team was put together with solid drafting and a timely WHA sale with the Greatest player ever. Up the middle its Gretzky and Messier. Patrolling the wings its Kurri and Anderson. On the bleuline, its Lowe and Coffey. In the net it is Fuhr and Moog.

Everything has its order. The players all have their rightful place in the line up and the coaches have the right players to put in match ups against any style of team. You ask any of their coaches and they will tell you they could all play defense when they had to. They could win 2-1 when they needed to. And it was the star players that bought in and sold it to the rest of them. Anderson was unique. He was a winger that would challenge you with speed, tenacity and an edge that bordered on reckless and careless, especially with his stick.

I remember the 1st game I played in Edmonton and the Oilers were coming at us pretty good. As a goalie, studying the likes of Gretz and Messier were one thing. You knew Mess liked to shoot the puck on his “wrong” foot, across the grain to the far side. He was looking for the goalie to be slightly off his angle and by shooting early in a game, he got you thinking he would do it all the time. It backed you off.

Gretz was simply amazing in the way he found the late man, especially on the weak side of the ice. He put pucks where he just came from, always against the flow, causing you to turn your head, if just for a split second. Impossible to defend against.

Anderson could dipsy doodle, beat you with speed or simply run over you. He ran into me so hard that night in Edmonton, I thought I was going right through the mesh in the net. He set a tone. He wanted to know if I would challenge him the next time, or would I get deep in the net and play passively?

I recently spoke with Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin about Anderson. I got the feeling Denis originally felt Anderson might be a little ’soft’ in the tenacious department. But Potvin said he went at Anderson pretty good one night, and Potvin was one tough player, especially when he buried the heavy wooden Titan in your back or mid section. He goes right at Anderson and gets him good. Anderson didn’t back down. He knew he had to earn space and respect in the scoring areas and came back at Potvin with a discreet, timely crosscheck to his back. He stood up to him and that caught Potvins and the rest of the Islanders attention.

The game hasn’t changed that much. You have to show the veteran, tough players you aren’t afraid. If you are, they know it right then and soon the entire team knows about it and that is how soft players get a reputation as being, well, soft players. Not Anderson.

He was unique. He wanted the puck in big games and he delivered. Welcome to the Hall of Fame Glenn Anderson.

For Gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang 40

The Phoenix Coyotes picked up Ken Klee on re-entry waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. This move helps solidify the back end as he will be a 5,6 pairing with either Keith Yandle or David Hale.

The Coyote blueline had 2 right hand shots, Zbynek Michalek and Derek Morris. The 3rd pairing with Yandle and Hale feature 2 left handed defenseman.

By claiming Klee on re-entry waivers, the Coyotes pay half of his $1,250,000.00 salary. The 37 year old is on the last year of a contract he originally signed with Atlanta. 

Klee has played nearly 60 play off games, and with the youngest team in the NHL, averaging 25 years old, it is never a bad thing adding experience to the room and on the ice.

For Gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang

Wayne’s decision is the right one.  Steve Yzerman is in charge of 2010 for Hockey Canada. Wayne Gretzky will be there every step of the way, as he is named the Executive Advisor. What a start to what should become a great team.

Yzerman is well prepared for this post as he has been in charge of Canada’s World Championship Team for the past 2 seasons, winning a gold medal in Moscow in 2007 and a silver medal in Halifax and Quebec City, in what was an awesome tournament that saw Canada lead in the final game vs Russia twice, before losing.

I was fortunate enough to sit in on conference calls for both Worlds, as the selection process and evaluation of NHL players took place and can tell you 1st hand that Yzerman is a man that is very serious about any responsibilities he has and is a very detailed oriented person. He can make hard decisions and is not afraid to do so. He learned an awful lot about the 2008 roster, and will be watching every possible player closely from now until the process is complete. He will, at the end of the day, make the tough choices, have the final say on this team, from the trainers to the coaches.

His experience as a manager may pale in comparison to his experience as a Captain of the Red Wings. There is a great deal of responsiblity when you wear the “C”, as Gretzky would also tell you. You are involved in more than people give credit for, especially when it is an Original 6 team that has expectations to win every season, as the Wings do and the Gretzky led Oilers did. You are responsible for every team function, decisions with coaches on layovers in cities, practices, flight options and any other team get together. You combine that with his position as Vice President of Hockey operations for the Wings and the past two World Championships, to go along with being involved in NHL Hockey operation meetings on goalie equipment decisions to Board of Governor Meetings…..well, thats as much as anyone in hockey gets invloved with.

Yzerman has been on the phone several times already with Gretzky and will continue to speak weekly. Both brilliant hockey minds are on the same page and both think in a very similar fashion. Yzerman will lean heavily on his entire staff, as he has brought in Kevin Lowe, Doug Armstrong and the Wing’s GM, Ken Holland along with Gretzky, to round out his hockey operations staff.

He also has a very underrated hockey mind in Bob Nicholson and Johnny Misley from Hockey Canada.
With Gretzky coaching the Phoenix Coyotes and being directly in the fire behind the bench, he has a great understanding when evaluating players that will be considered for Team Canada.

He can be of great assistance in his communication with Yzerman when the selection process takes place. You get to know which players are hard to play against, which ones are perimeter players that get points when the game is not on the line. In a short tournament like the Olympics, its all about players that show up in the important minutes of a game. Gretzky sees it all up close. He breaks down the other teams best players and match ups, gets his own match ups and has a memory like I have never seen before. He can also help in the coaching decisions, if he isn’t one himself, as he knows how the coaches are against him. This is all invaluable. The best thing about it is Gretzky passed the baton over to Yzerman. He gave it a full blessing. Gretzky often talks about how he learned so much from Guy Lafleur in the 1981 Canada Cup. He would follow him around the room , and just listen and observe. Then he passed it down to Mario Lemieux in the 1987 Canada Cup. We all know how Mario turned out.

In the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, he had breakfast often with the managing team of Bob Clarke and Bob Gainey, soaking it all up and that eventually helped him run Team Canada in 2002 winning Canada’s 1st gold medal in 50 years on the ice. Yzerman had lost at every level before he won. He is not afraid of losing. He has a few layers of pretty tough skin. He knows as much as any player in history how much you have to sacrifice in order to win. He was always front and center taking accountability during the most difficult losses in franchise history. He was always humble when they won, deflecting praise and keeping things typically even keeled.

This is a pretty dynamic tandem.  Let the Games begin.

For gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang

Make no mistake, this is captain Shane Doan’s and the rest of the veteran players’ team in Phoenix.

It proudly displays the faces of Doan, Olli Jokinen, Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris and Ilya Bryzgalov on the cover of its media guide, and it should.

You don’t just anoint the franchise to four rookies if you are saying you are a playoff team and a team that will compete for the Stanley Cup. The good teams in the NHL all know that is just too much responsibility and it clearly would show a lack of respect for just how good this league is and just how good the veteran, proven players are day in and day out.

That being said, the time is now for many franchises to showcase their top prospects to the rest of the NHL.

The Coyotes, because of some poor regular season showings and some terrific drafting, have a cupboard full of high end prospects. These kids are certainly the real deal. They have uncanny hockey sense and a burning desire to be great players. They train hard, eat well and practice like it will be their last one in the NHL. It is infectious.

I like the message that was sent last week to the four players. General Manager Don Maloney sat Kyle Turris, Kevin Porter, Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov down before practice
at Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale and sent a very simple message.

It went something like this:

You all are going to be terrific players.

You deserve to be here in this lineup.

Don’t back down…ever on the ice.

Hold your own in scrums, don’t shy away. It doesn’t mean fight. It means be there, with your chin in the middle of it. The military will be right behind any one of you…no matter what happens.

Head Coach Wayne Gretzky also sat down with them. His ability to read the right situation and say things at the right time is as uncanny as the magical passes he slid across the crease to Jarri Kurri. He gives these kids, and the rest of the players, so much confidence by saying something so simple.

The other day at practice, there was Gretzky at center ice with Turris. The conversation was calm and directly to the point.

“Have fun out here. Don’t press. You are here for a long time. The best thing about being in the NHL is it is fun, so have fun. ”

You know that Gretzky will put these kids in an environment to succeed. He was so good last season with Martin Hanzel and Peter Mueller. You sometimes have to “hide” players on
the road against veteran teams. They may not see the last three minutes of a close game. That’s the process for the long run. They have to build confidence along the way.

This season, the Coyotes will need all four of these freshman to be players. They will have off nights and they will be stars of games.

The moxie will have to be there too. The other teams have to know they won’t wilt away when the going gets tough.

I believe that won’t be a problem.

For gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang.