The NHL Draft and Great Scenes

    Time will tell how well the Lightning did at the NHL Draft last weekend.

      I’m not sure why grades are done days after picks are made. How does anyone know? It’s all guesswork. Five years from now, we will see.

      The teams work hard to know everything about these players and they project the future as best they can. GM Steve Yzerman asked his scouting staff to rate athletes by what kind of NHL players they expect them to be, not what they are today. They were looking for players with tools and capacity to improve.

       That may not be a totally unique way to look at things, but it explains why the Bolts chose some players higher than the consensus ratings.

       I wrote two things over the analysis of Slater Koekkoek in The Hockey News Draft Preview earlier this month. They were “two-way d man” and “under-rated?” Few knocked his ability. There was only the fact that he had a shoulder injury that limited him to 26 games last season and others seemed to pass him because of it. THN ranked him 23^rd.

       The Lightning checked him out at the combine, saw Koekkoek was 100 percent and that was all they needed to pick him 10th.  The Bolts didn’t seem to flinch despite talented forwards Filip Forsberg, Tuevo Teravainen and Mikhail Grigorenko still being on the board. Honestly, the Lightning needed a defenseman with this pick and it looks like they got a guy with potential to be in their top four down the line.

       You always have some worry about picking talented Russians who have yet to come to Canada. It has been reported that the Lightning’s other first-round pick – at No. 19 – goalie Andrei Vasilevski wants to come to major junior and get out of his KHL contract. He was selected by Mississauga of the OHL in the import draft Wednesday. If he is able to come to Ontario, that would ease my concern. This was a risk/reward pick. Five years from now, this might be talked about as a stroke of genius. Undoubtedly, the big netminder has a load of talent.

       The rest of the draft for the Lightning was intriguing, especially the selection of Harvard-bound Brian Hart at No. 53 and third-round selection Tanner Richard at 71. Those two, plus fourth-round pick Cedric Paquette, all can be considered power forwards who can skate. That was a need in the system and the Bolts addressed it.

  

       Great scenes: Sometimes a few minutes of a movie grab you so much it turns you onto the road toward enjoying it. Others are just so well crafted they are memorable or so intelligently goofy you want to watch them over and over. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already, but it would seem a good idea to be able to download your favorite movie scenes on itunes or some other site and put them on a DVD. Here’s some of the scenes that made the biggest impressions on me for one reason or another.

       BRONZE MEDALS

       Looking out the window of the school board meeting and seeing a crowd of students chanting “We Are Marshall” in We are Marshall – Made me do the same.

       Kristen Stewart meets the vampire family in Twilight – Creepy as it was, it was entertaining.

       The kids perform at Battle of the Bands in School of Rock – It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.

       The locker room scene in Stripes – Lighten up Francis! Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy at their best.

       Gun-legged Kate McGowan clears away the bad guys and zombies in Planet Terror – Two against the world baby.

       Dakota Johnson gets out of bed with Justin Timberlake in The Social Network – Ok, ok, sorry. The daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith is quite pretty, but the dialogue is terrific, too. Timberlake “I’m an entrepreneur.” A suspicious Johnson replies “so, what is your latest preneur?”

       Jason Lee plays Sega hockey in Mallrats and annoys Shannen Doherty – The Whalers win!!

       Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Tom Hanks go back and forth during their first meeting in Charlie Wilson’s War – Two heavyweight actors show their talent.

       The adrenalin shot to Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction – Intense and funny. As Rosanne Arquette says “trippy.”

       Radiohead’s creepy music during a dream sequence at the start of Vanilla Sky – Sets the tone for the movie.

       The horror of looking at dead bodies loaded into a hole in Platoon – A stunning vision of war.

       Dustin Hoffman makes a toast to his daughter in Last Chance Harry – Emotional.

       Characters lip synch Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” in Magnolia – Unique, gutsy and it works for me.

       Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman fight to Santa Ezmerelda’s “Don’t let me be misunderstood” in Kill Bill – Tremendous song and charismatic ladies.

       Indiana Jones squirms out of trouble in the first scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark – Gets you interested immediately.

       Nelson Mandella helicopters in to meet the South African Rugby team in Invictus – He knows the diverse group of players well.

       Running the picket fence in Hoosiers – Don’t get caught watching the paint dry.

       Sarah Polley acquires drugs from Tim Olyphant in Go – Intense, funny.

       The trip to the quarry in Garden State – “You’re my knight in shining armor!”

       Free Bird performed amongst the chaos in Elizabethtown – Ruckus reunites.

       Rat Matt Damon calls his undercover cop (DiCaprio) in The Departed – Nerve-wracking.

       Waking up with a chicken and Mike Tyson’s tiger in The Hangover – Craziness.
       Anthony Michael Hall has pictures taken of himself and a drunk prom queen in the back of Jake Ryan's car in Sixteen Candles -- John Cusack is one of the dweebs taking the pctures.
       

       SILVER

      Antwone Fisher meets his long-lost family in Antwone Fisher – Very, very emotional.

      Ali Larter, who goes off to the kitchen to make James Van Der Beek an ice cream sundae in Varsity Blues, comes back in a whipped-cream bikini – Sorry, again, but it is quite spectacular.

      Bill Murray and Harold Ramis join the army in Stripes – Convicted? Never convicted.

      Adam Sandler serenades Drew Barrymore on the plane in The Wedding Singer – Billy Idol helps.

      Sylvester Stallone trains hard in the morning to pulsating Bill Conti music in Rocky – About as memorable as anything in a sports movie.

      Abigail Breslin performs Super Freak in Little Miss Sunshine – Miss California liked it.

      The bishop’s great round in Caddyshack – Just short of course record.

      Sweeney Todd spoof in Jersey Girl – Ben Afleck is the hero.

      Kate Hudson over-dosing in Almost Famous – Patrick Fugit goes where MANY men have gone before.

      Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau at the casino in Swingers – You always double down on 11.

      Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson do karaoke in Lost in Translation – Murray does drunk version of Elvis Costello’s “Peace, Love and Understanding.” Scarlett steams while singing The Pretenders’ “Brass in Pocket.”

      Killing the printer in Office Space – Anybody that works at an office would love to do this. Out of Toner??!!!!

      The funeral to begin The Big Chill – College friends re-unite and the Stones’ “You can’t always get what you want” makes it all come together.
      Bruce Springsteen gives John Cusack relationship advice in High Fidelity -- Thanks Boss.

      The Buffalo hunt in Dances with Wolves – Tatanka!!!

      Road trip in Animal House – R.I.P. Fawn Leibowitz.

      Meeting at the mound and Crash gets thrown out in Bull Durham – Candlesticks always makes a good gift and Crash uses the wrong words with an umpire.

      Denzel Washington as Malcolm X walks/floats to his last speech to Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” – The calm before the storm.

      Heath Ledger sings “Can’t take my eyes off of you” to Julia Stiles during soccer practice in 10 Things I Hate About You – The band joins in.

      A rollicking, crude Tom Cruise talks to a seminar room full of men about ways to fool women into bed in Magnolia – So exaggerated it's funny. "They’re not your friends." 

      Brad Davis/Billy Hayes tries to get through customs with drugs strapped to him in Midnight Express – Might be most intense scene ever

      GOLD

      Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio hang on after Titanic goes down – Stunning, moving, sad look at the aftermath of a disaster.
      Paul Newman drives the opposing goalie nuts with taunts and starts a brawl in Slap Shot -- So crude and soo funny.

      Ed Norton stares into a mirror and blames everyone in New York about his demise in 25^th Hour – But he realizes he is the only one in the mirror at the end.

      Rooftop ending in Across the Universe – Perhaps my favorite end of a movie, with the words of John Lennon: “All You Need is Love” in the background.

      Mud wrestling in Stripes – They were heading to the bingo parlor and the directions got all screwed up. Hilarious.

      Kurt Russell channels Herb Brooks for his speech to the 1980 US hockey team in Miracle – Today we skate with them, because we can!

      Melanie Laurent puts on her war paint in Inglorious Basterds to David Bowie’s “Putting out Fire” before torching natzis – Whoever picked that music for this scene is a genius.

      Mel Gibson avenges his wife’s death in Braveheart – The legend of William Wallace begins.

      Creepy drug scene in Boogie Nights with the Chinese guy setting off firecrackers – This wins for its intensity and absolute weirdness.

      John Hannah reads W.H. Auden’s poem during the funeral in Four Weddings and a Funeral – Sad, but powerful few minutes that gives this great film a big heart.

      The Statue of Liberty floats in front of Charlton Heston as he figures out he is home in Planet of Apes – I re-enacted this scene on a Cape Cod beach one night in the 90s without Nova or the horse. I got good reviews.

      The band sings Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” on the bus in Almost Famous – Goes to show you a good piece of music can cure all ills.

      John Travolta and his boss’ wife Uma Thurman go to dinner at Jack Rabbitt Slims in Pulp Fiction – Fun from the first moment to the last. If I were to pick one as the best, it would be this one.

      

-      Mark Pukalo