Ok folks...it's official...hockey season is upon us! :)
You know how I know this?? Because the number of stories written about hockey in the papers has jumped from about one per week per team to nearly one a day - Oh happy day!!
Being the loyal readers of my blog that you are, you know what that means...the return of QUOTABLES!!
Let's start with our favorite Swede this summer...
"I will not make up my mind before the season starts. That's how I feel right now. Others have started playing in the middle of the season. If I would feel like retiring, I would say it." -
Mats Sundin - from a press conference in Stockholm earlier this week
Potential retirement aside, let's get back to the not playing until the middle of the season part...Really Mats? Because that's not the tune you were singing at the trade deadline during which you refused to be traded because you didn't want to make a run for the Cup with a team unless you had been there from day one of training camp. So what makes this scenario any different??
Moving on to a Finn that we haven't heard much about this offseason...
"I have made a decision. I'm not going to say what my decision is, but I have made a decision and I'm skating every day. There's no rush. The only thing I can say is that I haven't been skating every day for the last four weeks just for fun. There is a reason." -
Teemu Selanne
Soooo...care to share with the class?? or maybe you just want to pass me a note...I won't tell anyone...pinky swear!!
Now that we've left the fifth grade...let's hop on over to Prague...
"They don't really need to do any advertising now. Just overall, from talking to friends and people outside of hockey, everybody is asking about it and everybody is really excited to see the NHL in the Czech Republic." -
says Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival, who lives in Prague during the offseason.
Good to hear!! I know I'm excited to see the crowds at these games. London was good, but Stockholm and Prague should be unreal! As it mentions at the end of the article, I'm also interested to see how this impacts the youth development programs in Sweden and the Czech Republic...guess we'll find out in 5-10 years :)
Back to the United States...if you're my
friend on Facebook or
follow me on Twitter, you'd know that I recently traveled to Tennessee via Detroit and was shocked at my inability to get any Red Wings gear period let alone anything celebrating their Stanley Cup victory in the airport shops. What is up with that?!
In anycase, the
Michigan delegation at the Republican National Convention made up for it just a little bit as they showed support for “hockey mom” Sarah Palin - Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate.
"The delegates were easy to spot. They were close to the podium wearing red-and-white Red Wings jerseys and chanting, “Let’s go, Palin” -- a variation on the “Let’s go, Red Wings” chant heard during hockey season at Joe Louis Arena."
And a big shoutout to Samantha Steckloff - Michigan's representative at the Sweetheart Pageant - State titleholders go to Miss America...their runner ups go to Sweetheart - who showed the love and wore a Red Wings Jersey in their annual parade. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but I heard she looked fabulous!
Now over to Chicago...
If you didn't think hockey was back in a big way in the Windy City, guess again.
Ticket sales are going through the roof and many games are available only through the purchase of ticket packages.
The Washington Capitals and
Tampa Bay Lightning are experiencing the same increase in demand....ahhh the smell of success!!
Sticking with Tampa...
"I never want to get to the point in my life when cowards can play hockey." -
Barry Melrose tells the St. Pete Times
When asked what he thought about enforcers, he replied:
"I love them. They're my favorite guys on the team. I love them like I do superstars. They do the dirtiest job in the world for less money than the other guys. They're always the most popular guy on the team, and they never get the thanks they should. I love them. I ask them to do a terrible thing, and a tough thing, every night. I reward them. I hate taking them out of a lineup. It is much easier for me to take a skill guy out of the lineup than it is to take a tough guy out of the lineup."
How much do I love Barry Melrose!??! If he keeps this up, I think we're going to institute a Barry Melrose quote of the day in my blog - no joke!
Staying in the Sunshine State but hoping over to the east coast...
"Florida was one of my top choices. That's why I came here, I really, truly believe they have an opportunity to absolutely make the playoffs and hopefully make a run for the ultimate prize." -
Bryan McCabe, upon his trade to the Panthers
Seriously...what are you smoking?
As much as I love the Panthers, let's be honest. They are a long shot to make the playoffs. With only three players on the roster who cracked 20 goals last season and a Division, let alone a Conference, that has gotten exponentially better while you haven't, how in the world can you say otherwise? Horton and Weiss need to step it up big time for them to even be a consideration come April. They are a young team with promise for the future and I'm a big fan of newly hired head coach, Peter DeBoer, and his experience molding young players, but come on...making a run for the ultimate prize?? I'm sorry, but not this year.
I've got more for you, but I am out of time for the moment. I'll update later. For now...here are some articles for your reading pleasure:
Sakic: Avs' patience 'worked out perfect for me' - espn.com
Entourage stars meet NHL stars - nhl.com
More mature Perron hopes the angst is over - STLtoday.com
I'm back with more :) continuing in Detroit...
"Africa is like the NHL of hunting. When you're in the tall grass, when it's 14-feet high and you can't even see the top of an elephant's back, when you're hunting a lion and it's five feet away and you don't even know he's there, that's scary. It gets your heart going." -
Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock.
Babs is by far one of my favorite coaches...talk about a fun interview! My only question...WHY was I not invited?!?! I could have been the official photographer for the trip. See...
Heading south to Nashville...
"I would be flabbergasted if Alexander Radulov didn't return to the NHL — through the Predators — at some point in his career. Now is that going to be next month, next year, or after three years? I don't know. But this is the best league in the world and it has the best players in the world. I never thought for a second that he wanted to play in Russia. He's always wanted to play in the NHL and always wanted to play against the best players, because his own goals were about becoming one of the best players in the NHL.'' -
Predators General Manager David Poile after suspending the Russian for the season
I agree! But I still think he's a bum for not fulfilling his contract and should he come back I would think he was even more of a bum for essentially using the KHL for their money...I'm not a fan.
Speaking of the KHL...
"Leave the best league in the world? No, thank you." -
Canadiens Sergei Kostitsyn...even if it meant more money
Smart guy...I knew I liked him for a reason!
Still speaking of Russia...
"I'm not a saint and I'm not in jail, either. I think I've learned a lot of lessons. I didn't feel comfortable. I got myself into some bad ways. It took some time to clear my head." -
Ray Emery as he looks back at his mistakes and looks ahead to his first season in Russia
EXCELLENT article by Scott Burnside - Everyone must read! I will be very interested to see if he's able to turn all this talk into action and really change his ways AND if anyone in the NHL will be willing to give him another chance...
Heading back to Africa...Mozambique to be exact...
"I'm a big believer that we should get as many people as possible to go over there every five or six years. It readjusts your perception level of everything. All we see of Africa is what a lot people want us to see, what certain media outlets wants us to see. By going over there yourself, you get to see something different. It's a real good experience." -
Robyn Regehr as he reflects on his trip as an Athlete Ambassador for Right to Play
I am all about the community service and Right to Play is a fantastic organization. I would absolutely love it if this sort of thing became an annual event for NHLers to participate in. (Fingers crossed!!!)
Back on the North American continent...
''I have not been groomed for public speaking, but that's part of the job as an NHL head coach,'' he said. ''It's tough to contain your emotions in the heat of the battle, but I don't know how to communicate any other way but honestly. And sometimes that gets me in trouble.'' -
John Tortarella as he prepares for his new position with TSN
OR...It gets you in my Quotables blog :)
Back to the Stanley Cup Champions...
"I start crying. I can't sleep two days. But now everything is fine." -
Pavel Datsyuk on his break up with former linemate Henrick Zetterberg - "Every year we start like that (on separate lines). It's not new. It's a long season. Nobody knows. I'm happy we're still on the same team. I hope we finish on the same team."
I really wish he spoke better English because he seems absolutely hysterical!! He's got some great one liners!
Proving that you've still got it seems to be a recurring theme...
"You'd think there's at least one team out there who needs a guy to stand in the crease and take pucks off his body." -
Mark Parrish...still without a contract for the coming season...
There definitely is...no worries...teams will come knocking :)
In Toronto...
"This is like some kind of nerd. The hair needs to be more spiky, more messy." -
Vesa Toskala as he checks out the bobblehead doll made in his likeness to be distributed at a Toronto Marlies game later this season Upon taking a closer look at the drawing, he noticed another egregious error. "It says Versa...That needs to be changed."
Here are some more stories for your reading pleasure:
Flyers' Gagne confident of return - Philadelphia Inquirer
Flames better win with Bertuzzi - Calgary Herald
And this one is an absolute MUST READ:
Koivu not up to par for some fans
Enjoy! :)
Jul
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