Sometime in mid-November I made a prediction to some colleagues that Patrice Cormier would be on the Thrashers roster to ring in the new year. Well, unless his stay here is incredibly short it looks like I’m right. Cormier is in Pittsburgh now and later today it will be announced that he has officially been called up from the Chicago Wolves where he has two goals and three assists along with an outstanding +8 rating in 11 games. Where he fits in the lineup or if he’s playing tonight remain to be seen, but it looks like a roster spot will be opened up by sending Tim Stapleton to the AHL since he already cleared waivers back on Dec. 4.
Rick Dudley has been very high on Cormier since the day he was acquired and all it took for me to see why was having one conversation with the kid. He’s confident, oozes leadership, and competes as hard as anyone, as shown by the foot he broke blocking a shot in the final minutes of a losing effort in a meaningless scrimmage on the last day of rookie camp.
Don’t expect big point production from Cormier. Do expect to see a guy that finishes his checks and hustles every shift in all three zones.
It’s also worth mentioning that Cormier and Burmistrov became very good friends over the summer as they shared adjoining hotel rooms in Duluth and worked out together daily. Burmistrov is pointless in eight games and has looked a little bit lost lately, so having his best friend in the organization around could give him the boost he needs.
This should prove really intersting to watch. From what I was reading there seemed to be some chemistry between burmistrovand cormier. Hope this is true and that it works out. Another hard line would be awesome.
I would expect that Cormier is going to have an immediate and significant impact. I would also expect him to be a point producer both himself and to those that play on the line with him.
I watched the re-runs of last years Junior Championship and he was a very dominant force. Finally!!!! We get to see this kid play in Atlanta!!!!!
I am very happy for Patrice and are looking forward to him having a good debut but,
I just hope that the coaching staff and the veterans sat him down to remind him of the second chance opportunity he has and not to do something stupid to ruin it for him and the team. He has too much raw talent to loose his cool (“see red”) and be lured into doing something stupid.
I have Wolves season tickets so I’ve seen Cormier play this year – and frankly, I’ve been unimpressed. However I’ll also concede that he was just returning from the broken foot and was jumping back into playing games, essentially without an opportunity to get his timing and conditioning up to speed, which could be tough on a seasoned veteran.
I’ll say this much for the kid. He gives everything he’s got on every shift. And I wasn’t aware that he was a +8 in 11 games with the Wolves. The Wolves have struggled in the goals against department and have a number of players with sizeable “minuses”, so in that light the +8 is impressive.
I wish him well in Atlanta. If he shows more with the Thrashers than he did with the Wolves, I’ll gladly retract my statement about being unimpressed.
In the meantime, Stapleton should help the Wolves – especially if he has any clue regarding killing penalties, because evidently no one else on the Wolves’ roster is clear on the concept. Their PK is last in the AHL and is on pace to allow more than 100 goals against.
The Wolves could use some improvement in all areas, but the PK is by far the most glaring weakness. Their inability to skate for 2 minutes without allowing a goal while shorthanded has cost them at least 5 games this year. If they can turn that around and improve their own offense a bit (Stapleton will absolutely help in that regard), the rest should take care of itself.
Stapleton’s arrival is well-timed since the Wolves just lost Jared Ross to an ugly injury last night. I don’t want to speculate on the nature of the injury, but he took a vicious elbow to the head and had to be carted off on a stretcher. The play went unpenalized but there was clear intent (the perpetrator leads Grand Rapids in PIMs and is quite obviously a talentless hack) so a suspension should be forthcoming.
The play did seem to wake the Wolves up. They played with more emotion than I’ve seen from them all year. Boris Valabik especially. He beat the GR Goon up in a fight and played some inspired hockey in the 3rd period after 15 minutes in the sin bin. Hopefully that will last awhile. If Valabik and the rest of the Wolves play with that kind of passion consistently, they can dance with anyone in the league.
Thanks for all of the news from Chicago Omar. I saw a picture of Ross being wheeled off on a stretcher but hadn’t heard the details. Hopefully he makes a full recovery.
omar is right on as he says unimpressive. don’t think he is quite ready either from a timing standpoint or pro experience. duds loves him though.
Bad news about Ross hope for a speedy recovery and back on the ice soon. Glad to hear news on Boris and to know his grit is still alive and well.
Eager-Cormier-Modin is interesting. Hoepfully these guys can get a couple tonight. I also lIke the Kane, Burmi, Little combo…talk about speed, raw talent and hard work ethic. Lets beat the Pens tonight boys!!
The little bit of news I’ve heard regarding Ross sounds like he has a concussion — which based on the nature of the hit would’ve been my guess. His eyes were open while he was being carted off the ice but he looked like he didn’t know where he was — also a strong sign of a concussion. He was moving his legs while he was laying on the ice and moving his fingers as he was being wheeled away on the stretcher so at least that’s a good sign.
Haven’t heard any speculation on how long he’ll be out but the prognosis for a full recovery is good at this point.
I too have been at many Wolves games and have been unimpressed with Cormier since he joined the team. He is definitely not ready to play in the NHL!!!! He definitely needs a year or two in the AHL. For both on and off ice maturity. In my opinion the only ones deserving of a call up so far this year are Machacek or Ross. and with Ross out for who knows how long the only one who has earned himself a call up is Spencer. I sure hope the Thrashers give him an honest chance this year and if they are not going to then they should trade him. He has paid his dues and deserves the chance to show what he can do at the next level.