There you have it, my opinion on the whole spectacle in less than 10 words. I look forward to weekday games as a chance to switch off my brain from more urgent matters, but it's hard for me to pay attention if the game doesn't count for anything. I want to watch some real hockey.
Anyway, congratulations to Alex Steen, for making the kiddie All-Star team. For months he suffered media comparisions made regarding the number of children he had and his goal production (for a while back there, the tally for both stood at one), and I'm sure he's getting the last laugh now...and to Kaberle too, although I have less to say about him. He's a great player but he doesn't really register with me as a big name. Good luck to the both of them.
As for who SHOULD have gone (from the Leafs) to the kiddie All-Star game...well, White and Wellwood could have been contenders, but they're both injured...so Steen is really the only choice right now, not to say he doesn't deserve it. Besides, we couldn't just suck up 3 spots on the roster.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Darn it, is it that stupid All-Star week?
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Youngstars...
Since the Ducks are composed of a lot of youngsters, I have a lot to choose from.
I would send the following:
1. Ryan Getzlaf - (he was actually chosen to play) for not only his great abilities on the ice, but the way he pumps up the team & comments throughout the game.
2. Corey Perry - He may not have had a lot of goals, but he always puts out 120% in each game.
3. Shane O'Brien - I will leave this one to Finny
4. Dustin Penner - is not only the "Large Human" but can find the back of the net and is great laying on the body.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Wherein the NHL Does My Job For Me
Dear NHL,
I know that you and I have had some disagreements over the years. I will never understand the flawed algorithm you use for your scheduling and sometimes your commissioner's head is just so darn large I can't help but want to squish it.
But I must say, bravo to your selection of Patrick Eaves and Andrej Meszaros to this year's YoungGuns team. Boy wonder Eaves has brought a great element to the team with his penchant for planting himself in front of the net and causing the goaltender grief. The commentators have said that perhaps he just doesn't know any better and that can be a pretty dangerous place to be. Still, stubborn as a mule he plants his ass in front of the net, causing the occasional slash and shove from disgruntled goalies. Good on you Eaves-y! Last year in just 58 games, he got 20 goals and 9 assists. This season, he got off to a slow start but has managed to get 10 goals and 14 assists in just 49 games.
Andrej Meszaros, he of the curly locks and hard to pronounce name is in his sophomore year in the NHL and may be going through a bit of a slump. Perhaps he's missing his fellow Slovak Zdeno Chara. He played all 82 games with the Senators last season and amassed 39 points. He was also second in plus/minus that season, finishing off with a +34.
So really, I have no complaints about the selection and feel that my team was nowhere in the least slighted. Last season, the team was the second youngest in the league, even with Old Man Hasek skewing the average. Really, everybody else on the team is over 25 so it's not like any of them would qualify.
Well Antoine Vermette, Anton Volchenkov and Ray Emery are all turning 25 this year. And Jason Spezza was born in '83. Come to think of it why didn't you choose them? I know they're not on entry level contracts anymore [thanks Heather B.!] but still! Vermette has a penchant for scoring highlight reel goals and Volchenkov is leading the league in blocked shots right now. And Emery has his own rap song for crying out loud!
That's the second time you've denied Spezza's the YoungGuns game as he could have gone in 2004 as well. Or MAYBE, just MAYBE, you understand that my boys need to be well rested to have a good second half and make a legitimate playoff run. Wouldn't want another repeat of Hasek and his Pop-o-Groin. Is this all part of your great and grand conspiracy? If so, thanks! If not...thanks!
Love always,
Sherry
P.S. Speaking of Hasek, when are you betting on? Mid-February? Late March?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bruno Gervais: Long Island Lolita
Falling Young Star
One would think no one needed to tell Mike Green not to stand in front of Christoph Schubert's slap shot. You know, the one that has been clocked at over 100 MPH. Is that fast? That seems fast. Probably would hurt. Ouch.
Apparently one would be wrong. For a young star, he's not so bright...and yes, horribly bad pun intended. So now thanks to that moment of literally taking one for the team, he's been hobbling around on crutches and may miss the Young Stars game next week. It would be a shame, because with the way he's performed this season he definitely deserves to be there.
Green (aka Greener or Greenie or some other highly creative nickname) has been a breath of fresh air for the Capitals extremely thin defense this season. Sure, he makes those rookie mistakes and is occasionally sent to his room without dinner for taking a stupid penalty. But he's also got great instincts in both zones and is becoming known for his end to end rushes that often result in scoring chances...and once even ended in a beautiful highlight-reel goal:
The Young Stars game has actually become one of my favorite parts of the All Star festivities in recent years, a development that coincided with the realization that other teams had players worth watching as well. It tends to resemble a real hockey game more than the game the following day, and is a great way to see those young'uns you wouldn't normally get a chance to see. Here's hoping Greenie can ice that leg and get it back to 100% in time, because I'd love to see him show the rest of the NHL how awesome he is!
Read More......
Monday, January 15, 2007
Perfect Hockey
The perfect hockey game must contain the following things:
1. An opponent I care about. For me that would include Toronto, Ottawa, and Carolina for sure. Possibly Philly with Montreal quickly moving up in the ranks.
2. Great saves. When the goalies are at the top of their games, the goals that are scored are that much more exciting.
3. A fast tempo. Let the skaters skate!
4. Chippy play. I don't care about the pre-arranged fights between the appointed enforcers and I don't want anything dirty. But I want to see a little extra pushing and shoving and I want to see players chirping at each other, good-naturedly or not.
5. A highlight reel goal. Maybe it's Max Afinogenov taking the puck end to end while making the people he skates around look ridiculous. Maybe it's Briere, Pominville, and Hecht working off some beautiful passing. But I need one goal that makes me gasp a little and has my eyes glued to the TV or the jumbotron for the slow-mo replay.
6. An excited crowd. Even if I'm watching the game on TV, the crowd makes a difference.
7. Questionable calls. In spite of all my complaining about the refereeing this season (largely awful, almost always inconsistent), there's defintely part of me that enjoys the complaining. It's part of the game. I don't want any game-deciding blunders though. I don't enjoy losing or winning that way.
8. A surprise goal. I love it when someone who doesn't score a lot or hasn't scored in a while puts one in the net. He gets that big grin on his face, maybe even lets out a little sigh of relief, and his teammates swarm him, laughing and patting him on the head and back. I'm telling you, if Andrew Peters ever manages to pull off a goal, HSBC will be a freakin' madhouse.
9. A back and forth score. Blow-outs are nice once in a while, but no one wants to watch that all the time. I want to see two teams battling it out, refusing to give each other an inch, trading leads. Of course, I want my boys to win in the end, but even if they don't, atleast I can be proud of the heart behind the effort.
10. A great penalty kill. It could be killing off a 5 on 3. It could be Derek Roy stealing the puck and circling around and around and around, single-handedly killing off 20 seconds. Either way it's tense and exciting.
I'm tagging the Young Stars question on here since I don't really have a lot to say about it. Is it really a rookie game? Because Thomas Vanek, the Sabres rep, isn't a rookie. There wasn't an All-Star game last season however so maybe that's why he qualified? I'm just curious what the actual guidelines are.
Anyway, Thomas Vanek totally deserves to be there. He had a solid rookie season last year but has improved by leaps and bounds this year and has arguably been the Sabres' most consisistent player. Last year he finished with 25 goals and 23 assists. This year he already has 23 goals and 23 assists. He's also a plus 23, better than every other forward in the NHL, which is a huge reflection of his improvement from last season to now. He's fun to watch so hopefully he'll let loose in the Young Stars game.
Weekly Topic: Jan. 15-21: YoungStars-UPDATED!
Now that the All-Star roster has been announced, so has the one for the YoungStars game. Did you know that there was a separate game for rookies? Check out the roster here and tell everyone who should have gone from your team if he's not there already.
EDIT: Thanks to Heather B. I am going to clarify: YoungStars are players who are 25 and under playing on entry level contracts. Sorry for the confusion!
