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Realizing The Dream
(Page 1 of 1)
Memorable debut for Capitals' Sloan
Monday, 11.03.2008 / 1:00 AM / Realizing The Dream
By Adam Kimelman  - NHL.com Staff Writer
Every player wants to make an impact in his NHL debut, even more so if said debut comes in that player's hometown.

And then there's the case of Washington Capitals defenseman Tyler Sloan.

In the first period of his first NHL game, in front of his hometown fans in Calgary, Sloan made an impact that Flames center Daymond Langkow won't soon forget. Sloan caught Langkow with a thunderous hit at center ice that sent Langkow flying. Rene Bourque jumped in to defend his teammate, and was subsequently assessed a 9-minutes in penalties.


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Bogosian won't back down from challenge
Sunday, 10.19.2008 / 11:00 PM / Realizing The Dream
By Dan Rosen  - NHL.com Staff Writer

"The fans were screaming and yelling and you're an 18-year-old kid just looking around. It's crazy to think that you're in the NHL. It was crazy, the nerves are flying. Your blood is flowing. You think your whole life about what it would be like and all of a sudden, you're in the moment."
-- Zach Bogosian

He got his left glove off in time, but Zach Bogosian never had a chance to shake his right one loose. Donald Brashear didn't give the 18-year-old defenseman enough time.

"He dropped his gloves so fast and started throwing before I could even think," Bogosian told NHL.com. "It took me a while to grab on, but once I did he didn't land too much."

Bogosian's "welcome to the NHL" moment came with 20 seconds left in his first game with the Atlanta Thrashers, but dropping the gloves (or glove) with one of most ferocious enforcers in League history is hardly the stuff that dreams are made of.

The fact that Bogosian did has won him a lot of admiration inside the Thrashers' dressing room. He's not just some young, brash kid anymore. He's a young, brash kid who won't back down from a challenge, even when it's coming from Brashear.
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Doughty's play gives Kings no easy answer
Friday, 10.17.2008 / 10:54 AM / Realizing The Dream
By Dan Rosen  - NHL.com Staff Writer
Drew Doughty is still living in the Residence Inn by the airport in El Segundo, Calif. He's conveniently close enough both the Los Angeles Kings' practice facility and to a plane at LAX that could take him back to the Ontario Hockey League.

If he continues on his current path, the 18-year-old defenseman may want to hire a realtor to find him a posh Hollywood pad because he won't be leaving Southern California anytime soon -- except for Kings' road trips.

"Coming into training camp I knew I had a chance (to make the team), but it would be difficult," Doughty told NHL.com. "I did everything I could. I worked as hard as I could and got into those exhibition games and I thought I played well. I worked hard to earn this position. Now I'm going to have to work even harder to keep it."
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Free Shipping in November
Pietrangelo hoping he passes 9-game test
Thursday, 10.16.2008 / 12:00 AM / Realizing The Dream
By Dan Rosen  - NHL.com Staff Writer
His skates were on the ice and he was gliding around, but for a moment Alex Pietrangelo felt that gravity had eluded him.
 
During his first NHL shift last Friday night, Pietrangelo felt like he was floating.

"It's almost an unreal feeling," Pietrangelo, the St. Louis Blues' 18-year-old defenseman, told NHL.com. "It's tough to put into words."

The dream came true for Pietrangelo in front of 19,150 fans at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Blues coach Andy Murray penciled Pietrangelo and Barret Jackman in the starting lineup for the season-opener against the Nashville Predators. Their shift lasted all of 45 seconds, but Pietrangelo will never forget each one of them.
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Tikhonov showing he belongs with Coyotes
Tuesday, 10.14.2008 / 9:00 AM / Realizing The Dream
By Mike G. Morreale  - NHL.com Staff Writer

The hockey world was treated to something special this past weekend when Wayne Gretzky, the game's all-time greatest player, was instructing a promising rookie with a familiar name in the season opener for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Viktor Tikhonov happens to be the 20-year-old grandson of the legendary Russian hockey coach of the same name, and admitted the feeling was indescribable.

"It's pretty hard to put it into words because it was a dream come true to step out onto that ice in a regular-season NHL game for the first time," Tikhonov told NHL.com. "It's just great to be playing in the best League in the world and having Wayne Gretzky as your coach.

"The best advice he gave me was before our season opener on Saturday (a 3-1 victory against Columbus)," Tikhonov said. "He pulled all the young guys together and told us not to think too hard, to just relax and get a good night's sleep. That's great advice because, as a rookie, you sometimes think about what you need to do too hard and become easily distracted. I just went out there and had some fun.''

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NHL debuts are unforgettable
Saturday, 10.11.2008 / 6:42 PM / Realizing The Dream
By NHL .com

Young players making their NHL debuts aren't the only ones fighting butterflies in the stomach.

"About 10 Rolaids and I was OK," Thrashers coach John Anderson told reporters after a 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals. "I made it to the starting faceoff."

"It's been a long journey and a wonderful one," Colleen Anderson, the coach's mother, said. "He's so enthusiastic about the game of hockey, since he was 4. The biggest thrill he said was when he was only about a year old and his dad was playing hockey, and he put him up on his shoulders and skated him around the rink after the game."

Anderson did experience his first rookie mistake, but it came away from the ice. Two hours before the game when he took a wrong turn into the visitors' dressing room and had to be redirected by a security guard. "Oh, I don't know my way around here," Anderson grumbled to no one in particular. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau got a chuckle at his friend's expense. "He's always wanted to work with me."

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