A year after David Fischer

Heading to Fort Meyers is usually a prefered destination for those looking for a nice little
budget Florida pit-stop on their way to Miami.

Sure it's a short drive to Naples and you usually jump on the '75 through the Everglades on your way to Miami or Key West.

But while you're stopping in Fort Meyers, don't miss Estero river, Estero bay, and if the beauty of the little enclave hasn't charmed you yet, you'll be happy to know that in this small 18 000 soul town, Germain arena hosts the ECHL's Florida Everblades.

Beautiful blue water and hockey.

And the 20th pick of the 2006 NHL Draft.

The last time I picked up David Fischer's trace was training camp 2010, the jersey wasn't quite the one I expected to see him wear come late Summer, the Canucks had invited him to tryout with their rookie squad, he wasn't retained and shortly after, his agent got on the phone and looked for a place his client could rebuild a career battered by unfulfilled expectations.

Now granted, the 2006 draft past the 20th pick will always remind Habs fans they could have had Claude Giroux, towering centerman Patrik Berglund, but beyond the obvious benefit of hindsight the story and career of David Fischer didn't stop once he knew the CH crest wasn't in his future.

Coach Greg Poss of the Florida Everblades saw in the young defenceman a toolset he could use and after a short meeting with team president Craig Brush decided to give the kid a shot.

David Fischer finished his first ECHL campaign with 29 points in 64 games, 4 points less than team leader Bob Raymond in 8 less games, an output which quickly made him a strong core member on the team's leadership committee.

A strength he found by witnessing his mother's recurring battle with Cancer, per a teammate with the Everblades.

'' I think that Fischer  had allot of worry about things that were out of his control, his mom's illness probably put him at peace with the unpredictable values of life ''

Fischer sees his stint with the Everblades as part of his growing into an NHL defenceman and his entry into Pro-Hockey has definitly been a succesful one.

At season's end Craig Brush added Fischer's name to the list of protected players ECHL team's submit, a sign they want to get Fischer back for an additional season.

Per coach Poss

'' You spend enough time around the minor league system and you quickly spot out the talent, this kid has the talent and the attitude it takes to make it to the next level, he loves the game and knows what it takes to meet expectations. He can't change the past, but he's got the moment and he'll turn out just fine. ''

Old NHL codes might mark an end to NHL prosperity

Ken Holland has decisions to make this summer.

Over the last 2 years he’s seen players go down with debilitating brain injuries in his line-up. In 2009 after a fight Andreas Lilja was forced out of the line-up due to bleeding in his brain, this year Johan Franzen was on the wrong end of a Mark Fistric hit that left concussed.

When asked at the time if Fistric should be suspended Franzen’s words were

‘’ Whenever someone puts his elbow to your face you expect a suspension, I got his elbow right on the jaw, those are the rules right? ‘’

Sounds familiar Habs fans?

During the preseason Franzen had also been targeted by Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik ( the same Brooks Orpik that broke Erik Cole’s neck in 2006 ) in a hit that referees had judged warranted a game misconduct

Franzen missed time with a Charlie-Horse.

In both cases no suspensions were given.

‘’ I can’t believe it, I’m surprised ‘’

Said Franzen each time he was confronted with the league’s decision making process when it came to evaluating the incidents

Franzen has been an important part of the Red Wings organization, at 6’3 and stats that make him an important power-forward on the team; he is also a player who is now stamped with the ‘’ injury prone ‘’ moniker.

And as Ken Holland sits at his desk this summer, staring down the free agent list, he’ll probably reflect on a year that saw another player almost lose his life to a vicious and unpunished hit.

Max Pacioretty.

A player that his scouts had once compared to Franzen.

For Ken, like allot of other GMs this summer, the free agent decision making process will undoubtedly be tainted by a league incapable of protecting it’s own stars.

Marc Savard and league poster boy Sidney Crosby, both victims of vicious hits are looking at difficult moments ahead with insiders even hinting at career ending after effects.

A league insider hinted at what the league may look like come October 2011.

‘’ GMs won’t have a choice and take my word for it, we might see record numbers since the lockout when it comes to fights, team will have to do their own protection work ‘’

‘’ Goons might be making a big return for 2011 ‘’

A new NHL that sponsors promised they would turn away from.

‘’ All it took was a clear signal from the league office, something that insures we won’t be looking at a fatality on NHL ice, because trust me, the backlash of a fatality due to a hit might be so big that it might spell the end of many things for the NHL including massive desertions of kids from minor programs, and then where does your NHL talent come from?  ‘’

‘’ Who wants to see their kid, brother, father dead on the ice ‘’

Rivet

It all goes back to an early November morning in 2006 when RDS’s Yvon Pednault walked to the press box that overlooks Bell Center ice.

The ice had it’s sprinkling of Habs players and noticeable among them was Craig Rivet and a few members of the Canadiens well garnered press corp. The night was going to be a big one for the Habs defence celebrating the Jersey Retirement of ex-GM and Hall of famer Serge Savard.

‘’ He’s one of those guys who’s probably gonna be on TV once his career is over ‘’

Craig Rivet would of course be traded that year for a young unknown by the name of Josh Gorges, followed closely by Yvon Pednault the following year who would leave the RDS broadcast throne to a more modest role with CKAC Radio.

And like Pednault, Rivet’s career didn’t end with the Canadiens, after a brief stint with San Jose, Craig Rivet’s leadership quality saw him a natural fit at the time with Lindy Ruff’s Sabre squad as captain.

‘’ It was a surprise pick for some fans, he was new to the organization and with Luongo named Canucks captain at the time, they were expecting Ryan Miller to be the guy ‘’

Easy to say it hasn’t been an easy ride for the aging Rivet as observers see his career winding down, a brash of injuries in recent years have made him an expendable part of the team on the ice and Sabres management will mull trade options prior to deadline day if you are to believe the rumors following a Sabres team some have say is seriously underachieving this year.

Interestingly enough Craig Rivet’s ascension to the NHL was similar to PK Subban’s if you look at Junior career highs. Rivet although now considered by many as a defensive defenceman topped 75 points ( 19 goals and 55 assists ) with Kingston in the OHL while PK Subban had a junior career high 76 points ( 14 goals and 62 assists ) with Belleville.

Rivet would be called up due to injury at the start of the 1995 season ( a 3-2 loss to Boston ) to save the Canadiens catastrophic season start.

A start that would end Jacques Demers’s reign with the Habs and inevitably a miserable decade for the Canadiens.

At the start of the 1996 season the Canadiens had 3 defenceman aged under 22 in their lineup.

Craig Rivet, David Wilkie and Rory Fitzpatrick.

This year Weber and Subban are the ‘’under 23 ‘’ Habs rookies on Defence, a first since 1996 .

Rivet who was asked if he has a message for Subban on the night prior to facing him said :

‘’ Change your ways ‘’

For many Habs fans the message will sound more like

‘’ Please stay the same ‘’

Festerling

Looking at a looming 2004 NHL entry draft, Brett Festerling had a few decisions to make.

After an injury riddled season that had seen him miss 17 games due to a wrist injury, he had a feeling that he could do better than a spot at 153 on the Central Scouting Bureau list.

A WHL GM at the time mentioned :

'' He was one of those leadership guys who made a good team great, he had decent size and grit ''

Inevitably he opted out and decided that he'd have a better chance next year.

The 2005 season saw Festerling put up career highs in points with Vancouver of the WHL, but the 2005 draft came and went and despite a few inquiries from teams, his name wasn't called up.

'' It was a disappointment, we had a few teams looking but no invitations ''

The call eventually came from Brian Burke, after a discussion with Vancouver Giants GM Scott Bonner,   The Ducks decided to have a closer look at Festerling during their 2005 training camp.

Festerling's conditioning and commitment were enough for the Ducks to decide they had an NHL quality prospect on the ice.

After a 2006 season that would see his junior team win the President's cup and a great Memorial cup run,  he would wear the C in 2007 for the Giants before making the jump to the AHL for the Portland Pirates in 2008.

When Beauchemin went down with an injury during the 2008 season, the Ducks didn't have to look too far to find a replacement by Niedermayer's side.

Festerling made his pro debut on the Duck's first pairing. And the hard hitting defenceman quickly made his mark, notably on a hit that some say ended Jeremy Roenick's career.

The Ducks resigned Festerling the following summer to a 2 year contract and with Beauchemin leaving the team started the season with Festerling and Neidermayer paired up again while Boynton and Whitney shared the second pairing, Wisniewski and Brookbank on the third.

He would play 40 games in both 2008 and 2009. with the team seeing over 20 different Defencemen don a Duck Jersey due to injuries and losses to free agency.

A broadcaster would say :

'' He just couldn't secure a spot, these weren't very stable squads, the team was expecting him to be a more fluid player offensively, and they had a few guys looming large on their radar. Anaheim was aiming at a D-Core that could contribute offensively with more regularity ''

Following their 2010 training camp, the Ducks made Festerling go through waivers in a move experts saw as a sign Cam Fowler was NHL ready.

'' Festerling needed to be paired with a guy like Niedermayer to be effective on that team,  when he retired it meant it would be hard to find a pairing he'd fit in, the team's philosophy was to play defence by committee.  ''

Then came the trade.

The media reports from Anaheim around last nights trade.

'' If Montreal is looking to this kid as security in case they lose Gorges to injury long term, it's a good trade for both teams ''

Brett's twin brother Garrett ( not identical ) played for Regina of the WHL, he's currently playing in Europe.

Brett Festerling is an RFA come year end.

So is Josh Gorges.

Could this be a leverage move for the Canadiens ?