More WJC Fallout
First up, Sportsnet CHL analyst Sam Cosentino made his customary Tuesday appearance on TEAM1260's The Pipeline Show, and had this to say when asked which player he was most surprised to see not get an invite from Hockey Canada to next week's selection camp:
"Ceci. For me Ceci is the guy. I mean he does so many things well, and when I look at an Ottawa team that's depleted of a lot of guys from last year, he's still doing fine. He's probably being overexposed in terms of his minutes, but you can say that about a lot of defenseman – I mean you could say that about Xavier Ouellet who plays for Blainsville-Boisbriand, and yet they're a team that's near the top of the table in the QMJHL. I don't know, I think Ceci's the guy for me just because of how many different elements he brings to the game; he angles well, he's got a good stick so the defensive part isn't an issue, he shoots the puck a ton, he can skate pucks out, he makes a good first pass. And that one to me…that doesn't make any sense to me."
Later in the show Canadian head coach Steve Spott was interviewed, clarifiying Matt Puempel's health status and how it affected his getting or not getting an invite:
"Matt's play had obviously warranted an opportunity to make our invite list, which was announced yesterday. Last Tuesday night to start the London Knights game, Matt Puempel was on the list to come to our camp in Calgary, unfortunately an injury during that game, and the medical diagnosis that I received along with Hockey Canada. Just didn't allow us to feel comfortable bringing him to our camp on Monday, because of the uncertainty of the shouldler injury. It's unfortunate, because I just want all Ottawa Senators fans to know to recognize that it had absolutely nothing to do with Matt's play. I talked to Randy Lee from the Senators, and they fully understand and support the decision. It's not harder, trust me, on anybody but myself – I'm the president of the Matt Puempel fan club as a player and as a person, and would have liked nothing more than to have him on plane with me next week to Calgary."
Wiercioch Praise
Finally Sylvain St-Laurent interviewed Luke Richardson yesterday, which you can read in full here. But I thought this comment was noteworthy:
"He came to training camp in great shape. He suffered an injury during training camp, but he has come back strong at the time Jared Cowen left us. He really knew how to seize this opportunity. He plays more than often with Andre Benoit. Because he has improved defensively, we're not afraid to use him in crucial situations. He had to improve defensively to play in the NHL. In Ottawa, he knows he will never be the number one offensive defenseman."
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