A few more wallpapers – Rask, Doan, Konopka, and Wheeler.

I have been trying to think of a good player comparison for Taylor Hall, and think I have finally found one. Mike Modano. The speed, acceleration, shot, lanky frame – it’s all there.

Who do you have tonight? I’ll take the Sharks and Habs. Halak has proven to be superhuman in games after getting pulled – until he falters in that situation, it is tough to bet against him.

I’ll be auditing a team each day this week! I received a few dozen e-mails in only an hour or two yesterday after posting the idea. Keep checking the site each day to see if I picked you!

No NHL games last night (great scheduling, guys!), but I managed to catch most of the Windsor/Calgary game.

Taylor Hall had two goals and an assist last night as the Spitfires rolled over the Calgary Hitmen 6-2. Hall has to be the clear-cut choice for the Oilers at #1 at this point in time. He has been absolutely phenomenal all season, and has raised his game up a few more levels during both the OHL Playoffs and now the Memorial Cup.

Calgary forward Jimmy Bubnick impressed me. Aside from having a great name, he scored two goals for the Hitmen. He was drafted by the Thrashers last summer in the 6th round, and has good size (6’2″, around 200 pounds). He’s been skating on Calgary’s second line with Blues prospect Tyler Shattock, who has also impressed me during the Memorial Cup. I wish there were more CHL games televised during the regular season!

Steve Stamkos is playing today against the Czech Republic. Great news for poolies.

The Blue Jackets signed Tomas Kubalik to an entry-level deal yesterday. He was their fifth round draft pick from 2008, and played in the QMJHL this season after coming over from the Czech Republic. He is a long shot to make the NHL, but he appears willing to work for it. Expect him to play in the AHL for a few seasons. His numbers (33 goals and 75 points) are pretty impressive for a first-year forward, even in the offensive QMJHL.

Patrick Kane, Steve Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall? How would you rank them? While it is hard to screw up the #1 overall pick, it can be done. The most recent four top dogs all seem destined to be fantastic NHL players (good thing the internet didn’t exist back in 1993, as the same would have been said about Alexandre Daigle).

I wasn’t terribly impressed with Kane going first back in 2007 (I favoured Turris, figuring Kane was too small and slow). Kane showed that size doesn’t matter if you can play, and he has worked extremely hard on his skating, and it is now probably one of the best parts of his game.

I’ve put together a few more DobberHockey wallpapers. If you have a player/slogan/theme request – let me know!

Here is one of the wallpapers – Patrick Marleau. Check out the rest of them here.

The Minnesota Wild are desperate to find a number two center. The guy they had pencilled in there – PM Bouchard – may never play a game again. He missed the entire 2009-10 season with a concussion, and has yet to resume skating. Marleau would be a great fit in Minnesota (although most teams could use a point-a-game center who can skate like the wind and play sound defense).

As always, Elliotte Friedman’s weekly article on CBC is a must-read. He breaks down the Penguins playoff failure, as well as their plan of attack this off-season.

I found the following from Friedman’s article particularly interesting – “One GM I really respect told me that if you’re going to sign a guy to a long-term, big-money, cap-eating deal, he must be three things: a critical part of your team, a guy who can stay healthy, and someone who can motivate himself to bring it every night. Malkin is not number three. And, that jeopardizes number one.” I think you could say the same about Alex Semin.

DobberHockey contributor Alessandro Seren Rosso posted an interview over at his site with Florida prospect Evgeni Dadonov. It sounds like he is ready to return to the KHL (much like Nikita Filatov) if the Panthers don’t guarantee him a roster spot.

If you are like me and watch a lot of videos on youtube, you'll know that there are countless hockey montages. This is one of the better ones I have ever seen (the Gustavsson glove save on Callahan at the 3:18 mark is one of my favourites):