Oilers expect defenceman Belov to make roster

Craig MacTavish not only likes what Russian defenceman Anton Belov brings to the table on the ice, but feels he can help mentor young Nail Yakupov.

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MACTAVISH EXPECTS BELOV TO MAKE OILERS

The Edmonton Sun lays out how the Oilers signed 26-year-old undrafted Omsk defenceman Anton Belov to a one-year entry level contract.

General manager Craig MacTavish offers this about the 6-foot-4, 219-pound rearguard: “I expect him to make the team. We’re planning on starting the season with him with us next season.”

Some KHL observers suggest Belov turned into one of the very best defencemen in the KHL this past season, as his spot on the world championship team would suggest.

“It’s a move to trying to build more mobility into our back end. He moves the puck well. He makes quick decisions with the puck. He has a high skill level and competes hard. The expectation is that he’s going to come in and help us. He’s big. He plays heavy. He’s got some toughness,” added MacTavish.

The GM said having a veteran Russian player to complete the buddy system with Nail Yakupov “is a big element for us. It’s not the reason we signed him but it does help to have a player like him to mentor Nail.

“It’s part of the overall package. From everything we hear of him, his character is outstanding.”

PENGUINS’ COOKE MAINTAINS FOCUS

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that left wing Matt Cooke’s personal road to another Stanley Cup is taking him through cities where he is most hated. Next up is Boston.

Cooke is infamous in Boston for throwing the 2010 hit that contributed to ending center Marc Savard’s career. Although Cooke was not penalized or suspended for the hit, it was the kind of “head shot” that the NHL no longer allows.

The veteran recently was in the spotlight in Ottawa because of a freak injury that injured star Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson.

He was reminded of the Savard hit and the disdain many in Boston feel for him Thursday.

“I can’t control people’s opinions,” he said. “I’ve learned that fans have emotions toward certain things and they’re going to be attached to them. I need to go out and prepare to play against the Bruins to the best of my abilities. If I’m worried about that, it’s going to affect me.”

SEGUIN’S COMPETE LEVEL RISING FOR BRUINS

The Boston Herald asserts coach Claude Julien seems committed to keeping Tyler Seguin on a line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley — the unit has not scored since being brought together in Game 7 of the Toronto series — and Jaromir Jagr on the line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He likes what he’s seen recently from Seguin, who no longer looks like a player in the throes of a confidence crisis like he did against Toronto.

“I think Tyler’s been fine,” Julien said. “If anything, he’s competed a lot harder. He’s battling, he’s in there. On the power play he’s made some good plays and he’s done a good job. I think right now, to me, that line in the last two games was better. They’re kind of getting to know each other a little bit better and finding each other on the ice a little bit easier. (Yesterday) in practice, I saw the same thing. We know that that line is going to be an important line for us in the next round. Right now I see that line improving.”

REGEHR SETTLES INTO LOS ANGELES

In detailing his new two-year contract extension with the Kings, LA Kings Insider illustrates how as a 13-year NHL veteran who entered the team’s locker room without much familiarity in April, Robyn Regehr has firmly planted his feet in the city of Los Angeles over the span of two months.

“I wouldn’t say it was ‘easy,’ because there are so many things that are new,” he said when asked whether the mid-season transition was aided by his established NHL tenure.

“It’s a new team. I didn’t really know anyone on the team. I had met Jarret Stoll a couple times at his golf tournament, and I knew Drew Doughty briefly at a [Hockey Canada] training camp, but that was it. There were new players, a new city, new equipment, new everything. And the way the teams play isn’t always the same, so you’re adapting to that. So there is a lot. It’s an unsettling feeling, I would say. Maybe that’s the best way to explain it. But you just try to work on as many things as you can – talking to the coaching staff the first day you go and ask ‘What do you expect of me as a player?’ What are you looking for?’ And that way you get a very good understanding of what you have to focus on, and then from there you work with that. Sometimes you might need to do a little bit more video right off the bat because you’re not seeing things maybe the way you’re used to, but you try to get up to speed as quick as you can.”

AVS’ STASTNY GOING BACK TO BASICS

The Denver Post details how Avalanche center Paul Stastny was captain of Team USA at the recent World Championship in Europe. Stastny had a great tournament, leading the bronze-medal-winning Americans with seven goals and 15 points. They finished 7-3.

“I tried to be loose and have fun, and it was fun playing with a young team, no expectations,” Stastny said. “It was an honor to have the captaincy, a little nerve-wracking at first, but I got back to playing like I want to play, and not getting too caught up in what people want me to do, and just worry about what makes me successful. And that’s what happened.”

Stastny hopes to translate that to the Avs next season. “We play a different style there. More puck movement, little more offensive, guys jumping in the play with the give-and-go player that I am.”

SHARKS’ CHOICE ON BURNS’ POSITION LOOMS

The San Jose Mercury News projects that a big question facing the Sharks’ management and coaching staff in the coming weeks is where to play Brent Burns, who was acquired as a defenseman but showed his value as a forward in the second half of the regular season and in the playoffs.

“We owe it to the organization and we also owe it to Burnzie to let him know what we’d like to do moving forward,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “Brent will be able to participate in that, as well. We need a little time here. … He’s obviously a tremendous player in both positions.”

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, on Burns when the team approached him in-season about the switch: “His immediate response was, ‘if it helps the team, I’ll do it.’ That tells a lot about him. We’ll go through those conversations with the coaches next week and again we’ll do what’s best for the team.”

Burns said it does not matter to him whether he plays forward or defense next season. He would like to know before it gets too deep into the offseason, though, so he can plan his training regimen.

CAPS’ SCHULTZ EXPLAINS TRADE REQUEST

Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz explains to The Washington Post why he believes it’s time for a fresh start. He requested a trade from the team in March.

“My agent and I thought there has got to be somewhere else where a team needs a player like myself and I can be utilized a lot more than I was here,” Schultz said Thursday afternoon. “It was like I was a young first year player again with them. They didn’t have that trust in me that they could put me out there in tough situations or even in the third period.”

Schultz’s agent, Jarrett Bousquet, said teams have expressed interest in Schultz and is confident that there is a market for his client.

At this point Schultz, who is already back home in Calgary, is waiting to see if he’ll get the opportunity to prove himself elsewhere in the NHL.

“I just go somewhere and play and put what happened the last year and a half behind me,” Schultz said, “and to show that whatever does happen here I’m the type of player who can help a team win.”

WHAT THEY’RE TWEETING ABOUT

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