In sending Nikita Filatov back to Russia, the Columbus Blue Jackets have conceded that their 18-year-old hotshot isn't ready for the NHL.

The Phoenix Coyotes reached a simlar conclusion with Kyle Turris a few weeks ago, shipping last year's heralded rookie to the American Hockey League.

That kind of patience is increasingly rare in today's NHL, where so many teams can't face reality: their over-hyped kids aren't ready to conquer the world.

The current youth movement dates to 2005, and the end of the lockout.

The "new" NHL got a jump start from one of the all-time great rookie classes.

Ovechkin, Crosby, Carter, Getzlaf, Boyes, Richards, Keith, Vanek, Perry... all arrived with immediate impact.

Since then, the leap from junior hockey to the NHL has become commonplace. No more wasted years in the minors. The modern prospect is NHL-ready on arrival.

Plus, he arrives with a dirt-cheap, entry-level contract. Very attractive in these salary-capped times.

But the youth movement ain't all it's cracked up to be. Consider a few prominent examples:

• Carey Price. (20-year-old rookie in 2007-08)
  Asking him to be a goaltending hero at that age goes down as one of Bob Gainey's brutal mistakes as GM of the Montreal Canadiens. Jury's still out on whether he'll ever be a true number-one goalie.

• Steve Mason. (20-year-old rookie in 2008-09)
  The Rookie of the Year is off to a wobbly start in Columbus. Is it ridiculous to suggest a year or two in the minors might have produced a more consistent goalie?

• Sam Gagner. (18-year-old rookie in 2007-08)
  Thrown into the Oilers' lineup as an undersized teenager. Is it any wonder he's still trying to find his game?

• Dion Phaneuf. (20-year-old rookie in 2005-06)
  Performance has yet to match the world-class hype that greeted his arrival. Skilled but erratic. Another guy who could have used a year or so in the minors.

• Luke Schenn (pictured). (19-year-old rookie in 2008-09)
  Desperate to give fans hope for the future, the Maple Leafs showcased Schenn by giving him a regular job straight out of junior hockey. Now he's this season's favorite whipping boy.

Developing and nurturing a prospect is one of a core functions of an NHL team. Maybe the experts are convinced that on-the-job training is the best way to bring a guy along, no matter how ugly it sometimes looks.

But the results in many cases look mixed (Phaneuf), ineffectual (Schenn), or downright disastrous (Price).

(Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The Floundering Youth Movement originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 12:36:16.

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"They Shamed Their Country"
- Front page headline in Sweden, Feb. 21, 2002. The accompanying article included photos of every player on the Olympic hockey team, identified by name and NHL salary.

A great upset requires more than an unlikely winner and a shocked loser.

The truly historic upset needs a big stage and a memorable defining moment.

It has to tell a story that "no scriptwriter would ever dare," as broadcaster Al Michaels once said.

If it was any other tournament, if the game hadn't been so close, if there hadn't been so much at stake, Belarus beating Sweden might have been nothing more than a mild surprise.

Just a bad day at the office for the Swedes. These things happen.

But the stage was the 2002 Winter Olympics. And the defining moment was the ugliest of winning goals.

The Swedes looked to be the class of the field at Salt Lake City, and their strong preliminary round earned them a favorable draw in the quarterfinals.

The path through the medal round looked promising; the gold medal was in view.

Then came Belarus.

What an unforgettable afternoon it turned out to be. You could almost feel the hockey world hold its breath as that fateful puck bounced high off the head of goaltender Tommy Salo.

"It was luck. It was like the [Australian] short-track skater. Everybody fell down and he got first. Basically the same thing happened here."
- Ruslan Salei, the only NHL player on the Belarus team, on their victory over Sweden.

History isn't fair. Everyone remembers Salo looking foolish in 2002. Not nearly as many recall him leading Sweden to Olympic gold in 1994.

And we should acknowledge that several other members of the 2002 Swedish team stuck around to claim their redemption four years later.

But for an entire generation of hockey fans, the phrase "Sweden-Belarus-Tommy-Salo" will always be the very definition of stunning upset.

See also:
Team of the Decade
Olympic Hockey History
Olympic Hockey History in Photos

(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Upset of the Decade originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 13:06:56.

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The Red Wings are the obvious choice, and with good reason.

In a funny way, the frequency of disappointment in Detroit is a sure sign of how good this team has been.

The Wings have been on the wrong end of some huge playoff upsets. Their recent opening-round flops include 2001 (to Los Angeles), 2003 (Anaheim), and 2006 (Edmonton).

When you're a championship contender every year, an occasional stunning defeat is inevitable.

Don't feel too badly for Detroit fans. Their decade also included three trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a pair of championships.

Going back to the turn of the century, no other franchise comes close to matching the Wings' 82-game consistency, or the frequency with which they followed it up in May and June.

See also:
Detroit Red Wings Franchise Profile
The Story of the Detroit Octopus
Origin of Detroit's "Winged Wheel" Logo

Photo: Goaltender Dominik Hasek contemplates a Red Wings tradition during the 2002 Stanley Cup Final. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

Team of the Decade originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 00:58:57.

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Until now, Ryan Malone was outside looking in. But 10 goals in 15 games cannot be ignored, so he's the latest addition to our projected Team USA men's Olympic roster.

Now that he's healthy and playing again, Joe Pavelski also makes the cut.

Meanwhile, Mike Komisarek has played his way off the team, and David Booth is a concussion casualty until further notice.

With so many quality American players emerging these days, the management group is facing some youth-versus-experience decisions. Just how young should this team be?

The team will be named on New Year's Day, during the NHL's annual Winter Classic game.

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Youth vs. Experience: The Updated Team USA Roster originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 00:59:30.

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Based on early returns from this NHL season, we've revisited our projected Team Canada men's Olympic roster.

Among the latest changes: welcome aboard, Martin St. Louis (pictured) and Patrick Marleau.

Simon Gagne's surgery puts an end to his chances, and Vincent Lecavalier has played his way out of a job.

The team will be named on New Year's Eve.

Belarus: December 23
Russia: December 25
Sweden: December 27
Latvia: December 29
Norway: December 29
Slovakia: December 29
Czech Republic: December 30
Finland: December 30
Germany: December 30
Switzerland: December 30
Canada: December 31
USA: January 1

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Updated Team Canada Olympic Roster originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 00:18:32.

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I never thought I'd be arguing this, but maybe it's time to put some legal interference into the rulebook.
- Elliotte Friedman, CBC.ca

"There are more high-impact collisions due to a faster game... collisions in the NHL have never been this huge."
- Pierre McGuire, TSN.ca

It's been said that journalists follow stories like birds on a wire. If one leaves, they all leave. If one comes back, they all come back.

The McGuire and Friedman comments appeared this week, with columnist Eric Duhatschek making similar noises.

A few days earlier, it was ex-player Bill Berg raising the "speed" issue on the NHL Network, a day after it was discussed on HNIC Radio.

All reached the same conclusion:

Without holding and hooking, hockey players are out of control, charging into each other like runaway freight trains.

It's a convenient blanket argument - Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray is convinced - but it doesn't hold up.

The hit that caused David Booth's concussion had some speed behind it.

But Darcy Tucker was a victim of plain, old dirty hockey. Willie Mitchell was gliding from the penalty box when he leveled Jonathan Toews.

And names like Eric Lindros and Pat Lafontaine are a reminder that brain-rattling hits have been around much longer than today's speedier brand of hockey.

If head shots are the problem, more hooking isn't the solution.

As for the recent spurt of other injuries, we've seen it before.

Hockey's a rough game. Sometimes injuries come in bunches.

The current cluster is making headlines only because it includes so many star players.

Until someone finds a prolonged spike in the numbers, there's no trend, and no reason to slow the game down.

(Photo: Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

The Campaign for Slower Hockey originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 00:49:25.

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It's tempting to dismiss October as the NHL's silly season, a time of unlikely trends that can't possibly continue.

Consider the head-scratching results from the month just ended:

Colorado ruling the Western Conference, while Detroit muddles along in 10th place.

Avs goaltender Craig Anderson (pictured) and Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec playing like All-Stars, as masked heroes like Tim Thomas in Boston and Steve Mason in Columbus struggle to find the puck.

And check out the names near the top of the scoring race: Anze Kopitar? Patrick Marleau? Dustin Penner?

We've seen this before. Last season at this time, the Rangers were off to their best start ever. That didn't add up to much.

Remember 2007, When the Leafs were one of October's highest-scoring teams? Or 2006, when Maxim Afinogenov challenged for the October scoring lead? You just can't trust that month.

Not so fast.

For every early-season trend that wilts with the first snow, there's another that settles in and holds up until April.

A year ago at this time, the San Jose Sharks were a perfect six-for-six in home games. They stayed on a roll until the season ended, finishing as the only NHL team with under ten losses at home.

Everyone was surprised to see the Red Wings struggle to prevent goals in October of 2008. That didn't change. Goals-against remained an issue all season long.

The Dallas Stars came out of October '08 with a losing record, and goaltender Marty Turco had a poor month. Neither team nor goalie ever recovered.

October also establishes a short list for the scoring title. Recent history says the eventual champ will come from the 10 or 12 names now atop the leader board.

In the long run, teams and players are never as good as they look during hot streaks, and never as bad as they look when everything is going wrong.

So Colorado won't finish first, and Craig Anderson probably won't be a Vezina finalist.

But even if they slow down considerably from here, the Avs will almost surely finish higher in the standings than many of us predicted, and Anderson is in line for a career year.

Meanwhile, goalies like Mason and Thomas face a huge task in recovering from early slumps, and Anze Kopitar is probably on his way to a big season.

And after reading the October tea leaves, even the Red Wings are advising fans to lower expectations.

(Photo: Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images)

October Trends Can Set the Tone for an NHL Season originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 19:00:41.

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When all is said and done, which fast-spreading affliction will take down more NHL players this year, swine flu or scrambled brains?

• "Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid has been playing with the H1N1 flu virus, commonly known as swine flu."
  - Faceoff.com

• "Avalanche coach Joe Sacco confirmed Tuesday that backup goalie Peter Budaj, who missed his scheduled first start of the season Friday because of illness, has been diagnosed with swine flu, the H1N1 virus."
  - DenverPost.com

• "Caps forward Quintin Laing has been diagnosed with H1N1 (more commonly known as swine flu)."
  - WashingtonTimes.com

Read more...

A Pair of Pandemics for the NHL originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 14:54:04.

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From the days of the outdoor game, to the British upset of 1936, the last triumph of the Soviet dynasty, the first women's champs, up to the NHL's Olympic era, here's a few classic images of Olympic ice hockey.

More Olympic Hockey: