Jersey Collection day seven- All Star game West 2009

 One thing I like to do is collect a jersey from any NHL Or CHL or any hockey league city i go to.  This time when I was going to Montreal with my grade 8 class I needed something from Montreal. But I didnt want to get a Canadiens jersey because i hate them. But I need one for my collection so I will only get a Habs jersey if it is given to me ( read more about that tomorrow). Anyways so my alternative to a habs jersey was an All Star jersey from Montreal. And so another memory was kept through this jersey.  I had a fun trip with all my friends and we had a great time. We went to the Sugar Shack, we went through Old Montreal took some tours and we also went down St. Catherine street where I looked forever to find this jersey. I looked forever to find a jersey and I finally found it and it was exacty what I wanted a West Jersey. If I say so myself it is a pretty spiffy jersey. In case your asking the stars on the side of the jersey with the years are all the year Montreal has held the All star game.

Jersey Collection day six -Sharks

If you dont know me, I go to a boarding school and it is awesome. At my boarding school i live in a house with about 17 other guys and throughout the year you really get to know some of the other guys in your house. It is pretty cool to see all walks of life in this house. I have had people from all over the world live in my house and it is cool to listen to what they have to say even when there is barely any english to it. One of my buddies in my house was from Toronto and he played AA for the sharks. And what would you know it they would have the same jerseys as the San Jose Sharks he had given me one of his many jerseys that he had worn over the years for the sharks because he had known that I was a jersey collector. I thought it was pretty cool, I always wanted to own a Sharks jersey and this guy had just given me one. This isnt really a story but just a comment on the freindships that we build with the other guys in my house and it is a pretty neat experience for everyone to live on their own......with 17 other guys 

Jersey Collection day five- Avalanche

This Jersey is important to me not because of the jersey itself but of the story i have of when I got it. I ordered the jersey online and I received it a couple weeks later. I got the jersey in the mail the night of my first game that I played for my highschool team. This jersey is really important to me because it reminds me about how lucky I am for going to the school I go to, and getting the opportunities and meeting the people i wouldnt get anywhere else. I didnt really beleive that I would make my high school team but I tried hard and got on to the team. It made me so happy to play with my teamates and head to practice everyday with them. I love hockey so much and it is one of the most important things in life for me and it was awesome that I got that opportunity to continue playing hockey through my first two years of high school and my hard work paid off at the end of my grade ten year when my teamates voted me Most Improved Player. Like I said this jersey has nothing to do with Lakefield hockey and for anyone else its just an Avs jersey but to me it marked the begining of a whole lot of fun

Jersey Collection day four - Leafs

 



"The Passion that unites us all" "The price of success is hard work" are two quotes that the Toronto maple Leafs use as slogans for the team. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been my favourite hockey team since I was born. I have always loved hockey from a young age, hell apperently my first word was "hockey".  I started playing at the age of 3 and have always loved the leafs. Over the past few years I have watched every single leafs game. And while I watch the games I have to be wearing this jersey, so as you can beleive there have been lots of happiness and dissapointment in this jersey. This jersey has also been one of my favourite jerseys to wear out on the outdoor rink. As a defenseman I really look up to Phaneuf, the captain of the Leafs and I think he is a great role model for hard working young defenseman. It is such a beautiful jersey too, nice classic look to it, with the laces stripes and 36 point leaf.

Jersey Collection Day three- Canucks

 Today is all about the 'nucks. The Vancouver Canucks. Well I will start off by saying that I got this jersey just before the finals because I wanted to cheer on the Canadian team despite being a huge fan of the Bruins. See I was in a dilema before the finals I am a Bruins fan (after the Leafs) but I really wanted to see a Canadian team win it ( that isnt montreal or Ottawa). It didn't really matter to me who won because I would be happy either way but i bought this jersey and watched game one and game two wearing the jersey from the seats at Boston Pizza. Both of the games, Vancouver won and I just had to cheer for the 'nucks. I was planning on putting a Finals patch on this jersey but since they lost I will have to wait. I then bought a patch for my Bruins jersey (see in a few days). This jersey should give me the memory of the year that Vancouver failed to win the Cup.

Jersey Collection Day two- Thrashers

This is one of my newest Jerseys that i got this summer for my Birthday. This isnt the same type of memory that I got like yesterdays but it is still a different memory. After the Thrashers had relocated to Winnipeg, me and my buddy were talking about getting a Thrashers jersey. I thought it was a cool idea because now they are technicly a "vintage" team and this is a "vintage" jersey. I told my mom that I wanted this jersey because of that and because I might not be able to get my hands on one again. She tried to call places to get the jersey and people laughed at her. She had finally found one and she lucked out because she got it for half the price. This is a cool memory because it is the a symbol of the death of the Thrashers and the birth of the Jets.

Weekend Mashup

Havnt got much to talk about lately so I want to throw everything together from
The last week in what I would like to call weekend Mashup (name subject to change).

NHL enforcer ex Canuck Rick Rypien passed away early last week. Police suspect suicide was the case. He had recently signed a deal with the Winnipeg Jets but had been battling Depression over the last few years due to injuries and the pressure of contract playing in the NHL. Family and friends had said that a few days before his death he had told them that he had overcome the Depression. He was 27.

NHL RDO camp was this week with some changes getting put to the test. Brandon Shannahan said that some of these changes might take effect during the pre-season to see how they might work with NHLers. Some of the changes might be the green line 3'' from the goal line for replays and a clear mesh on top and bottom
Of the net for replays.

Chris Drury retired this week after only 12 NHL seasons. He had spent time in Colorado where he won a cup, he had also spent time in Buffalo before heading off to New York. I feel that Drury might have retired just a bit too early but injuries and other issues made him quit while he was on top. I'm sure the Rangers organization was sad that he had to go because it is my understanding that they could be a ligitimate playoff team this year with the recent addition of Richards and also lundqvist is a very solid goalie and Marc Staal has some presence in the back end. Marion Gaborik and Ruslan Fedatenko And MDZ coming up, Chris Drury could have made some good vetran presence.

Last thing is the tv stations announced it's schedule for the season which really doesn't mean much but if you are a Leafs fan like me and can't stand Rogers Sportsnet and Leafs Tv well you are out of luck because RSN will be holding most of the leafs games this year and like always there will be one or two leafs games a month on LeasTV which sucks for most of the people who don't have it (like me) and they can't watch the game.
Have a good weekend!

Jersey Collection Day One! - Blackhawks

 I own a lot of Jerseys and all of them have a memory and a story to go with them. I think it would be cool to show my jerseys off with a little story to go with them. Everyday i will post a picture or two of my jersey with a little story to go with it. I hope you enjoy!

My first Jersey I want to show you is one of my prized  possesions. It is a Chicago Blackhawks authentic Toews jersey. I got it last summer on a familly trip to Chicago and i have a cool little story to go with it.
Shortly before I bought this jersey we were out at Harry Carreys restaurant enjoying a nice dinner. It was probably a little less than a month after the hawks had won the Cup. I noticed something outside the restaurant with a lot of people wearing hawks jerseys around this red carpet. I  started getting curious, we were just about to leave when i said wait a minute, I went up to the red carpet and just waited. I waited for a bit when I saw a limo show up. Out came Patrick Sharp (Chicao Blackhawk btw) and Brian Campbel. That was pretty cool. I was able to get up close enough to snap some pics, but the highlight of this was when Brett Hull, Terry Sawchuck and Stan Mikta. It was the coolest thing. I got to shake Stan Mikitas hand and my step dad and my mom were trying to convince me to ask Bobby Hull to sign my Sudbury Wolves hat. They wanted me to say that I was a good Canadian boy from Sudbury. Lets just say i couldnt ask him. It was definitly a cool experience and something I will never forget as long as I have this jersey. That is what is the best thing about my jerseys is that they all have some sort of memory attached to them and I love that.



R&D Camp.

First off I have been wanting to make a post on the Research and Development camp that happened over the past couple days. The R&D camp is a camp set up by the NHL to research and put possible new rules to the test while also developing and scouting out some of the best 17 year olds. This year a bunch of possible new rules/changes were put to the test. Some of the rules/chances included hybrid icing, clear top on the net and bottom for better camera views, a green line set 3'' past the goal line for video review, taking out the shootout and adding 3on3, and the last was curved stansions for safty. Now let me break it all down for you. Hybrid icing is something that has been discussed for a while now but the NHL just isnt ready to impliment it. What it is, is the referee has the choice to decide if the puck could be played as touch icing or no touch icing. This rule is to get rid of the many injuries that have resulted in touch icing. The reason why the NHL doesnt want no touch icing is because it slows down the game. It works in the CHL because it is already slower than an NHL game. The problem with hybrid is, where do you draw the line? There would be too many arguments betwenn the coaches and refs because he made the decision to call icing before it was touched. Coaches and GMs do not want this because it could put the team in jepordy sometimes because in an icings the team that got the icing , the faceoff is in thier own end and that team isnt aloud a line change this could result in a goal and the game. The clear top on the top of the net and side of the net is for video review so it is easier for the people conducting the review and it is also easier for the refs. Brandon Shannahan who put on the camp said that this could be a possibility durring the pre-season. That and the green line (shown in picture above) has a chance of making it in the NHL this season. The green line indicates that the puck has fully crossed the line, it is also for video review. The last one i will talk about is the 3on3 after 4on4 overtime. The 3on3 would replace the shootout, this is my favourite because I hate the shootout. I think it is stupid that an entire team could battle hard for 65 minutes for the game to be decided by only one guy.  The 3on3 ccould be exciting because there would be so much more room and open space for players to skate with the puck. It would be exciting to watch three players try and work together with so much room. It would almost feel like pond hockey. All of these are just thing that the NHL is consideringfor changes in the future but there isnt a good chance that any of them would actually make it into the game. and just as the name implies, its "Research" so dont take any of what i said and think that it will all happen next year.

RIP Rick Rypien

We lost another great canadian boy that got the privilage to play the game that we all love. Rick Rypien passed away yesterday in his home. Police are assumeing that the death was a suicide. Rick was known for having Depression amung friends and family because of the pressure and stress that was playing in the National Hockey League. Rypien constantly battled injuries through out his career in the pros which forced him to work harder but his effort came up empty handed. The players that played with rypien said that he was a small guy that packed a big punch and was more of the enforcer on the team. Police still are not sure what the cause of death is but they think it could have been suicide because he had told friends and familly days earlier that he had overcome depression. I think that is a red flag but nothing can be done now. Rypien was the second enforcer to die this summer. Derek Boogard who was a member of the Rangers was given oxycoton unprescribed by his brother before partying that night. Boogard was also found in his home. Aaron Boogard was his brother who gave the oxycoton to him and Aaron was later charged because he was held responsible for his death. Aaron was charged about a month after he got a standing ovation in Minnesota at the draft when he made the pick for the Rangers. It is really sad to me that these amazing hockey players have died. Thoughts and prayers go out to all of the famillies. It is really too bad that we have to find out this way that our heros are human too.

Which city is most Likly to get an NHL team?

Last night me and my buddy were talking about future teams that might make the move to other cities or just cities that might get an NHL team in the next few years. Last year TSN had a show talking about the cities that are most eligible for an NHL team. Now I will take a bunch of cities the NHL is looking at to expand or relocate.

Hamilton- First off we have Hamilton that has been in talks a lot in the past few years about getting an NHL franchise and they have an NHL sized rink ready to do it. The problem is it had its problems in the past with Jim Balsilie trying to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton. Gary Bettman wasn't too pleased with Balsilies aggressiveness. The other huge problem Hamilton poses is that it is too close to Toronto and Buffalo and these two cities would not be happy with Hamilton stealing a huge chunk of it's fans. The last thing about Hamilton and I will say this with the other Canadian cities too is that it is too soon after Winnipeg for another Canadian team. I'm sure Bettman wants to wait and see how Winnipeg ends up before he puts another team in Canada.

Quebec City- Quebec City in my mind is going to be the next Canadian city to get an NHL team. After a long absence from the NHL and an old Collise that is now home to the Quebec Ramparts, Quebec is finally going to build a new rink with help from the Federal government. The new arena if being built would be built by 2015 and if you read my post yesterday about the Islanders their lease for the rink expires in 2015. This would be a great opportunity for a relocate. Like I said before Bettman probably wants to wait before he gives another Canadian city a team and to me that timing could be perfect.

Halifax- I've heard rumors from people who want Halifax to be an NHL city but I just really don't think it could happen, not in the next few years at least. I spoke to a buddy of mine from Nova Scotia and he said that Halifax Mooseheads games are rarely sold out and he doesnt believe it would be an NHL city either. What I believe is that it just isn't a big enough market to have a legitimate team that will make the league lots of money. It doesn't always go to the city that most deserves it, it would go to the city that would make the most money. And that is what it comes down to, believe it or not it's a business game. The situation down in phoenix is like my buddy Alex Sifton said "High risk, High reward" Gary Bettmans job is to expand the game and make more money. By having a team in Pheonix he hoped that he would create fans in and around the area those new fans would then spend money on games and merchandise. Thus expanding the hockey universe. If a team were to pop up in Halifax where fans already spend money and buy merchandise then the people would continue not really making much more money. Look at places like Tampa Bay or California where hockey really shouldn't be but thriving, an example of High risk High reward.

Kansas City- This is a city that has been high up on the NHLs list to expand/relocate. They have been looked at a lot lately and I believe that now Winnipeg is done, Kansas City is the next place for a team. Kansas City had a team just 40 years ago I believe, and the NHL is willing to give them another shot. I am not too sure but I think that KC has an NHL sized rink ready to go for a return to the NHL. Now that Phoenix really only has one more year in the NHL, KC would be a quick fix to ship them to.

Seattle- I've heard rumors of an NHL sized rink to be built in Seattle in the next few years. Personally I do not know much about Seattle other than the fact that the feed a good portion of the Vancouver Canuck fans and I also see that WHL teams have been very successful in and around Seattle. The other thing to that would be the Vancouver Canucks organization would not be happy with loosing lots of customers.

Los Vegas- Vegas is my final city and a city that has many Pros, and many cons to an NHL in the city. First of all the pros are that many Canadians visit Los Vegas each year for all of the shows and gambling, and what better show than an NHL game! I think it would be a big market for the NHL but the problems could prove costly. As professional as they are, hockey players could have way too much fun in Vegas and that could be a problem not only for the team but for the League. I feel
Like for all the money it could make the league it could do more harm than good to an innocent Canadian sport. 

Mid-Summer- Islanders new home?

It has been one month since I last made a post on my blog and in the hockey world a lot has happened. I added a twitter feed to my blog to track my tweets about some of the summer signings, and if you are a religious reader of the blog and I know that no one is but if you were you could have tracked the things that have gone on this summer. In the future for those readers I will tweet when I hear something and isn't really post worthy. That you can find on the right side bar.
Now for the reason why I write this blog, some political hockey nonsense. Big news last week on Long Island when the New York Islanders put a vote together people living in the region. The vote was for the team to borrow tax money from the government to build a new rink. The lease was over in 2015 for the current rink called Nassau Collisium. There have been talks for Yeats about the Islanders getting a new rink to appeal to the fans and to bring in a bigger crowd. Islanders players were on twitter the weeks prior to the vote encouraging the fans and the people of Long Island to vote yes.
The vote happened last Monday and ended up leading to a Non decision (always seams like the oui/non votes end up that way). My thoughts on this doesnt really have to do with islander fans not wanting a new rink because they do, it's just the fact that there aren't enough Islander fans to go against the non islander fans. Well it's that reason and the reason that with all this debt crisis thing that's going on in the states people just didn't want to spend tax payers money on an new hockey rink. I'm
Sure there are others reasons too but with all the media attention on this debt crisis. It was probably a bad time to have this vote. On a second note building new infrastructure creates more jobs which is better on the economy but I think it was more the fact that the money was being borrowed from the government while it was in a bit of a crisis. I also don't think that any Islander fans voted non in this vote, and if they did, they are idiots and the reason I say that is because with a new rink the league won't think twice about moving a team with a new rink but because they have an old team with not very many fans and that is not making very much money, they are in danger of being relocated and judging by the turnout that pack the Nassau coliseum of Nordique fans, The Nordique fans wouldn't mind this decent team on the rise with many good young players.