PuckLife magazine: Ben Maxwell

In December I wrote a piece on the Hamilton Bulldog's Ben Maxwell for PuckLife magazine. Just a few days ago, the Montreal Canadiens' prospect was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes.

This month I'v been assigned Emerson Etem, an Anaheim Ducks' prospect currently playing the the Medicine Hat Tigers. Let's hope Emerson has some sticking power, so I don't see all the players I interview get traded.

Here is the original version of the Ben Maxwell article. The published version, which you can read if you subscribe to PuckLife magazine, had some changes. I'm not posting the updated version for two reasons, one) I can't figure out how to copy the article out of the pdf-type file PuckLife magazine is distributed in and, two) as most writers will tell you: I didn't like the editor's changes.

Here, unaltered, is the Ben Maxwell article.

Ben Maxwell's master plan

Despite being stuck in the AHL with a two-way contract,
Maxwell's got the talent and drive to become a fixture in the NHL

There are a number of differences between the AHL and the NHL, many of them financial. Those financial differences often decide which league a player will start the season in. For North Vancouver
native Ben Maxwell, who was drafted 49th in 2006 by the Montreal Canadiens, a group of players with one-way contracts is the biggest reason he's putting in a third season for the Hamilton Bulldogs.


“I was looking to make the team this year, obviously it didn’t work out. There weren’t a lot of spots,” explained Maxwell. He has played only 20 games in the NHL in the past two seasons, despite his escalating success in the WHL and AHL since 2003. The key is that Maxwell has shown a solid ability to improve. He's averaging more than a point per game this year for the Bulldogs.


Another year in the AHL is probably not going to hurt Maxwell's development, but it's not going to do much for it either. Every game is now a try out for Maxwell, a chance to show the big club what he can do. The 22-year-old centreman definitely knows what they’re looking for. He spends his time in the AHL practising all the things his coaches – three in three years with Hamilton – preach. “Hockey players who are most effective in the NHL are usually the guys who are the two-way players, and can also put the puck in the net, and that’s what I strive to be,” says Maxwell, who's dreamed of the NHL since he was six years old, watching Pavel Bure play for the Canucks.


The Canadiens will give Maxwell a chance eventually, there's little doubt about that. The numbers he's putting up in the AHL must have Canadiens' GM, Pierre Gauthier, thinking about ways to make space for him. But like many young players on the Bulldogs, there's no rush for the Canadiens to bring Maxwell up. They're not looking to rebuild: they're coming off an improbable playoff run that saw them reach the Eastern Conference semi-finals and hope to continue that momentum this season.


So what's Ben Maxwell master plan? He's continuing to work, adding the strength and confidence that's needed to play full-time in the NHL. “Every young guy’s goal is to get a little stronger because in the NHL the guys are that much bigger and stronger,” says Maxwell. “I’ve got a little more confidence, and I think that’s a big thing in pro hockey, just finding your calm and cooling down out there and playing your game.”


He's has got the knowledge and the experience, the drive and the raw talent, now Ben Maxwell just needs some consistent playing time with the Canadiens to prove it. As he himself said, “There’s only a certain amount that the minor leagues can do to prepare you for the NHL.”

Jose Bautista signs 5-year contract with Blue Jays

Good? Bad? Ugly?

There are going to be opinions all over the place on this one, and the truth is we're not going to know if this was a good or bad deal for a little while yet. That doesn't mean everyone, including me, isn't going to speculate.

So far the Jay's GM, Alex Anthopoulos, has done a fine job. He's restocked the team's prospects, gotten rid of a couple of hefty salaries, and he's made the team a contender in the toughest division in baseball.

Few people thought Bautista would hit 54 home runs last year, setting a Blue Jays record and winning the Hank Arron Award in the process, and the bigger question is can he do it again. The frank answer is no. He's probably not going to hit 54 home runs this year, he probably won't even break 50. But that's not because he was a one-hit-wonder (or maybe 54-hit-wonder). Teams are aware of him now, they're gong to pitch him outside, walk him, throw at him, and generally try to avoid throwing him fast balls down the middle of the plate. That doesn't mean he can't hit 30 or 40 home runs. He may not match last year's success in the long ball, but he's going to earn his paycheck, that you can count on.

Not only is Bautista reputed to be one of the hardest working players on the team, he's well liked by management and the players around him.  Anthopoulos has earned my respect and, aside from what I already know about Bautista, if the Jay's GM says he's good enough to earn 64 million dollars over five years, I believe him.

Critics will say that one year does not make a player, and they're right, but those with a close eye could have predicted a break out year for Bautista last year. Firstly, he had finally settled down and was given consistent playing time in 2010. Between 2004 and 2010 Bautista played for five different teams. Secondly, his success started at the end of the 2009 season.

At the start of 2009, Bautista was on the bench, but during the season Alex Rios was claimed off waivers, Adam Lind move to the DH role, and Marco Scutaro was injured. By the end of the campaign, Bautista was a regular player.

Many fans are moving onto football by September since two of, Boston, New York, and sometimes Tampa Bay, have often clinched the playoff spots available to the Jays by fall, so it's no wonder that many didn't see Bautista hit 10 home runs in September of '09.

Consider also that the Jay's staff was pretty good about helping hitters find their swing in 2009. This year the coaches may be a bit more capable helping out pitchers than hitters, with Cito Gaston moving on and John Farrell coming in, but Bautista has already profited from Gaston and his crew's hitting advice. A couple adjustments to his swing and Bautista is putting up numbers that may see him considered for MVP this year.

If his numbers do decrease, how far do they have to drop before he's not worth his pay? He's not in the top 25 paid players in MLB, and he still makes less than Vernon Wells (now with the California, Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem). If he hits 30 home runs, keeps his great attitude, and keeps working hard he'll be well worth his pay. If he hits another 50 home runs, he'll be the best bargin in baseball.
This deal has worked out in both the player and the club's favour. Now Anthopoulos needs to get back at it and finish building a team around Bautista (and a few others already with the team of course) that can challenge the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, and those rhyming bastards, the Rays.

Versteeg to Flyers

So the Toronto Maple Leafs have regained a first round draft pick for the 2011 draft after trading their own away for Phil Kessel in a deal that left a sour taste in many fans' mouths. This first round draft pick is probably going to be a very late round pick whereas the Leafs' original pick is probably going to be around tenth overall.

The Leafs acquired Versteeg for Victor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico, and Philippe Paradis. Stalberg was a free agent Burke lured into the organization, DiDomenico was a sixth round pick and Paradis was chosen in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes and traded to Toronto for another first round pick, Juri Tlusty, who has logged AHL time this season and last, and has 9 points in 32 games this season for the 'Canes.

Any first round pick is good and this trade seems like it will be a good fit for both teams, but unless Toronto GM, Brian Burke, uses this first rounder to acquire another player it will look like a step backward. Not in the overall sense of the team's assets, but in will not help the team win now. What the Leafs lost in Kris Versteeg was a 24 year old, 50 point scoring, Stanley Cup veteran who possibly wasn't fitting in as well as Burke may have liked. What they gained was a pick that could turn into an equal or better (or worse) player in about two or three year's time, and a third round pick. A fine trade if the mandate was to rebuld.

Sure the team could wait another three years, Dion Phaneuf is only 25, Nazem Kadri is only 20, and any one else that really matters is younger than Phaneuf, but Burke isn't going to wait. There's already talk that he's got a buyer for that third round pick, and the first round pick may not survive long in this Cup challenged city either.

With the trade deadline coming it will be an exciting time for Leaf fans, as it almost always is. Burke has also stated that he intends to be active on July 1st, the first day of free agency. While Versteeg may not have worked out in the Blue and White, let's hope that Burke can find someone who can survive in Toronto and let's also hope he gets enough time to meld.

Islanders score 16 times in two games?

The most important news to come out of the NHL this past weekend was the New York Islanders miraculously scoring 16 goals in two games. Unfortunately, that's not what most sports writers decided to pay attention to on Monday morning. And why should they pay attention to hockey when there are more entertaining things to write about, like fighting.

This is basically what I saw happen Friday night in on Long Island in a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders: Trevor Gillies of the Islanders goes in for a hit on Eric Tangradi of the Penguins. As Gillies uses his elbow to give Tangradi a concussion, Tangradi pushes Gillies to the ice. Gillies, upset by the fact that he's been thrown to the ice, gets up and starts punching the concussed Tangradi in the head. So basically Gillies gives Tangradi a concussion and then tries to make it worse by punching and taunting the injured player.

This sets off a brawl in which many of the players square off including the Penguins's goalie, Brent Johnson, and Islanders's centre, Michael Haley. This fight has significance for two reasons: goalies rarely fight, and when they do it's usually other goalies, although not in this case; and Pittsburgh's Eric Godard came off the bench to protect his goalie from Haley.

Godard got a ten game suspension for coming off the bench automatically. I don't think coming off the bench is any near as despicable as using an elbow, but I understand the set suspension. What I fail to understand is Gillies only getting nine games for elbowing and punching his victim. Could you imagine if someone did that to someone else on the street? They would serve jail time, have a permanent criminal record, and have to go to anger management counselling.

It seems like head shots should be a very easy problem to solve, yet the NHL is reluctant to take appropriate action. Gillies used his elbow to concuss a player, and the sad thing is that it happens all the time. Matt Cooke did his best to end Marc Savard's career, and because he plays for the Penguins, the team isn't allowed to complain about Friday night's actions without looking hypocritical.

Penguins's owner, Mario Lemieux, said the league failed when they handed out their suspensions.

"The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed," he said. "We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.

"If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it."

He's not only being called a hypocrite due to these words, he's also being called a whiner.

Lemieux called the NHL a garage league in 1992 because of the hooking and holding. After that, the NHL successfully worked to get rid of the hooking and holding. Maybe people are scared that Lemieux is going to help rid the game of fighting. If they bad mouth him and make it look as though he's being a hypocrite the NHL is less likely to take what he says into consideration. Sounds like a good plan, the only problem is that Lemieux is right.

Matt Cooke may play for the Penguins, but they don't pay him to elbow people, Lemieux certainly doesn't. Teams like having rough and tough players, they perform a role that is necessary to winning, but they also have a negative side.

When you pay a player 8 million dollars a year to score it means you have fewer players on that team capable of scoring at a regular pace. When the 8 million dollar superstar becomes mired in a slump, the team suffers because they don't have adequate backup scoring. That's the downside to a highly payed sniper. The downside to a rough checker is that once in a while he throws an elbow. Teams should be allowed to employ them without wanting the elbows just like teams employ snipers without wanting the scoring slumps.

There is one sure fire easy way to stop this nonsense, yet the NHL is perhaps a bit too weak to do it. Don't suspend Gillies for 9 games, he'll be back in three weeks, head hunting again. Instead suspend him for the rest of the year. If he sits out the remaining 20 something games he'll probably be less likely to elbow someone in the head next season and someones career will be saved.

Fighting is one thing, although every time there's a fight all I can think about is which one is going to smash his head on the ice, but elbowing and head shots are deplorable. The NHL thinks so, at least that's what they say, but putting words into action, in this case, doesn't seem to be one of their strengths.

Is there a game this Sunday?

Not every Super Bowl is an exciting game, but every Super Bowl is exciting. Especially for corporations and celebrities who use the game as a popularity contest. How much does ad space cost this year? Which ad will be viewed the most on youtube? Which celebrity will flash the crowd a part of their body they didn't pay to see?

I look forward to seeing these ads, among other things, of course, but more importantly I look forward to what should be an awesome game.

There are no Cinderella teams this year, sorry Seahawk fans, just two tough teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, that should keep the game close and exciting.

Arron Rodgers of the Packers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers are among the best quarterbacks in the league with ratings of 101.2 and 97 in the regular season respectively. Pittsburgh has an advantage in the running game on both sides of the ball, but Green Bay's secondary will be looking to make up the difference.

Both these teams have played well in their playoff games so far. Pittsburgh beat the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets to win the AFC, and Green Bay beat, the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and the  Chicago Bears to win the NFC.

Aside from the commercials, the half-time show, and the game itself, there is also the gambling. Other than a few bucks on game day among friends, I don't put any money down on the game even though you can bet on just about anything you can imagine. Will Fergie pull a Janet Jackson? There are probably odds on that somewhere, but it's not a bet I would take.

I will of course make extensive and bold predictions that I will proudly brag about if I get right and totally ignore if I get wrong. So here goes:

Although I am a Packers fan and will be cheering for them while eating copious amounts of cheese on Sunday, I'm going to call a 34-31 Steelers victory.

I'm also going to call three interceptions, two from Big Ben and one from Rodgers.

Rashard Mendenhall will rush for between 85 and 95 yards and score at least two touchdowns.

There will be only one fumble all game, and it will be made by a wide receiver.

There will be three successful field goals and one missed attempt.

There will be one touchdown scored by either a kick off return or an interception. No punts will be returned for more than 10 yards.

The half time score will be 17-20.

And finally, I have to call something bizarre, an offensive lineman will catch a touchdown pass.

Depending on how many of these predictions I get right I will be revisiting this post next week.

Have a fun Sunday.