Theres a line for Fort Drum Killers GM Steven Stryska when it comes to trash talking.

On Monday night, he felt Chiefs GM Mike Nellany crossed it during a Week 10 matchup with the Boston Giants.

“He thinks because he won the award for Best Trash Talker last year, he can just say whatever he wants and get away with it,” said GM Stryska who has led his Killers team to second place in the American Conference. “It was almost like, ‘I don’t care what you think. Throw your dignity out of the window. Dont lose your mind.’ He thinks I’m just going to lay down for him? Steven Stryska doesn’t lay down for nobody.”

Things got crispy after Nellany called Stryska a ‘turkey’ and said the Giants are going to kick his ass this week.

Some GMs in the AFHL might be hesitant to respond to such trash talk, but GM Steven Stryska, however, is not some GMs.

“I told him I didn’t waste 15 months of my life in Iraq to be called a turkey,” Stryska said. “While I was over there defending his freedom, he was probably sucking a *@!k under a highway bridge.”

GM Nellany responded by calling Stryska a p*@sy and telling him to get back in the trailer with his mother. Afterwards, he admitted to giving him a little extra earful but he didn’t think it was a big deal.

“It started to get personal, so I shifted the focus onto his team and said if they make the playoffs, they would be lucky to get past the first round because his players suck,” said Nellany. “How does he expect to win with guys like Chris ‘Geriatric’ Osgood and Ilya Koval-choke?”

“His team is sub .500 right now,” Stryska said. “He talks sh*t only after my team beat his team 10-1 in the season opener.”

Other GMs started to get into it, including Jordan Carbone, GM of the Toronto Red Devils.

“Their emotions were running high,” Carbone said. “Trash talking is part of the game. I’ve trash talked with some guys over the years. It’s fun. If somebody trash talks to me, I’m going to trash talk back and try to win.”

Before the AFHL Commissioner intervened, Stryska and Nellany did exchange a longer set of words.

“There was a lot of trash talking tonight,” said Killers forward Mikko Koivu. “They wanted to trask talk. We wanted to trash talk too. It motivated us. When you trash talk us, you’re just fueling our fire.”

Killers goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff admitted to being motivated by the war of words. Last night he stopped 22 of 24 shots to post a win in the matchup against Boston.

“There’s a difference between talking and doing,” said Kiprusoff. “When we talk, we back it up. Right now, Fort Drum is in the playoff picture, and Deer Park is floundering outside of it. When I look at their team, I see a good goalie and a couple of good forwards. Other than that, they’re really not that good.”

Earlier this morning, GM Stryska cut to the chase when he was speaking to ESPN in Boston: “I really wish I could be more like Nellany and spend a lot of time counting how many four- and five-star players I have on other people’s rosters. I don’t have time for that, unfortunately,” he said.

Anthony Furino, the Commissioner of the AFHL, said he has no problem with trash talking in the league, and he actually encourages it.

“I don’t think there’s anything bad about it. I only step in when it gets too personal,” Furino said. “But talk is just talk. It’s entertaining leading up to their next matchup. It adds to the excitement of the league. What really matters is when that puck is dropped, teams are ready to play hockey and put up points to win. I don’t give much credence to talking, but I do think after what happened last night, everyone is looking forward to their next matchup.”

Their next matchup is less than 10 weeks away so mark your calendars. On February 28th (Week 20), Steven Stryska’s Fort Drum Killers will face Mike Nellany’s Deer Park Chiefs in the second to last matchup of the regular season.

“They’re not too far away from each other in the standings,” said GM Mike Phelan of the Boston Giants. “A lot can change in 10 weeks. We’ll see what happens, maybe that matchup will have playoff implications.”

January 31th, 2011

This AFHL All-Star game ended much like last year did – with the American Conference getting the victory, and a player from Deer Park skating off with the biggest prize.

“I hope I have some luck left for the rest of the season because I think I used a lot of it today,” said Chiefs’ forward Anze Kopitar, who scored two goals in the game and finished with a +2 rating. “I went out there, just tried to have fun and do my best.”

“I think (Kopitar) has proven that he’s one of those guys, that he’s one of those stars,” said Chiefs’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who won the MVP in last year’s game. “He’s slowly worked hard to become one of those household names, and it’s not easy for a guy like that. But he’s doing it, for sure. I’m sure you look at the list of players in this game, and you’re going to see quite a lineup, so it’s pretty cool for him to win that award.”

There certainly was no shortage of MVP candidates in a game that had a combined 21 goals and turned out to be the kind of offensive showcase that was expected.

Canadian Conference forward Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists, while Loui Eriksson of the American Conference had four points including the empty net goal at the end of the game. But it was Kopitar’s +2 rating that was enough to win the plus/minus stat category for the American Conference.

Here’s a look at who stood out the most for each team during Sunday’s AFHL All-Star Game:

Canadian Conference All-Star Team

– Eric Staal (Heroes). The star forward really wanted to put on a show for the hometown crowd and he delivered by scoring a nice breakaway goal early in the third period. He added a second goal in the final minute and was left thinking about a few other good chances he failed to convert. Staal finished the night with eight shots, the most by any player.

– Patrick Sharp (Leafs). He looked a little more motivated than some of the others. Sharp had two assists in the opening period before adding a goal in the middle frame, and would have gotten the MVP award if the Canadian Conference won.

– Alex Ovechkin (Warriors) He opened the scoring in the first minute of the game and was all over the ice every time he stepped over the boards. Ovechkin was the best showman — jumping into the glass after missing a scoring chance, throwing his stick to give Vipers forward Matt Duchene a penalty shot — and entertainment is what the all-star game needs most.

– Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings). The future Hall of Famer was an amazing plus-7, an almost unthinkable accomplishment in a game that featured so many goals. He was also a classy captain and great ambassador throughout the entire weekend.

—-

American Conference All-Star Team

– Loui Eriksson (Phantoms). His empty-net goal gave him a four-point night, tying him with Shea Weber for the highest total. He’s one of the most underrated players in the league and the guess here is that he won’t remain that way for long.

– Tim Thomas (Power). It’s not a game for the goalies, but he performed very well in his one period of work. The Washington Power goaltender stared down a couple shooters on breakaways and finished with 11 saves on 14 shots.

– Anze Kopitar (Chiefs). Of the 21 goals scored during the all-star game, none was nicer than the deke move he made to score the first goal on Cam Ward. The Deer Park Chiefs star added another goal later on for good measure and with a +2 rating was named MVP of the game.

– Kris Letang (Power). The young defenceman is having a great season and he showed off his skills on Sunday. Letang scored twice and looked very comfortable in the offence-heavy affair.

—-

When Ray Irwin of the Washington Power and Barry Hickey of the St. John’s Red Wings were picked to be the Head Coaches of the all-star teams for the game this year, their tasks were both tricky and seemingly simple. After all having to choose from a host of elite-level players isn’t really that hard to do. Picking the right combo to get his side a win is a bit more difficult though.

For Irwin, he’s happy to have led the American Conference to a 7-1 win over Canadian Conference and he had fun doing it. “There was no pressure really, it was more fun than anything. It’s an honor to be selected as head coach of an AFHL All-Star team. I think we all just had fun with it.” Irwin said.

The American Conference has now won the first two annual AFHL All-Star Games and will seek to remain undefeated after the next one… 🙂

2011 AFHL All-Star Game Box Score

American Conference wins!!

Article with recap to be posted tomorrow (Monday)

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American Conference All-Star Player Stats

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Canadian Conference All-Star Player Stats

Note: Stats associated with players in the 2011 AFHL All-Star Game are based on the stats from the NHL All-Star Game.

5:00 am  Scott Burnside: Time to get our trade on. Busy day of activity coming? We’ll see. AFHL fans are anxious to find out. Let’s rock and roll.

6:15 am  Pierre Lebrun: Greetings all… Blackberry is going to explode!

6:27 am Barry Melrose: Woo! Trade Deadline 2011!!

6:27 am  Scott Burnside: Red Devils GM Jordan Carbone has been trying to pry Evgeni Malkin from Boston for weeks. Source says price on Malkin too high right now. Carbone hopes it comes down today.

7:00 am  Barry Melrose: I am going on record to say Malkin is still a Giant by the end of the day.

7:07 am  Scott Burnside: Giants GM Mike Phelan is asking for Tyler Seguin, Michael Grabner and a 1st round pick in a return for Malkin… Don’t expect Carbone to do it… Carbone wants to keep this young core intact.

7:14 am  Barry Melrose: Going to be a slow day today?

7:40 am  Scott Burnside: First trade of the day… Wolves GM Andrew Fiorentino trades Mark Recchi to St. John’s for Matt Lombardi. Good pick-up for St. John’s… Recchi will help them in the playoffs. Lombardi helps Los Banos in the future. Good 4 Lombardi.

Expanded: Recchi will be a solid third-line piece for St. John’s that can play hard at both ends and perhaps most importantly, he adds experience.

Lombardi needs to be a top six guy to succeed at this level and as last night’s Live AFHL recap shows, St. John’s had no room for him there.

7:45 am  Scott Burnside: Barry, slow day today is relative. Even if there aren’t many trades, it doesn’t mean there won’t be tons of trade talks.

7:50 am  Barry Melrose: Source says Killers GM Steve Stryska is definitely looking to upgrade offensively but only looking to deal Alex Burrows for a top line RW. Also, the Power GM Ray Irwin would like to add another star forward to his lineup and an offer is currently on the table for one of the Hollywood Stars’ forwards. Where has the Hollywood GM been?

8:47 am  Scott Burnside: Nice trade. North Bay Warriors get Ryan Getzlaf from the London Mustangs for Jonathan Toews.

8:50 am  Scott Burnside: Any rumblings from GM Keith Cancilla?

8:53 am  Barry Melrose: Montreal Xtreme source says they’re quiet right now, “but it’s early”.

9:03 am  Scott Burnside: Where’s Pierre Lebrun? Did his Blackberry actually blow up?

9:17 am  Barry Melrose: Phantoms Sergei Gonchar has been skating, isn’t sure when he can practice. Doesn’t know what to expect for trade deadline. No 1 has talked to him yet.

9:18 am  Barry Melrose: Has told Phantoms GM Beckman: “If you have something, I’ll look at it.” Won’t talk specifics about where he wants to go. “I’m a Buffalo Phantom”. No list of preferences.

10:53 am  Scott Burnside: I wonder if Vipers GM Chris Hartley is going to make any more trades? Probably not.

10:55 am  Barry Melrose: Never underestimate Chris Hartley. Might yet pull a rabbit out of his hat. Although he does seem pretty content with his current roster so it could be a quiet day for the Vipers.

10:57 am  Scott Burnside: Just talked to Pierre Lebrun. He went to get donuts this morning and got stuck in traffic.

10:59 am  Pierre Lebrun: Need to charge Berry soon! haha

11:45 am  Barry Melrose: Rebels GM Rich Mauch keeps getting offers for Corey Perry. Is it possible the Calgary Hitmen could be inquiring?

11:51 am  Pierre Lebrun: Everything we’ve been told is that Perry is not in play. He’s the Rebels best player so would be shocked if he is in play.

11:51 am  Scott Burnside: Knights trading Thomas Vanek to the Wolves is just a rumor. Don’t see that happening.

12:05 pm  Barry Melrose: Be back in a little bit. Heading over to SportsCenter.

12:30 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Hitmen; GM Pat McKenna would like to add to his roster without taking away from it. James Reimer is a work in progress, obviously, but would be surprised if McKenna gives up on him this early.

12:50 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Hollywood Stars GM Mike Basset via email says he is NOT having a fire sale. He blames the Stars downfall this season on goaltender Martin Brodeur costing them too many matchups and expects him to be better next season.

1:25 pm  Scott Burnside: Really slow day so far.

2:03 pm  Scott Burnside: It is an unsettling day for players, that’s the reality. Remember a great television piece last year on Brad Boyes being traded to Vancouver. It was heartbreaking for him. But we check with agents, GMs, players themselves and you can also glean from a players’ position on team depth chart whether he’ll be in play. Don’t feel guilty – it is a part of the business – but it’s tough for some.

2:42 pm  Barry Melrose: Oshawa City Leafs GM Earl McNeill: “Very quiet right now.”

2:59 pm  Scott Burnside: From Evander Kane via text message, “I want to stay and be part of the solution here in Montreal. We are gonna be really good soon and I want to be here for it.”

3:37 pm  Barry Melrose: Goldsboro fielding calls on veteran Brendan Morrow but nothing imminent.

4:27 pm  Scott Burnside: Hearing that Washington has kicked tires on Manny Malhotra… you like that as a possible fit?

4:45 pm  Pierre Lebrun: He’s a good center for depth. Sees some time on the PK so he’s got some value.

5:14 pm  Barry Melrose: Any chance Vancouver GM Kyle Kebert makes a move today? I think the Heroes are just one player away from being really dangerous, I just don’t know what. Maybe break up the Sedin twins?

5:17 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Kebert could make a minor move, but he’s already addressed his key needs. He’s really done a terrific job in his first year on the job. He learned fast and has put an emphasis on winning in the future, not just this year.

6:26 pm  Scott Burnside: Text from Chiefs’ Scott Hartnell says he understands if he gets traded: “Mike Nellany needs to do a job. He’s got to look out for what’s best for the franchise.”

7:45 pm  Pierre Lebrun: If you had to pick right now, which two teams will be playing for the Stanley Cup and who wins?

7:47 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Warriors vs. Power… Warriors win.

7:50 pm  Barry Melrose: St John’s Red Wings and Washington Power. My same pick from the start of the year. GM Barry Hickey made some good trades in the past month and they are peaking at just the right time. Wings win.

8:33 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Which team has the best chance to be the cinderella story of the playoffs? any goalie out there that might carry a lower seed?

8:38 pm  Barry Melrose: Calgary Hitmen of course. They’ve been a cinderella story all year.

8:40 pm  Scott Burnside: Chiefs’ Henrik Lundqvist can carry the Chiefs. Killers’ Miikka Kiprusoff can carry Fort Drum as well. Don’t forget about Vancouver Heroes’ Ryan Miller.

9:07 pm  Barry Melrose: Less than 3 hours to go until the deadline passes. Trade talks have really heated up. Red Devils GM Jordan Carbone is talking to 5 different GMs at the same time.

9:15 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Reports out of Washington say the Power just acquired Teemu Selanne from Hollywood.

9:20 pm  Barry Melrose: Confirmed deal. Selanne to Washington for Alex Frolov, Mark Letestu, and Ryan Howse.

9:22 pm  Scott Burnside: Good trade for Washington. They needed another guy who can score consistently. I like the move.

10:01 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Lots of talk about Malkin going to the Red Devils. Carbone is pressing hard. Giants GM Phelan asking the moon – ie. Seguin, Grabner, 1st rounder, Nabokov, Montoya – so the question becomes whether Carbone is desperate enough to bite. Unless the price comes down I will be surprised if Malkin goes.

10:32 pm: Killers just traded Linus O’Mark and a 2nd rounder to Montreal for Jack Skille and Scott Parse.

Expanded: Looks like GM Cancilla gave up on Skille. Scott Parse might have more room to provide offensive support with Fort Drum. We’ll see.

10:43 pm  Scott Burnside: Boston real close on trading Malhotra to Washington.

10:45 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Manhattan GM Tony Furino still shopping veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik but no takers. Deer Park offered a 3rd round pick but Furino wants a 2nd.

10:54 pm  Barry Melrose: The Niklas Backstrom trade to St. John’s did not happen. A fake twitter account reported this. The two sides are in fact talking. Backstrom is Boston’s number one goalie and St. John’s is believed to be offering Pavelec + but GM Phelan seems content with Backstrom staying number one in Boston.

10:59 pm  Pierre Lebrun: Done deal. Boston trades Manny Malhotra to Washington for for prospect Tim Erixon straight up. One hour left until the deadline passes.

11:13 pm  Scott Burnside: Montreal just acquired Vladimir Sobotka from Manhattan for a 2011 R2 Draft Pick. Good trade for Montreal. Sobotka is young and can snipe.

11:32 pm  Barry Melrose: Still hearing talk of Backstrom to St. John’s but still not done… Boston GM Phelan has been very active in trade talks this year. He’s been doing a nice job in Boston.

11:50 pm  Scott Burnside: Ten minutes and counting. Will we see a last-minute deal involving Malkin? Boston and Toronto are still talking.

11:52 pm  Barry Melrose: Just got a text from Phelan: “Nothing going on.”

11:59 pm  Scott Burnside: Last minute trade… Oshawa City Leafs trade Scott Gomez to Washington for Steve Downie.

11:59 pm  Scott Burnside: Red Devils source on what Boston wanted for Malkin: “Too much.”

12:05 am  Barry Melrose: We are going to finish up shortly here. Which team’s moves today has increased their chances of winning the Cup?

12:06 am  Scott Burnside: I’ve already given the Trade Deadline Stanley Cup to the Washington Power. Great job by GM Irwin… Traded prospects for Manny Malhotra and Teemu Selanne… Washington is stacked and ready for the playoffs.

12:09 am  Pierre Lebrun: I’ll go with the Red Wings. I like the addition of Mark Recchi for depth on RW. They’re primed to win the Cup. Just gotta stay healthy.

12:11 am  Scott Burnside: Bye everyone – see you all next year!

The 2011 AFHL Trade Deadline has passed.

Here are all of the trades from around the AFHL between January 1st, 2011 and the March 3rd, 2011 trade deadline.

Date
Team 1
Acquires
Team 2
Acquires

Mar. 3, 2011		Scott Gomez (F)		Steve Downie (F)
Mar. 3, 2011		2011 R2 Draft Pick		Vladimir Sobotka (F)
Mar. 3, 2011		Manny Malhotra (F)		Tim Erixon (F)
Mar. 3, 2011		Jack Skille (F) Scott Parse (F)		Linus O’Mark (F) 2011 R2 Draft Pick
Mar. 3, 2011		Teemu Selanne (F)		Alexander Frolov (F) Mark Letestu (F) Ryan Howse (F)
Mar. 3, 2011		Ryan Getzlaf (F)		Jonathan Toews (F)
Mar. 3, 2011		Matthew Lombardi (F)		Mark Recchi (F)
Mar. 1, 2011		Ryan Malone (F)		Ray Whitney (F)
Feb. 28, 2011		Vincent Lecavalier (F) Dustin Jeffrey (F) 2011 R2 Draft Pick		Colin Wilson (F) Ryan Whitney (D) Drew Shore (F) Reilly Smith (F) Ty Wishart (D)
Feb. 27, 2011		Daniel Briere (F) Brent Burns (D) Dwayne Roloson (G)		Mike Green (D) Kari Lehtonen (G) Cal Clutterbuck (F) 2011 R2 Draft Pick
Feb. 26, 2011		Ryan Kesler (F) Tyler Ennis (F)		Anze Kopitar (F) Jochen Hecht (F) 2011 R1 Draft Pick
Feb. 21, 2011		Tomas Vokoun (G) Jordan Eberle (F) Mason Raymond (F) Jordan Staal (F) Teemu Pulkinnen (F) Martin Jones (G)		Ondrej Pavelec (G) Martin Havlat (F) Ville Leino (F) Tomas Plekanec (F) 2011 R3 Pick (from BOS)
Feb. 21, 2011		Brett Sterling (F)		2011 R3 Draft Pick
Feb. 21, 2011		Cory Schneider (G) Jonathan Bernier (G) Kyle Okposo (F)		Jimmy Howard (G) Patrik Elias (F) Bryan McCabe (D)
Feb. 20, 2011		Cal Clutterbuck (F)		Alexander Radulov (F) Marcus Kruger (F)
Feb. 15, 2011		Mathieu Perrault (F) Luke Adam (F)		Brad Boyes (F)
Feb. 14, 2011		Wayne Simmonds (F) Cody Eakin (F)		David Bolland (F) 2011 R3 Draft Pick
Feb. 7, 2011		Wojtek Wolski (F) Eric Tangradi (F) Zach Bogosian (D) Jason Labarbera (G) 2011 R1 Pick (from WSH) 2011 R3 Draft Pick		Eric Staal (F) Mattias Tedenby (F) 2012 R2 Draft Pick 2013 R2 Draft Pick
Feb. 5, 2011		Patrick Marleau (F) Steve Downie (F)		Vincent Lecavalier (F) James Neal (F)
Feb. 5, 2011		Nikolai Khabibulin (G)		Sean Bergenheim (F)
Feb. 3, 2011		Erik Johnson (D) Andrei Markov (D) 2012 R1 Draft Pick		Jack Johnson (D) 2011 R3 Draft Pick
Feb. 1, 2011		Derek Stepan (F) Rene Bourque (F) Matt Moulson (F) Kyle Beach (F) Kurtis Foster (D) 2011 R2 Draft Pick		Tomas Plekanec (F) Ray Whitney (F) Mark Recchi (F) Marek Zidlicky (D) 2011 R3 Draft Pick
Jan. 24, 2011		Tyson Barrie (F)		Wojtek Wolski (F)
Jan. 20, 2011		Charlie Coyle (F) 2012 R1 Draft Pick		Milan Hejduk (F)
Jan. 17, 2011		Eric Fehr (F)		David Bolland (F)
Jan. 16, 2011		Scott Glennie (F) 2012 R1 Draft Pick		Dwayne Roloson (G)
Jan. 15, 2011		Ryan Suter (D)		Dion Phaneuf (D)
Jan. 11, 2011		Zac Dalpe (F) 2011 R1 Draft Pick 2012 R2 Draft Pick		Nicklas Lidstrom (D)
Jan. 9, 2011		Travis Hamonic (D) 2011 R1 Draft Pick		James Wisniewski (D) Kevin Porter (F)
Jan. 9, 2011		Olli Jokinen (F) Anton Stralman (D)		Victor Hedman (D)
Jan. 6, 2011		Erik Karlsson (D) Alexander Avtsin (F) 2011 R2 Pick (from OTT)		Dion Phaneuf (D) David Backes (F)
Jan. 4, 2011		Jakub Kindl (D) Viktor Stalberg (F)		Mark Giordano (D)