Hockey – Page 3 – JohnBollwitt.com

2008 Jan 292008 Jan 29

Take the NHL All-Star game back to its roots

The NHL All-Star game[wiki] was this past Sunday. In case you failed to notice, you probably are not alone. Personally, I liked the festivities, no matter how confusing or dribbling you think it might have been. Even though the Eastern Conference won with just twenty seconds left in the game at a score of 8-7, the action went all the way to the end, not to mention that hat trick that Rick Nash pulled off.

While I’m at it, I love the players being wired during the game. It wasn’t just periodically hearing what the guys were saying on the ice during stoppage of play. They were talking to the players, mainly the goalies, during game play. I found that fascinating, no matter how trivial it might have been. Maybe it’s the Boston rubbing off on me from Rebecca, but I like Tim Thomas a little bit, more so when he did that break dance spin move during the Superskills Competition the night before.

And Chris Pronger falling on his face? Priceless.

I’ve been hearing from a variety of people that all of this stuff is pointless, and the All-Star game should go away. There isn’t a point, it’s boring, or something along the lines that no one cares. Honestly, I like the whole idea of the games biggest names getting together on the ice for a good game of stick and puck once a year.

The other morning, I had the idea about what the All-Star game should be, and that’s a return to its original roots. Thanks to the CBC’s People’s History of Hockey, I recalled how the first all-star games were actually charity benefits, not massive marketing stunts at all.

The first All-Star game in ice hockey predates the NHL. It was played on January 2, 1908 before 3,500 fans at the Montreal Arena between the Montreal Wanderers and a team of All-Stars players from the teams the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association. It was held in memory of Montreal Wanderers player Hod Stuart, who had drowned three months after the Wanderers won the Stanley Cup in 1907. The proceeds of that game (over $2,000) went to Stuart’s family. [wikipedia]

And actually, the game that I heard about in that TV documentary is something that might be all too needed in today’s NHL with the amount of nasty hits resulting in some stiff punishments.

On December 12, 1933, a tragedy occurred as Toronto’s King Clancy tripped Boston’s Eddie Shore, and, in retaliation to being tripped, Shore hit Ace Bailey from behind flipping him over backwards. Bailey hit his head so hard on the ice that a priest in attendance gave him last rites. Bailey lived, but his playing career was over. Shore was suspended for 16 games of a 48 game season for the hit. As a benefit for Bailey and his family, the first ever National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on 14 February 1934.

The game was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, during which Bailey’s #6 uniform was retired by the Leafs. It was the first number to be retired in the NHL. The game saw the Leafs battle against an All-Star team made of players from the other seven teams, which the Leafs won 7-3. One of the more memorable moments before the game was when Bailey presented Shore with his All-Star jersey, showing to the public that Bailey had clearly forgiven him for his actions. Bailey also presented a trophy to NHL President Frank Calder before a game in the hope that the trophy would go to the winner of an annual All-Star Game for the benefit of injured players. [wikipedia]

It’s a long shot, but why not push this concept back into the league and focus more on charities for the All-Star game? The current mindset is to promote the league and spread the game into markets that need to have its popularity, or lack thereof, boosted. There are underlying charities, but they are not at the forefront of the event. Right now, the only, real benefit of the NHL All-Star game is the NHL.

Take the game back to where it began. Make it a charity driven event. Feed the hungry, give money to help fight disease, clothe the hungry, help rebuild towns from disaster, etc. Say what you will about NHL commissioners or owners, but the heart that can come from helping more than just the NHL will help promote the game better than any self-promoting TV broadcast.

2008 Jan 052008 Jan 05

Impromptu adventure to Canucks Superskills

So I got ahold of some tickets for the Canucks Superskills event, and the fact that Rebecca’s birthday is coming up was going to line up perfectly. I thought I would put them in a birthday card and surprise her with them. After all, it was something that she had asked for, so I thought I was rocking the birthday.

All was going according to plan until I was listening to the radio while in the shower this morning. Apparently someone moved the event to today and not next weekend like I had planned on working out perfectly for Rebecca’s birthday. Or maybe it was actually today and I failed to really double check that date and time.

Regardless, I surprised her when I got out of the shower with second row tickets, which were actually a surprise to me as well (I really need to be better about checking these things), so we grabbed our things and rushed out the door.

The Canucks Alumni played a game before the festivities kicked off. Cliff Ronning, Dave Babych, Gary Valk, and a wide cast of others were on the ice just ahead of the Superskills getting under way.

Just minutes before the competition, Mike Weaver was taped… er, tapped with the captaincy of the white team. He wore it proudly.

Losers had to do push ups. Henrik looks a little too happy to be on the losing end of the stick, but you have to applaud his enthusiasm.

The North Island Silvertips came over from the island for the festivities. They got to participate in each of the events as well. I could only imagine what it would be for a young kid like that and having these NHL guys around you. It would definitely be a boost to work harder to get to the big time.

Mason Raymond won the fastest skater competition, beating out last year’s winner, Ryan Kesler. You can see his reward above. An extra note, Alexander Edler won hardest shot, dethroning Sami Salo from his four year reign.

Once again, you’re a young goalie and you get to share the ice with the likes of Roberto Luongo. How cool is that? Intimidating and encouraging, all at the same time.

The whole place was full with fans, and I can’t remember going to a game, which I haven’t been to a lot nor are we talking about playoffs, where there is so much enthusiasm combined with blue and green in the seats. From row one at ice level to the last row up top, I think it’s safe to say that some of the best fans in the NHL really is in Vancouver. For some, this is the cheapest way into GM Place to take the entire family, so it’s great to see a good turnout as well as a well done event, very deserving to the fans.

Willie Mitchell, a true fan’s player, gave his stick to this youngster. It’s those things that stick with you as a little kid like that. If you don’t believe me, check out The Crazy Canucks #48 where we tell you the story of one guy’s effort to get a broken stick signed that he got as a young boy from Cliff Ronning during his days with the New Westminster Bruins[wiki].

Have nothing but good things to say about the event today, especially for being such a last minute thing for us to go check out. Our seats were amazing, and I had way too much fun with my new camera. You can see all 107 pictures in my Superskills set that I put on Flickr, and most of that was learning what my camera can do. I’m far from mastering it, but it keeps surprising me with what it can do.

2007 Dec 232007 Dec 23

NHL schedule to change for the 2008-2009 season

One topic that comes up between a lot of NHL fans is the schedule.

For the most part, it currently sucks. It’s nice to have a lot of battles going on between the divisional teams, but the fact that the current setup only allows games between certain teams once every three years, it can be annoying.

For instance, Sidney Crosby[wiki], the league’s number one guy, has been in the league for nearly three years now, and he finally made it all the way out to Vancouver for his first game ever just a week ago. It was hugely anticipated and lived up to the hype, but it took a long time before we got the chance to face the Penguins, a team that is chalk full of some amazing talent.

As fans, that’s tough, and it goes beyond Crosby. There are others that we want to see on a regular basis, and that’s going to change. It might not be the best setup, but it will be good to know that at least once a season, we’ll see every team in the league.

The NHL board of governors meeting Thursday didn’t go that far, but did decide to change the schedule so teams will play each other at least once next year.

A concession the players will welcome, for sure. New faces, new uniforms and, more importantly for fans, new battles to wage. […]

Colorado’s Andrew Brunette, who’s played in Minnesota and Atlanta, is tired of seeing Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson – even if he’s a buddy from their Wild days.

“I’m really against eight games with teams in your division. And fans want to see players on the other side of the league every year, in their building. Not every two or three years, that’s just not right. It would be more travel for us, but that’s OK with me.” [edmonton journal]

So this is a great step in a better direction, but nothing is completely perfect yet. There are some teams that will only be played once, so it will place certain match ups in one team’s rink, then the following year will place the same teams in the other team’s arena. Not the most perfect setup that fans would like to see, but it’s better than waiting three years to see said team again.

One thing that desperately needs examination is the structure of the schedule. The Canucks have had a very strange go so far, especially at the beginning of the season where there were nearly a week between games, and that happened about twice. Now there are numerous, back to back nights on the road where the team is in one city and in another for the next night. On top of that, there are weeks with four games in seven nights. Or it’s eleven games in fifteen nights. Either way, that’s a lot of travel, bouncing around time zones in some situations.

What happens when that occurs? Playing that often on the road wears a player down, and the team is suffering from it. The flu is making its way around, and it goes beyond just players. Recycled air on the charter flights spread the illness, and I’ve heard from friends that people working at the games inside GM Place have been getting sick as well. True that it is flu season, but I find the coincidence fairly interesting.

To go even further, players want the schedule to change just a little bit more.

Paul Kelly, the new executive director of the NHL Players Association, also addressed the league’s owners during a late-afternoon session to open the board’s two-day meeting at an elite resort on the Northern California coast. […]

Kelly even said the players would entertain the notion of an 84-game season — allowing every team to play a home-and-home series against one division in the other conference each year — if owners agreed to reduce the number of preseason games. Bettman said the owners could be open to the notion, but it hasn’t been formally proposed yet. [si]

I’m down for that. The idea calls for shaving off some pre-season games, and that wouldn’t be horrible either. As long as the players are up for it, I think it’s a good idea. Just don’t extend the season any further into the spring than it already has. As a fan, I’m always up for more hockey.

2007 Nov 30

Bettman wants to keep the NHL out of the 2014 Olympics

Continuing in the series of stupid things that NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman[wiki] is doing to grow the sport of hockey, the plan is keep players from participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics[wiki] in Russia.

The 2010 Vancouver Games could be the end of the NHL’s brief participation in Olympic hockey.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told Reuters on Tuesday that, following Vancouver, his league may rethink its policy of suspending play in mid-season so players can compete in the Olympics.

That means the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, could be the first since the 1994 edition in Lillehammer to not feature hockey’s best men’s players.

“It is a strain. It is a strain on the players, on the schedule and on our fans here,” Bettman said at the Reuters media summit in New York.

“It has an impact on the momentum of the season and the benefits we get tend to be greater when the Olympics are in North America than when they’re in distant time zones.” [cbc]

I’m calling shenanigans on this one. Sure, the drastic difference in time zones is one thing, but the fact that the Russian Super Leagues[wiki] is consistently drawing players away from the NHL is the other half of the story.

Let’s be clear. The NHL has a salary cap, and the leagues in Russia don’t. Players can leave the NHL for more money to play in leagues that don’t have the posh superstructure that the NHL exists in, but the dollar amounts somewhat make up for it. The competition might just be as high, and the pay more than makes up for the fact that you’re not playing in the same league that Wayne Gretzky[wiki] became a legend in.

I talked about this in the latest episode of The Crazy Canucks, and we all agreed that this is nothing more than saber rattling being done by Bettman. It’s obvious that since the 2010 games are in Vancouver, there would be a huge support for having NHL players in the games when they come to the country where the sport was born. However, when the games go to the land that is stealing the league’s players away for more money, Bettman is sticking his nose up in the air.

Everything that Bettman has done with the league to this point has been, in his mind and/or words, done with the NHL’s best interest in mind. The ultimate goal is to grow the sport across the U.S. because any respectable hockey fan can tell you that a majority of profit for the league comes from Canada. The fans here love their hockey, and I live in a city that is proof to the fact.

When I think about this move, I go back to when the 1994 FIFA World Cup[wiki] came to the U.S. and how much that sparked my interest into the sport of soccer. Prior to that, my only real exposure to it was when I would go to Kansas City to visit my grandparents and see various games on Univision with the insanely entertaining announcers that spoke spanish way too fast for my comprehension.

The point is, I started liking the sport after 1994, and I still remember watching Alexi Lalas[wiki] and Cobi Jones[wiki] in that tournament. Today, when there is a game on the tube, I’ll stop and watch for a while. I’ll even download a game through bittorrent once and a while when it pops up in the various feeds I watch. There is only so much I can do when I watch a game between Manchester United and Everton to really understand the history, crowd chants, and rivalry, but I know good action when I see it, all thanks to the World Cup sparking my interest.

To me, that’s what having the best of the best from the NHL representing their country can do to grow the sport. There have been so many times in which I have heard Gary Bettman say something to the effect that something was done to help the NHL grow in terms of exposure for the sake of getting more fans, such as the choice of Versus being the TV network of choice in the U.S. How does taking players from the NHL out of the Winter Olympics make that work?

I get that there is chance of losing players to injury in the games, not forgetting that this is nearly 3/4 of the way into the season when the playoff race is close to the horizon. However, what’s the chance that you can help ride that momentum from the Olympics into the Stanley Cup Finals? For some, that might seem like a stretch, but think about that next Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby who catches the games and decides to get a pair of skates the next day.

Not being in the Olympics would be a mistake, if not a missed opportunity, Mr. Bettman. It’s sad to know that a man like you can control the livelihood of a country, or even countries, just because you’re fed up with the way that another league, in another country, operates.

2007 Nov 08

BitTorrenting in some Finnish league hockey

The beautiful thing about BitTorrent[wiki] is that it allows us to pretend that we have a DVR. Well, in Vancouver, they are known as PVR, but it’s that digital video box that is so much sweeter than what a VCR ever was or can be.

Anyhow, on one of the many sites that I watch for the latest torrents that I want to grab, something popped up that caught my eye. It said “Finland” and “hockey” somewhere in the title, and there was also a “vs” in it as well. I’ve heard a lot about the Swedish, Finnish, and Swiss leagues that NHL players jump ship to play in, so I thought I would download it to see what it was.

Sure enough, it was a Finnish league hockey game, and the broadcast was entirely in the native language. HD, widescreen format with sound that had some killer, stereo quality sound. Who ever did this rip, did it with passion, and the broadcast wasn’t half that bad either.

I didn’t get a chance to watch the whole game because I was going through the collection of stuff that has been accumulating for us to watch prior to recording the latest episode of The Crazy Canucks last night. I actually needed to help free up space on my hard drive, so I parsed through it rather quick. That’s not to say that I wasn’t able to make a few observations, if not get a feel for how the game went.

First and foremost, the amount of logos on the jerseys of the players should make any NHL fan rejoice that we don’t have to endure such blatant advertising. The arena wasn’t the biggest, but the home team made quite the noise when the home team scored. I think they were the ones in the blue and orange uniforms, but I don’t really know if they were SaiPa[wiki] or Tappara[wiki].

Checking into those Wikis, there are a couple of players on these respective teams from B.C. and Minnesota. Some good ol’ North American hockey kids, dontcha’ know, eh?

Both of these teams, finding this information out while writing this post, are in the SM-liiga[wiki] in Finland. Interestingly enough, this league is regarded in Europe the same way that the NHL is thought of in North America. Playing at this level is nothing to scoff at, and watching some of the action is evidence of that. International rules or not, these guys can play.

So Tappara won, and I think I’m pretty confident that they are the guys in those blue and orange uniforms, but now I’m second guessing myself and saying that the home rink was that of the guys in yellow and black. Or was it yellow and blue?

I don’t understand a lick of Finnish, so there is no way I can say for certain as to who was who, but 4-2 was the final score, Tappara was the winner. The guys in orange and blue. At least our numerics cross language boundaries.

Thank you, mysterious Finnish league hockey fan, for taking the time to put this out there for me to discover. Like I said, I’ve only heard about these leagues but never have had the chance to really get any exposure to it. On top of that, the announcers are fun to listen to, even if you can’t understand the language. Granted that it’s no Mexican league futbol match in terms of the quality and entertaining play-by-play, but these folks get just as excited.

I mentioned it in the recent episode of The Crazy Canucks, but the NHL should really do more with the technology of bittorrent. I’m not the first one to promote or come up with the idea, but it just might help grow exposure to the league if you make games available like this as soon as they are complete. Posting games to Google Video three days after they happen is… well… hmm, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, they’re easy to forget about.

Finland, you’ve got some good stuff over there. You make me want to come visit the home of Sami Salo[wiki] and stay for the hockey.

2007 Oct 30

Go Giants when the Canucks cost too much

I know I’ve mentioned it here and on The Crazy Canucks before, but it’s worth mentioning a few more times because a lot of us know that Canucks games are a heck of a price to enjoy first hand. You can read J.J.’s post about it, but catching a game at GM place is a hefty tab.

When it comes down to it, it costs between $120-$300 for a pair of tickets, depending on location and opponent, not to mention if you are going through Ticketmaster, someone you know, Craigslist, or those friendly folks on the street corner who happen to have some extra tickets that they’d like to share with you. After that, it’s worse than going to a movie because food, beverages, and souvenirs take a bite out of your wallet as well.

If you want hockey that is just as passionate as, if not more than, NHL action, take a short drive to Pacific Coliseum to catch a Vancouver Giants game.

Rebecca and I have had the extreme enjoyment in catching some of the regular season games so far this season, and it has been outstanding.

Some folks call junior hockey as scrappy and dirty action that only makes going to Western Hockey League game worthwhile, and I really have to disagree with that. These kids play with grit and passion in the same way that makes watching college football or basketball exciting. Kids that are giving it their all in the hopes that they not only play outstanding hockey in their early career as much as they fight their way to get noticed by some NHL scouts for that ever dreamed about draft day.

As my good pal and Crazy Canucks co-host Dave has often said, it’s your chance to see some of the up and coming stars before they become that big league player that all the sports shows start talking about. For more evidence of that, look no further than, and now former Giants captain, Milan Lucic.

Bruins decide to keep teenager on the roster
By Barbara Matson, Globe Staff | October 27, 2007

WILMINGTON – It’s time for 19-year-old Milan Lucic to move out of the hotel, find an apartment, and buy a car. He’s here to stay.

Before practice at Ristuccia Arena yesterday, the Bruins rookie was told to pack his bags and stay. General manager Peter Chiarelli called Lucic into his office and told him he would be with the Bruins for the rest of the year, instead of returning to his junior team, the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.

Lucic greeted the news with a broad grin – “Obviously, I had a smile on my face,” he said. “This has always been a dream of mine, to play in the NHL, and now it’s a reality.” – and an attitude infused with humility and confidence.

“It’s happened so quickly,” Lucic said. “That’s the most amazing thing of all. It goes to show, if you want something really bad, it can happen for you.”

The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound left wing, who has banged his way through the first nine games of the season for the Bruins, signed a three-year entry-level contract this summer, at $850,000 per year. A 10th game (today against the Flyers) automatically triggers the first year of his contract. Because of his age, he cannot be sent to the minors, though he could be returned to Vancouver if his performance falls off.

But it appears Lucic, who was the Giants’ captain, MVP of the 2007 Memorial Cup won by Vancouver, and captain of Team Canada in this summer’s Super Series, has done all he can in the WHL. It’s time for him to tackle the big leagues. [bostonglobe]

Sure, there stands a chance that we could see him back in Vancouver at the WHL level, but it’s proof positive that your opportunity to see some quality hockey action is easily accessible at a price that is easy to share between more than just two people. In fact, for $300, you could probably take 20 people to the game and have enough cash to spare for popcorn and some tasty beverages.

That being said, it’s exciting to hear that another kid has proven himself to be good enough for not only the NHL, but the fact that Boston Bruins fans have embraced him like they have is amazing. It’s not hard to like a drafted player that shows up at the beginning of the season and start playing like he has. The thing is, he’s been back here in Vancouver doing the same thing for the last few seasons before his name was ever called in the draft.

Minor hockey isn’t as scrappy or not as worthwhile as many hockey fans, if that’s what you really want to call yourself, might make it out to be. Go check it out because if you really want to make a point about ticket prices at Canucks games, put your dollars toward something else, preferably at some kids who just want some people to come out and cheer them on.

2007 Oct 192007 Oct 19

Battery heated hockey skates being tested for the NHL

Take one hockey skate and stick a battery in it to heat the blade, and this is what you get.

A Canadian-made heated skate blade touted as a means of boosting velocity was approved Tuesday for testing in the National Hockey League.

The Therma Blade will be used by as many as 10 NHL players in games and practices, said the blade’s inventor, Tory Weber of Calgary. The NHL will use this testing phase to examine possible safety issues and the blades’ effect on the ice to determine whether they should be used more widely within the league.

A battery in the back of the skate blade heats up to 5C, helping to reduce friction and push the wearer forward with less work, Weber said.

“It’s very simple technology. A warm blade basically creates a thin film of water and melts the ice,” Weber said. Skaters that use the heated blades, which will retail for about $399, find it’s much like skating on ice that has been freshly groomed by a Zamboni, he added. [cbc]

I have two reactions to this. One is that this is an incredibly neat way of using technology in such a simple way. It makes sense, and the science of it ridiculously smart. My other reaction is one of simply asking, buh?

You can call it complaining and sounding like an old timer, but we’ve come a long way since wooden sticks, skates, and sweaters. Composite sticks, synthetic jerseys, tougher padding made with less material, etc., but this kinda blows my mind.

Not only will you have to suit up, strap on your pads, tape up your shins, and lace everything up, but now you’ll have to make sure you check your batteries. Granted that it’s the equipment manager’s job to make sure that you stuff gets taken care of, but what happens if you start having a bad night on the ice because there is no juice left in your skates?

Imagine the post-game interview in the locker room and the player saying, “I was giving it my all, 110%, but apparently my skates were only at 30% charge capacity. They must have died half way through the third period. Everyone was really giving it their all, but… I’ll just have to get the circuitry in my skates checked out before the next game.”

That being said, I like the concept and am curious to see how it all plays out. Gretzky has given his seal of approval, but I’d really like to hear if this makes that much of a difference. On top of that, does making the blade even hotter allow for better performance? If that were the case and it became an unfair advantage, then that might mean league rules and temperature tests before every game, would it not?

2007 Oct 172007 Oct 17

Now you can watch lacking Canucks PPV on an even bigger screen

Hold on to your hats, the Canucks are coming to a big screen near you.

Forget Hockey Night in Canada, how about Hockey Night on the big screen? Cineplex Entertainment is bringing back Canucks pay-per-view games as a regular feature in select theatres across BC.

The idea was first tried out last year, and Cineplex says it’s been successful enough to warrant a sequel. The next “big screen” game is on Sunday, when the boys take on the Blue Jackets. [news1130]

As incredibly cool and nonintoxicating as that sounds, why would you want to watch a standard definition broadcast of a hockey game on a huge screen? Changes are coming to Canucks Pay-Per-View, but it’s still the same, over priced dribble that we have watched for the past two seasons. It could be longer than that, but I haven’t watched it for that long.

Come on, PPV people! I get that we don’t have to watch commercials, but what else do we get besides that? John Shorthouse and Tom Larschied? Yeah, that’s cool, but there could be a whole lot more.

Dare I say it, but TSN does some cool stuff by having their guys down on ice level, smack dab in between the benches. Or how about cameras on ice level? Give me a Fin cam or something more than just your standard Sportsnet broadcast with static cameras.

It’s not about being flashy or bells and whistles. I’m just saying that you could make a lot more money if people really got primo content from PPV. I don’t mind visiting our friends on the north shore to watch the game on their huge DLP TV, but if we couldn’t make it over, we’d live with listening to the radio.

The green graphics and the in between period set where Dan Murphy hangs out is nice, but that’s it? Should have spent more money on going HD, and that’s a whole other gripe.

2007 Oct 142015 Jan 20

Just a boy among men

Over the past week, I’ve had some really cool things happen. Besides getting onto an elevator with Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace this past Friday, the other event to blow my mind was getting the brief opportunity to meet some NHL legends at Standard Building Supplies in North Vancouver during their customer appreciation day on Saturday. I think I can still taste the free, fresh, and incredible vegetable samosas.

Gino Odjick[wiki] and Dave Babych[wiki] are famed men among long time Vancouver Canucks fans. Were they the greatest players to grace the game? That might be a stretch, but they are often referenced by my Crazy Canucks partners in crime, making them all the more legendary. Gino is notorious for his off ice scrapping as much as he was noted for his fist fights inside the rink, and Babych’s facial hair precedes everything before anyone starts mentioning his contributions to the ’94 run for the Stanley Cup.

It wasn’t until we were driving away that I realized exactly who Bobby Baun[wiki] was. When I talked to him, I made sure to shake his hand because I noted two things. One, he was a Toronto Maple Leafs player during one point in his career, and two, the Leafs, one of the oldest teams in the NHL, haven’t won the cup in 40 years.

As Rebecca and I talked about it(and you can read her post about the day as well), we put more and more to the story. Baun played with the likes of Tim Horton[wiki], yes, the guy who started the Tim Horton’s coffee and donut chain. Still, he was apart of the power house that was the team in Toronto to win the cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. That also made him apart of the last Leafs team to win the cup 40 years ago, and I shook his hand.

Even though my knowledge of hockey is growing with every passing CBC documentary, I’ve known who Bobby Hull[wiki] is for a long time. Let me just say, he is hilarious. We recorded some audio that we’ll put into a Crazy Canucks episode soon with the full story, but the banter we had with him and Richard Brodeur is something I’ll long remember.

Not to pass by “King” Richard Brodeur[wiki], he was the Roberto Luongo of his day, guiding the Canucks to, but falling short in, the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Islanders. Still, a genuine man, and the atmosphere that he generated by just sitting next to Bobby Hull in conversation made me forget that there were a ton of people waiting for two or more hours behind me in line, just like we did.

I still made the point to shake all their hands, knowing full well that opportunities like this don’t present themselves all that often. I even brought the recorder along and snagged some liners for TCC, so listen for them in the near future.

Cliff Ronning[wiki] was there as well, but the time was up for him before we got to his place at the table. Being the classy guy that he is, he autographed a bunch of photos and went all the way down the line to hand them out to people that had been standing there just to see him. He got held up by some fans right in front of us, and I asked him about seeing him on Canucks Pay-Per-View again this season. The response he gave me was a little depressed, saying someone there apparently didn’t like him enough that he didn’t even get a phone call about it either way.

“Maybe I stuttered too much, I don’t know.” Aw Cliff, I was a fan.

In times like these, I’m not one to get overly crazed about getting autographs. It’s the experience that draws me in. It sucks that there is no way that I could talk hockey like Dave or even Rebecca can, growing up with or having stories of these individuals passed down to them over the years. What I do know is that these guys worked hard to pursue a passion for a game, and there is a lot to respect for their efforts.

That and Gino was walking around the grounds a little bit after our meeting, spotted us, and gave a nice smile and wave because he remembered us coming through the line. We did the same back and had the same reaction to each other. “Gino!”

2007 Oct 072007 Oct 07

Working when it’s a lot like playing

Last night, I had the opportunity to do something that I have never done before, but it was only a matter of time before it was going to happen. I mean, this is Canada. If you read between the lines enough, you know that I’m back to doing the radio thing in and around Vancouver, all on the technical back end. I’m the guy making things work and the people on the air sound good.

So when I was going through the setup for Friday night on Wednesday afternoon, it struck me. I’m working my first ever sports broadcast, and on top of that, it was a Vancouver Giants hockey game.

That might not sound incredible or awesome to some, but that’s the point where I realized how far I’ve come in my radio career. From those early, blood shot eye, 4AM Saturday mornings at a tiny, 100 watt college radio station to a group of commercial radio stations in the #2 market in Canada, it hit me as I was getting everything in place for the guys doing play by play for the game.

When I saw a semi-professional hockey game for the first time, it was for the UHL Quad City Mallards[wiki], now known as the Quad City Flames (and recently an AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames). I kinda thought that it would be cool to do radio stuff for them, but it always seemed like I might be doing something for the Hawkeyes basketball or football team before something like minor league hockey would come my way. I came close once, but it never panned out.

In all actuality, my first days doing any sort of sports broadcasts was being board operator for Iowa Women’s Softball games at KRUI. That’s when I developed my affinity for good music during sporting events, and you can believe that I took some pleasure in parsing the library to find some killer tracks to play as beds and bumpers. These days, it’s a boarder line obsession with restraint.

The Giants game was simple setup and tear down with some minor sweating as we got the broadcast on the air. There is always that moment where you second guess everything you just setup and pray that when the show goes live, you can breathe again once you’re sure it works.

Crazy thing is, the only fire to creep up on us last night was an actual fire. I usually refer to having problems as “putting out fires” or “having a complete flame out”, but there was an actual fire in the rafters of Pacific Coliseum, just above the goalie on north end of the rink.

At least my night wasn’t that bad, and when it seemed like it might not be all that serious, the flames gave a nice pop and some flaming debris fell to the ice. They had to stop the game to get it all cleaned up and repair the ice for about ten minutes, but it made for an interesting first period. Never worked a hockey broadcast before, and I certainly have never seen a fire like that either.

Best shot I could get with my cellphone.
That small, orange spec near the middle of the shot is the fire.

No damage to really be seen, and it was too high up to see what it actually was. Some guy ran to the location to first see what it was, and then ran back to, presumably, find something to put it out with. Instead, he came back to stomp on it, but then another few guys ran up with a fire extinguisher to kill it.

Giants lost to the Chilliwack Bruins in OT, 5-4, but still a pretty good night.

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