JN AirMail: Janurary 18, 2016
8 years ago
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But we’ll start with a question asked in the comments of last week’s AirMail…
Michael asks: For the disallowed goal (versus the Sharks last Tuesday) it’s hard to tell but it seems
possible that Wheeler’s leg actually only hit Pavelski’s leg, which was
up against Stalock’s. If
this were the case, is that still incidental contact, by means of
another player, the same way you can have goaltender interference by
pushing a defender into the goalie? Again, if Wheeler never made direct contact, is it still possible to incur a tripping penalty?
possible that Wheeler’s leg actually only hit Pavelski’s leg, which was
up against Stalock’s. If
this were the case, is that still incidental contact, by means of
another player, the same way you can have goaltender interference by
pushing a defender into the goalie? Again, if Wheeler never made direct contact, is it still possible to incur a tripping penalty?
Let’s take care of this once and for all shall we?
As we saw on replays, Wheeler’s leg did in fact make contact with Stalock’s leg however briefly. Rule 69.4 (nice?) covers us in the event of something like this happening…
Blake may not have meant to tap the back of Stalock’s leg with his own, but the rule is pretty clear that any contact initiated by the player on the goalie is illegal and since Wheeler didn’t make any kind of effort to avoid contact, the refs made the right call.
The other part of this question is if it wasn’t Wheeler’s leg but Pavelski’s leg, would Blake have still been given a penalty? To me the wording of this rule at the start that states “initiates any contact” I believe would imply that if an player pushes or directs an opposing player into his own goalie, he still could have been called for an interference penalty.
Goalies are still well protected within the NHL rulebook (Maybe too much? That’s a debate for a different day) and even out of the net they are still considered to be untouchable.
Richard asks: Who would your top 5 Jets prospects be?
I’m going to make this list with one simple rule: No one playing in the NHL or AHL allowed on this list because if we counted those guys then it’s a simple case of Hellebuyck, Petan, Ehlers, Morrissey and Armia.
I’ll keep the list to non-pro players and start from number five, and keep in mind this is just my personal somewhat educated list.. Your list may vary (and if it does, we’d love to see it in the comments!)
5 – Jack Roslovic: 6′ 1″ center that the Jets took with the 25th pick overall in the 2015 draft. He has 9 goals and 18 points in 21 games played with Miami (Ohio) University this season. He still needs to fill out in the size department but could be a future top 9 forward.
4 – Jansen Harkins: He probably wouldn’t make many people’s top five for Jets prospects and my WHL bias may be showing through here, but I like this kid as a play maker. Playing for the Prince George Cougars where he has. He’s got good hands deceptively, good speed.
3 – Brendan Lemieux: Jets fans got a sample of what he could do last fall in the rookie camp and preseason run, he had a decent handful of games with Barrie of the OHL picking up 14 points in 11 games played, was traded to Windsor and has been on fire ever since with 14 goals and 21 points in 12 games played. I still think this kid and Armia makes the Kane trade to Buffalo a steal for Winnipeg.
2 – Michael Spacek: Again more WHL / CHL bias here but I’ve seen this kid live a few times now and I still have no idea how he fell to the Jets in the fourth round. He plays an exceptionally smart game and seems to be able to read the ice and find open areas incredibly well. I do worry he may not have the size to compete at higher levels so if he can fill out a bit more and the Jets take their time so he can get adjusted to the speed of the pro game, I think he’ll easily be a top six forward.
1 – Kyle Connor:
We still have no idea why US Hockey felt that leaving Connor, the best goal scorer and second best point scorer in the NCAA, off the World Junior team was an acceptable idea. Much like others are starting to wonder how this kid fell to 17th overall in the past draft. Left winger with 18 goals, 36 points in 21 games played with Michigan. He has good size, great hands… He’s going to end up in the NHL and depending on how the seasons go for both Winnipeg and Michigan, it could be as early as the end of this current season.
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