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Leaf Rumours

Should've signed with the Leafs. Would've been a nice fit with Grabo on the 3rd line.



There's a lot to like about Mats Zucarello-Aasen, the 23-year-old Norwegian who signed with the New York Rangers this summer. But, as he tries to earn a spot in the NHL, the cards are stacked against him.

Rangers coach John Tortorella tells the New York Daily News that "The Norwegian Hobbit" can play on either wing, which improves him chances of making the club. But the News' Jesse Spector writes that the wing spots on the top two lines are filled with veterans, and it makes little sense to put him on a checking line. Also, they won't want to put him on the fourth line, where he'd have little opportunities to learn the North American game.

So, unless MZA simply dazzles at camp, the Rangers may send him down to the minors, and only call him up if they need an offensive boost in the middle of the season.
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Leafs' Bozak and Kessel take friendship on the ice
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke...ak-and-kessel-take-friendship-on-the-ice?bn=1

Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel have developed a fast and fun friendship ever since the two became teammates on last season’s Leafs team.

On Wednesday, that friendship took on a new characteristic – a nickname given by teammates.

“Yeah, they're inseparable, we've started calling them Bert and Ernie," said Leafs defenceman Mike Komisarek, referring to the roommate characters on Sesame Street.

While Bozak and Kessel have been having fun so far in training camp, the serious part of their friendship will be tested Wednesday night when they see their first game action of the new season in a preseason contest with the Ottawa Senators.

The two will be paired with Nik Kulemin, reuniting of last season's top line. That trio played well together over the final month of the season, and now, with goal scoring a big issue for the Leafs this season, the line is being asked to lead the club offensively.

“Sure, we'd like to build on what we had last year,” Kessel said. “We (himself and Bozak) hang out a lot and anytime you have fun with someone, it makes it easier on the ice.”

Bozak and Kessel both had rough starts to the 2009 season, and both have spent the off-season in personally-tailored training programs. The results have been noticeable in the early stages of camp.

Bozak experienced health problems early last season, contracting an illness that left him weak and unable to eat properly. He lost more than 10 pounds, and finished the season fighting to regain that weight.

“I got back up to 175 pounds (by the end of the season) and now I'm back around 195, which is where I should be,” said Bozak, who credited Leafs strength coach Anthony Belza with guiding him through his off-season training.

Kessel missed the first 12 games of the season with a shoulder injury, but still came back to score 30 goals and 55 points in 70 games for the Leafs.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson, while not given to making predictions for players, felt his top duo could improve on last year's numbers.

“Bozak is stronger, he's more prepared for the battle ... if Phil scores 40, then Tyler should be in on a lot of them,” Wilson said. “So maybe 50, 60 points would be a good season for Tyler. And I'm sure he can build on that too."
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I think that's really good to see given the rampant speculation that Kessel was really disliked in Boston. We haven't seen a sliver of indication that this is the case here; exactly the opposite actually.
 
Kessel is a dorky kindda guy who wouldn't really win any charisma award but you usually wouldn't mind having a friend like that.
 
hockeylover said:
I think that's really good to see given the rampant speculation that Kessel was really disliked in Boston. We haven't seen a sliver of indication that this is the case here; exactly the opposite actually.
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There were never any problems.

Boston management just had to come up with excuses for why they would trade their 20 year old leading goal scorer.

I still haven't seen any quotes from any players who bad mouthed Kessel or claimed he was a bad teammate.
 
Uhhh....aren't Bert and Ernie gay?

Just saying.

3929959851_e1e71f94b3.jpg
 
I don't understand how someone liking the taste of cack has any relevance in the amount of talent or chemistry they may have for the sport of hockey. Maybe it's just me.
 
Kessel is a dorky kindda guy who wouldn't really win any charisma award but you usually wouldn't mind having a friend like that
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I met Kessel during the Olympics and he was nice enough to stop for a picture, although it took some persuading. He's just a shy guy, just his nature. It probably made him come off looking like a dick at times.
 
Or maybe he is just a dick?

Or maybe he is just some regular dude that hates people he doesn't know bothering him for pictures and autographs.
 
Did you find him as incredibly awkward as I did?

I met him at a private event at my school campus when he had just been traded here. He was really nice but man, he's awkward. It's a good thing he's a hockey player, not sure that'd work with the ladies.
 
Bozak finds fast friend in Kessel

If things had turned out just a little bit differently in the spring of 2009, Tyler Bozak could have been in an Ottawa Senators jersey on Wednesday night, setting up former University of Denver teammate Patrick Wiercioch for shots from the point as he did so many times in college.

Ottawa ended up the runner-up for Bozak when 28 NHL teams came calling for his services as a free agent, despite Wiercioch, a skilled defenceman drafted by the Sens, making a pitch for his friend to join him.

A year and a half later and just 37 games into his NHL career, Bozak is pencilled in as Toronto’s top line centre and has a new pal in two-time 30-goal man Phil Kessel.

Their teammates are already taking note of their bond.

“Him and Bozie are inseparable,” defenceman Mike Komisarek said. “Those guys are always around each other, always hang out. Started calling them Bert and Ernie the other day.”

“It’s weird, but right when I came up here, we got to know each other pretty well off the bat,” Bozak said. “We’ve just got a lot of the same interests.”

Kessel and Bozak also share the same agent in Newport Sports’ Wade Arnott, who said the two were familiar with each other prior to last season. It wasn’t until they were paired together in January, however, that their friendship took off.

It’s a relationship that has helped Bozak acclimate to the NHL and earn a first-line role as Kessel’s go-to setup man despite his relative inexperience.

“He helps me out a lot,” Bozak said. “He tells me what it’s going to be like. The teams we play against, the guys we’re going to be up against, what their tendencies are. He’s seen it a lot more than I have.”

They were together again Wednesday night, on the ice with linemate Nikolai Kulemin for Toronto’s first two goals in a 4-1 preseason win over the Senators. Bozak went pointless in the game, but played on both special teams units and moved the puck well.

General manager Brian Burke said Wednesday that Bozak has “great upside” and that the Leafs will likely go into the season with Kessel, Bozak and Kulemin as a set first line. The trio combined for 79 points in 36 games together after Bozak was recalled from the minors last season, and Bozak assisted on 10 of Kessel’s 16 goals in that span.

Coach Ron Wilson said Bozak could end up with 50 or 60 points, numbers that aren’t unreasonable given Toronto’s lack of other options up front. He will get plenty of ice time and could be in line for a hefty raise when his contract expires next summer if he can produce.

“Phil wants the puck all the time and I think he’s got Bozie in his back pocket with that right now,” Wilson said. “That’s smart of Phil to do that – you want to play with somebody who’s going to give you the puck all the time. That’s right now the most compatible player for him to play with.”

Bozak said he and Kessel kept in close contact this summer and agreed to come to Toronto a month early to train together. Both are former National Collegiate Athletic Association stars who left school early to join the NHL, but Kessel did so as an 18-year-old, fifth-overall pick.

Almost two years his senior, Bozak took a longer route – going undrafted because he was 5 foot 9 at 18 – and was almost 24 before landing in the NHL full time. Bozak said Wednesday he remembers watching Kessel’s career closely, when he was still with the Victoria Grizzlies in Junior A and miles away from NHL stardom.

It’s still a bit surreal now serving as his linemate and friend.

“When I was playing college, he was still getting talked about by other guys for how good he was in Minnesota,” Bozak said. “And then watching him play in the NHL and seeing how many goals a young kid like that can score, it’s pretty amazing now being able to play with him and be good buddies with him.”

Arnott said he wasn’t surprised Bozak has meshed quickly with his new team.

“He’s a character,” Arnott said. “He’s a practical joker at times, he likes to keep guys on their toes. But very genuine, very team oriented. Everywhere he’s gone, teammates love this guy. Obviously on the ice but even as much off the ice. I don’t hear a thing negative about him ever.

“He comes across as a kind of an aw-shucks, team guy, but he’s a pretty intelligent person. And player. I think you see that on the ice.”
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bozak-finds-a-fast-friend-in-kessel/article1719667/
 
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