From The Rink: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Steve McNair Dead - Former NFL QB Shot and Killed


spread the word

Kings release Moller to world juniors

The Los Angeles Kings have re-assigned forward Oscar Moller to the Swedish Junior National Team for participation in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships --which will be held Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ottawa -- and have recalled forward Trevor Lewis from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Moller is one of four Kings players/prospects scheduled to play in the upcoming World Junior Championships. Moller (Sweden) joins defenseman Thomas Hickey (Canada), defenseman Colten Teubert (Canada) and defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (Russia) in the prestigious tournament. In addition, forward Andrei Loktionov has been invited to participate in Team Russia’s camp for this event.

>> team release

A great move by the Kings, one that more teams should really think about doing. What sense is there in having a teenager sit on an NHL bench when he could be playing against top competition for a gold medal?

Moller is averaging about 13-14 minutes a game this season, but has seen his ice time really drop in December. He still has six goals and 13 points on the year, so this isn't a completely insignificant loss.

Some players have already been sent down and will play in the tournament. Zach Boychuk, a Hurricanes prospect, and Alex Pietrangelo, from the Blues, both will skate for Canada, for example.

Sixteen players that are eligible to play in this tournament have played at least one game in the NHL, a group that includes Steve Stamkos (13:47 ice time, minus-12, three goals in 30 games), Kyle Turris (12:50 ice time), Jakub Voracek (11:53), Josh Bailey (15:24), Colton Gillies (8:51) and Brandon Sutter (10:50). Atlanta's Zach Bogosian is also eligible for Team USA, but he's still out with an injury.

Sam Gagner, Luke Schenn, Drew Doughty, Mikkel Boedker and Luca Sbisa are all playing key roles on their team but could technically play for their home countries.

There's no question in my mind at least Bailey and Gillies should be there. Why teams insist on pushing 18- and 19-year-olds these days is beyond me.

0 recs | Comment 4 comments | Add comment | Share on Facebook Digg!

Story-email Email Printer Print

More from From The Rink

Meet the YoungStars

Jan 2009 by James Mirtle - 12 comments

Canada golden again

Jan 2009 by James Mirtle - 13 comments

Comments

Display:

Sbisa and Boedker

Sending these two to represent their countries would be counterproductive, as Switzerland and Denmark are at the Div. 1 stages this year, not the main event. In fact, they’d be at those tournaments right now as they run before Christmas.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 18, 2008 2:02 PM CST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

They’re both NHL-calibre players anyway. Boedker looks phenomenal.

by James Mirtle on Dec 18, 2008 2:07 PM CST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

The trend towards younger players is entirely cap and CBA related. With the cap in place, teams need to get production out of players on affordable contracts. Nothing says affordable quite like a rookie in the first year of his entry level deal. If that kid can produce at the same level as an older veteran, then you should keep the kid. This is especially true when you consider that unrestricted free agency now starts as young as 25. You have to make your hay while the sun shines with young players, because by age 25 they may become too expensive to keep.

by Sea Otter on Dec 18, 2008 9:12 PM CST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Except they’d be UFAs at 27 if they stayed in junior for the two extra years, and with most players, their 20-27 years are going to be better than their 18-25 years.

by Doogie2K on Dec 20, 2008 12:02 PM CST reply reply actions actions   0 recs


User Tools

Welcome to James Mirtle's SB Nation hockey blog


Start posting on From The Rink »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
The Surplus Value of Draft Picks

Recent FanPosts

Small
Gomez to le Habs for Higgins et al.
Small
Bill Guerin Re-signs
Small
The Entry Draft, Argentine Mistresses, Jon & Kate, Iran and Jacko
Small
Glen Sather saying what's on his mind.......
Small
"I am Canadien$", brothers announce
Illusions
Winter Classic 2010- Doubling up?
643c0d9c_small
Player Watch: Defunct Franchise Alumni
Markstadiumoutside_small
Trivia Question...?
Small-logo_small
Stanley Cup final Game 7 transcript: Mike Babcock

Post_icon New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini

Blog extras

"Mirtle's performance during this year's Trade Deadline became its own tribe in Brazil."



View blog authority Google PageRank  		Checker - Page Rank Calculator

(c) 2008 James Mirtle. This blog is a personal project and not affiliated with The Globe and Mail.

counter customisable


Blogger-in-chief

Small-logo_small James Mirtle

Authors

Jp_avatar_2_small J.P.

Moderator(s)

Ppp_logo_small PPP

Official Partner of Yahoo! Sports