There was this one time in high school when I watched a thrilling game between the Blues and Red Wings and was so excited to go to school the next day and talk about it with the hockey guys in my French class like we always did after good games. To my disappointment, they hadn't even watched it. I remember saying, " I thought you guys liked hockey??" and they said, " We do…the Flyers!" and in that moment I realized that you could love hockey, but not be a hockey fan. That there was a difference in loving the sport and loving a team.
I've always been the type to enjoy a game no matter who was playing. When people ask who I'm rooting for, my reply is always a great hockey game because for me that's the bottom line. I want to be entertained!
So, if after some self-reflection you realize that you have tunnel vision and only watch games "your" team plays in, I'm here to help expand your horizons. Here are some things to be excited about for each and every team now that the season is set to get under way.
Tuesday,
I took a look at the Atlantic Division. Wednesday,
I focused on the Central Division and yesterday, it was
all about the Northeast Division. Today, I take a look at the Northwest Division...
Calgary Flames:
If I'm a Flames fan, I'm most excited about what Johnny Gaudreau is doing at Boston College, but since he can't help the team this year, I'm looking at Dennis Wideman to inject some life into the powerplay and transition game to help generate some offense. Expectations aren't too high in Calgary as fans seem to be in a wait-and-see holding pattern with all eyes on GM Jay Feaster to make a move that will make this team a playoff contender for the first time in years. Clock's ticking!
Colorado Avalanche:
Another team with lots of room for improvement, but with such a young team - lead by 20 year old captain, Gabriel Landeskog - the best is definitely yet to come. It's just a matter of both fans and management having enough patience to see it through and not make any short-sighted decisions. Fortunately, I think there's enough excitement about the potential of this group that this is a team pushing for the playoffs without that sense of do-or-die pressure that often makes teams crack. For now, the goal is progress, anything else is a bonus.
Edmonton Oilers:
If you haven't been paying attention to what's been going on in Oklahoma City these past three months, you've been missing out as Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and college free-agent Justin Schultz have been dominating in every possible way. Toss in this year's first overall pick, Nail Yakupov and if this team finishes the season in the NHL basement yet again, the loyal fans who have stuck by them during this rebuilding process just might revolt. The time is now for this team to legitimately push for the playoffs.
Minnesota Wild:
I'm not sure I need to say more than Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, but that makes for a very short sentence let alone paragraph, so I'm also going to point out the young guns ready for their shot at a spot in the NHL - Jason Zucker, Mikael Granlund and possibly even Charlie Coyle. There's a lot of hope and a lot of potential and judging by the tweets from scrimmages this week, Wild fans won't be disappointed this year.
Vancouver Canucks:
For the most part, this is the same team that pushed the Bruins to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final two years ago and underachieved last year with a first round exit despite winning the Presidents Trophy, which means expectations for a championship are still quite high. Making things interesting are Ryan Kesler, who had both wrist and shoulder surgery in the off-season and is still recovering with a return date that is still quite vague, and the incessant rumors that Robert Luongo is on his way out of town with Cory Schneider ready to take on the job of starting goaltender. The window could very well be closing on this group and they're very aware that the time to earn an obnoxiously large ring is now.
Tomorrow, I'll feature the Southeast Division.
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Here's a link to my
photo album on facebook of my trip to Russia. I tweeted a lot of them, but here they are all in one place!
Julie
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