The Noon Number

by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 12:01 PM EST in The Noon Number

14 - Number of players drafted after the first round by the Caps who have had at least one hat trick for the team, including Mathieu Perreault who added his name to the list last night. Here's the list:

Player	Drafted	Caps Hat Tricks	Most Recent
Peter Bondra	8th Rd, 1990	19	Nov. 29, 2003
Steve Konowalchuk	3rd Rd, 1991	3	Nov. 18. 2000
Dmitri Khristich	6th Rd, 1988	2	Mar. 19, 1993
John Druce	2nd Rd, 1985	2*	Apr. 21, 1990
Bengt Gustafsson	4th Rd, 1978	2	Jan. 8, 1984
Tony White	10th Rd, 1974	2	Feb. 21, 1976
Mathieu Perreault	6th Rd, 2006	1	Jan. 24, 2012
Richard Zednik	10th Rd, 1994	1	Oct. 31, 2000
Michal Pivonka	3rd Rd, 1984	1	Dec. 26, 1991
Chris Valentine	10th Rd, 1981	1	Feb. 27, 1982
Tim Tookey	5th Rd, 1979	1	Nov. 21, 1981
Tom Rowe	3rd Rd, 1976	1	Mar. 10, 1979
Mark Lofthouse	2nd Rd, 1977	1	Dec. 9, 1978

* Includes one playoff hat trick

(H/t to Vogs for the inspiration)

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OK, I’ll say it…Perreault is the only one drafted by this administration.

Yeah, yeah…he’s also the only one drafted after 1994, too.

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Jan 25, 2012 12:06 PM EST reply actions

Yeah I’d say “the new NHL” plays some roll in it. And perhaps better scouting across the league.

So in a handful of games Hunter squeezed 3 goals out of a guy who wasn’t a first round draft choice, while run-and-gun Bruce wasn’t able to over the course of a few years?

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 12:55 PM EST up reply actions

So in a handful of games Hunter squeezed 3 goals out of a guy who wasn’t a first round draft choice, while run-and-gun Bruce wasn’t able to over the course of a few years?

Not exactly. Bruce got one out of Brooks Laich (6th Rd, 2001 by OTT). And Dale got one out of Brouwer (7th Rd, 2004 by CHI). More to the point, if you’re looking to blame someone for Bruce’s failure to have a 2nd Rounder (or later) notch a hattie, I’d suggest you look a level above the coach.

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

No, it’s more that ’m more looking for people to give Dale some time before judging offensive stats under him.

Bruce did have MP tho I believe

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 1:12 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I’m not sure there’s any reason to believe that Perreault’s hat trick last night (and absence of one before it) says a thing about either coach’s ability to coach.

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 1:15 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Absolutely right, a chimp could be behind the bench and draw up lines, set shifts, call timeouts, make in-game adjustments, and a team would probably then score at least 1000 goals each game. We certainly wouldn’t attribute that to the chimp either would we? But chimps just cause too many distractions unfortunately so we’re stuck paying coaches.

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 1:37 PM EST up reply actions

Or MP just happened to have his best game in his NHL career under DH.

Did DH’s coaching cause the B’s to force a pass cross ice in the neutral zone through a forechecker?

Did DH’s coaching cause Rask to let up a cotton candy rebound?

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Jan 25, 2012 1:49 PM EST up reply actions

Or Bruce wasn’t there to put MarJo as 1st line center?

Woulda coulda lots of things really. Yes I am saying MP had his best game under DH, but there is no anti-bruce here. Whatever the cause, cummulative offensive #’s under Hunter just went up. Perhaps they get shut out for the next 3 games. It takes time to get a full picture of a coach or system, or for a coach to really understand how to get the most out of his players.

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

Or AO wasn’t suspended while Nick was hurt.

I don’t disagree with the last sentence, but that sentence doesn’t really jive with the sentence that started this thread, I think.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Jan 25, 2012 2:06 PM EST up reply actions

The sentence that said something good happened under Hunter’s command while a lot of peanuts have been thrown at the Caps offensive number in his short time here comparative to Bruce’s?

I guess I will have to live with that, hope I’m clearer next time

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 2:48 PM EST up reply actions

Just read to me like it was a direct comparison between coaches and that it was claiming that BB didn’t have the ability to get a hatty out of MP but that DH did.

I agree that it’s too soon to really talk about DH’s ability as a coach, so I don’t think the statement above (as I interpreted it) is fair to BB.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Jan 25, 2012 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

MP just looked like he was in one of those grooves, in the right places at the right time and had that touch. It happens. Wide man in the sort of groove with his hat trick that wasn’t a hat trick game.

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by RedBirdie on Jan 25, 2012 1:53 PM EST up reply actions

damn auto correct. Wideman

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by RedBirdie on Jan 25, 2012 1:53 PM EST up reply actions

It’s also pretty clear that MP put a lot of work in on his shot.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Jan 25, 2012 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

I’m genuinely happy for him. I hit up practice a couple months back, and it was Evason, Olie, and Prior working with MP and Neuvy for a long while after everyone else had gone off, and clearly the purpose was to have MP work on his shooting. He looked so frustrated, doing it again and again and again, missing damn near every time. Others said they saw the same thing after other practices. It’s paid off. But I thought the guy might just scream “I HATE HOCKEY!” and leave at one point.

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by RedBirdie on Jan 25, 2012 2:29 PM EST up reply actions

That really was the point…

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Jan 25, 2012 2:18 PM EST up reply actions

Bondra is a beast.

"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive." -George Allen

by caps&skins on Jan 25, 2012 12:10 PM EST reply actions 2 recs

I like your use of the present tense…

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 12:18 PM EST up reply actions

I took a couple of seconds before deciding it was the best choice.

"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive." -George Allen

by caps&skins on Jan 25, 2012 3:50 PM EST up reply actions

makes me want to go to the official fanboards on the Caps website and post a new thread about how the team should bring Bondra back…

Hey, atta dinnin stick a who!

by Gould Old Days on Jan 25, 2012 7:40 PM EST up reply actions

Bondra 19 hatties, the rest of the lot.. 18 hatties.

Bondra also has a couple of 4 goal games, and one 5 goal game.

Occasionally reporting from Section 421 of the Verizon Center...

by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 25, 2012 12:30 PM EST reply actions

Hear that Ovi? We’re still waiting for our Ovechtrick!

by Brainumbc on Jan 25, 2012 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

Yet Michal Pivonka only had one? In my memory, he’s more of a powerhouse than the numbers seem to indicate.

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by CapitalCentre on Jan 25, 2012 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

I always remember it as Pivo being the assist machine.

"Money talks. I listen."

by apk3000 on Jan 25, 2012 1:52 PM EST up reply actions

Your memory’s probably more acccurate.

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by CapitalCentre on Jan 25, 2012 2:01 PM EST up reply actions

Pivonka did have a few multi-goal games of his own, including one hattrick based on that list above, but I think of him more as an assist guy.

I wonder how many of those Bondra hat tricks came in games where Pivonka was on the ice and/or assisted on all 3 goals. I’d guess many from the years when they were teammates.

by sk84fun_dc on Jan 25, 2012 2:37 PM EST up reply actions

Well, six of the Bondra tricks came after Pivo’s last NHL game.

Of his three 1998-99 hatties, Pivo didn’t play in any.

In 1997-98, Bondra had one trick, Pivo didn’t play in that game.

In 1996-97, Bondra had two tricks, Pivo one assist in each (can’t find the box score, so don’t know if they were on Bondra goals.

In 1995-96, Bondra had four tricks (!), Pivo had four assists (and two goals) in one of those games, four assists in another, four in yet another, and three (along with two goals) in the fourth.

In 1994-95, one trick for 12, one assist for 20 in that game.

In 1993-94, one trick (his five-goal game), no assists for Pivo (note: Roman Hamrlik was -2 in that game).

In 1990-91, one trick. Three assists and a goal for Pivo.

In sum, I have no answer as to your wondering, but there certainly was some overlap between some of their respective big games.

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 3:28 PM EST up reply actions

You answered quite a bit of my wondering; I wasn’t expecting any answer :)

I recalled the 4 goal/2 goal plus assists game.

by sk84fun_dc on Jan 25, 2012 3:30 PM EST up reply actions

Random stat – from 1990-91 through 1995-96, Pivo was tied for fifth in the League in four-assist games.

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

(And that’s behind Lemieux, Gretzky, Oates and Roenick! Not bad.)

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by J.P. on Jan 25, 2012 3:50 PM EST up reply actions

Not bad, not bad at all. The same for Roenick, wouldn’t have thought he’d be in that group.

by sk84fun_dc on Jan 25, 2012 3:55 PM EST up reply actions

For some reason I always thought of Kristich as an under-performer. Too young to follow/care about him all that much at the time, but he didn’t do too bad for a 6th round pick.

by helo29 on Jan 25, 2012 1:02 PM EST reply actions

He was a sixth only because he was in the USSR. Same with Bondra, I recall. Back then GMs generally took flyers in late rounds on guys behind the Iron Curtain because you didn’t know if they would defect. (Of course, Khristich was the first guy actually allowed to leave willingly.)

"Money talks. I listen."

by apk3000 on Jan 25, 2012 1:55 PM EST up reply actions

He looked an awful lot like a person who didn’t care at all on the ice later in his career/by the Toronto years

It left a bad taste on a career that was much better than that.

No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande

by Icebat on Jan 25, 2012 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

Exact question I thought of when I saw Vogel’s tweet last night; thanks for the details.

by sk84fun_dc on Jan 25, 2012 2:35 PM EST reply actions

Terrific list. I was actually at the Chris Valentine hat trick game. An afternoon drubbing of the old Hartford Whalers. Actually think he may have scored four that day. Thanks for the memories…

by TheJer on Jan 25, 2012 4:11 PM EST reply actions

Ah, some (non)golden oldies on there, especially Mark Lofthouse and Tony White. Lofthouse always seemed to tear up the AHL, but never quite got over the NHL hump—guess he was a tweener. And I can remember an old guy who sat behind us in the late 70’s always screaming at White: “TONY YOU SUCK!!”.

They pretty much all sucked back then.

It's all wrong, but it's all right.

by OldPhil on Jan 25, 2012 4:13 PM EST reply actions

That Zednick hat trick seems memorable for some reason. Can’t quite put my fingers on it…

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Jan 25, 2012 4:44 PM EST reply actions

If memory serves, one of those hatties in the late 90’s (a Bonzai, perhaps) coincided with a free hat giveaway: those hideous green ones with the lawn care company logo.

/memory might not be serving

by Acer Jonesy's Laughker on Jan 26, 2012 6:38 AM EST reply actions