Former Winterhawks Weekly 3/6-3/12

This should be the first of a weekly series going over the former Winterhawks in the news. I will attach links to articles on them, put in who they play for now and cite which season(s) they played for Portland.

Friday, March 6th:
-Brandon Dubinsky (Columbus, Played in Portland: 2002-06) returned to the lineup and notched a goal and an assist in helping Columbus end a 7 game losing streak, with a 3-2 win over New Jersey. Speaking of Dubinsky's injury (concussion), in an interview with  the Hockey Writers he said the injury was more neck pain then head injury and looked scarier then it actually was.
Saturday, March 7th:

-Luca Sbisa (Vancouver, Played in Portland:09/10) was interviewed in regards to being traded as a young prospect and the effect it has on you and your development. He has 9 points this season with the Canucks and seems to have found a comfortable spot in the NHL for the first time in his career.

 -Speaking of Swiss players, playing in Vancouver; recently acquired winger: Sven Baertschi (Utica, Played in Portland: 2010-2012) could be a huge bargain for the Canucks. It's strikingly similar to what the New York Islanders did with Nino Niederreiter, in completely mishandling a young, first round pick. How this happens as much as it does really shocks me, because as an NHL General Manager, a lot of your job is based on how your first round pick develops and Brian Burke (who was just an advisor at the time), completely throwing Baertschi under the bus to the media could be a huge reason he never worked out in Calgary. His play for former Portland Assistant Coach Travis Green with the AHL's Utica Comets is a good sign so far as he has 5 pts in his first 4 games. Also, there's been a clear message to Sven that he will be in Utica for the rest of the year, so he can just concentrate on developing his game there and getting ready to make an impact in Vancouver next ye

-Cody McLeod (Colorado, Played in Portland: 2001-05) was fined for his action's the previous Saturday's game vs. Minnesota, fuelling excitement for Sunday's game with the Wild. Due to Nathan Mackinnon's foot injury, McLeod was slotted to play in the top 6 for the Avs.

Saturday, March 7th:
-In the beginning of the Derrick Pouliot (Pittsburgh, Played in Portland: 2009-14)love vest, Penguins writer Adam Gretz, seems to think that the Pens are writing him in as a top 4 D-man, possibly this year and definitely next season. With the fact that Pittsburgh did not pursue a top 4 D-man at the trade deadline, it seems they have growing confidence in the rookie D-man.

Sunday. March 8th:
-Colorado Avalanche Coach Patrick Roy, went after Minnesota Wild beat writer Michael Russo, who wrote a harsh piece about Cody McLeod's actions the previous Saturday. Roy defended playing McLeod "18 minutes a game" and said: "29 other teams would love to have him."

Monday, March 9th:
-Mile High Hockey wrote a Editorial piece about McLeod (who scored a goal in Colorado's win over Minnesota Sunday), defending how he plays, as former Spokane Chief and current Minnesota Wild Jared Spurgeon said that "he only finishes his checks against smaller players." Rivalries are really what the NHL needs more of and if Minnesota and Colorado can continue driving each other nuts, it will only benefit the game. This rivalry centers on Cody McLeod.

Tuesday, March 10th:
-Playing on the other side of the rivalry, Matt Dumba (Minnesota, Played for Portland: 2013-14), has made large strides in his play and is now averaging around 19 minutes a game and is a +14 with 4 goals. With that shot he has and gains in the defensive zone, I do  not see him going back to the AHL anytime soon.
-Piece about how the trainers should be eligible for the NHL's Hall of Fame, references how Florida Panthers trainer Dave Zenobi helped save Richard Zednik's (Played in Portland: 1994-96)life after his throat was cut by a teammate's skate. Portland fans have to agree with this as two of the more famous throat's that were cut during a hockey game belonged to former Winterhawks (Clint Malarchuk being the other).
-The Pouliot love vest continues with former Winterhawks and current Penguin's head coach Mike Johnston saying that Pouliot is "controlling the ice with his puck movement." He played over 23 minutes in Monday's S.O. loss to San Jose, hitting the post with what would have been the game winner.

Wednesday, March 11th:
-Ryan Johansen (Columbus, Played in Portland: 2009-11), played the shoot out hero on Tuesday night by skating in really slowly and then sneaking a forehand shot past Carolina goalie Cam Ward for the 4-3 win. Johansen has 57 points in 66 games this year.

Thursday, March 12th:
-Johansen's Father: Randall was interviewed in a piece about parents and violence at the rink. Randall said he actually quit coaching due to having to deal with parents and the things they were doing.

-After blocking a shot in his team's 1-0 loss on Tuesday to Montreal, Braydon Coburn (Tampa Bay, Played in Portland: 2000-05), will miss 2 or more weeks. This is really bad timing for Tampa, who are in the middle of a push for home ice in the playoffs and just traded a 1st and a 3rd round picks, as well as, former Everett Silvertip Radko Gudas for Coburn at the trade deadline.

-A really good piece by the guys over at Hockey Wildnerness in reference to how much they love Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota, Played in Portland: 2009-11). He has 33 points in 66 games this year.

-The Pouliot love vest took a bit of negative turn after he turned the puck over in a bad spot, Thursday night leading to Edmonton's tying goal in the 3rd period. Pittsburgh would go on to win 6-4 though and hopefully this is more of a outlier.