Hockey Hearsay compiles stories from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, 12 months a year.
GALIARDI BRINGS SHARKS’ SWAGGER TO FLAMES
Flames forward TJ Galiardi reflects with The Calgary Sun on his valuable experience with the San Jose Sharks.
“We had so many good leaders, older guys, and a few of them took me under their wing, Jumbo especially,” Galiardi said of Joe Thornton, with whom he often played last season. “It was good to watch those guys and see how they’ve been getting it done for so long, and I think that helped me with consistency in my game.”
And now, the 25-year-old forward wants to bring to the Flames an element of the Sharks playbook. Sure, the Sharks haven’t won a Stanley Cup, but they’ve been in the hunt year in and year out, a level the Flames want to reach.
“It’s one of those organizations that just knows how to win. We’re trying to create that here, and made the first few steps. It’s a long road,” Galiardi said. “It’s coming to the rink, work boots on every day, and knowing you’re going to win, having that swagger. I think we’re starting to get that here.
“Even when you’re down a goal or down two goals, good teams know they’re going to come back and win.”
CONACHER LOVES OTTAWA’S HOCKEY ATMOSPHERE
The Ottawa Sun asserts Cory Conacher fits into that Fearless slogan the Senators are pushing. At 5-foot-8, he crashes the net, knowing he’s going to get whacked. As a kid who played much of last season in Tampa, he’s quickly grown to appreciate the fans who’d like nothing better than marching through the streets in a Stanley Cup parade sometime soon.
“It’s awesome here,” he said. “I loved the Tampa fans. They were loud, too. But in Canada, it’s just that much bigger. Being in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, it’s pretty special to play here. Fans can really give that extra push. They get going with their chants, they keep us in the game.”
JETS’ WHEELER NOT A SHOOT-FIRST PLAYER
The Winnipeg Free Press highlights the slow start for Jets winger Blake Wheeler, who has three points in seven games.
Some factions have been on his case because he’s passed up too many good shooting opportunities, but always keep in mind there that hindsight is perfect.
“I think it’s a mentality,” Wheeler said. “I’ve never been a shoot-first guy in my entire life. I’m not going to be Kaner (Evander Kane). I’m not coming down and getting 10 shots a game. That’s just not me.
“My instincts tell me I think I have a guy open and have a better opportunity to score, then I’m going to pass to them.
“Sometimes it works out and I look great. Other times it doesn’t work out and I don’t look so great. You’re right, there are some opportunities I’ve passed up where I definitely should have shot and I think that comes with over-thinking things and trying to make a play where it’s not there.”
HITCHCOCK PRAISES BLACKHAWKS’ KANE
The Chicago Tribune relays that before Thursday’s game, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock waxed poetically about the hockey sense of the Hawks’ Patrick Kane.
“He’s smart stealth,” Hitchcock said. “There are maybe eight or nine players in the league who read the game when they know the puck is going to get turned over a second or two beforehand and he’s gone. You wonder why he gets all these odd-man rushes and all these scoring chances (and) it’s because he has anticipation that’s ahead of everybody on the ice.
“He makes you nervous as a coach and he makes you nervous as a player because you have to protect the puck and be so careful out there.”
DUCKS WORKING TO FIX AILING POWER PLAY
The Los Angeles Times observes the Ducks are riding a five-game winning streak as the NHL’s worst power-play team with only one goal in 23 man-advantages (4.4%) through six games.
They spent time working on their weakness at Thursday’s practice and coach Bruce Boudreau said he’s confident, given his teams’ past top-five success in the category, that the situation will be righted.
“The longer it goes, the harder it gets,” Boudreau said. “You get back to simplistics. There’s no secret recipe. Mark my words, by the end of the season, we’ll be 20%. It’s just a matter of time.”
WILD’S PROSSER KEEPS POSITIVE ATTITUDE
The St. Paul Pioneer Press asserts that as the Wild’s eighth defenseman, Nate Prosser is in a difficult situation as a frequent healthy scratch in a contract year. Despite all that, Prosser shows up to every practice and game with a smile.
“I think a part of it is just the way I was raised to be a positive guy who smiles a lot,” said Prosser, 27. “Obviously you want to play. That’s the bottom line. So there’s times where you can be frustrated. But when you look at it, I’m in the NHL. Life could be worse. I’ll be ready to go whenever my number is called.”
He added: “I really don’t look at a crowded blue line or anything like that. I do what’s in my control. And that’s my biggest thing, to stay positive. Work hard in practice, work hard off the ice, work hard when I do get into games, and have that mind-set that whenever I’m inserted, I’m ready to go.”
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