Bearded Badgers News Room

The Badgers started the new season with an almighty Bang going 2-0-0 in the opening 4 days of the season. In the season opener against the Broadway Blueshirts, the Badgers took the lead in the first period through Evgeni Malkin. The Blueshirts replied and built a 3-1 lead in the second period however Michal Handzus ensured that the Badgers went into the third period only one goal behind. Out again in the final 20minutes and the Badgers exploded offensively. Two Powerplay goals in the first four minutes from Malkin to complete his hat-trick chased Lundqvist followed by another from Handzus and one from Bertuzzi completed this remarkable turnaround. Cam Ward stopped 36 of 39 shots.

Game 2 and another strong performance from the Badgers! Rick Nash this time taking on the scoring mantle notching a hat-trick and 2 assists in a 5-1 victory at home over Duck a l'orange. Nash was supported by Stephane Robidas who notched 3 assits and Malkin who scored his fourth of the season and got 2 assists. Cam Ward stopped 15 of 16 shots to continue his hot start to the season

The Badgers Head coach Alain Vigneault was very happy with his teams start. "we got the puck on net and managed to convert a lot of those chances".

Badgers GM Pete would like to make it public that Johan Franzen is not being traded.

"Johan is playing a solid role on our top line, taking the body which is allowing Rick and Geno to create space to score. There is no way that we are going to split these three up for the forseeable future!"

Tonight sees the first match up of division rivals The Bearded Badgers and the Stevenage Beefs.

Badgers Coach Alain Vigneault spoke to roving reporter and star of the Badgers farm team, Alexei Yashin earlier today.

Alain, how important is tonights game against the Beefs?

"Well we respect what they have done so far in this league. To be 8-1-1 in their last 10 games is a great acheivement. However we are confident that our fast paced offensive game will be strong enough to beat them. Is tonights game important? Yes of course it is, we want to win every game, especially against teams in our divison!"

Alain went on to say that he will be eating his favourite dish of steak tartare tonight, whilst local butchers have resorted to id carding shoppers today for fears of slabs of prime meat being tossed onto the ice tonight.

In other news, Bearded GM Pete has been heard discussing the possibilities of Jiri Hudler and Kris Versteeg being floated on the trading block. GM Pete could not be reached to deny these rumours however both will play tonight against the Beefs

The Bearded Badgers made their first trade of the season today sending Kris Versteeg to the Watford Capitals whilst receiving promising defenseman Zach Bogosian in return. Badgers coach Alain Vigneault said:

"We are delighted to bring Zach to our team. We have been following him for a while now and we feel that he is just the right person to play in our club. Whilst we are sad to lose such a good player as Kris we felt that whe had enough options as cover up front!"

It is believed that Pascal Dupuis will be recalled to the line-up having sat out the last 7 games.

The Bearded Badgers today announced that Joni Pitkanen will be joining them from the Leicester Devils. Dainius Zubrus will be heading the other way along with a conditional draft pick.

Bearded Badgers GM Pete has finished his self imposed isolation from the media to give his opinion on the Badgers season so far.

"I could not be happier with the way the team has been playing so far this season. After 51 games to have the best win percentage in the league is a fantastic acheivement! I have spoken to Coach V and I have promised that we will look to keep the core of this team together as we push on for championship glory not only in this season, but many more years to come."

Pete was then asked whether the size of some of his players contracts might impeed his ability to re-sign his key players.

"Whilst we do have a couple of large contracts, the organisation believes that all of these players are earning every penny that we are paying them. We have some tough decisions ahead of us, but I am sure we will come out on top!

Finally Pete was asked about whether he will be active in the run up to the trade deadline.

"If trades are needed then they will be done. As a core we are very solid, however some extra depth could be sought out on the wings."

Badgers Trade Campbell to Chatham

In a move to reduce the teams salary levels for the coming years, Bearded Badgers Gm Pete dealt star defenseman to the Chatham Victory today for Jaroslav Spacek.

Pete said:

"We have been looking to trade Brian for a while now. We feel that his contract was too restricting on our ambitions for the future. I would like to take this moment to thank Brian for what he brought to the Badgers organisation, and for his professionalism throughout the last few weeks. We would like to welcome Jaroslav to the organisation. We feel that a player of his quality will solidify our defense as one of the best in the league."

Pete was asked if any other trades were forthcoming and whether contracts had been negotiated with impending free agents in the club. However he declined to comment, stating that he had some trees to cut down for the removal men.

After a mediocre few games the Badgers bounced back with three wins on the trot.

Bearded GM Pete had these words to say to the press:

"Im delighted. Cam was playing rubbish in goal so i put him on the trade block. This seems to have jolted him a bit and he has now conceded 3goals in 3games, including a monstrous shutout of the Cherrypickers! Our scoring has been good too averaging 4 goals a game! Needless to say he is now off the block and contract negotiations are ongoing."

Pete what do you think about Stephane Robidas being ejected from last nights game?

"Im furious. Robi is a huge part of our team and to throw him out is bonkers. Im pleased the team could respond to this early setback and win the game."

Zach Bogosian stepped up a level last night. Is he beginning to justify the big contract?

"Look, Bogey is 18, for him to be paid what he is is testament to his play. He is on for a 25-30pt season which I feel is great for a kid his age"

After the Draft, we took a look at the Badgers new signings.

Evander Kane, 1st Round, 2nd Overall

Kane is a strong physical winger. He will be a force in front of the net and he brings a solid 2-way game to the organisation. His strength and conditioning could lead him to being one of the top power forwards in the league.

Mark Visentin, 1st Round, 16th Overall

Mark is a pick for the future. He is a very young, very talented goalie. His agility is already top draw and his glove is lightning quick for his age. The future is very bright for this 17 year old.

Simon Despres, 2nd Round, 36th Overall

Throughout his Junior career, Despres has put up extremely solid numbers whilst maintaining excellent vision and presence in his own zone. He has the talent to be a top pairing D-man.


Riley Sheahan, 3rd Round, 56th Overall

Strong, disciplined and solid on the draw. Sheahan has all the makings of a shut-down centreman a PK leader and someone who can be trusted in his own zone.

Philip Samuelsson, 5th Round, 96th Overall

Philip is a big defenseman with a wicked shot from the point. his power comes from his size, and being the son of Ulf cannot harm your prospects either. He went late in the draft but Badgers management are confident that he will shine in his freshman year with the Moles.

As the trade deadline approaches, Bearded GM Pete made the following statement.

"Is it that time of year already? Fine with the next pick the Badge... Oh right trade deadline.

Ahem.

Whilst I am pleased with our play this season so far, improvements can always be made! If the right offer comes in then we will of course look into it. I am happy with the depth of this organization and I believe we are more than capable of going deep into the playoffs.
I would like to clarify that team captain and all round nice guy Rick Nash is not available! Certain GMs have been sniffing around, but he will never be traded!

sportsportsport wrote:As the trade deadline approaches, Bearded GM Pete made the following statement.

"Is it that time of year already? Fine with the next pick the Badge... Oh right trade deadline.

Ahem.

Whilst I am pleased with our play this season so far, improvements can always be made! If the right offer comes in then we will of course look into it. I am happy with the depth of this organization and I believe we are more than capable of going deep into the playoffs.
I would like to clarify that team captain and all round nice guy Rick Nash is not available! Certain GMs have been sniffing around, but he will never be traded!

I take that as an acceptance of my offer then?

I thought we agreed this deal yesterday. Sport and I out voted you beef. Even Driz independently arbitrated in our favour.

Last night the Badgers made two moves which will have a big impact on the future of the organisation. First they traded away johan franzen to the St Louis Spirit for Jason Pominville. Franzen was traded away as he never provided that park that the badger needed. All to often it was his linemates getting the points and Johan was often left behind. We are hoping that Jason will fill the top line spot.
Next up for the Badgers was A trade with Dr Lovestinks Meat Surprise. In a somewhat controversial move, GM Pete traded away promising RW Bryan little and the badger 1st round pick in the upcoming draft for young two-way centreman, Jordan Staal. Staal is a top player already in the league and we are looking forward to the future with him. This move gives us one of the strongest groups of centremen in the league. This can only help us in our quest for the 606hl title. Promising winger Robert Nilsson will be called up to replace Little on the 2nd line.

Badger watch

As the halfway point of the season passed, Badgers GM Pete gave a short interview about the state of the franchise with the trade deadline and the end of the season approaching.

Pete, how pleased with the team's progress this season are you?

Well consistency has been our biggest problem this year. Despite leading the division we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that we not only qualify for the playoffs, but also go deep and challenge for the trophy!

Will you look at any changes as the trade deadline draws nearer?

We are always looking to improve our roster. It is no secret that we are looking for a second line scoring winger to take some of the pressure off Geno and Nash! But finding the right player, for the right price is always difficult!

A lot of interest has followed Zach Bogosian this year. How pleased with his play this year are you? Has he justified his big contract?

We knew Zach would step up to the plate. He had a solid year last season, he looked great in pre-season and he has been our go to guy for goals from the blue line this year. We knew how good this kid was when we traded for him! We are really pleased that he is playing so well at a young age!

Who has been your surprise player of the year so far?

Definitely Jason Spezza there have been rumours flying everywhere that we were trying to offload his contract and he continued to score points throughout! he is on for a great season!

[b]Thank you for your time Pete. Good luck with the rest of the season!

sportsportsport wrote:We knew Zach would step up to the plate...We knew how good this kid was when we drafted him!

Knights of St George GM Azzy Luongo wish to lodge a formal complaint against the Badgers. Luongo was the person that drafted Bogosian, 99th overall in the inaugural 606HL draft, for the now-Masons Marauders...

apologies, i meant to say traded for him - see edit

S'alright, I'm yanking your chain. I was such a genius that I traded him away as soon as the league started

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my delight that the Victory scored their first win over the Badgers in a blue moon

Shhh you!

After weeks of discussions the Badgers and Victory have agreed upon a trade.

Badgers GM Pete announced to the media

"We are delighted to welcome Ondrej, Bobby and Kevin to the Badgers organisation. We feel that they provide a solid amount of skill and youth to our franchise. With all new arrivals, must come departures and we are sad to lose three original badgers. Cam, Andy and Jiri all played well for the team and we wish them well for the future."

When asked if that was it for the Badgers movements at the trade deadline, GM Pete said "watch this space".

Bearded Badgers GM Pete has crawled out from his self inflicted hangover/depression/reflection to answer some questions about the Badgers failure to progress beyond the First round of the players for the third year in succession.

Pete, can you offer any reason why your team seems to struggle in the playoffs?

Well the previous two years we could actively blame our goaltending. Cam Ward never stepped up to the plate which is why we wanted to trade for him this year. Tom Popperle really stepped it up this regular season and we thought he could carry us to the cup. Sadly our D decided to take a nap in crucial games and that really hurt us this year.

How do you feel being labeled the San Jose Sharks of the 606hl?

Its a tag we want to lose as soon as possible. We have some of the best players in the 606hl here in Badgertown and we know that we can win the cup. Its just a matter of finding the weak links and securing them up.

How active will you be this offseason. Will we see much trading?

I don't know yet. we have a few contracts to sign and then I will look at our needs. We are looking to improve the farm as they exceeded expectations without setting the league on fire.

The entry draft this year has some promising players in it.will you be looking to trade up in the draft or are you happy with your pick?

Last year we didn't pick until the third round so this year we want to be involved in the first round. Whether we trade up or stay where we are is not an issue at the moment

What are your goals for next season?

Well the obvious one is to win the cup. However I will still see next season as a success if the Moles can reach the farm playoffs and the Badgers can reclaim the regular season title. We were still in the running right up to the last week of the season so we are almost there. We just need that extra push!

Finally, there has been a rumor that the Mustachioed Moles may be being relocated and re-branded this coming offseason. Can you confirm or deny this?

I can confirm that there is talk of a re-brand. Whether we move the team is dependent on a few factors. We are working hard to keep the Moles where they are for the time being.