setUoYouRPROFILE's blog: "tufui"

Just minutes after being called into an office Tuesday afternoon and told by team brass he wouldn’t be starting the season with the Winnipeg Jets, the young defenceman did his best to remain upbeat. But the tone of his voice made it impossible for him to hide how he was really feeling. “It’s never easy to hear you didn’t make the team,” a disappointed Ben Chiarot admitted. He’s not alone feeling that way. Last autumn at this time,sacs louis vuitton so many local guys came so close to cracking National Hockey League lineups it appeared almost certain that, with another year of experience and another year of growth, the fall of 2011 would bring about a spike in the big league’s Hamilton quota. It still may rise a bit. Two rookies at opposite ends of the hockey spectrum remain in the hunt for opening-day roster spots, along with a few veterans. But, for most of this area’s hopefuls, September has once again brought tough news. “I wouldn’t say it gets easier,” says Drew Schiestel, who had an all-star season in the American Hockey League last year after being sent down by the Sabres, yet found himself boxed out of the Buffalo lineup again. This time by circumstance as much as anything. Near the end of last season, just as rumblings were beginning that he was going to get a call-up to the big club, the defenceman shredded the ACL in his knee. As he was rehabbing over the summer, the Sabres decided to spend huge money to shore up the lineup — almost all of it on defence. Schiestel admits it was a little hard to watch “I really feel like I belong in the NHL,” Schiestel says from Rochester, where he’ll start the year. “Unfortunately, a couple signings and a lot of bodies and the numbers didn’t work out for me.” It was a similar story for Cam Talbot. The Caledonia native had another great camp for the New York Rangers, his second in two years. But with Henrik Lundqvist established as one of the league’s best goalies and veteran Martin Biron in the fold as his backup, there wasn’t an opening. Go down the list and it’s the same story over and over and over again. Scott Timmins? Strong camp for Florida but starting the year in the AHL. Peter LeBlanc? Great camp for Chicago but starting in the AHL. Chiarot? A compliment-generating camp for Winnipeg but sent down Tuesday. Alex Hutchings, Kyle Hagel, Brett Flemming, and Danny Syvret? Good camps. All going to the A. “It’s definitely difficult to get your foot in the door,” says Chiarot, who flew with the Jets to St. John’s for an exhibition game on Monday, flew home after the game, learned he’d been released Tuesday and was set to fly all the way back to Newfoundland on Wednesday to join his AHL team. Goalies Mark Visentin and Mike Morrison performed well in their NHL auditions but are headed back to their junior teams. Jordan Szwarz got hurt two weeks before camp and couldn’t skate so he’s heading to the AHL. So, instead of a glut of Hamilton content invading the league, it’s down to a few veterans and two rookies still in contention for a spot to carry this area’s hopes. The first newcomer is Ryan Ellis. Everybody knows his story. Despite some predictions that the Predators’ deep defence corps would mean an automatic trip back to the minors, he’s still in Nashville’s camp battling for a spot on the blue-line.