Today's News Clips May 22, 2018
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Today’s News Clips May 22, 2018 Chicago Tribune IceHogs forward Victor Ejdsell willing, ready to answer the call Jimmy Greenfield May 21, 2018 It isn't very easy getting Victor Ejdsell on the phone, not that he isn't willing to talk. It's just that the Swedish forward wasn’t sure how much time he would be spending in North America and hasn’t upgraded his cell phone plan. “It has been stupid,” he said with a laugh. Nearly two months after arriving in Chicago from Stockholm and making his debut with the Blackhawks, Ejdsell’s return home has been put on hiatus because of the success the Rockford IceHogs are having in the Calder Cup playoffs. They swept their first two series with seven straight victories, in large part because of Ejdsell’s three game-winning goals that included a series-clinching overtime score in the first round to eliminate the Wolves. The IceHogs dropped the first two games of their best-of-seven conference final against the Texas Stars that picks up again Tuesday night with Game 3 in Rockford. The whirlwind for Ejdsell began last May when he agreed to an NHL entry-level contract with the Predators and, by virtue of that decision, rejected the Blackhawks, one of three teams he was considering that also included the Red Wings. Having apparently decided on his own short-term future, Ejdsell went to training camp in July to prepare for the upcoming season with his Swedish Hockey League team. But on Feb. 26, while in the process of leading the league in scoring, he received word the Blackhawks hadn’t quite given up on him. The Hawks had acquired Ejdsell, who turns 23 next month, and the Predators’ first- and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft for forward Ryan Hartman and a fifth-rounder. It was a trade that surprised Ejdsell but also gave him plenty to smile about. “I turned them down and they still tried to get me and wanted me,” he said. “You get a good feeling from that. It makes you feel like you're important.” After playing in the Blackhawks’ final six games of the season and tallying one assist, Ejdsell joined the IceHogs for the tail end of their regular season. First-year IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton, who coached against Ejdsell in the SHL last season, sees Ejdsell as a difference-maker who draws in defenders and can score from all over the ice. Ejdsell’s 11 shots on goal in the playoffs are far off the team lead but he scored on a ridiculous five of his first seven shots. It has been an adjustment for Ejdsell playing on the narrower North American rinks, just as it is for many European players who grow up accustomed to playing on 100-foot wide rinks. Losing 15 feet means there’s less room to play with the puck and decisions have to be made faster. “He’s still young and he’s a big boy (6-foot-5, 214 pounds) so sometimes those guys take a little more time to grow into their body,” Colliton said. “When you look at him in five years his body will look a little bit different. So that will help. “The other part of it is how you play, thinking quicker, responding quicker, reaction when the puck turns over from offense to defense or defense to offense. That can allow you to be quicker to loose pucks and get to battles on time and then you start winning a few more and then you have the puck more and the game becomes easier.” Ejdsell's girlfriend came over with him when he first arrived but she returned to Sweden a month ago. Living on his own in a hotel has been made much more palatable with the help of teammates like John Hayden and Lance Bouma, who he said have been taking really good care of him and give him rides to the rink and back each day. Being on a winning team has helped, too. “We have speed, we have skill and everything you need to be a winning team,” Ejdsell said. “The group is very close to each other. It's like coming to the rink every day and everybody has a smile on their face happy to be there and enjoying the time we had. Everything has just been clicking for us.” Daily Herald Rozner: Vegas Golden Knights' trip to Cup Final no miracle Barry Rozner May 21, 2018 It's good to have stars. Even better to have superstars. Any sport, any time, and no one in their right mind would argue otherwise. But you have to hand it to the Vegas Golden Knights. Unless you count goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury -- who has played like the star he once was this postseason -- the Golden Knights have reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence and they have done it with a roster filled to the top with role players. Perhaps a better way to phrase it would be that the Knights have stunned the hockey world this season with players who fully understand and embrace their roles. Do not confuse the two properties. No disrespect intended. In fact, it's precisely the opposite. But their top line would be a good second line on a good team, and their next three lines are filled with third- and fourth-line players. What makes it all work is they get a fourth-line effort from all four lines, and that's the difference between Vegas and most every NHL team. Yes, they are fast. In a league where speed matters more than ever, the Knights are the fastest team, 1 through 18. They are fast in all three zones, and their backpressure is unmatched. That's just effort. And it quickly became the identity of a group that had few players who had ever been together before training camp nine months ago. They catch you from behind and it makes you feel slow, especially when you're getting that effort not just from their fourth line, but from all four lines. Their forwards support their defense better than any team in the league, which allows the defense to be involved in the offense, knowing the forwards will backcheck like madmen. That allows the Golden Knights to play fast in transition, turning defense into offense better than any team in the NHL. And when they make a mistake, they get great goaltending from Fleury. It's an amazing combination for a team that was 500-1 to win the Stanley Cup before the season. But it's not an accident and it's not a miracle. Sure, they got some breaks because of the expansion rules this time around, but when you pay $500 million for a franchise you probably deserve to be something better than a doormat the first 10 years. When the Wild and Jackets had their first chance in 2000 -- after an $80 million fee -- teams were allowed to protect up to 15 players. This time, it was only 11 and the Golden Knights were not drafting against another expansion team. Vegas also had months to negotiate with NHL teams, while the Wild and Jackets had 5 minutes to make a selection. All the extra time gave Vegas a chance to deal with teams afraid of losing players. Just one example is Vegas promising not to take Minnesota's Jonas Brodin, instead trading for former first-rounder Alex Tuch and then drafting Erik Haula. They got two good players in Florida's Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, got William Karlsson from Columbus and there's your top line. Yes, they have some good players and they got some breaks along the way, but the key is that motivated players with a chip on their shoulders believed in coach Gerard Gallant, who stressed that they all mattered and then proved it by consistently rolling four lines. This generation of players will play hard for you if you are consistent with your message and your actions. So if you ask players to play fast, not only do you have to give them meaningful minutes throughout the season and playoffs. You also can't play fast if you're not playing, and the top lines can't play fast every shift if they're playing 25 minutes. That balance has made the difference in close games. What you also have here is GM George McPhee hiring good people and letting them do their jobs, which is not always the case in the NHL. He brought in assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, VP Murray Craven, player personnel director Vaughn Karpen and pro scout Kelly Kisio -- all highly respected in the game -- and they went out and found these players. When asked about the Golden Knights' success a few days ago, McPhee deflected the credit and said it was his staff that did the traveling and scouting and is the reason for the current roster. Now these players, coaches and front office members from all these different corners of North America and beyond have come together in a single season and gone further than some teams go in decades. The result is "The Misfits" are in the Stanley Cup Final. It's an incredible story. But it's no miracle. The Athletic Behind the Save: Blackhawks goalie prospect Collin Delia becoming a commanding presence Cat Silverman May 21, 2018 At one point this year, Collin Delia didn’t play a game for an entire month – at any level.