The current phase of the Edmonton Oilers' rebuilding effort is focused on getting their young players as much playing time as possible to speed their adjustment period to the NHL lifestyle.
For some of the club's youngsters, that adjustment has come faster than others. But for rookie left wing Magnus Paajarvi, he's had more than just a new league to get used to.
The dynamic power forward, taken by the Oilers with the 10th pick of the 2009 Entry Draft, is also adjusting to new players and a new country, all at the same time. It's been a challenge, but one Paajarvi is meeting head on.
"The biggest thing that sticks out with Maggie is work ethic," teammate Sam Gagner told NHL.com. "He's a guy that's in the gym all the time, one of the last guys off the ice every day, one of the first guys on. He just continues to work hard and because of that he continues to improve. I think there's an adjustment period coming over from Sweden, I'm sure he's lived alone before, but living in a new country, that's pretty hard and he's handled it really well. He comes to the rink with a good attitude every day, trying to get better, so it's good."
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Player Profiles
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Player Profiles
Paajarvi adjusting, improving with young Oilers
Wednesday, 03.09.2011 / 9:00 AM / Player Profiles
Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
McCabe happy to be with Rangers
Sunday, 02.27.2011 / 4:46 PM / Player Profiles
Dave Lozo - NHL.com Staff Writer
NEW YORK -- There was no other place defenseman Bryan McCabe wanted to be other than Manhattan on Sunday afternoon, throwing on a New York Rangers jersey to face the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden.
Well, that's not entirely true. The 35-year-old McCabe wanted to be part of the Florida Panthers' rebuilding process, but the problem with that was the Panthers didn't want him anymore.
Faced with the realization that his time in South Florida was over, McCabe decided he was willing to waive his no-trade clause for one team and one team only -- the Rangers. So the Panthers worked out a deal Saturday that sent McCabe to the Rangers in exchange for Tim Kennedy and a third-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
"Obviously I have a lot of roots here," said McCabe, whose wife is from Long Island, the place where he spent his first three seasons in the NHL with the Islanders. "We spend our summers on Long Island. Three years ago when I was on my out of Toronto, this was one of the teams I really wanted to come to and things didn't work out. But I'm glad they did now and I'm really excited to be here."
Well, that's not entirely true. The 35-year-old McCabe wanted to be part of the Florida Panthers' rebuilding process, but the problem with that was the Panthers didn't want him anymore.
Faced with the realization that his time in South Florida was over, McCabe decided he was willing to waive his no-trade clause for one team and one team only -- the Rangers. So the Panthers worked out a deal Saturday that sent McCabe to the Rangers in exchange for Tim Kennedy and a third-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
"Obviously I have a lot of roots here," said McCabe, whose wife is from Long Island, the place where he spent his first three seasons in the NHL with the Islanders. "We spend our summers on Long Island. Three years ago when I was on my out of Toronto, this was one of the teams I really wanted to come to and things didn't work out. But I'm glad they did now and I'm really excited to be here."
Still young, Flyers' Giroux drawing extensive praise
Friday, 02.25.2011 / 2:19 PM / Player Profiles
Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
When Simon Gagne was playing in Philadelphia last season, he started having some flashbacks.
Suddenly, Gagne, now with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was remembering the exciting -- but fleeting -- moments he had sharing the ice with Peter Forsberg, who played with Philadelphia from 2005 to late in the 2006-07 season. At the time, Forsberg was considered one of the most dynamic players in the game.
"Maybe it's too early to make some comparisons with Peter Forsberg," Gagne told NHL.com following a win last March against the Chicago Blackhawks, "but I did play with Peter and he (Giroux) has pretty much the same style."
Suddenly, Gagne, now with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was remembering the exciting -- but fleeting -- moments he had sharing the ice with Peter Forsberg, who played with Philadelphia from 2005 to late in the 2006-07 season. At the time, Forsberg was considered one of the most dynamic players in the game.
"Maybe it's too early to make some comparisons with Peter Forsberg," Gagne told NHL.com following a win last March against the Chicago Blackhawks, "but I did play with Peter and he (Giroux) has pretty much the same style."
Pietrangelo ready to step into bigger role
Thursday, 02.24.2011 / 11:33 AM / Player Profiles
Brian Hedger - NHL.com Correspondent
After a pair of recent trades, the St. Louis Blues are being talked about because of the big names they exchanged.
First, former Blues captain Eric Brewer was sent to Tampa Bay. Then, St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong completed a blockbuster with the Colorado Avalanche that involved four former first-round draft picks, including Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, who was taken No. 1 in the 2006 Entry Draft.
That deal also sent Jay McClement to Colorado and brought Avs power forward Chris Stewart and talented rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis. That was a lot of big names to digest in one trade, but a big-name player still on the Blues could benefit the most.
St. Louis rookie defenseman Alex Pietrangelo -- the Blues' top pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (No. 4) -- now has a larger role as St. Louis focuses on the future.
First, former Blues captain Eric Brewer was sent to Tampa Bay. Then, St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong completed a blockbuster with the Colorado Avalanche that involved four former first-round draft picks, including Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, who was taken No. 1 in the 2006 Entry Draft.
That deal also sent Jay McClement to Colorado and brought Avs power forward Chris Stewart and talented rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis. That was a lot of big names to digest in one trade, but a big-name player still on the Blues could benefit the most.
St. Louis rookie defenseman Alex Pietrangelo -- the Blues' top pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (No. 4) -- now has a larger role as St. Louis focuses on the future.
After early struggle, Myers boosting Sabres
Sunday, 02.20.2011 / 9:00 AM / Player Profiles
Arpon Basu - Managing Editor LNH.com
"More than anything it was me -- I was in my own head. I won't lie -- I was feeling pressure from last year. I thought I had to do more than I did coming into the season, and it took me a little while to figure out that less is more." -- Tyler Myers
But it pales in comparison to the shadow the Buffalo Sabres defenseman felt enveloping him at the start of this season, the one cast by his stellar rookie season that earned him the Calder Trophy and raised expectations for him around the League.
Trying to live up to those lofty projections had a counter effect -- in an effort to create offense and maintain or even improve on the 48 points of his rookie season, Myers became a bit of a reckless player, and it showed.
Before he knew it, Myers was a minus-12 only 13 games into the season.
Red-hot Whitney getting better with age in Phoenix
Monday, 02.14.2011 / 3:23 PM / Player Profiles
Jerry Brown - NHL.com Correspondent
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- To say Ray Whitney's first month as a Phoenix Coyote didn't go very well at all would be a huge understatement.
Signed as a free agent to jazz up the Phoenix power play and give the defense-first team a more dynamic presence, neither side was happy with the fit.
Whitney was playing through a painful hand injury, irritated about his ice time, unfamiliar with his linemates and annoyed by a reintroduction to the Western Conference travel schedule.
That combination of factors can make for one grumpy old man. And the 38-year-old Whitney's statistics 13 games into the season -- no goals and 5 assists and no multiple-point games -- weren't doing much for the Coyotes, who spent $6 million to bring his skill and savvy to the desert for two years.
Signed as a free agent to jazz up the Phoenix power play and give the defense-first team a more dynamic presence, neither side was happy with the fit.
Whitney was playing through a painful hand injury, irritated about his ice time, unfamiliar with his linemates and annoyed by a reintroduction to the Western Conference travel schedule.
That combination of factors can make for one grumpy old man. And the 38-year-old Whitney's statistics 13 games into the season -- no goals and 5 assists and no multiple-point games -- weren't doing much for the Coyotes, who spent $6 million to bring his skill and savvy to the desert for two years.
Ovechkin feels fresher heading into stretch run
Monday, 02.07.2011 / 2:36 PM / Player Profiles
Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer
ARLINGTON, Va. -- There's a reason Alex Ovechkin says he feels fresher and lighter heading into the stretch run of this season compared to last season. It might be due to a conscious decision he made in the fall.
Ovechkin wouldn't come out and say it directly, but he hinted after Monday's practice that he made sure to keep some energy in his tank for the post All-Star break drive to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's not to say he wasn't playing hard and trying to be his best in the first 50 games of the season, but Ovechkin is consciously aware of what's important for him and the Capitals now that he's deep into his sixth NHL season.
It's no longer about personal statistics and individual awards.
"Of course I want to be on top, and of course I want to do my best, but the most important thing is to be in the playoffs and do what Chicago did when they won the Stanley Cup," Ovechkin told NHL.com.
Ovechkin wouldn't come out and say it directly, but he hinted after Monday's practice that he made sure to keep some energy in his tank for the post All-Star break drive to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's not to say he wasn't playing hard and trying to be his best in the first 50 games of the season, but Ovechkin is consciously aware of what's important for him and the Capitals now that he's deep into his sixth NHL season.
It's no longer about personal statistics and individual awards.
"Of course I want to be on top, and of course I want to do my best, but the most important thing is to be in the playoffs and do what Chicago did when they won the Stanley Cup," Ovechkin told NHL.com.
Raymond dishes on his highlight-reel goal
Wednesday, 01.12.2011 / 4:07 PM / Player Profiles
Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
"It's high-risk, high-reward. It's one of those things, the shootouts now are so creative, guys are doing things that I'm sure you wouldn't have imagined five years ago they were going to do. It's a move that if you can really get that goalie to bite, you do have the whole net to put the puck into." -- Mason Raymond
If so, it started with quite a bang Tuesday when he pulled out a sensational spin-o-rama for a shootout goal in a 4-3 win against the Islanders.
As Raymond crossed the blue line on his attempt, he skated through the right circle and then angled toward the net. As he neared the crease, he slammed on the brakes, spun back the other way, and as Islanders rookie goalie Kevin Poulin slid the wrong way, Raymond easily tapped the puck into an open net with his backhand.
"It's high-risk, high-reward," Raymond told NHL.com. "It's one of those things, the shootouts now are so creative, guys are doing things that I'm sure you wouldn't have imagined five years ago they were going to do. It's a move that if you can really get that goalie to bite, you do have the whole net to put the puck into."
Zuccarello already coming up big for Rangers
Thursday, 01.06.2011 / 4:30 PM / Player Profiles
Dave Lozo - NHL.com Staff Writer
The 5-foot-7, 174-pounder from Norway isn't a fan of the moniker -- and who would be? -- but after scoring his first NHL goal for the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, Zuccarello might be known for something other than his size.
The rookie curled in front of the net, waited for Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward to drop and, from just outside the crease, fired a shot into the top of the net with 1:51 left in overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory and whip the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy.
Couture has become key member of Sharks
Thursday, 12.23.2010 / 12:24 PM / Player Profiles
Larry Wigge - NHL.com Columnist
""I still feel like a rookie. I'm still learning the League. I'm still young and I'm learning all the stuff that comes along with being a rookie. I'd be lying if I would have said I'd have this many goals at his at this point in the season, but I've always been confident in the way I can play." -- Logan Couture
You have ask yourself whether you were ready for the experience, and what did you learn? Being an NHL player is kind of neat, but are you prepared to take the next step in your career? How serious are you?
You don't have to be around him for more that a few moments to learn Logan Couture has taken everything very seriously since he has joined the San Jose Sharks.
"The first thing I noticed about NHL players is that I had to get stronger. I was no longer playing every night against kids -- it was a game against men," said Couture, who played in 25 regular-season games plus another 15 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. "I had to be smarter, more mature, in every way I prepared for the game."
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