Meet & Greet with Joffrey Lupul

He might be busy getting worked in training camp, but ex-Duck-ex-Flyer-now-reDucked winger Joffrey Lupul made the time tonight to be interviewed by the OC Register and maybe about 100 readers who came to the Meet & Greet.


Lupes is the one on the left

The modest attendance made for an extra special intimate event for those who did show. Joffrey answered questions from OC Register columnist Jeff Miller, and then questions from the audience. Yours truly had one for him: "You don't know who you're going to be skating on a line with, but rumors have it that you'll be matched with [Teemu] Selanne and [Saku] Koivu. How do you feel about that?"

Joffrey: "As long as they speak English... I'm fine with it."

The crowd laughed and he cracked a smile.

Joffrey: "Seriously though, I think that would be great. I've played a lot against Saku, since he was in the Eastern Conference with us [Flyers] and he's going to be a fan favorite. He's not a big guy, but he plays well and the fans here are going to love him. And Teemu, I mean, he's amazing. I'd be honored to play alongside him. Especially since this might be his last year. Hopefully not, but I think he mentioned something about that. He's an incredible player, and he just keeps getting faster. I feel like he's a lot faster now than he was three years ago when I was last here."

(My quotes are approximated, I didn't have a recorder with me, nor did I take any notes. Just fiddling with the camera---in this case, Baby Rebel---is challenging enough for my multitasking abilities.)



Joffrey's answers were fun and lighthearted, he did well. I can imagine it might be a little intimidating to do such an interactive interview before the season even starts, with a new team. I say "new" because, as Joffrey pointed out, only five of the guys on the team were here when he last was: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, and J.S. Giguere.

He spoke about his feelings regarding getting traded back to Anaheim (to say he's okay with that is definitely an understatement), his earlier hockey days (he started playing at the age of 4), his enthusiasm for the season ahead with the Ducks, and some of the things he does in his spare time (he loves music and plays the guitar).

After all the questions had been answered, Joffrey took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with any and all of the fans that wanted to.





Again, another awesome Duck player who turns out to be a really nice guy. You can check out the Q&A interview from the OC Register here: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ducks-player-first-2568026-laughs-play

Start of Training Camp

There was an excitement in the air as nearly 1,000 fans gathered early Sunday morning at Anaheim Ice to get a glimpse of the new 2009 Anaheim Ducks. This would be the first time many of Bob Murray's off-season acquisitions would be seen wearing a Ducks logo, and the fans were very curious indeed.

A roar erupted as the first players appeared on the rink. Bobby Ryan, J.S. Giguere, Scott Niedermayer... Surely, on the opposite Olympic rink, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Co. were getting the same rousing welcome. There was more applause for our notable newcomers Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa on the NHL rink, and ex-Habs captain Saku Koivu on the Olympic rink.

Our boys opened with practice drills. They'd been divided into color groups, characterizing different lines. Later, they participated in two 40-minute scrimmages, during which they were divided into a white-jerseyed group and a black-jerseyed group.

In between the pipes, Jonas Hiller faced off against J.S. Giguere (the goaltender battle of the century). Timo Pielmeier, Justin Pogge, Marco Cousineau, and J.P. Levasseur rounded out the netminders.

After the scrimmages, there were more speed drills and skating laps. Even the goalies did laps in their full gear, pads and all. Looked like one heckuva workout!

Allow me to share a few observations/opinions about opening day and our new Ducks.

Regarding goaltending:

- Jiggy was looking pretty strong in goal. He's a man fighting for his job, that's for sure. Hiller held his own, and between them, they let in an equal number of goals (I believe it was just one each) for the day.

- Yours truly couldn't attend camp after day one (unfortunately, Duck blogging does not pay my bills), but had a Duck buddy armed with a texting cell phone to provide news and tidbits. Supposedly, Jiggy was more off his game on the second day, letting in five goals.

- Timo Pielmeier, one of the pieces of a trade made between the Ducks and Sharks back at the deadline, was looking very good in the crease. Good thing too, we lost both Travis Moen and Kent Huskins to the Sharks in that trade. Nothing against Justin Pogge, who is expected to take the #3 goaltender position, but yours truly thinks Pielmeier should get it.

Regarding defensemen:

- Luca Sbisa once again didn't disappoint. This kid is amazing out there! He's confident, poised, and exacting in his decisions on the ice. I'm very excited to see how he will be tomorrow night in the Ducks first preseason game.

- Steve Eminger, picked up as a free agent, looked good as well. I saw some solid skating and good speed.

- Brett Festerling was out there hitting everything that moved.

- James Wisniewski looked grittier than ever.

- Ryan Whitney appears to have picked up quite a few pointers from sharing the blue line with Chris Pronger last season. I'm excited to see just how much he's learned (hopefully, he didn't pick up Prongs' nasty elbow habit).

Regarding forwards:

- Evgeny Artyukhin lives up to his name as a BIG MAN. According to the roster, he clocks in at a monstrous 6'5" 254lbs, and he looks every bit of that on the ice. He was a steady skater with the puck and a solid wall in the corners. Guys were literally bouncing off of him trying to knock him away from the puck.

- Erik Christensen and Ryan Getzlaf played little, if any, game time during the scrimmages. Both are healing from summer surgeries.

- Saku Koivu. What can I say about Saku except that I was impressed and also not surprised. I already love the fact that we have him for a whole year.

- My boy Bobby Ryan, back again with those beautiful hands.

And now for some pictures!


Mike Brown and Arty


Jiggy in net


Shooting exercise


Justin Pogge in net


Saku!!


Getzlaf


Skating drill


Todd "The Warrior" Marchant


Hiller, ready to rock and roll


Corey Perry and Hiller


George Parros


Wiz


Getzy up close


Selanne up close


Look at those big grins!


The guys watch and listen as a play is diagrammed


Hiller up close


Bobby skidding to a halt


Ryan Carter


Petteri Nokelainen


Oh Captain, my Captain...


Joffrey Lupul


Carter screening Pielmeier


Lupes, Koivu, and Selanne... our possible new second line??


Saku giving Bobby fashion tips? Probably not...


Saku and Ebbett doing the tango at the faceoff dot

Training camp also serves as one of the best ways to meet the players.


"Bobby, Bobby!"


Ryan Whitney

But in some cases, it's more of a Duck Drive-Thru.


Erik Christensen


Mike Brown


Andrew Ebbett


George Parros

And in some cases, you get lucky.


Selanne and a fan


Hiller and yours truly

Hockey preseason starts Wednesday night at the Ponda. See you there? Go Ducks!!

Penguins in the White House

In about 10 hours, the Ducks will start training camp and everything around these parts will be Ducks, Ducks, DUCKS!!

But until then, I have one last chance to share a non-Ducks hockey moment, video from 2008-09 Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins visit to the White House. What do the Penguins and President Obama have in common?

Beats me, but let me know if you come up with something.



Even if you don't watch the whole thing, at least fast forward to about 5:40 and you'll get a good laugh. Keep an eye on Evgeni Malkin in the back row...

Final pieces

Anaheim Ice was this afternoon's location for the start of the Ducks rookie camp. Ryan Getzlaf participated in some of the early drills, testing his skates on the ice after sports hernia surgery earlier in the summer. Even if he doesn't play in the preseason games, I'm hoping Getzy will be back in top form by opening night.

Some notables graced today's rink, including Matt Belesky, Peter Holland, Luca Sbisa, Matt Clark, Nicolas Deschamps, Mike Mitera, and Timo Pielmeier. Yours truly didn't see enough of the camp to make any assessments on our Ducks' future prospects, but those with something to say about Sbisa echoed my previous Fedorin sentiments: The kid looks great out there. Can't wait to get him out on the ice with our Ducks.



Just when you thought GM Bob Murray had finished his offseason moves, he goes and pulls a few more. Most likely, to answer the Ducks' lack of left wingers, Murray traded Ducks right wing Jason Bailey for Ottawa Senators' left winger Shawn Weller. I don't know anything about either of these players, except that neither has broken into the NHL yet.

The Ducks might also pick up left winger Kyle Calder of the LA Kings. Calder signed a pro tryout agreement with the Ducks which will allow him to attend practices and prohibition games. Hmmm... a King in Duck Country, eh?

Lastly, Murray signed defenseman Steve Eminger to a two-year contract. According to the Ducks big wigs, Eminger is a good player..., despite the fact that he spent the duration of the 2009-09 season in three different jerseys. Sounds a little like a guy nobody wants. I hope I'm wrong about that.

How many defensemen do we now have competing for only a handful of slots? And how many of these guys have ever played together before?

Competition at training camp is going to be fierce, and after the dust settles, there had better be a lot of gelling between the players who make the roster. I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm thinking this is going to be a good year for our Ducks. And based on the crowds that were present today at rookie camp, I don't think I'm the only one!

Next stop: Training camp starts next Sunday at 9:45 at Anaheim Ice.

Fedorin Cup, 8-29-09

A quick birthday shout-out to Ducks veteran Scott Niedermayer, who turned 36 yesterday. Not that yours truly is in the habit of remembering our Ducks' birthdays, but Scotty is an exception because my birthday is also the same day.

And now, the real post for today.

As if Saturday's Shoot for the Cure wasn't enough hockey for Duck fans, they had simply to mosey on down to Anaheim ICE later in the afternoon for the 12th annual Fedorin Cup. Established originally in 1998 in memory of Eric Fedorin, a Californian hockey player whose life was cut short by brain cancer, the Fedorin Cup Game raises money for cancer charities. Hockey pros of the past and present play a friendly game of puck, prizes are auctioned and raffled off, and hockey fans gather in the spirit of giving and preseason excitement.

This year's Fedorin would be executed in a Team USA vs. Team Canada format, with plenty of current and former Ducks on the ice.


Team USA included Todd Marchant, Teemu Selanne, local boy Brian Salcido...


... Bobby Ryan and Mike Brown among others.


Team Canada included Dustin Penner...


... Andrew Ebbett, Brendan Mikkleson, and...


... Ducks new acquisition from the Philly Flyers, Luca Sbisa.

Luca received a warm welcome from the crowd in attendance. For a 19-year-old, the boy has a lot of Duck fans curious as to what kind of game he's going to bring to the ice. He's definitely got a size advantage: he was taller than expected. Given a few years to fill out, he'd at least have the look of a good d-man.



Phil Hulett did the honors of MCing the event. Great to hear his voice over the loudspeakers again!

The game got off to a great start, the players looked like they were just happy being back out on the ice again. The crowd fed off their enthusiasm.


Teemu wore a smile throughout the entire game!









At one point, Team USA was down by 5 goals. Things were looking bleak, players were getting desperate. Bobby took down Ebbett on a breakaway by wrapping his arms around Ebbett's waist. The two fell down, spinning in circles on the ice. The crowd laughed and applauded.

It wasn't until the 3rd period that Team USA made a stunning comeback, scoring goal after goal until it was 11-10 with less than a minute to go. Team Canada managed to tie things up right before the buzzer... and we went into overtime, with the winner to be decided via shootout.

In the end, it was Teemu who won it for Team USA. He took off at full speed towards the Team Canada goalie. As he wound up to shoot the puck, he tossed his glove at the goalie, who caught it and looked back at Selanne with a questioning gaze. And then Teemu merely popped the puck into the net.

The crowd roared and Team USA was announced the winner.


The ceremonial postgame handshake.


The players present a check for $5000 to Hockey Fights Cancer.



Hit the showers, Teemu. We'll see you soon. Only 15 days until the preseason starts!