Happy Canada Day

Today is one of the best days of the year, Canada day is the one day a year that we can all be proud be Canadian and not look like idiots. It marks the begining of summer parties with BBQs and alcoholic beverages for 19 years+ hahaha. It is also the time to think about the amazing service men and woman risking their lives across the pond. I tell you i am so proud to be Canadian and I feel we have the greatest country in the world, and I am so happy to be living in this great country filled with hockey and Tim Hortons Coffee. But enough about that patriotic stuff. I want to tell you about three of my favourite Canadians in honour af this Great Day.
Wayne Gretzky is considered the greatest hockey player of all time and I will not argue, but he is also considered one of the best Canadian athletes of all time. He goes along with the whole "Canadian Boy" stereotype. He was just a rewally good guy. And what made him so liked in Canada was that he was like a little kid just living the Candian dream. I love Wayne Gretzky and i have since i was a little kid, and i never really understood why but because all my friends liked him and he was just the best. I was around when he was just retiring. During the 80s and 90s he was the face of Canada and everyone loved him, even when he left Edmonton for Los Angeles. I read some books on Gretzky because i was always interested in him and what he has done. Hockey is Canadas game and having Wayne Gretzky makes Canadian hockey that much better.

Bobby Orr is my favourite hockey player of all time. I know you are probably wondering why, because I am only 16 but I was always interested in him because he was old. but not only that he was a Boston Bruin and also a Defenseman. Since I was four years old I was a defenseman and I was also a bruin fan., so Orr was special to me. The biggest part of Orr was that he was from Parry Sound and he grew up only two hours away from me. I thought that was kind of special and that is why he was special to me. For Anyone who watched hockey during the 70s say that Bobby is the greatest and  anyone after say that Gretzky is but I just love Bobby Orr and he was great little small town boy who was signed at the age of 14.

Thirdly I want to talk about one greatest Canadians ever. Terry Fox is worldwide. For those who dont know, well first of all your an idiot but he was diagnosed with Cancer at a young age. Terry Fox was a star basketball player at his local highschool at the time before he had to get his leg amputated. When he got his leg amputated it did not stop him, he was inspired to fight against cancer. He was inspired because he watched others older and younger who also had cancer just give up. He wanted to give people something to fight for and not to give up. He was such a great person he inspired not just people with Cancer but everyone else. He decided to run from Newfoundland to British Columbia on one leg. His goal was to raise at least $1 from every canadian. He started in St. Johns with his buddy from back home who drove a van and that was it. He ran a marathon a day and ran through the maritimes through Quebec, Southern Ontario where he raised the most money but when he got to Thunder Bay, that was when he realized the cancer had spread. He had to stop his run and we went to the Hostpital were he later died. He has changed the face of Canada but also in Canadian sports and for cancer worldwide. To his name he has raised over $500 million since. I personally am inspired but this amazing person who ran on one leg and i think it is apsolutely amazing what he did. I asm very proud that he is a Canadian like me.

By the time I post this it will be July 2nd but hey thats ok too.

Free Agency Day 2011-Alex Sifton

One of the biggest days of the year for diehearts. This year isnt the strongest year, but there is a good depth. No star-power. Closest to star power would be Brad Richards, who is a #1 centre many teams would die for.

1. Philadelphia

Good day so far. Picked up some good role players, but there two notable pickups would have to be Max Talbot, and Jagr. These are two very good players and good signings for Philly. Although Talbot will help, i personally think that 5 years is to long of a deal. I was looking for more of a two year, or 3. Jagr went over to the KHL for 2 years, and is a little bit older, but still proved himself at the World Championships with Czech. I personally think that this is a solid deal for the flyers, and this will help their offensive numbers, especially with the departure of Richards, and Carter. The other player Philly has signed is Lilja. He is a big defencemen. The Flyers are also in pursuit of Brad Richards, and made a pitch to Brad, and his agent in Mississauga. Rating: B+

2. Montreal

has had a good day. Although they have only made 2 signings today, they were two important ones. Alex Auld, who was the back-up for Carey Price last season signed with Ottawa, so they needed to find a replacement. They found Peter Budaj. He played on Colorado last season, and was a good goalie out there who proved himself in the mile high city. This signing will help Carey Price for sure, because Budaj is a bit older, and has a couple more years of experience than Price. Also the Habs have picked up Erik Cole, a power forward who played for Carolina last season, and is a good key to Montreal's line-up. He got 52 points last season, and I think he would produce even more, if Martin put him on a line with Cammalleri and Gionta for example. He was in the shadows this past season because of Eric Staal doing his usual buisness, and Unreal Rookie, Jeff Skinner. The main reason he will help Montreal is the Habs don't really have a big winger, who can drive wide, and will go to the net to get some dirty goals. Rating: A-

3. Florida

They are under Dale Tallon. He is their GM. Most people don't realize that he was also the GM of Chicago, when they won the Cup Last year. Even since Draft week-end, they have been making big splashes, and Dale is acquiring bits of the Chicago team that won the Championship. Such as Brian Campbell, and Kris Versteeg. They are also acquiring veteran leaders such as Ed Jovanovski, and Theodore. These two members have been in the league for a long time and will help out with some of the younger players. I feel that Ed will help Gudbranson out next season , both being defencemen, and Gudbranson will be a rookie. Theodore will do the same with Markstrom, who will most likely be wearing a Panthers uniform. The panthers are going in the right direction because they have Huberdeau, and Grimaldi who are two elite prospects. Some other notable signings are Fleischmann, Upshall, and Goc. Rating B+

Here are my teams that are going in the right directions: Update on Richards: 5 teams have made a pitch to him. These teams are Philly, Toronto, Calgary, TBL, and LA.

Speaking of Tampa, Stammer still hasn't resigned with the Bolts. No doubt that he will resign!!!! No worries to all the lighting fans out there!!!

Canada Day is Tomorrow!

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything to the blog lately as I have been busy working, I am currently doing a summer job and I have been coming home way too tired to blog. Most of the news I have is old news, and stuff that big hockey fans already know but I felt I needed to update. The other day the Hockey Hall of Fame(HHF) announced it's inductees for 2011. The four inductees are Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour, and Mark Howe. Three of which played for the Leafs and one who is Gordie Howe's son. Doug Gilmour is one the best leaf players to ever play the game, he is also regarded as the best captain Leafs captain ever for any leaf fan who didn't live during the 70s or has been sleeping the last 15 years. Joe Neiwendyk was also a leaf for a bit, he won the Stanley Cup three times for three different teams. The Eagle will also get inducted, he played for the leafs and was a big part of the team when I really started paying attention to the Leafs. He along with Joe won the Stanley Cup with Dallas. Mark Howe is the fourth to be inducted. He is the son of Mr. Hockey and played alongside him in the WHA. Howe was a very outstanding player on and off the ice. That's about all I've got for you right now, maybe more when the event actually happens after the HHF Game always hosted by the Leafs. 
Tomorrow is one of the best days of the year, Canada Day is the day to celebrate the greatest country ever. And what better way to celebrate Canada Day with Free Agent Frenzy. This year might not be as exciting as last year but the highlighter of this year is Brad Richards. We shall see what happens.
Also tomorrow if I am not busy I want to retire a blog post talking about some of the best Canadians that have changed this country.

JETS JETS JETS JETS!

I have been really busy just chillin and relaxing, and i did not really feel like posting anything yet. i mean hey it is summer. Anyways I watched the draft Friday night and it was very entertaining, Congrats to Nugent-Hopkins on being picked first overall. I had said Larson would be picked first but the days leading up TSN confirmed that Nugent-Hopkins would be for sure the number one, so there was no surprise there. Good job on Allister who predicted the first four right. The night wasn't very busy and there were not very many trades to move up and it seemed like the story of the draft for most GMs were that they got the man they didn't think would still be out there. There was lots of excitement around the Winnipeg team picking Jets as their new name. Honestly I did not think that they would go with that name but I am very happy that they did and went with the fan concensus. It would have been really awkward for a home crowd cheering JETS! JETS! JESTS! when the team was named Falcons or something. We all sort of knew that they would announce the name Jets as they named their pick but I am sure everyone watching held their breath when Cheveldayoff the new GM said "The Winnipeg Jets are proud to select...". I myself gave a few fist pumps and I'm sure so did many others. 
The greatest part of the draft was when the Aaron Boogard made the pick for the New York Rangers. Aaron Boogard was brother to the late Derrick Boogard who had recently passed away. Boogard was a member of the Rangers and recently Minnesota Wild. The draft was being held in Minnesota and when Aaron Boogards name was announced there was a standing ovation. It was easily the most touching part of the draft. It was truly really special and was amazing to see that support for the Boogy monster. 
My leafs did a good job in drafting very good young guys in the first round, one foreword and one d-man. Their third pick was Josh Leivo who is also a member of my hometown Sudbury Wolves. 
Aside from all the young guys being picked it also game teams opportunities to show off new jerseys which makes jersey freaks like me go crazy. Edmonton gave out their new white to their first overall. Florida unveiled a new red jersey that Panthers fans (all 20 of them) have been asking for a long time now. LA showed off the white version of the black jersey on the draft floor along with Nashville and those jerseys were leaked the day before but the ones on the floor had minor tweaks.
Other than all that it was pretty good and I'm sure I'm missing something but that should be good for now.

Can you beleive that Hockey has ended..... I cant

Leaked pictures of the new Preds jerseys

DECE!!!

After a big night last night with the most unexpected trophy going to Corry Perry. (No Disrespect but he didnt even think he was going to get it). It was a good night most of mine and Siftons predictions actually happened. NHL12 cover was released yesterday and lots of NHL video game fans will love Stamkos on the cover and I think its great it will be the first time seeing Stamkos in those beautiful jerseys before he actually wears them. Jay Mohr was a decent host last night and he was really funny especially in his 24/6 sketch. " Sid tell me about your first time" "Um well its kinda funny actually i asked him if he wanted to take his helmet off, i wasnt sure because i hadnt had much experience" AHH good times.

Anyways today lots of news spread the net. A few trades that happened in Philly only 30 min from each other. Philly shipped off Jeff Carter to Columbus for Jakub Voracek, first rounder and a third rounder. Then 30 minutes later Philly shipped captain Mike Richards to LA for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a second rounder WOW!! but im not finnished, The reason why philly shipped these boys out was because they wanted cap space for Ilya Bryzgalov who they traed for a week earlier. Now here are my thoughts, I dont understand why Philly would trade away two of their best players and not only were they two of the best but they were a big part of the leadership of the team. They traded them for cap space to sign Bryzgalov for a 9 year deal at $51 million. What why? I understand they needed a goalie and that is the reason for the losses in the past two playoffs but why would you give away the core of your team and parts of the reason why you got there. I tell you they got good return in Schenn, Simmonds and Voracek but these are just young guys who could be great for you team in the future but it isnt a sure thing and could come back to bite them, but i doubt for a second Schenn is going to be a bust. LA is hoping for a great plyoff push next year and Richards it going to be a key role in them getting there and being there. A polayer like that going into LA you have to think will they want to bring him up to lead them to a Stanley Cup as Captain or will they keep Brown as Captain? The other return for the WEST was Carter, Carter will take the load off of Nash in Columbus and they hope to make it back to the playoffs.

The next thing that is not a big news story but it is for people who love Hockey jerseys will like the new identity of the Nashville Predators and mom if you are reading this, that jersey up there ^ would be cool as a birthday gift ( Sea Weber #6 btw).

 And the last thing i will talk about is the Draft tomorrow,if anyone has actually been reading my blog, then you would have seen the Draft predictions for the top ten, me and my buddys all posted our predictions and i think it will be interesting because no one really knows who will get picked first, and neither do we. It will be a big day for many 18 year olds and for the clubs, I also hope my Leafers will make a splash tomorrow, they hold the 25th and 30th pick (PHL and BOS). Winnipeg will make their first pick as a team but they will be nameless tomorrow. Their 7th overal pick (Jonathan Huberdeau) will wear a blank jersey wil the NHL sheild on the front. It is too bad that they will not be releasing the logo and jersey tomorrow but TSN said that the name of the club will be announced some time this weekend at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

2011 Mock draft - Allister

 2011 nhl entry draft top ten selections -Allister
 
 
1) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-
This player has the potential to be a top scoring forward on what we see right now as the Edmonton oilers.  This would add the triple threat on the first line with Taylor Hall, Hopkins and Jordon Eberle.
 
1) 2) Gabriel Landeskog
2) After a very disappointing season for the Colorado they will be looking for some top six forward to fill the role of Milan heduk and Chris Stewart.  This would mean getting a goal scoring forward with a 30 goal potential who can help support matt Duechane or paul Stasny
3)  
4) 3) Jonathon Huberdeau
5)  
6) this player is a guy who can do it all.  He can kill penalty’s, power play and kill time at the end of a game.  This is what florida seems to lack in right now.  With the addition of a top line centre who they can start the build around for there future team.
7)  
8) 4) Adam larson
9) Adam Larson has shown in the world juniors and in the Swedish elite league that he can play physicle and dominate in the defensive zone.  This can be added to a very sloppy jersey defense last year.
5)  Ryan Murphy 
Murphy is a strong offensive defence man who in the OHL proved he can score and get assists.  This player would be a great blue line addition to NYI power play.
 
6) Sean Couturier
Ottawa has just started a rebuilding process and what better way to start it off with the addition of a top six forward who got 96 points in 58 games and also played for team Canada.
7) Dougie Hamilton
Winnipeg is a very young team that have a young growing blue line.  This could be great with a player who showed he can perform when it matters (the OHL playoffs).
 
8) Ryan Strome- top six forward that could ass some much needed depth to the Columbus team that does not have a centre to support rick Nash.
 
9) Nathan boulieu- is a gifted offensive defenseman that could develop into a young contributor to an ageing bruins d-line.
 
10) Mika zibanejad
Has the potential to be a two way power forward with soft hands.  This would be a good addition for a Minesota team who needs the addition of more top six forwards.

2011 Mock Draft- Maxwell

Mock draft
Edmonton Oilers- Adam Larson D
He is supposed to be the next Nick Lindstrom, with all of the stars up front why not have a future super star on the back end.

Colorado Avalanche- Ryan Nuggent-Hopkins C
He is the best foreword in the draft and he can't be passed up and any team in the top three could hit the jackpot.

Florida Panthers - Gabriel Landeskog LW 
He proved he wanted to work hard by coming over to the CHL and putting up big numbers. 

New Jersey Devils- Sean Couturier C
NJ won the draft lottery and moved up four spots and will hit the jackpot by picking up someone who was a projected #1  less than a year ago.

New York Islanders- Ryan Murphy D 
I think it would be stupid to let this guy past top 5 he is a really good offensive defencman. He will not be one to get in to the NHL right away and it will take time for him to develop but he will be a star

Ottawa Senators- Ryan Strome C 
The Sens want a star and they want one now, this guy is the best for what they got.

Winnipeg Jets- Jonathan Huberdeau C
First draftee of the new team and what a guy he is. He doesn't have a big background but scouts love him because he has potential and a late bloomer. 

Columbus Blue Jackets- Nathan Beauliau D 
He was a major part in bringing home the Memorial Cup. He is a big defenseman that is offensive but is also great on defense. 

Boston Bruins*Tor - Brandon Saad  LW 
Boston won the Cup on hard work and grit and that is exactly what they have in this hardworking player. 

Minnisotta Wild - Dougie Hamilton D 
Very large Defensman and a man that can help Minnisotta in the near future