Sports Page Atlanta

With the 3rd overall selection, the Atlanta Thrashers select defensiveman Zach Bogosian.  He is a hard-nose player who is also a very good passer.  He had 50 assists last year and was the only OHL player to lead his team (Peterborough) in points.  He is a very smart player and could make the roster this upcoming season.

Here are some videos of him playing…

With their second pick, the 29th overall, the Thrashers went offensive and got center Daultan Leveille.  The lefty scored 29 goals for St. Catharines last season and added 14 more in the playoffs.  3 of those 14 were game-winners.

Stay tuned for Day 2 picks tomorrow…

John Anderson became the 4th head coach in Atlanta Thrashers history when he was promoted by the club on Friday.  Anderson has spent the last 11 seasons as head coach of the Chicago Wolves which has been the Thrashers main minor league affiliate.

Anderson’s Wolves won the AHL’s Calder Cup Championship last season.  His team also won the cup in 2002.  When the team played in the IHL, he won two cups as well in 1998 and 2000.  He won another cup as a head coach of the Quad City Mallards of the Colonial Hockey League in 1997.

Overall he has a regular season record of 506-283-99 and a postseason record of 105-60.  In 13 seasons as a head coach, Anderson’s team made the playoffs 12 times.

He played 12 seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers where he tallied 282 goals and 349 assists.

During his career in the junior ranks, he played for Don Wadell in San Diego in the 1992-93 season.

The Thrashers may not know who their coach is, but they know who their backup goalie is.

Johan Hedberg signed a 2-year contract to remain with Atlanta. Hedberg was 14-15-3 last season and has 89 wins in his 7-year career.

The Moose has won the Thrashers Player’s Player Award two times as the player who best exemplifies what a ‘team player’ is all about.

As y’all know, next Saturday is the NFL Draft and the Atlanta Falcons have the number 3 pick overall.

#3 to Atlanta should not seem strange to you…

Last year the Atlanta Hawks selected 3rd overall and got Al Horford.

Later this year the Atlanta Thrashers will be selecting 3rd overall in the NHL draft.

And the last time the Atlanta Braves had the 3rd pick overall in the MLB amateur draft was in 1988 when they picked Steve Avery.  One pick ahead of another former Brave Gregg Olson (the relief pitcher in 1994, not the catcher who spells his name Greg.)

The Atlanta Thrashers, instead of putting together a playoff run, decided to put together a fan appreciation highlight video. You can watch it here, or go to the Atlanta Thrashers website to see it.

Just like their next door neighbors the Falcons, the Atlanta Thrashers will have the 3rd pick of the draft. In a lottery drawn on Monday, Atlanta’s Southeast Division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning won and will pick first (which will most likely be center Steven Stampkos unless they trade it.) The Los Angeles Kings will pick second.

This will be the first time the Thrashers will select 3rd overall. Here is a list of the first picks in the team’s history…

• 1999: C - Patrik Stephan (1st overall)
• 2000: LW - Dany Heatley (2nd overall)
• 2001: LW - Ilya Kovalchuk (1st overall)
• 2002: G - Kari Lehtonen (2nd overall)
• 2003: D - Braydon Coburn (8th overall)
• 2004: D - Boris Valabik (10th overall)
• 2005: RW - Alex Bourret (16th overall)
• 2006: C - Bryan Little (12th overall)
• 2007: RW - Spencer Machacek (67th overall)

photo credit: Timmy!!one

The Atlanta Thrashers season is finally over.  On February 15th, the Thrash was 29-27-4.   They only won 5 of the next 22 games to finish the season 34-40-8 and 14th in the Eastern Conference.  Last season they were 43-28-11.

As a team, they were tied for 20th in scoring and dead last in allowing the most goals in the NHL. 

Here is a look at the individual leaders…

Goals scored — 

Ilya Kovalchuk - 52 (ties career-high)

Marian Hossa - 26 (he added 3 more with the Penguins)

Slava Kozlov - 17

Assists —

Ilya Kovalchuk - 35

Tobias Enstrom - 33 (4th among NHL rookies)

Eric Perrin - 33 (10 more than last year)

Power Play Goals —

Ilya Kovalchuk - 16 (tied for 6th in NHL)

Marian Hossa - 8

Todd White - 6 (tied for 2nd most of his career)

Penalty Minutes —

Eric Boulton - 127 (24th in NHL)

Chris Thorburn - 92

Bobby Holik - 90 (most as a Thrasher)

Wins —

Kari Lehtonen - 17 (4 shutouts)

Johan Hedberg - 14

Ondrej Pavalec - 3

Atlanta Thrashers defensivemen Niclas Havelid is up for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is for the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice. He was nominated by his teammates.

Havelid has missed just game this season and is one of the few Thrashers that actually is on the plus side in the plus/minus ratio.

Off the ice he has a program called ‘Havelid’s Helpers’ which involves the Habitat for Humanity group and assists in building homes and schools.
photo credit: Timmy!!one Danny Phillips