Odottamaton käänne - Kaikki hyvä loppuu kuukaudessa

Kyllä kannatti haastatella Kanadan eläviä. Aiempi Dan Stewartin haastattelu poiki vastauksen, jossa herra Stewart pyysi minua avustamaan Future Considerationsia Suomen alueen tarkkailussa, johon suostuin ennen ajatuksen häivää. Totta puhuakseni vastaavanlaisen pestin saaminen oli tämän blogin luonnin tarkotus: luoda nimeä ja kiinnittää jonkun alan ihmisen huomio. Tavoitteen toteutuminen kuukaudessa on lähinnä koomista!

Syy miksi lopetan blogin on sopimattomuus julkaista mielipiteitä suomalaisjunnuista, koska lähetän ne "yksinoikeudella" FC:lle. Ne olisivat olleet blogin perusta ja kun perusta otetaan pois niin päälle rakennettu romahtaa, luulen. Pitkälle ei päässyt, kun tekstien määrä lähentelee kävijöitten määrää, mutta hyvä kokemus tästä jäi ja toivottavasti pääsen laukomaan mielipiteitä suuremmalle yleisölle jonain päivänä.

Kiitos kaikille, jotka blogilla vierailivat.

US Hockey season preview part 1 - Interview with Kirk Luedeke

Kirk Luedeke of Red Line Report and the New England Hockey Journal weighs in on hockey and top prospects for the 2013 draft from his area of expertise which is the Northeastern part of the US.

Ville Meuronen: It was tragic loss for draft fanatics when you quit blogging on Bruins Draft Watch and joined Red Line Report. How was your first season with them?

Kirk Luedeke: Thank you. I enjoyed writing the draft watch blog, but being officially with Red Line Report after previously doing some side work with them has been a fantastic experience. Being around Kyle Woodlief and the rest of the RLR staff reminds me that there is a great deal about the game and players I don't know. Being in the rinks is a constant learning experience and so I'm looking forward to this next season getting underway. 

Overall draft preview - Interview with Dan Stewart

Future Considerations' Director of Scouting Dan Stewart shares his thoughts on the 2013 draft's top guns and overall talent.

Ville Meuronen: It seems every draft is highly touted a year before Draft Day. Do you think if it's just media hype or is it difficult to get proper read on players before their draft year?

Dan Stewart: Ville, hope springs eternal for most talent evaluators. Every year scouts and media types can get a little excited about who is coming down the pipeline next, and with good reason, as every year there is a handful of raw future NHLers yet unclaimed as NHL property. Many of these prospects have shown very well in direct competition against those who where under the draft year microscope or whom might already be drafted by NHL teams.

When most talent evaluators scout kids that are draft eligible in that specific season they really tend to dig in and tear the layers apart in regards to both the strengths and weaknesses of each specific prospect. But when we look at the talent ahead of their draft seasons, evaluators tend to instead dwell more on ones strengths and positives instead of really digging into the nitty-gritty; getting into both the positives as well as the negatives. This tends to lead many to over inflate some of the prospects in line for the following draft before they even hit the ice for their actual draft season.

Other times the hype is warranted and these prospects are really as good as advertised.