West Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hollyburn Sailing Club Dinghy Races

2011-07-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Season 2011
For the remainder of the summer the races organized by Hollyburn Sailing Club are:

Date	Class
24-Jul-11	Mirror #3
	Long Distance #2
7-Aug-11	Laser Cup
	Albacore (Tuna) Cup #3
21-Aug-11	Long Distance #3
11-Sep-11	Glenfiddich Cup
25-Sep-11	Mirror #4
	Fall Series #1

Check in for each race day is around noon. There is a Skippers meeting around 12:30. First of five races starts at 1:00PM. The fifth race never seems to finish by the expected 3:00PM end time. The light winds and tricky currents off Ambleside Beach make for interesting race conditions.

Lots of fun - come out and give it a try. Contact the club for access to one of their coop boats for less than a couple hundred dollars for the season.

Ciao,

That not so special moment.

2011-06-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

As is the rite of Spring in Vancouver, that moment arrived, it passed and life goes on. I'm getting better at spotting the moment. That moment is the fleeting instant when the reality of the current season are replaced by hopes for a future success. In the spring of 2011, the moment for me was marked at about 7:45 PM PDT on June 15. Bergeron had just scored Boston's third goal of game seven and Boston's third shorthanded goal of the series. And for the 40th time the thought crept across my mind; "maybe next year."

The cup was not lost in that moment. It had been lost, in my opinion, back in game 2. I'll share those thoughts with you another time.

Congratulations to the Bruins. For the Canucks, I can't say "well done" just as I can't say "disaster." Mike Gillis has a task ahead of him. Gillis has met the enemy and he is us. Gillis needs to find an combination of players that foster an environment where the Twins can flourish when the compete level raises. Likely this means a fourth line with enough skill to play in a cup final. Players with enough grit or Power Play skill to deter the aggression of a play off opponent. Gillis needs to bolster the mind a fragile net minder. When the battle grew close the Bruins stepped up and the Canucks stepped aside. The spring of 2012 will tell us if the Canucks learnt from this painful experience. Or is this a team not able to win on the largest stage?

For Vancouver, we have met the enemy and he is us. The inappropriate mob response to Game 7 is unacceptable. It was unacceptable in 1994 and it is even more so today. As a community of fans we need to behave in a manner befitting Canada, Vancouver and the Canucks. The entire country has been tarnished by the actions of a few. In the science of mob situations there is often the, almost apologetic, explanation that "it only takes a few to turn the mood of a crowd." This may be conventional thinking on what happened in downtown Vancouver on the evening of June 15, 2011. We may also state that "the few" would have done this regardless if the Canucks won or loss. Isn't the exact opposite true? Isn't it the actions of the many that should turn the mood of the few? Indeed we met the enemy and he was us. We stood by and let the few allow the situation get out of hand. Shame on us. The spring of 2012 will most likely give Canuck's fans another chance. Vancouver: take that opportunity to justify our civic and team pride. Expo 86 and the 2010 Olympics set the example. There is no place for our sensless response to Game 7's in '94 and '11.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

2011 Canucks Playoff Summary

2011-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Round 1
Canucks 4 - 3

Round 2
Canucks 4 - 2

Round 3 - Conference Finals
Canucks 4 - 1

Round 4 - Stanley Cup Finals
Boston Bruins 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Champions

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Home Ice Advantage

2011-06-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

The adage goes "you are not in trouble until you lose on home ice." Tonight we see if the shift in momentum that occurred in Boston has lead to "trouble." It is like tennis, you need to win more games regardless of the number of points won. The lack of offence and leaky defence in Boston means that the series is tied 2 - 2; nothing more. It is 2 out of 3 with home ice advantage for the mug. The boys need to stay on the body, finish the checks and the odd powerplay goal (say 1 per 4 chances) would help. Mathematically the boys are two goals away from a successful campaign. Two goals plus two shutouts and it is over. Two 1 - 0 games on home ice? Why not. Back to back shutouts for Luongo? More likely than one half of the goal tending tandem on Jennings Trophy winning team giving up 12 goals in two games. I like our chances even if I suspect a Game 7 might be in our future.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Playoff Schedule

2011-06-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

The Stanley Cup finals games are all at 5:00PM Pacific time.

Game 1 is on June 1 in Vancouver (Canucks won 1-0)

Game 2 is on June 4 in Vancouver

Game 3 is on June 6 in Boston

Game 4 is on June 8 in Boston (potentially the first opportunity for the Canucks)

If needed Game 5 is on June 10 in Vancouver (potentially the first opportunity for the Bruins)

If needed Game 6 is on June 13 in Boston (one team will have the opportunity)

If needed Game 7 is on June 15 in Vancouver (the game ends with one team is taking the cup)

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Celebrating Stanley

2011-06-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Recently it has been too much for me to write. The Chicago series was intense. Nashville was a gasp for a small breath. Then the Sharks when away easier than I expected. Now the Bruins. The boys have one win in the bank. Three to go.

Alanah McGinley is a virtual acquaintance. I've never personally met the lady. She currently writes for Paul Kukla at KuklasKorner. She stopped writing some time back with the lame excuse of taking time off to have a kid. I was disappointed in her for that. I am pleased to see with our 'Nucks in the finals she couldn't resist. As one of a very few Bloggers with real press credentials (and not a press person who moved to the bloggoshere) Alanah is a inspiration to many bloggers. Me included. Her recent post on why she would celebrate a Stanley Cup is here. She makes some very good points.

My thoughts on who deserves mention in a celebration of Stanley:

The other players: The cup means so much to us because of the names. It is the only professional sports trophy that has the names of all the previous winners engraved into the cup (well the bands around the base). If you are Alex Burrows or Kevin Bieksa and you do go on to win this series, your name gets added to the cup along side Jean Beliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and every other icon of the game that has had the past good fortune to have contested for and won the cup. What an honour. Every fall we start out wanting to give that honour to the current year's version of the Canucks. Every spring we have that moment when we sigh and say "maybe next year." So far for in 2010-11; not yet. Looks are OK so far. Over the forty year history of the team, we seem to have our best chance. In 1994 one more win was needed. In 2011 two more wins are needed to reach the same point - but I still like our chances. The celebration of the third and fourth lines the fifth and sixth defence men. That is what I want to see.

Fred: While the fact that the Canucks have never won the cup is true, Vancouver HAS won the Stanley Cup before. Lead by Fred 'Cyclone' Taylor the 1915 version of the Vancouver Millionaires beat the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. Cyclone's grave is a few hundred meters SW of the corner of Imperial and Willingdon in Burnaby. I'm sure Fred is looking down and smiling at the prospect that the cup might be coming home after 96 years.

Trevor: For 16 of 20 NHL seasons the lanky kid who was the son of a Medicine Hat trucker defined class and grace. He took us on the 1994 run. He came within one goal of putting a Game 7 into overtime. He went on to lead the NHLPA trough some very serious times. When his tenure was complete he quietly stepped aside to let a new generation of leaders take over. The PA has never since had the creditability it had when Trevor was at the helm. His dedication to the city and people of Vancouver continues today. Ask yourself: who would you rather have for a best friend? Trevor Linden or Mark Messier? New York may have won the cup in '94 but we were the winners because we still have Trevor Linden.

Pat and Pasha: The Big Irishman brought us Kirk McLean, Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure. Bure was the most exciting thing I have ever seen on skates. I was there on November 12, 1991 when he scored his first NHL goal. I had no idea who Bure was. All I knew was we stood and gave him a standing ovation for what seemed like 10 minutes. Gretzky (the LA version) was the opponent. Bure then scored a second goal and was by far the best player on the ice. We won 8-2. I remember March 9 1993, Bure scored his 50th goal of the season. It was a, on CKNW only, neutral ice game against Buffalo played in Hamilton. After the game Tommy Larcheid, with his trademark impish glee, asked Bure "do you know who was the last Canuck to score 50 goals?" Bure dead panned, in his charming Russian accent, "me?" Quinn brought us those times. He lifted the team to a new level. Harry Neale may have brought the team along from an expansion door mat but Quinn laid the foundation to build the team into a legitimate NHL contender. Pat Quinn still lives in West Vancouver. If you'd like to meet him, hang out for brunch on a Sunday at Fraiche restaurant up at the top of the British Properties. He is often there around 11:30AM.

Stanley: The park and the cup are named after Lord Stanley. His name was also Fred - the karma is aligning! Isn't appropriate that the Lord's mug be once again returned to our park that shares its name?

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Why Win in Calgary?

2011-04-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Daniel - 102 Points. Closest rival Corey Perry at 97. Chances are Perry will not get 6 more points than Daniel in one game. The Art Ross Trophy will go to Daniel. But if Daniel were to put up a big game this would also help to cement his votes for the Hart. Perry is the ~~contender~~front runner. Henrick is the incumbent. If the twins put on a show at the Sadledome they give themselves a better chance to pick up both the Art Ross and the Hart.

Luongo - 38 wins. There are three with 37 including (surprise) Kiprusoff. Canucks win and Luongo is a contender for the Vezina. Tim Thomas will win but... with a win tonight Luongo will have the most wins in the league.

Plus / Minus - Kevin Bieksa. Tied with Toni Lydman at plus 32. Never heard this before and you heard it here first - Bieksa future Norris Trophy winner. Not this year and he needs to stay healthy for a full season. Most rank for the Norris based on points. But scoring is not the measure of the top defensive player in the league. Bieksa is slowly moving towards top D-Man distinction. Pretty good for a guy who was expendable, wasn't even going to be on the team when the season started, when Salo returned, etc... be on the ice tonight for a few goals to win the Plus / Minus race and Kevin Bieksa will take another step towards elite D-Man status.

Jack Adams Award - Alain Vigneault. Does the coach make the team look good? Or does the team make the coach look good? Having coached, I say the coach makes the team look good. Given Pittsburgh Penguins' success without Crosby, Dan Bylsma may be a lock for the 'best' coach award. AV's guided the 'Nucks to their best season ever. He has lead the team to more wins in a single season than Roger Neilson/Harry Neale, Pat Quinn or Mike Keenan. AV won the Jack Adams in 2006. Did he top that job? Sure he did.

Moe - go into the post season on a big win. Having momentum is a good thing when you look to be facing the defending Champions in the first round. Having mailed one in (they did that with the Oil (twice!)) is not the work ethic that a team needs to carry in to the playoffs.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With One Game To Go

2011-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

09-Apr-11 @ 8:00

Tonight: Canucks play Calgary on HNIC. As with last year the Flames are officailly done. last year the Nucks put up a 7-3 Win at home which featured a stunning goal by Daniel. This yers game is in Calgary. Having put up a 5-0 win over Minny to close the home schedule, I suspect the game in Calgary to be less. Much less.

If the playoffs were to start tomorrow we would face the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. With everyone from 9th place Dallas to 4th place Nashville as potential for the first round match up. The math is complex but the most likely candidates are Dallas, Chicago or LA. The lowest points in the West will be 97 - Dallas, Chicago or Anaheim. The lowest non Shoot Out west wins will either 36 or 37 by Los Angeles. we get the lowest points with the lowest number of non shoot out wins breaking a tie in points.

Before the end of the season (I guess I mean tomorrow) I will make a graphic with the match ups.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 7 Games to Go (and one less sleep)

2011-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

26-Mar-11 @ 8:00

Last Night: Canucks were idle in Columbus last night. Getting ready for Rick Nash and the BJ's. We have 107 points. The Ducks beat the Hawks last night to swap 7th and 8th spot. More about that in a moment. The Flames and the Oil had a wild Battle of Alberta with Iggy and crew eventually winning in a Shoot Out. Still Calgary remains 3 points back of 8th spot and has Dallas ahead of them in 9th.

Teams are starting to be eliminated. The following teams can book team times for 10-Apr-11; Colorado, Edmonton, Islanders, Panthers and Ottawa.

If the playoffs were to start tomorrow we would face the ~~oh oh~~ Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. We look to be a far better team this year. They look to be no quite as good a team this year. May as well dispatch them early. We do have to beat San Jose, Detroit and Chicago or a hot team that just beat one of the west's top teams. The sooner the defending champs are out of this the better.

The other west matchups are: Detroit vs. Anaheim; San Jase vs. Nashville; and Phoenix vs. LA Kings.

The east matchups are: Philly vs. Buffalo; Washington vs. Rangers; Boston vs. Montreal (owwwah); and Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 7 Games to Go

2011-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

26-Mar-11 @ 8:00

Last Night: Canucks 3 Atlanta 1 for their 24th road win of the year. We have 107 points. The remaing games three are at home and four are on the road. We need to visit Columbus and Nashville to complete the current road trip. LA Kings will be at Rogers Arena on the last day of March. Then it is a few tussels with the other North West Divsion rivals, Edmndon twice, Minny once and close out the season in Calgary on 9-Apr-11.

On the individual front.

Points - Daniel 1st with 95. Henrick 2nd with 88.
Goals - Daniel 3rd and 3 behind Steven Stamkos. Ryan Kesler 4th with 40.
Plus / Minus - Dan Hamhuis 5th at Plus 29. Toni Lydman of the Ducks leads at Plus 32.
Wins - Luongo 1st with 35.
Save Percent - Luongo 3rd just behind Pekka Rinne and well behind Tim Thomas of Boston.
Goals Against Average - Luongo 3rd again just behind Pekka Rinne and well behind Thomas.

If the playoffs were to start tomorrow we would face the Disneyland Ducklings in the first round. We could get Calgary, Dallas, Anaheim or Chicago. At this point Detroit get's Chicago in the first round and based on recent history I like that idea best. The sooner the defending champs are out of this the better.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 8 Games to Go

2011-03-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

25-Mar-11 @ 16:00

Tonight: Canucks Get Atlanta. We have 105 points and are up on everyone else. The Division is secure. The Conference is likely and magic would have to happen for the Canucks to not win the President's Trophy.

If the playoffs were to start this morning we would face the LA Ducklings in the first round.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 21 Games to Go

2011-02-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

23-Feb-11 @ 07:00

Last night: Canucks lost to the Habs. Or the Habs had more goals when 60 minutes were up. You felt like the Canuck's were going to win given enough time. And the time given wasn't enough. Phily did get an extra 5 minutes of time down to find a win down in Phoenix but wasted that with an OTL to the Coyotes. The twin losses place the Canuck's 1 points up on the Phily Flyers in the crawl to the President's Trophy. The Flyers have one games in hand and one win in hand.

Detroit also lost to the Sharks. The gap for top spot in the West is now 5 points. All three play again on the 24th. Next up for Detroit is the Stars. Next up for the 'Nucks, at Rogers Arena, are the Blues. Phily plays the Islanders.

If the playoffs were to start today we would face the LA ~~Kings~~ Queens in the first round.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Daniel, Henrik or Kesler?

2011-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I heard one of the HNIC guys proclaim Daniel is on track for a 50 goal season. General HNIC Rules: Unless it is said by Jim Hughson, don't believe it. Exception to the rule: If it is said by Ron MacLean and it is not about Alex Burrows, believe it. I have some time for Don Cherry and Kelly Hrudey as the embassadors of the game. Elliot Friedman (a jounalist) and PJ Stock (an ex ~~goon~~ player), when his tongue is not all tied up, are creditiable. Mike Milbury, Glen Healy, Garry Galley, Kevin Weeks? Who let these guys on the air? And mystery of all mysteries: Greg Millen! Millen was an alsoran goalie and has dropped in ability as a broadcaster. Rant over back to the post.

Daniel is on track for 44 goals and 105 points. Daniel is currently tops the league in Points (Art Ross Trophy). Ryan Kesler is on track for a team high 45 goals and 77 points. Kesler's career high 33 goals are 7 behind Steven Stamkos' 40 goals (Maurice Richard Trophy). Current Art Ross and Hart Trophy holder Henrik Sedin is on track for 19 goals and 98 points. So does little brother Daniel take over this year as the Art Ross and Hart Throphy holder? Maybe. And as Henrik recently put it "I too would be leading the league in points if I had me passing to me."

As for a 50 goal season. Both Daniel and Kesler need to pick up the pace a little to reach that achievement. An Achievement that has only been reached four times in Cancuks history, thrice by Pasha "Russian Rocket" Bure and once by Alex Mogilny. Bure had 60 in both '92-93 and '93-94 and 51 in '97-98. Mogilny reached the plateau in '95-96 with 55 red lights lit.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Does Number 1 Seed Win the Stanley Cup?

2011-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

When the regular season is over the league seeds teams based on those results to determine opponents for each of four rounds in the Stanley Cup tournament. Highest ranked teams get lowest ranked opponents in each round.

Here is what the recent history shows us:

Year	Team	Beat
2010	W2 CHI	E7 PHI
2009	E4 PIT	W2 DET
2008	W1 DET	E2 PIT
2007	W2 ANA	E4 OTT
2006	E2 CAR	W8 EDM

With the exception of the '07-08 Detroit Red Wings no number one seed has reached the finals never mind won the cup. But look again. Every year the Number 2 seed made it to the cup final. With the exception of the Cinderella, post lock out, Oilers every year since the #1 or #2 seed from the West has played in the finals. Small sample size but 60% of the #2 seeds have won the last 5 cups. Interesting indeed!

Dear Canucks - no President's Trophy please! Get your D-men healthy. Better yet buy one (or two) more just in case. There is so much more at stake here than the moniker of "best of class - Regular Season." Love - your Fans

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

What does it Take to Win the President's Trophy

2011-02-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

For the Western Conference we just accept that 95 points will be required to make it to NHL hockey's second season. But how many points does it take to win the Presidents Trophy as warded to the leagues top point getter in the regular season?

History hints at an answer:

Year	Team	Points	Won By
2010	Washington	121	8
2009	San Jose	117	1
2008	Detroit	115	7
2007	Detroit	113	0
2006	Detroit	124	11
	Average	118	5.4

When the race is close, if a team scores 114 points or more chances are they win the President's Trophy. Your Canucks are on pace for 116.2 points a using seasonal projection and 115.8 using last 10 games projection. Rounded to 116 points, this total should be good enough to secure the West #1 seed and maybe the President's Trophy. Tomorrow we can examine the history on whether a Number 1 seeding has been advantageous. Do we even want that damn President's Trophy?

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 22 Games to Go

2011-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

20-Feb-11 @ 07:00

Last night: Canucks got a nice 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars. The win allowed the Canuck's to move 4 points up on the idle Phily Flyers in the crawl to the President's Trophy. The Flyers have two games in hand. We are currently tied with 38 wins each.

Detroit had last night off. The gap for top spot in the West is now 7 points. Next up for Detroit is the Wild later today. Next up for the 'Nucks, at Rogers Arena, are the Hab's on 22-Feb-11.

If the playoffs were to start today we would still face the Anaheim Ducklings in the first round.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Who is the Best NHL Referee?

2011-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

What the players said.

In a 2011 option survey, 15% of players picked a referee named “None” as the best. This could be taken as the glass half full or the glass half empty. Do the players all think that the level of NHL officiating is so consistent that there is little to choose between all referees when attempting to select a best ref? Or was this a slight on the zebras with players sending, in their opinions, the message that the whole crew of them sux?

Of the referees that were named, Kelly Sutherland received the most favourable ranking with the approval rating from 13% of the players responding to the survey. The runners up were Bill McCreary (10%), Wes McCauley (9%) and a tie Tim Peel and Paul Devorski (7%).

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; NHL;

A Pretty Good Summary

2011-02-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

This piece was written by a journaist named Tim Booth who works for the Washington DC Examiner.

The column concludes:

Of course, the only opportunity to prove that (that is a Canadian Team can win the Cup) will come when the postseason begins in April.

"A lot of guys have been here a long time and realize we haven't done anything until we've won the Stanley Cup," Daniel Sedin said. "That's what it's going to come down to."

Check out Tim Booth's full Canucks story at the Washingtom Examiner: Click Here

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Trade Deadline T-10 Days

2011-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

19-Feb-11 - Trade Deadline: 10 days

Yesterday - A busy day.

Of note: Kaberle to Boston. Boston continues to load up for a cup run. Avalanche and Senators swap goalies. Elliot for Anderson. Huh?!?

All deals:

Chicago - Recalled D Boris Valabik from Chicago (AHL) and traded him and C Rich Peverley to Boston for F Blake Wheeler and D Mark Stuart. Sent D Paul Postma to Chicago (AHL).

Boston - Acquired D Tomas Kaberle from Toronto exchange a 2011 first-round draft pick, F Joe Colborne and a conditional 2012 second-round draft pick.

Carolina - Acquired D Derek Joslin from San Jose for future considerations.

Avalanche - Acquired G Brian Elliott from the Ottawa Senators for G Craig Anderson.

St. Louis - Traded D Eric Brewer to Tampa Bay for the rights to D Brock Beukeboom and a 2011 third-round draft pick.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Still 23 Games to Go

2011-02-19T07:00:00.001-08:00

19-Feb-11 @ 07:00

Last night: Canucks got lucky as the Carolina 'canes beat Phily Flyers allowing the Canuck's to remain 2 points up in the crawl to the President's Trophy. As the Canucks were idle, this event also burnt off one of Phily's games in hand. The Flyers only hold one game in hand and have one more win than the Canucks.

Detroit won last night to close the gap for top spot in the West to 5 points. The 'nucks and Wings face off against each other in a 4 pointer on 23-Mar-11 in Detroit. Should be a good one.

If the playoffs were to start today we would face the Anaheim Ducklings in the first round.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 23 Games to Go.

2011-02-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

18-Feb-11 @ 07:00

Today: we are 7 points up on Detroit for the conference lead. We are 2 points up on Phily, who have two games in hand, for the President's Trophy. The Flyers play tonight so the likelihood of being in sole possession of first place in 24 hours is very low. If the playoff were to start today, we would get Marc Crawford and the Dallas Stars in first round and home ice advantage for as long as we stay alive in the playoffs.

The Canucks still have a mathematical potential to secure 129 points for the season. Mathematically the Canucks can still tie the Detroit Red Wings record of 60 wins in a season. Given the season average pace the Canucks are on track for a 115 point season. With defense corp injuries and a 1 win in 3 tries mini road trip, using the results of the last 10 games to project the season, surpizingly also tracks to 115 points.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 25 Games to Go.

2011-02-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

15-Feb-11 @ 07:00

Today: we are 7 points up on Detroit for the conference lead. We are 4 points up on Phily, who have two games in hand, for the President's Trophy. If the playoff were to start today, we get the charming Cow Town Flames in first round and home ice advantage for as long as we stay alive in the playoffs.

The Canucks still have a mathematical potential to secure 131 points for the season. No longer can the '10-11 Canucks catch the Canadien's record of 132 points in a season. Mathematically the canucks can still reach the Detroit Red Wings record of 60 wins in a season.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

With 26 Games to Go

2011-02-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

13-Feb-11 @ 17:00

Today: we are 7 points up on Detroit for the conference lead. We are 2 points up on Philly, who have a game in hand, for the President's Trophy. If the playoff were to start today, we get Minnesota in first round and home ice advantage for as long as we stay alive in the playoffs.

The Canucks still have a mathematical potential to secure 133 points for the season which would still be a record for points in a single season.

We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Former NHL Referee Lloyd Gilmour

2011-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

I recently learnt with a measure of sadness of the passing, this past August, of former NHL Referee Lloyd Gilmour. Mr. Gilmour has a permanent place in both, the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame. Below is the tribute as it appears on BC Hockey Hall of Fame:

"Referee Lloyd Gilmour saw a lot of changes during his almost two decades as an NHL official, in fact he played a direct role in a few of those changes. Born in Vancouver in 1928, Gilmour first dreamed about making it to the NHL as a player. His decision to become a referee came about by accident, literally. He was injured in a logging accident in the early 1950s, when he was a 19-year-old player in the New York Rangers' organization. Those injuries prevented him from pursuing a career as a player."

Gilmore started as a referee in the National Hockey League in the early 1960s. At that time the NHL was a six-team league, but growth was right around the corner. During his career Gilmour saw the league expand from the original six to eighteen teams. During his 19-year NHL career, Lloyd Gilmour was instrumental in development of protection for players involved in fights including promoting of the 'third man in' rule.

One of the highlights of Lloyd’s career was the now-infamous 1976 exhibition game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Moscow Red Army team from the Soviet Union. After a hard but clean hit on Moscow star Valeri Kharlamov, with the game still scoreless, the Soviets left the ice for 15 minutes to protest the Gilmour non call. To add insult to the injury, Gilmore in response gave the Red Army a two minute penalty for delay of game. I believe that Lloyd was involved in the discussion, along with NHL President Clarence Campbell and Flyers owner Ed Snider, where the basic message to the Soviets was ‘finish the game or you do not get paid for the series.’ Gilmour's calls stood, the Red Army team returned to the ice, and the Flyers went on score on the power play and win the game 4-1.

At the time of his death Lloyd Gilmore was a resident of Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; NHL;

Which is the Best NHL Team?

2011-02-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

After 53 games how good is this Canucks team? What do you measure against?

The best team ever, in the regular season, is arguably the Montreal Canadiens of ’76-77. That team only lost 8 games all season. They also had 12 ties for 60 wins in an eighty game season in an era when you didn’t get points for losing a shootout. Of the 160 points available to the Habs on day one of the ’96-97 season, they were able to pick up 82.5% of those points.

The team with the most single season wins ever is Detroit in ’95-96 with 62. Detroit tallied 131 points that season in which the league then played 82 games and awarded one point for a loss in overtime. Still no shootout. Detroit’s record was 62 wins, 13 losses and 7 ties. Of the 164 points available to the Wings on day one of the ’95-96, season they were able to pick up 79.9% of those points.

The most points your Canucks have ever earned is 105. This high was reached in ’06-07. At that time there were 82 games, points for overtime losses and points for shootout losses. Vancouver’s record was 49 wins, 26 outright losses, 3 overtime losses and 4 shootout losses. I’d call that 49 and 33.

With 29 games or 58 points remaining in the ’10-11 season, the Canucks could reach a theoretical max of 135 points if they were to win out. Totally unrealistic but would put the team in the discussion with the ’76-77 Habs and ’95-96 Wings.

To this point the team has been picking up 77.6% of the available points. This is 7% to 10% below the pace of the benchmarks set by the Habs and Wings. Unless this team was to tear up the rest of the season the discussions of best need to be shelved for a future campaign. Continuing on the current pace will put the Canucks at 119 points come season’s end. This would represent by far the highest point total by any version of the Canucks.

A few days back, I heard an interesting comment by an ex NHL’re with several cup rings. His comment was you do not go out and win a Stanley Cup. You position yourself so that the cup comes to you. We know that 96 points will get you to the post season dance. We also know that the combination of President’s trophy winners and Stanley Cup winner in the same year is more the exception than the rule. Teams that battle for the 6, 7 and 8 seeds in each Conference are often battle hardened for the second season. They already have the win at any cost mentality. Whereas President Trophy winners, with their playoff ducat punched early, often coast to the finish line resting key players. The occasional glimpse over at the other Conference to see where their President Trophy rivals are and the opps excuse me we won.

If the Canucks were to coast into the post season by playing .500 hockey from here on out their total would be 106 points. Interesting – one point better than the previous best. That version of the Canucks lost to the eventual cup winning Anaheim Ducklings in the second round.

Lots of possible outcomes are still in play for the ’10-11 season. This could be the best regular season team ever. This could be the best Canucks team ever. The lads could tank, Luongo or a Sedin could get injured; the team could struggle to 94 points and just miss the playoffs. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The important facts of today are: we are 9 points up on Detroit for the conference lead. We are 2 points up on Philly for the Presidents Trophy. If the playoff were to start today, we get the LA Kings in first round and home ice advantage for as long as we stay alive in the playoffs. We are 16 wins away from the Holly Grail and none of those 16 games will be played before 13-Apr-2011. Enjoy the regular season success. The real proof of best is yet to come.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;Montreal+Canadiens;Detroit+Red Wings;

2010-08-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Fleet of Albacore
The next 2010 events dinghy race at Hollyburn Sailing Club is the Laser Cup and Albacore "Tuna" Cup to be held on 15-Aug-2010 between 1:00PM and 5:00PM. All boats and sailors are welcome.

The Uffa Fox designed Albacore is a 15ft plaining dinghy that is popular with Holyburn Club members. Albacore, Wayfare and Enterprise are all very similar boats with the Wayfare being the longest at 15' 10". The Enterprise is the smallest at 13' 3".

The races start at 1:00PM with a skippers meeting at the head of the ramp around 12:30PM. The day winds up with socializing and banter over the days events in the club house around 5:00PM.

Ciao,

Tags: West + Vancouver;

Dinghy Races at Hollyburn Sailing Club

2010-07-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mirror Sailing Dinghy

The next 2010 events dinghy race at Hollyburn Sailing Club is the Summer Series #1 and the Mirror Series #2 on Sunday 25-Jul-10.

The Summer Series is open to boats of any class whereas the Mirror Series is for the Mirror class, 10’ 10” (3.3m) prams that are popular with many Hollyburn Club members. The Jack Holt designed Mirror, carries a crew of two and is one of the smallest boats to use a spinnaker. The blunt pram bow and distinctive red sails are the easy marks to spot a Mirror.

The races start at 1:00PM with a skippers meeting at the head of the ramp around 12:30PM. The day winds up with socializing and banter over the days events in the club house around 5:00PM.

Ciao,

Tags: West + Vancouver;

Sea Drift washes up on West Bay Beach

2010-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

High winds around West Vancouver on the morning of Monday 12-Jul downed trees, knocked out power to thousands of residents and blew a yacht onto the beach at West Bay.

Just after 10 a.m., West Vancouver police and firefighters were called to a stretch of West Bay beach, where an apparently 42-foot ketch rigged Sea Drift had slipped from its moorings in the rough weather and washed up on the rocky shore. We do not know the fate of the private yacht but hope the owner was able, on the next high tide, to refloat her with minimal damage.

If you are the owner of the Sea Drift or have additional details please post a comment below.

Ciao,

Tags: west + Vancouver;
Photo - thanks to the NS News

Stanley Cup Visits GVRD

2010-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Holy Grail of Hockey starts a tour today of GVRD with a Saturday side trip to Pentiction. The giant silver mug freshly inscribed with the names of the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks is in BC from 14-Jul to 18-Jul. Each ‘Hawk gets to spend a day with the trophy in his hometown.

The Stanley Cup will make the first of five BC appearances with a stop in Surrey, along with former Blackhawk Colin Fraser. Today's festivities include a community event at Central City Plaza from 12:00 to 15:00.

The tour continues Thursday, with Troy Brouwer riding a zamboni in a North Delta parade, taking Lord Stanley's mug to Sun God Arena.

It's Brent Seabrook's turn on Friday, taking the Cup to Delta Secondary School and to the Delta Hospital starting at noon.

On Saturday, Norris trophy winner Duncan Keith will bring the hardware to his hometown of Penticton, showing it off between 12:00 and 13:00 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

And finally, on Sunday it's Maple Ridge's turn with Andrew Ladd holding a community event, starting at noon, at Cam Neely Arena.

If you are in any of these areas get your camera and get out to snap some pixels of Lord Stanley’s mug.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey;

Conservation of Water in West Vancouver

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

From June 21 to Sep 21 West Vancouver receives the least amount of rainfall which means there is less water in the Eagle Lake and Capilano reservoirs. West Van residents are required to conserve water by keeping outdoor sprinkling to a defined schedule.

The District has lawn sprinkling regulations that are in effect from June 1 to September 30.

Sprinkling is permitted between:
4 am – 9 am & 7 pm – 10 pm

Even-numbered addresses: Wednesday & Saturday
Odd-numbered addresses: Thursday & Sunday

Remember to update the timer on your sprinkler system to keep your lawn green but remain within the mandatory sprinkling hours.

Ciao,

Tags: West + Vancouver;

Facts about Park Royal Mall

2010-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know Park Royal was Canada’s first covered shopping mall? Park Royal, the part we now call the North Mall, opened in 1950. The original anchor store was Woodwards.

Being located near the British Properties, developed by the Guinness family, Park Royal was named after a London, England suburb where a Guinness’ brewery was located.

Park Royal’s South Mall opened in 1978. The Village opened in 2004. All three elements of Park Royal provide 1,000,000 square feet of retail space and is home to 280 stores.

Check out Park Royal online - Click here

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver

Lighthouse Park - Point Atkinson

2010-05-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Situated at Point Atkinson in West Vancouver, Lighthouse Park is 75 hectares of virgin rain forest and popular with local residents.

There are a two significant firsts for Lighthouse Park.

Point Atkinson, named by Captain George Vancouver, is the site of Canada’s first manned light stations in 1874. The beacon light was first lit on 17-Mar-1875. The current lighthouse was built in 1912 on the granite foreshore. The light is a dramatic landmark and can been seen from three viewpoints in the park. The image above shows the 60 foot light tower from West Beach.

Point Atkinson was also the site of one of the first European colonies on the Pacific west coast of what is now Canada. The first Caucasian child born in West Vancouver was on 25-Apr-1876. His name was James Atkinson Woodward, son of the first lighthouse keeper, Edwin Woodward.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver;

Blackhawks Series Status

2010-05-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Game 1
Blackhawks	0	0	1	1
Canucks	2	3	0	5
Game 2
Blackhawks	1	0	3	4
Canucks	2	0	0	2
Game 3
Blackhawks	2	1	2	5
Canucks	0	2	0	2
Game 4
Blackhawks	2	3	2	7
Canucks	2	1	1	4
Game 5
Blackhawks	0	0	1	1
Canucks	2	1	1	4
Game 6
Blackhawks	0	3	2	5
Canucks	0	0	1	1

Totals
Blackhawks	5	7	11	23
Canucks	8	7	3	18

Blackhawks 4 Canucks 2 - 2010 Season Over! 12-May-10 Cancuks fans utter the words, for the first time in 2010, "Maybe next year." A fine tradition of Spring since 1915.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

No it is not time to believe.

2010-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

3-May-2010 Blackhawks 4 Canucks 2

Canucks go into the Third Period up 2-1 and promptly give up three goals including a shorthander. Only one thing to say: "No it is not time to believe."

Ciao,

Tags: hockey;.

It is time to believe?

2010-05-02T12:53:00.001-07:00

1-May-2010 Blackhawks 1 Canucks 5

I have not written about the Vancouver Canucks in a very long time. The definition of a long time is the time elapsed since Dave Nonis was the GM and that does seem like a very long time ago. I was finding the emotional investment in West Vancouver’s NHL team a losing venture. It seemed the resources expended did not match with the dividends paid. The ownership change / dispute and the installation of an ex player agent as the GM, at the time, did not seem to be sound hockey moves. I think I was justified in being skeptical.

Last year’s exit in the Stanley Cup tournament second round to Chicago was after a 5-3 Game 1 win. That series the Nucks held home ice advantage. The final result was Hawks in six with the Chicago crew outscoring Vancouver in the final three games 13 to 8. Thus the hatred of The Fratellis’ Chelsea Dagger – and if I hear it three or four times over the next four or five games, I’ll think it is nice catchy tune. But an average of 4.33 times per game over three games as in ’09 and I’m not responsible for the brick though the HD TV. Opps there is that emotional investment again.

What is different this year?

Goal – Nucks’ Luongo then, now and forever. Since stopping a Game 4 Frolov break away, when the game and series was still in question, Bobby Luo has looked solid. Hawks’ then Khabibulin now Antti Niemi or Cristobal Huet. Either of the Hawk goalies could get hot but edge here is in Vancouver’s favour.

Defense - Nuck’s are banged up with Mitchell, Rome and even call up Nolan Baumgartner out of the line up. New comer Andrew Alberts proved he can be a penalty liability in the LA series. And Shane O’Brien proved he can be wing nut at most every opportunity. With top-top D-men like Campbell, Keith and Seabrook give the edge to Chicago.

Top Line – Nucks Sedin times two and Mikael Samuelsson vs. Toews, Kane and Bickell? If I were a GM, I’d take Toews and Kane over the wonder twins, but Samuelsson is on a mission to prove something. Henrick is a legit contender for the Hart Trophy and already has the Art Ross. That said if the going gets ruff you know Toews and Kane will be up for it and you suspect the twins will disappear. Which will prompt Burrows return to the top line? Let’s call this one a draw.

Forwards – Vancouver has four fast and solid lines. Kessler, Burrows, Raymond, Wellwood, Bernier (sometimes) all make up a sold core of second liners. Rypien, Grabner and Hansen provide a creditable fourth energy line. Pavol Demitra seems to be the only Canuck forward still searching for his role. Glass and Hordichuk are healthy scratches that can be called in if the series gets ruff. Chicago has Hossa, Madden, Sharpe and Ladd as their second tier core. Marian Hossa is a real wildcard as he can win games on his own or not be heard from (much like Wellwood). I’d wager that Vancouver’s core forwards are the ones that will, or will not, win this series. In Game 1 all four lines scored. If that pattern continues Vancouver will win.

Grit – Burrows has a real claim on top irritant in the league. Rypien is a good middle weight. Kevin Bieksa and Shane O’Brien can hold their own with the best. For Chicago, Ben Eager has the top penalty minutes followed closely by Byfuglen. I believe this area is also one where the Canucks are stronger than they were in the 2009 match up. Byfuglen is going to take trips to Luongo’s kitchen. I recommend the follow up be for one of Vancouver’s fourth lines to dance him to the sin bin for five on every incident. I suspect this is a trade off Vigneault / Bowness, and Luongo for that matter, would all accept.

Bench / Box – No changes on the bench or up in the management box. Vigneault vs. Quenneville. A pair of veteran bench bosses. Neither has won a cup. Vigneault likely has a better support cast with Bowness running the defense and Ryan Walter running special teams. Stan Bowman under the guiding hand of hockey management guru, and his Dad, Scotty Bowman is impressive. Just look at the results for Chicago since the days of “Dollar” Bill, son “Rocky” Wirtz and Dale “I forgot to sign the paperwork” Tallon at the helm. From the outside looking in it appears Rocky has decided to sign the cheques and leave hockey operations to the Bowmans. Vancouver was a good team for Brian Burke and struggled with Dave Nonis. At this point, even more so if Vancouver were to advance to the conference finals, it is safe to argue that Mike Gillis and his crew of Law Gilman, Lorne Henning and Dave Gagner have lifted the team to a slightly higher success level than Burkie did. And let us never forget, it was Nonis who got us Luongo. No edge either way.

In my opinion the Nucks have the tools to win this series over the Chicago Blackhawks. Will they? No idea. But I intend to be glued to the HD TV every second night until we find out.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey;

2010 Stanley Cup Playoff Referees

2010-05-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

The second round 2010 referees are, in descending order of experience, Bill McCreary (26 years), Paul Devorski (21), Stephan Walkom (20), Dan O’Halloran (15), Brad Watson (14), Dan O’Rourke (11), Tim Peel (11), Kelly Sutherland (10), Kevin Pollock (10), Marc Joannette (10), Eric Furlatt (9) and Chris Lee (9).

Active referees with over 700 games of experience not invited by the NHL to participate in the second round of the playoff are Don VanMassenhoven (1003 games), Dave Jackson (1002) and Dennis LaRue (862). One might wonder why these senior officials are not participating in the 2010 Stanley Cup tournament.

Comparing number of games officiated with the number of playoff game assignments we find three officials who are unique in their capabilities. McCreary, Watson and Pollock are the only officials with a ratio of playoff games to regular season games greater the 0.15 and over their careers have officiated more than 10 playoff games per year. The NHL seems to place a lot of trust in these officials.

Dan O’Rourke (434 games), Chris Lee (444) and Eric Furlatt (460) are the least experienced officials, each with less than 500 games, to steward this year’s tournament. Furlatt seems to be an exception here as with only 9 years in the league he has already amassed 38 playoff assignments.

All data was extracted from the NHL Officials Home

Ciao,

Tags: hockey;

Parks Master Plan Working Group

2010-04-26T20:30:00.001-07:00

Do you feel you have something to contribute to West Vancouver’s Parks? Mayor Pam and her gang of taxmen are seeking volunteers to contribute to the districts Parks Master Plan. As a volunteer member of the Parks Master Plan Working Group you would help to set immediate and long term direction for the management and enhancement of our parks, trails and open spaces. If you feel you have something to contribute visit the West Vancouver District web site for more information including a downloadable application form.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver;

North Shore Black Bears

2010-04-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well it is about that time of the year when again we will see our friendly trash seeking North Shore bears return from their winter slumber. West Vancouver residents, and those particularly above the highway, are reminded every spring of the fact that bears share our community. While black bears are typically just a nuisance on rare occasions that neighbourhood bear can turn dangerous.

Foraging on garbage, picking through bird feeders, damaging property and licking those bits of steak off your unclean barbecue are all things that lead to our annoyance.

Bears that become accustomed to human surroundings often find themselves in a dead end confrontation with a Conversation Officer.

Black bears are not typically dangerous to an adult human. Panic calls to 911 or the Provincial ORR line are typically not warranted for a black bear that is just passing through or even taking a rest on your lawn. When you do believe a black bear is a potential treat then these resources can be called upon. I suggest your first call be to the North Shore Black Bear Network as these guys deal with local bear issues every day.

We all love to see and then talk about these lovely wild animals. So the North Shore Black Bear Network website offers some of these tips for limiting negative interactions with black bears.

- Put your garbage out on the day of pick-up only, never overnight. Store your garbage bins in a secure garage or in a bear-proof container (wooden and garden sheds or bin enclosures are easily damaged by bears)

- Clean your garbage bins on a regular basis with ammonia or vinegar. Clean and dry the bins so as to not create a chemical hazard for your trash man.

- Double bag smelly garbage like diapers and if necessary freeze it until pickup day

- Pick fruit from trees before it falls.

- Take down bird feeders during bear season; there is plenty of natural food for birds throughout the year and you can attract birds by providing a flower garden, bird bath or nesting boxes.

- Add lime to your compost and do not compose: Meat and fish scraps, Fruit or other sweet remains, including Cooked or seasoned food.

- Remember to clean your barbecue after each use.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver;

Sailing at Ambleside

2010-04-20T20:06:00.001-07:00

Funny want you can find on the Internet. Even funnier when what you find is yourself. A lady has a blog about her travels. A post includes her trip to Ambleside Park for the Sarah McLachlan, Neil Young and Sheryl Crow concert in September 2009. She took some pictures including the one below. The pretty robin’s egg blue E2050 sail is our Enterprise dinghy. The crew and I were staging prior to the first heat of the Glenfidich Cup.

Just at the start of the race we picked up a huge piece of kelp in the rudder, cleared it and soon after discovered the lower hinge, it is called a pintal, had broken. With no rudder control the race day was over and we scored a stellar Did Not Finish, followed by four Did Not Starts (DNF, DNS, DNS, DNS, DNS) in the five races for the cup.

Not such a bad day as you can see there was plenty of sun and a nice breeze. After limping back the beach the crew resorted to tanning. After the races we had BBQ and met a lot of older Hollyburn Sailing Club (HSC) members.

When the day was done, I remember asking the crew if they had enjoyed themselves. The answer: “alot of old people Dad.” It was a fair comment. It is interesting to me that HSC each summer trains hundreds of youths in sailing. Over the years thousands have been through the CYA White Sail program at HSC. I suspect many of these young sailors are the children of HSC members. Yet on a sunny late summer afternoon you will find a few older professionals tending their boats, with very few accompanying sons or daughters at the club.

In my opinion this is quite a shame for three reasons:

1) Dinghy sailing is an excellent way to teach young adults a sense of responsibility, judgement and decision making. This is even more so when racing is involved. Plus a little competive spirt never hurt anyone. Did it?

2) The HSC has a fleet of coop and training boats that are often not used outside of the training program. Graduates of the training program should be encouraged to make use of these boats on a modest fee for use basis. Greater numbers of young people active in the club would give it a refresh.

3) As Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones and her gang of taxmen have unanimously decided that the Ambleside public boat ramp is no longer in their interests and a new fish taco stand is, a significant resource supporting salmon sport fishing off the Capilano River by West Vancouver residents is to be closed this year. One would think increased use of the HSC facilities by a new West Van generation is essential to the longevity of the club.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog.

Ciao,

Tags: West vancouver;

Changes at Gleneagles Golf Course

2010-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Gleneagles Golf Course, located in West Vancouver, has introduced a new online booking service for the 2010 season. Tee times for up to four golfers can be reserved up to 30 days in advance. There is a requirement to register for the service that can also be completed in a few seconds online at the district’s www site.

For online tee reservations at Gleneagles click here

Online reservations are not the only thing new at Gleneagles. Opening 2-May-2010, Gleneagles will feature a new bistro style restaurant. The first day of business will be 2-May-2010. The bistro, which is privately operated, will open early to accommodate early morning tee times. The location is off the sixth fairway facing the ocean with a sweeping view of Larson Bay. The restaurant has 738 square feet of space allocated plus additional patio seating.

Gleneagles Golf Course is located at 6190 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, B.C., V7W 2S3 Telephone: 604-921-7353 | Fax: 604-921-8721.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver;

Dinghy Race at Hollyburn Sailing Club

2010-04-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hollyburn Sailing Club will be hosting a long distance dinghy sailing race from their club house at Ambelside Beach in West Vancouver to Starboat Cove at Lighthouse Park. The race is scheduled for 11:00AM on Sunday 25-Apr-2010.

Check out Hollyburn Saling Club's other sailing events on their newly formated web pages Click this link

Ciao,

Tags: Hollyburn Sailing Club; Ambelside Beach; West Vancouver;

Snow Impacts Trash Collection

2008-12-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

This post related to the winter of 2008. With all the snowy weather, on 19-Dec the District staff advises residents of West Vancouver to retrieve from curbside any recycling that was not collected and to set it out for their next scheduled collection day.

Due to the snow and the continued poor road conditions, recycling collection will only be attempted where road conditions have been deemed safe by the driver on route. Trucks will not go back this week for anything they have missed earlier on.

Regarding garbage collection, next week, the week of 22-Dec, the 2-can garbage limit will be increased to 4 cans for residents missed previously due to unsafe road conditions.

With the holidays on Thursdays of 25-Dec and 1-Jan, residents below the highway between Taylor Way and 23rd will not be getting pick for quite some time. My guess would be that next scheduled pickup would be on 2-Jan.

Ciao,

Tags: West+Vancouver;

Hollyburn Sailing Club Web Cam

2008-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

This Web Cam is at the Hollyburn Sailing Cubhouse at Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver. The view is of the slipway used for launching dinghies. Hollyburn operates year round. You're more likely to see sailors in the summer. If you get a black window ask youself: is it night time in West Vancouver?

You will need Windows Media Player installed - most Windows/Vista computers have this. The cam is a bit slow (>30 Seconds) to load and is sometimes flakey. Be patient.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver; Hollyburn Sailing Club;

West Vancouver Director of Engineering and Transportation

2008-12-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

West Vancouver has internally hired a new Director of Engineering and Transportation. His name is Raymond Fung.

Raymond Fung, a UBC Alumni, holds Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Water Resources. His previous position of Manager of Utilities saw him involved in such projects as Universal Water Metering and construction of the water treatment facility at Eagle Lake.

Raymond has worked in the past for the City of Richmond and the City of North Vancouver. He currently chairs the Green Infrastructure Partnership, a consortium of organizations which share a vision of making practices that support “smart growth” principles more prevalent in communities across BC. He is also seves as a peer reviewer for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund Program

As Director, Engineering and Transportation, Raymond Fung will provide oversight of the Divisional functions that include roads, transportation, water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, garbage and recycling, and the Blue Bus transit system. Ray has been Acting Director of Engineering and Transportation over the past year.

Welcome to your new position Raymond.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver ;

Electric Powered Cars coming to Canada

2008-11-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

A Canadian company named Electrovaya is a leader in the production of Lithium Ion battery systems. This company recently signed a package of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Chinese.

First of these is with Chana International for the distribution of electric vehicles in Canada. Chana is one of the better know carmakers in China. Their brand is Chang’An. They are backed by joint ventures with Ford and Mazda. The agreement between Chana and Electrovaya is for the distribution of an electric powered, zero emission cars in Canada. The Ben Ben is a Chinese self made car that is selling for a little over C$8,000. The company is currently selling about 2,000 units per month in mainland China. It appears now that Electrovaya will position Chana with an electric variant of the Ben Ben.

Second is with GuangZhou Lange Electric Equipment for battery equipment. GuangZhou is a specialty equipment manufacturer. The two company plan to set up a joint venture for supply of Electrovaya’s battery licensees with high end manufacturing equipment. One might reasonably assume that Chana, or future supplier of the Ben Ben’s batteries is one of these licensees.

Finally, the third MOU is with Shandong Shifeng Group for zero emission light trucks. The significance of this MOU is it points to Electrovaya’s interest in electric vehicles. As there web site states:

"Electrovaya's strategy is to build strong partnerships and joint-ventures with well-intentioned, visionary leaders. … Electrovaya aims to be a dominant global player in this industry of near and long term explosive growth."

Electrovaya’s shares have traded between C$0.18 and C$0.72 in the last 52 weeks. On 7-Nov-08 they closed at C$0.31.

Ciao,

Tags: Electric Cars;

Hard Hit

2008-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I came across this in YouTube.

Phew the kid took a hard one.

Ciao,

Response from John Clark

2008-11-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

We have our second response and it is from John Clark.

The only email address I could find for Mr. Clark was one at westcancouver.net. This would be his official Councilman’s email and likely inappropriate for him to respond. The response email received was from a hotmail account. Perhaps good to know Mr. Clark has a hotmail account and responds to emails complete with abbreviations and typo’s just like the rest of us.

The Mayoralty contender’s response was brief and to the point. He acknowledged that the questions were “hard.”

Mr. Clark points out that all business in West Vancouver is “limited to retail in whatever form.” He stated he would like the District’s CAO to be more involved in business development. He states “I would love to see "soft" activity which would enhance our tax base.” I have no idea what “soft” activity is. Maybe you do.

On the use of contract services, Mr. Clark points out that the District does contract our garbage disposal and paving, as well as, shared costs with the other north shore Districts on legal, fire/rescue and public works. He believes that the District needs to be “alert” to the opportunities to contract out more services.

Still no response received from Ms. Vaughan. I’ll give her another week then offer an opinion on the responses received.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver ; Pam+Goldsmith-Jones; John+Clark; Vivian+Vaughan;

Response from Pam Goldsmith-Jones

2008-10-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

Mayoralty candidate and incumbent Pam Goldsmith-Jones was very quick to respond to my questions with a lengthy email reply.

Madame Mayor’s comments were quite well thought out. Of course some of the material referenced projects and initiatives I have to admit I do not understand. That said, the nature of the response on a diversified tax base was very good. The response on contracting out of government services was less inspiring. My personal opinion is that the private sector, in a competitive environment, will always do a more cost effective higher quality job than the public sector. That belief would colour my view of her response.

Here are some key points of the Mayor’s response:

“Diversifying our tax base is key.”

The council is looking to develop the Wetmore site (22nd and Marine) as was done for 320 Taylor Way (across Taylor Way from the Whitespot). I’m not sure what the District did here but I intend to find out and report back to you.

“The Ambleside strategy recommends an office building for the village (height will be the issue).”

Vacancy in the existing professional office space between 13th and 19th seems to me to indicate that an office tower in Ambleside is not needed. The council should focus on initiatives that bring business to West Vancouver prior to expanding the available office space. Perhaps this is the ‘build it and they will come’ mentality.

“The new community centre board is also viewing how to rent out the space for revenue, and is working with our staff to balance community programming with revenue opportunities.”

Within reason this is a good initiative. I fully support user pay programs for the use of public facilities.

“We outsource where it makes sense, and use our crews if that is the best value for you.”

The Mayor went on to discuss how trees were reused to build a bridge in Parc Verdun and how the District negotiated a great deal on garbage pickup services. I was hoping or hear a bigger picture answer such as contracting out road services or the operation of the recreation center.

Ms Goldsmith-Jones also went on to state “as Mayor, I opened up our Finance Committee to citizens – I am pretty sure no other community is as transparent or open to a fresh look as we are. Our new Chief Administration Officer has begun restructuring to flatten the organization. He has left some retirements vacant, and has reduced a few positions as well.”

The concept of a leaner and more transparent District government is very near and dear to my heart.

We wait for responses from the other two candidates.

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver ; Pam+Goldsmith-Jones; John+Clark; Vivian+Vaughan;

Race to be West Van's Mayor

2008-10-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Two current councilors are running to replace the incumbent mayor in West Vancouver. The field of candidates for the 15-Nov-2008 election is:

Pam Goldsmith-Jones Web Site
Johan Clark No Web Site
Vivian Vaughan Web Site

Two questions were submitted to the candidates by email. The questions were:

What steps would you take to increase the commercial tax base within West Vancouver?

What District programs or services would you consider for contracting out?

I will post any responses I receive. (And I have received some :))

Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver ; Pam+Goldsmith-Jones; John+Clark; Vivian+Vaughan;

Eagle Lake Micro Hydro Project

2008-10-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Did you know that we get over half of the 9.4 million cubic meters of drinking water we use in West Vancouver from Eagle Lake?

Eagle Lake is located on Cypress Mountain. Originally it drained west into Nelson Creek and emptied into Eagle Harbour. Around 1960 dams were constructed on the west and south ends of the lake. These dams diverted the water flow into Eagle Creek which also empties into Eagle Harbour.

Eagle Lake’s history as a source of drinking water goes back to the early 1900’s. In 2001/02 the water supply system on Eagle Lake introduced a new benefit to the resident of West Vancouver. At that time BC Hydro approved a micro power generation project for Eagle Lake. A Czech designed Pelton turbine was added to the roof of the water reservoir. The turbine and harvests energy that was previously lost in a pressure reducing station. The unit has a capacity of 0.2 MW and generates approximately 1.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year. This ‘free’ electricity represents about 20% of the power consumed by the District of West Vancouver.

Eagle Lake micro power generation is managed by Pacific Cascade Hydro Inc for the owner the District of West Vancouver.

Residents of West Vancouver can be proud that this green project proves, under the right conditions, power generation within a drinking water distribution system is feasible as well as environmentally and economically sound. The project could be duplicated in water distribution systems globally.
Ciao,

Tags: West Vancouver; Power Generation

PS: A reader points out that the 20% of all West Vancouver's power use must be wrong. And I agree. I believe the intention of the figures presented by the District's www site was that the project provides 20% of the District's power use. See the comments for the correct intpretation.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

2008-09-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

My oh my readers!

I used to watch Saturday Night Live years ago. There was promise of Senator Barack Obama hosting the show on 13-Sep-08. I was keen to watch as I find this passing of leadership from one generation to another an interesting event in the USA. I was young, but I do remember the events of Bobby Kennedy in 1968. It seemed to me that America was struggling with whether to step forward with the ideals of a younger generation or to return to the more conservative approach of Richard Nixon.

Twenty years later Americans seem to be facing a similar challenge. To move forward with a young, articulate, mixed race and, let's be real, untried man in Barack Obama. Or to stay the course with John McCain, a Vietnam war hero, that will continue the policies which have guided America since Ronald Regan presidency began in 1981.

It is good to see some serious poking of fun at the players by Saturday Night Live. Amy Poehler plays former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Democratic candidate for the presidency and Tina Fey plays Sarah Palin current Alaskan hockey mom come VP running mate of Republican John McCain. The opening skit is hilarious beyond belief and will likely be considered classic comedy for years to come. Perhaps even more so should Palin actually ascend to the office of Vice President.

Here is the clip from NBC’s Saturday Night Live home page. Enjoy!

Because of copyright issues you need to go to NBC to see the flash clip. This is the link - I think Click Here
Ciao,

Tags: Sarah Palin; Hillary Clinton; SNL;

And maybe it is FLERG which urban dictionary dot com defines as "a limp dick."

State of the Game

2008-06-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers

Yes I am still deeply involved in the playoffs. Last night’s triple overtime win by the Penguins only adds to the intrigue of this hockey playoff season. And frankly who cares if Tiger Woods doesn’t watch hockey.

Thoughts to ponder. The local tab ran with two stories on the game of hockey. One articulate hack flowed forth on the beauty of Game 5. I agree with him. It wasn’t the Olympics or a Canada Cup but it was about the best hockey we’ve seen in quite some time. Young Marc-Andre Fleury faced 58 shots. Stopped 55 of them including 24 in overtime. As the series goes on, we all expect the older wiser Red Wings to win the cup. The intangibles within the innocence of youth may just say "hold on here Detroit the parade isn’t ready to happen just yet." Given a Game 7, even if it is in the Joe Louis Arena all bets are off. Fleury could stop them all and Malkin surely has another post season goal in his young career. Pens win 1-0 in Game 7? Totally not out of the question.

The second story was one of how the NHL General Managers are not talking about no touch icing. The story also touched on the AHL to test one minute penalties in overtime next season. This aggravates me to no end. I’m not a hockey purest but ENOUGH!

Why do we have to keep on going about changing the game to please the collective Tiger Woods. That American TV audience Tiger represents will never buy into hockey. Hockey is not a sport suited to commercial TV audiences. The game is too fast. The game is too unpredictable. Hockey requires an attention span most Americans do not hold. Trying to shoehorn a hockey game into a TV commercial timeout framework, and the resulting trips to the fridge, just ruins a good hockey game. You can sell a few Buicks during a golf game and nothing is lost. The same can not be said for hockey coverage.

I’ve previously written about a Captain’s Club. This season will see a new member inducted to this honored fraternity. Nicklas Lidstrom could win his fourth Stanley Cup and first as the team's Captain. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins intend to stand in the way. Lidstom could become the first European born player to lead a team to the cup win. To me this represents what is right with hockey. Rather than idiotic tweaking of icing and OT penalties what hockey needs is its’ traditions to continue.

Crosby and his band of young guns rise from 3-1 down to win the cup. Sidney hands the cup to team owner Lemieux and the Canadian legacy of hockey leadership continues.

Or… The 50-50 group of North American and European players prevail. This Summer, the cup visits Sweden, Russia, Finland, Czech and Slovak nations. Local boys (and girls) come out to meet the cup and marvel at its beauty of silver and symmetry. They smudge little fingers on the names. The great names Orr, Gretzky, Beliveau, Howie, Messier, Lemieux, Richard, Bossy & Trottier, Roy. Then they recognize the local names. Selanne, Larionov, Forsberg, Khabibulin, Jagr, Fedorov. The little spark that resides in every Canadian boy is kindled. The thought of their name forever etched in that silver amidst the great European, American and Canadians of the game. Their being immortalized as one who has paid the price to be the top is planted. As more Europeans win and now begin to lead teams to win the significance of winning for the North American and European players will balance. And the game, as it was last night, will be always better for it.

No touch icing is pretty irrelevant isn’t it… If you have a comment please add it below.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Stanley+Cup Pittsburgh+Penguins; Detroit+RedWings;

Ambleside Park Pictures

2008-04-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

The slide show below contains pictures associated with the Ambleside Park post.

Ciao,

Tags: Ambleside+Park; West+Vancouver

Copy of the Ambleside Park Post

2008-04-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Park is the best know attraction in West Vancouver that is not a shopping mall or a ferry terminal. West Vancouver’s citizens gather at Ambleside to socialize, engage in either organized or pickup sports, to exercise themselves and their canine friends or just to enjoy the sea air.

Metrics

The park is bounded on the East by the Capilano River. On the west by 13th Street and Hollyburn Sailing Club. On the North by Marine Drive. On the South by the northern shore waters of English Bay. Ambleside is bisected by the Canadian National rail line.

The beach within Ambleside is a combination of rip wrap stones and sand beach. The sand is 600 meters long and located at the west end of the park. There is 1.2 km of seawall which hugs the shoreline from Park Royal to 13th Street. The park includes 6 sports fields, 2 artificial, 2 grass and 2 all weather (that means gravel). Typical configuration in spring is a baseball diamond, softball diamond, and field hockey. In winter rugby, soccer and football are all played in Ambleside.

Between the CN Rail bridge over the Capilano River and the Ambleside Pitch n Putt there is a modest fitness circuit. The park also includes a skateboard area, 3 basketball courts and 3 tennis courts.

The Pitch n Putt is a small Par 3 course with 1189 yards of total length. The 7th hole is longest at 114 yards and the 45 yard 17th is the shortest. Golfers of all ages and skills harmoniously enjoy leisurely paced golf at Ambleside. Cost is Adults $10 Seniors $8 children $6.

The park has a picnic shelter, total of 18 picnic tables and three barbeque pits. While you’d enjoy a summer day, packed picnic, there is no need no bring your own food as there is a concession and several good near by restaurants. The concession building also houses large change rooms and a life guard station.

Near the concession building there is a play area with swings and other play apparatus suited to children under the age of ten.

The Park is home to the West Vancouver Youth Center and the West Van SPCA kennel.

Locals refer to the large off leash area east of the end Argyle Ave as Dog Beach. This area is extremely popular with north shore dog owners.

How to get there.

There are actually three accesses to Ambleside Park. Other than savvy West Van residents, the majority of use comes from the access off the foot of 13th Street in West Vancouver. Make your way to Park Royal mall and continue west to make a left at 13th Street and you are there. There is parking immediately to the left on either side of the rail tracks or in slots along Argyle facing the beach. Get off the 250 Blue Bus at 13th Street and you are within a few steps of the park entrance.

The other popular entry point to the park is from south of the Park Royal shopping mall. There is a gravel trail that skirts the west shore of the Capilano River and arrives at the Dog Beach portion of Ambleside. Many dog owners use this entrance as there is good parking and never a need to leash fido.

Finally, when you are traveling eastward on Marine Drive there is an access road between the western extent of Park Royal Village and the eastern most artificial turf field. This road is the access to the West Van Youth Center and the SPCA. There are a number of parking spots that are often used by those involved in organized sports.

Park Use

I find it hard to say which of many activities is more popular in Ambleside Park. Just to walk on the seawall seems to be a simplistic approach to a park with so much to offer. But for many that is Ambleside park: a portion of the North Shore sea wall that run west to Dundrave pier.

Upon closer investigation you will often find a variety of uses and users.

Young, and not so young, new moms and dads tend to their children in the play area. Older folkes lounge on the benches. People of all ages swim or use the summer volleyball nets.

Young guys gather in the skate board park or in pickup basketball games on the courts daily. The slightly older dudes park their ‘mercs and beamers along the beach. They gather in small groups to discuss, often in Farsi, the things guys of that age discuss. The counterpart girls are often clutched together on the logs arranged on the sand beach or enjoying a frozen treat from the concession.

Uber power mom’s armoured with latest Lulu Lemon wear purposely stride in pairs along the sea walk making their way to or from their next engagement. Toned metro-sexuals jog at a brisk yet polite pace.

Retired exec’s and their wives stole in pairs. Often the overheard conversation is of kids in university or the merits of a Lexus over the Land Rover.

Down the east end at Dog Beach the pooches rule. An increased level of activity fills the air. Dogs chase their grotty old tennis balls or a stick flung into the ocean. Owners call after their barking dogs. Children noisily interact with their canine best friends.

Across the rail tracks, over at the organized sports fields, the kids compete while the into it moms hang on the chain link fence shouting encouragement. The more laid back parents line the bleachers in their designer shades sipping the Venti sized paper tumblers of fancy coffee drinks.

Clearly Ambleside is the focal meeting place of West Vancouver. Regardless of age, original culture or current socio-economic status our park by the sea has something to offer everyone.

History

Ambleside was originally a garbage dump and log sort. A near by ferry terminal at the foot of 14th Street made the area popular with locals. Park status was given in 1912. While ferries ran to Vancouver beginning in 1868 this site became the ferry terminal in 1914. The Lions Gate Bridge which towers over the east end of the park opened in 1938. Yes, in West Vancouver we do refer to it as the bridge over the moat.

What you might not know.

Green Heron nest in the duck pond at Ambleside Park. This is the only known nesting site, for these birds, on the North Shore.

In addition to ducks and swans there are turtles in the duck pond.

The best time to see cruise ships power out of Vancouver harbour towards Alaska, and the setting sun, is at 5:00PM on Sundays.

The sea wall walk passes under the rail road tracks at the Capilano River. The bed of the rail line is no more than three meters from the ground. Depending on how tall or brave you are, with the luck of timing, you may get far closer to the underbelly of a train than you may care.

Ciao,

Murph the Dog

2008-04-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers

Miss 604, also known as social media guru Rebecca Bollwitt, is doing a series of posts on her popular blog about the parks of our area. I offered and Rebecca agreed that I will make a guest contribution on her blog. My post will be about West Vancouver's Ambleside Park. I’m very excited to be recognized for my writing and have the opportunity to contribute to an established, award winning and well know blog like Rebecca’s Miss 604. Look for my post on Ambleside Park at Miss 604 in the near future.

Saturday (26-Apr-08) the little one and I gave up our normal wander through Lighthouse Park to head down to Ambleside to take a few pictures and inventory the park. The little one’s interest in helping was additionally fueled by her curiosity about the Carnival that, this weekend, was taking place in the park.

While undertaking our reconnaissance mission we met Murph the dog. Murph’s owner seemed quite please that Murph was getting his photo taken and even more pleased to hear that he might make the internet as part of our park story. At the time, I told Murph and his family that the site would be westvan dot blogspot without thinking that the real site would be Miss 604. Then in wordsmithing of the story I began to think would Murph’s picture make the editor's final cut?

The ‘Dog Beach’ portion of Ambleside is an important element of the park. I’m pretty sure Murph will survive the editor’s final cut.

Regardless, meet Murph the dog! He seemed to be having a fairly relaxed time at Dog Beach. We enjoyed briefly meeting him.

If you would like comment on West Vancouver, Ambleside Park, Dog Beach or Murph please enter you comments below.

Ciao,

Tags: Ambleside+Beach; Miss+604;

Next ‘Nucks GM

2008-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers

Have you ever been in the situation where you hear something and you’re afraid to repeat it just in case it is true? For the last week or so I have had this creepy feeling about the vacant GM post with our beloved Canucks. When Nonis was let go – and I support that move by the way – I immediately began to think of a potential replacement.

Your thoughts turn to out of work GM’s like Mike Smith, Doug Armstrong and John Muckler. John Ferguson Jr.?

You think of out of work, aging coaches that might like to move into a front office position. Like West Vancouver resident Pat Quinn. Or Pat Burns. Glenn Hanlon?

As well, you might consider some currently active coaches and GM’s who might be on the market if their teams do not do well in these playoffs. Brian Burke might fit this category as would David Poile. Ron Wilson in San Jose? I say Burke because this is the only situation where he might be available to return to the ‘nucks.

Then you consider Assistants to current GM’s who are looking to move up. Of course this list is topped by Steve Tambellini and includes Detroit’s Jim Nill.

And finally your mind turns to players who have the potential or goal of becoming a NHL GM. Trevor Linden is first to mind. Does the role suit him? Remember that GM’s and coaches are hired to be fired. Do we want to be faced with the team needing to fire GM Trevor Linden? There is a more palatable role for Trevor if he chooses.

Then it hits you! Mark Messier. He has stated his desire for a position in management. Until recently he was on the Canucks payroll. Aqualini / Zimmerman know just enough about hockey to be dangerous. Then you hear it suggested on HNIC. And you shudder. You’re afraid to think it, afraid to say it.

I have no delusions about who reads my material. But please great God of all things hockey. NO! NO! NO! Mister Aqualini no! Am I clear in my position?

I’d love to read your thoughts on the next Canucks' GM. Add your comments below.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; Trevor+Linden; Mark+Messier; Dave+Nonis;

P.J. Stock on HNIC

2008-04-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hello readers.

Wannabe broadcaster P.J. Stock joined the HNIC crew early this season. The second intermission was 'enhanced' with former players Scott Mellanby and Sean Burke joining the Hot Stove segment as alternatives to the typical cadre of media hacks. Stock seems to have made the best of his opportunity as he has a regular spot with Ron McLean and Kelly (Bobby) Hrudey. Albeit when most of Canada has gone to bed or lost interest as the Leaf's are not in the playoffs.

PJ's time as a player was noted for his excellent fights. The video below is Stock vs Stephen Peat in the '01/02 season. Note two things: PJ's number 42; and how quickly Stock switches from feeding Peat lefts to throwing rights.

If you have commentary on PJ Stock or HNIC, please add it in the comments section below.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; PJ+Stock;

Is the answer to everything 42?

2008-04-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

In a shameful attempt to boost Google search hits and thus drive Adsense traffic I have decided to investigate the universal answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. If you do not know why the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything = 42 then click here.

The 1941/42 NHL Season was certainly the answer for the Brokklyn Americans. The storied franchise who's roots began way back in 1888 as the Quebec Bulldogs folded in 1942. The team had a handful of names and locations over its history including the Hamilton Tigers and the New York Americans. The franchise won the cup in 1912 and 1914.

On 18-Apr-1942 the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup. Syl Apps was the Leafs' Captain.

For the current NHL maybe 42 was also the answer. The 1942/43 season marked the first season of the ‘modern’ NHL and the first season of the original six.

The list of NHL Players who have worn the number 42 includes sixty five players. There are a few notables. For the Vancouver Canucks only Josef Beranek has worn the number 42. He did so between 1994 and 1996.

Sean Avery wore number 42 in his rookie season ('01/02) with the Detroit Red Wings. Dear Sean scored 2 goals and 2 assists and logged 68 PIM in 36 games his rookie season.

Shean Donovan wore number 42 starting in the '94/95 season and kept the number until he moved from the Sharks to the Avalanche in the '97/98 season. Shean’s association with the number 42 lasted 181 regular season and 12 playoff games.

Bernie Federko finished up his 14 season NHL career with one last year in Detroit. In '89/90 Bernie wore number 42 in seventy three games scoring 17 goals and 40 assists.

In a chance that 42 just might be the answer to everything, fan All Star favorite Rory Fitzpatrick wore number 42 with the St Louis Blues between 1996 and 1999. Heart warming for Rory’s fans until you realize that during that period, always the All Star bridesmaid, Rory only played three games in those two seasons. He hit the scoresheet twice with two minor penalties.

Jamie Linden, younger brother of Captain Canuck aka Trevor Linden, played four games in 1994/95 For the Florida Panthers and wore number 42.

Wannabe broadcaster and long time fringe NHLer, P J Stock wore number 42 in Boston for the ‘01/02 and ‘02/03 seasons. If you are like me you are wondering who the hell this guy is. And why is he getting camera time in the second intermission of HNIC? Stock played 255 NHL games with four teams and tallied a total of 5 goals and 21 assists for 26 points. Don’t take that as critique. Don Cherry never laced them up in the NHL. The fashion challenged one coached six NHL seasons and came as close to the cup as losing, twice, in the finals.

Finally, just to be certain that 42 is the answer. Kyle Wellwood wore number 42 with Toronto in ‘06/07. He notched 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 points.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Google+Adsense; Brooklyn+Americans; Toronto+Maple+Leafs; Detroit+Red+Wings; Stanley+Cup; Syl+Apps; original+six;
Josef+Beranek;
Sean+Avery; Shean+Donovan;
Bernie+Federko; Rory+Fitzpatrick; St+Louis+Blues; Vancouver+Canucks; Trevor+Linden; Jamie+Linden; Florida+Panthers; PJ+Stock; Boston+Bruins; Don+Cherry; Kyle+Wellwood

Gordie Howe Hat Trick

2008-04-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Maybe you can help me out my readers?

We all understand a Gordie Howe Hat Trick to be the recording of a goal, an assist and a fight on the scoresheet for one game. This feat is fairly rare in the NHL. I had a feeling in the back of my mind that Mister Hockey had not actually recorded as many of the tricks as conventional hockey legend would have us believe. Small debate with a buddy lead me to investigate.

There is a wiki for Gordie Howe Hat Tricks here. Much to my surprise Gordie is reported to have only ever recorded one of the hat tricks named after him. The date was 22-Dec-1955 and the opponent was Boston.

Here is the problem. I want to believe the wiki. But I do not. Do any of you readers have any verifiable proof otherwise? If so please add it in the comments below.

Thank you my readers.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; Gordie+Howe;

ex-Canuck to Win Stanley Cup

2008-04-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

At this time of year it is a bit of fun to play the game of looking for ex-Canucks that have an opportunity to win the cup. Again this year, the crop of potentials is interesting.

The freshest ex-Canuck is Matt Cooke and he has his chance with the Washington Capitals. An outside chance. Still a better chance than Matt Pettinger’s.

The most notable ex-Canuck would be Todd Bertuzzi who now sulks the left wing in Anaheim. I have mixed feeling about Bert having a cup chance with the defending champs. Mostly I would rather not see Bertuzzi’s name etched on the cup. Yet it would most likely be a big relief for Betruzzi to have a shot at a legacy of Stanley Cup Champion and convicted felon rather than just convicted felon. Anaheim also has Brad May who did in fact win the mug with the Ducklings last season.

Two (maybe three) ex-Canucks have the best shot at touching the cup this spring. They include one time rental Bryan Somlinski with the Habs and lovable pest Jarkko Ruutu with the Penguins. Add to this a reasonable chance for D-Man Adrian Aucoin and the Flames IF Iggy and crew can get by the Sharks.

There are a handful of others such as, Alex Auld and Peter ‘Who’ Schaefer in Boston. RJ Umberger, Philly and Marek Malik for the Rangers. At this time I do not think any of them has a legitimate chance.

Finally in the “huh” category. The final two would make good trivia questions. Who is the backup goalie in New Jersey? It is ex-Canuck Kevin Weekes. Which journeyman defenseman is not a Canuck’s property but recently played for the Manitoba Moose? The answer is Dallas Stars’ Nolan Baumgartner. While Baumgartner was recently added to the Stars’ active roster, he has no games played in the NHL this season. Unknown what the rules are with respect to winning and minimum games played but Baumgartner does have the chance to be on the ice when the cup is presented.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; San+Jose+Sharks; Calgary+Flames; Vancouver+Canucks

Canada Loves Hockey

2008-04-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

If there was any doubt of Canada's passion for the game consider my current situation.

I sit in Terminal B of Vancouver Airport waiting a flight. There are five guys sitting around a TV. Two of use are tapping away at laptops and YouTube can be heard from both. Two guys are debating the "Sean Avery Rule." And I mean debating! I'm considering which is going to get the extra two for being the instigator.

I expand my gaze and notice there is a secondary ring of people all watching the highlights as John Garret whines on about whether Sarich's hit was legal. Next Bill Walters tries to sound authorative on the latest antics of dear Sean Avery.

Yes my readers - as the commercial says - "The cup makes all the difference!"

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Sean+Avery; San+Jose+Sharks; Calgary+Flames; Vancouver+Canucks

Count the number of Swedes

2008-04-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

While the Canucks hint at the potential of signing touted free agent Fabian Brunnstrom last night the boys still palying continued their quest for the cup. The Sarich hit, turning point in a 4-3 Flames win, was impressive but what was far more impressive was Marleau got up and played the remainder of the game. Ask yourself, in the video, which staring role would any of Vancouver's swedes played? Hitter? Hit and got up?

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; San+Jose+Sharks; Calgary+Flames; Vancouver+Canucks

Trevor Linden Picks the Sharks

2008-04-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Until now I had thought of Trevor moving into a job with the Canucks' organization or with the league. This video is a pretty good effort at the role of analyst. Perhaps Linden will remain with a career in front of the comera.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; Trevor+Linden;

Trevor Linden - Post Game

2008-04-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

5-Apr-2008 GM Place, Vancouver, BC

Thank you Trevor.

What else can be said.

Links: JJ does a nice write up as usual, The Box - no idea who she is but hope she doesn't jump!, Bleacher Report, GZ Expat - good find Dude

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; Trevor+Linden; NHLPA;

Jonathan Roy

2008-03-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Certainly you’ve heard the story by now. Sad that hockey gets such excellent coverage when things get a little off the tracks.

I played the game. I got a late start. Skating, height, weight, bone structure all worked against me. Well those are just my excuses when I see player like Ryan Shannon or the career of Cliff Ronning. My stature is about the same as theirs. Later when the guys were still playing and I was more of a on ice liability than an asset, I took my turn behind the bench. As a coach, I was far better in win loss columns than in goals, assists and penalty minutes as a player.

I’ve seen a lot of junior games though not that many recently. The clips of the dust up between the Ramparts and the Sagueneens Saturday night (22-Mar-08) looks not unlike any Tier Two or WHL game from the 1970’s.

Did I ever send my guys out to engage the other team in a ‘line brawl’ when the scoreboard showed the game was over? No. I never had to. The guys seemed to instinctively know when the time was right. Quite the opposite actually, as a coach I found myself tasked more with getting the guys to channel their aggression into a positive result when a game started to slip away.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Jonathan+Roy; Vancouver+Canucks

Bobby Orr’s Birthday

2008-03-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, March 20, 2008 was Bobby Orr’s 60th Birthday. I stuck me as interesting on a few fronts. Here in West Vancouver, we had the pleasure of seeing Bobby contribute to Darwin Head’s winning of several cars and $1,000,000 in a GM sponsored puck shoot at GM Place. The hug fest that followed Drawin’s success left you with the distinct impression that Bobby was genuinely excited for the guy. As Darwin made the rounds of local sports talk the next day or two, he returned the sentiments saying the million bucks was nice but the real treasure was he had gotten to hang out with Bobby Orr for a day.

The link between Darwin Head’s success and Bobby’s lack of financial success as a player is tragic. Many believe that Bobby was hockey’s first millionaire. This is just not true. The Boston organization paid Bobby about $75,000 for his first two years. In 1971-72 Boston did award Bobby a $200,000 per year contract with a five year term giving him $1 million over the life of that contract.

In the same era, Derek Sanderson and Bobby Hull were both lured away to the WHA with big contracts. Sanderson was to be paid $2.65 million by the Philly Blazers. Sanderson only played eight games with the Blazers before returning to the NHL. In 1972-73 Bobby Hull was given a $2.75 million over ten years. The contract called for $1 million up front. Bobby Hull was most likely your first million per year hockey player.

Here is an amazing Orr fact that is true. Bobby was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame at age 31, the youngest player ever inducted. Bobby won eight consecutive Norris Trophies between 1968 and 1975. If there is any doubt that Orr defined the position of defense during that time consider that Harry Howell preceded and Denis Potvin followed him as the bookend Norris winners.

Bobby now heads up Orr Hockey Group and is the agent for several players including Jason Spezza, the Staal Brothers, Rick DiPietro and Nathan Horton and several other young talents.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Bobby+Orr;
Vancouver+Canucks

West Vancouver Point of Interest

2008-03-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

I know this has nothing to do with hockey. In addition to my passion with hockey I do spend some time on politics. Much of my current interest is in the happenings with the Democrats’ selection of a candidate for this fall’s USA Presidential Elections. It is funny how we look far afield for matters to concentrate on when often there are often issues in our own home or community left unattended to.

I was reading one of the local free newspapers over toast and tea this morning and a near full page ad caught my eye. Some small group of locals is displeased with the local district council’s fiscal responsibility. Government responsibility, particularly on financial matters, is a subject dear to my heart.

I have no affiliation with this group nor would I foresee any relationship with them. Their desire to spend time and resources on making the local administration more accountable is admirable.

Cursory review of their information shows they have a simplistic view to the use of data to support their position. I found this a bit strange in that they claim higher education and business savvy. Still their message is ‘bang on.’ Government costs too much!

Their web site is here<-click.

I will also offer that I am not a supporter of Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones or any member of the district council. Ms. Goldsmith-Jones was elected, in part, on a platform of economic development in West Vancouver. While I have not done any supporting research, my impression has been that, during her reign, there has been a net negative amount of commercial activity in the Ambleside area. An area Madame Mayor specifically defined as one of her goals for revitalization through multi use projects. I do see posted signs of proposed changes in Ambleside Park and we are all reminded of the enormous construction effort going on at the West Van Rec Centre.

I wonder how hard Mayor Goldsmith-Jones and her team are working to offset these costs through improved and transparent management, business and government partnerships and user pay programs. I encourage the ITAC to continue their efforts to pressure District Administrators towards sound financial management.

Ciao,

Who is the best NHL referee?

2008-03-21T16:42:00.001-07:00

Maybe in offering an option on the question we should ask who is the average referee? Analysis of stats at National Hockey League Officials Association web site shows that the average NHL Referee is 42 years old and has been working NHL games for 13 seasons. In that time, on average, he has officiated 565 regular season games and 46 playoff games. The average guy works 39 games per year. There is a 5 in 6 chance he is Canadian born. If he isn’t a Canadian, he is one of the five American born active referees.

The at the top end of the experience scale Kerry Fraser is the most senior referee. Kerry, and his hair, have been policing the NHL for 34 years, has worked 1700 regular season games and 257 playoff games. Don Koharski has 30 years with Bill McCreary and Dan Marouelli both having 25 years. Fraser, Koharski and McCreary all have over 200 playoff games on their resume. Marouelli is not far behind with 179.

Kerry Fraser over his career has averaged 58 games per season. McCreary has the highest average with 70 games per year over his 25 years. Marouelli and Koharski also have similar stats at 64 and 61 games per year respectively. In addition, Don VanMassenhoven, in a 15 year career is currently at a 62 games per year.

The NHL is said to have a ranking system for their officials. Obviously this information is not made public. We do know, however, that playoff assignments are determined by these league maintained rankings. Given the records, McCreary and Koharski should have the highest rankings as they have the highest percentage of playoff games to total games. There are four referees with similar stats in this area. Kerry Fraser is one of the other two, plus a new name to this analysis Kevin Pollock. Pollock has only 10 years of experience which is less than the average. Yet in those 10 years Pollock has been assigned to 68 playoff games. Paul Devorski and Brad Watson join Marouelli in a second tier group just below the four mentioned above.

So who is the best referee? I have no idea. And, keep in mind, the numbers above represent only currently active referees. Using the associations statistics and what we know of league policy, Bill McCreary and Kevin Pollock must have the highest rankings with Don Koharski, Kerry Fraser and Dan Marouelli not too far behind.

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Court Case Decision - Update

2008-03-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

On 10-Jan-2008, Madame Justice Catherine Wedge ruled in favour of Aquilini. Her judgement confirmed the ownership of the Vancouver Canucks and General Motors Place rests with Aquilini.

The root of the issue was whether Aquilini had a partnership with Tom Gaglardi and Ryan Beedie at the time Aquilini purchased the team and other assets from John McCaw.

The judge wrote “Even assuming the three men entered into a relationship giving rise to fiduciary duties, the relationship ended in March 2004 as did any fiduciary obligations arising from it.”

This means that, in her opinion, the partnership between the parties ended in March 2004 and prior to the transaction that saw the team ownership change.

As would be expected, Beedie and Gaglardi appealed the decision. On 5-Feb-2008 a claim was made to the BC Supreme Court seeking to set aside the 10-Jan ruling.

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks;

Canucks Schedule

2007-12-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Canucks Court Case

2007-10-13T10:56:00.001-07:00

It is very early to be doing much in depth analysis of the team. With tonight’s back end of a “there and here” double header with the Oilers, we will likely be given a look at the character and chemistry of this version of the team. This is even truer with last night's bounce back win after the embarrassing 8-2 drubbing by the much improved Flyers laid on us last Wednesday night. This coming week the Sharks and the Kings will visit the Garage.

For me the regular season is one of those painful things we endure with hopes of promised treats at the end. NHL hockey is about winning the Stanley Cup challenge. Hockey’s second season is where the real excitement lies. We endure 82 games over about six months with the single goal of placing eighth or better in the west. That goal accomplished only one thing. It gives us the right to enter the real challenge.

Let’s face it Canucks faithful. This franchise has never won the Stanley Cup. It has been a little longer since a Vancouver based team held Lord Stanley’s mug. It is tragic that the city with the beautiful, thousand acre park with the same name as the equally beautiful symbol of hockey supremacy has not owned right to the cup since 1915. Frank Patrick’s Vancouver Millionaires won the cup that season and challenged for the cup as late as 1924. The current franchise made it to the finals of the Stanley Cup tournament in 1982 and 1994. Both teams came away from their respective trips to the final empty handed.

As we embark on the journey of a new season there is still one little nagging problem hidden deep in the backs of some of the faithful’s collective mind – a court case.

The gist of it is something like this:

Nov-96 John McCaw becomes the majority owner of Arthur Griffiths’ Vancouver Canucks franchise. Griffiths facing mounting financial pressure from the self financed GM Place and failing Vancouver Grizzles NBA is forced out of the Canucks by McCaw’s executing a first right of refusal option in their ownership agreement.

Nov-03 three Vancouver businessmen, Tom Gaglardi of Sandman Hotels and Suites, Ryan Beedie of construction’s Beedie Group and Francessco Aquilini whose family is best known in real estate circles, discuss the possibility of buying all or some part of Orca Bay Sports from Seattle cellular tycoon John McCaw. Orca Bay owns both the Canucks Franchise and GM Place as well as some key land around GM Place.

Mar-04 Aquilini drops out of the consortium. The suggestion is that Aquilini asked if he could step aside until the fall due to a real estate project that was taking all his time. Gaglardi is said to have refused and Aquilini then withdrew from the consortium.

Aug-04 Aquilini asks to return to the consortium but is rebuffed by Gaglardi/Beedie. This is interesting in that Gaglardi/Beedie contend that they were giving Aquilini information on the progress of their bid and that Aquilini then used that information to complete his own deal. Common sense would say that if the “partnership” were still at that level then Gaglardi/Beedie should have been happy to welcome Aquilini back into the group.

14-Sep-04 CBC Sports releases news of deal in principle between McCaw and the Gaglardi/Beedie pair. Story Here

Oct-05 Aquilini went on a cruise hosted by David Ho, a well-connected Vancouver entrepreneur. Also on board was Orca Bay's president and CEO, Stan McCammon, the man directing the Canucks sale on behalf of John McCaw.

5-Nov-05 McCaw calls Gaglardi and tells him that they can not reach a deal because Gaglardi negotiated too hard.

17-Nov-04 CBC Sports releases news of minority share deal between McCaw and Aquilini. Story Here

Jan-05 Gaglardi and Beedie and their respective companies sue Aquilini, McCaw and their respective companies claiming basically that Aquilini and McCaw conspired behind their backs to reach a deal that excluded their participation in ownership.

30-Apr-07 Case Opens in BC Supreme Court. Story Here

4-Oct-07 Madame Justice Catherine Wedge hears closing arguments. The case is not expected to have a reached a decision before the All Star break.
Story Here

And we all stay tuned…

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Detroit+Red+Wings; Dallas+Stars; Calgary+Flames; Nashville+Predators; Vancouver+Canucks; Los+Angles+Kings; Edmonton+Oilers; Colorado+Avalanche; Anaheim+Ducks; San+Jose+Sharks

EA Simulation Picks Sharks

2007-09-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Vancouver based EA Sports has completed their annual simulation of the NHL Season. EA NHL 08 predicts the San Jose Sharks over Pittsurgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals.

Here is the the results of their simulation of regualar season and play offs:

EAST

NYR 113
	>- NYR
BUF 94
		>- NYR
OTT 105
	>- TOR
TOR 95
			>- NYR
NJD 96
	>- CAR
CAR 94
		>- PIT
PIT 109
	>- PIT
TBL 107

WEST

ANA 109
	>- ANA
NSH 90
		>- EDM
COL 104
	>- EDM
EDM 93
			>- SJS
SJS 96
	>- SJS
VAN 101
		>- SJS
DET 100
	>- DET
CAL 101

Vancouver tied with Calgary behind Colorado seems pretty realistic to me. Vancouver loses to the eventual Stanley Cup winner again this year. Edmonton knockinng off Ryan Smyth and the Colorado Avalanche is a funny one. And EA must have a huge bug in their metrics for the Toronto Maple Leaves.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

A look ahead to Friday 5-Oct-2007

2007-09-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

If it were me putting in the opening night line up here is what I’d do:

Line 1	22 D Sedin	33 H Sedin	26 R Shannon
Line 2	9 T Pyatt	17 R Kesler	19 M Naslund C
Line 3	24 M Cooke	7 B Morrison*	16 T Linden A
Line 4	20 J Cowan	15 B Ritchie	27 B Isbister
Defence 1	8 W Mitchell A	3 K Bieksa
Defence 2	2 M Ohlund	23 A Edler
Defence 3	5 L Krajicek	4 A Miller
Goal	1 R Luongo	Back Up	41 C Sanford

Injured Reserve: 6 S Salo**, (?7 B Morrison?)

Healthy Scratches: 25 D McGillis, 14 A Burrows, 21 M Raymond

* If Morrison is injured then send Raymond to the Moose and replace Morrison with Rypien. If Rypien is unavailable due to suspension then move Linden to Center and put Raymond in on the right side of either the 3rd or 4th line and adjust as needed.

** When Salo’s wrist is healed, swap out the least performing of Miller and Edler and pair Salo with Ohlund.

Some Stats:

Age: Forwards 29.2, Defence 27.1, Skaters 28.4. Luongo is 28.

Size: Forwards 6’1”, Defence 6’2”, Skaters 6’2”. Luongo is 6’3”.

Forwards 201 lbs, Defence 207 lbs, Skaters 204 lbs. Luongo is 205 lbs.

National Make-up: Canada 12(57%), Sweden 5 (24%), USA 3 (14%), Czech 1 (5%).

Most Games Played: T Linden 1323, M Naslund 953, B Morrison/M Ohlund 635

Fewest Games Played: N McIver 1, A Edler 22, R Shannon 53

Average Games Played: Forwards 491, Defence 279, Skaters 413. Luongo has played 418 games.

Oldest: T Linden 37, Youngest: A Edler 21

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Thirty Five Years Ago Today

2007-09-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

Henderson from Esposito at 19:26. A simple statistic that can bring emotion to the hearts of all Canadians thirty five years after it was scribbled on a score sheet in Russia.

Paul Henderson, with the flick of his own rebound became a hockey legend this day of 28-Sep-1972. If you would like to have another look go here Click Link

What should we think of Paul Henderson's goal all these years later?

For me Henderson, who was a late addition to Canada’s team, is not given enough credit for his full contribution to winning the series. Henderson scored two goals and added an assist in game 5. He scored the game wining goals in games 6, 7 and 8. His goal in game 7 was simply stunning. The game winning goal in game 8 was less pretty. Regardless it is now an iconic event in Canadian history.

We also seem to forget the road that lead to Team Canada being able to win the series. When the teams left Canada the series was 2-1-1. The game 3 4-4 tie in Winnipeg created the opportunity for a series winner. With eight games it could have ended in a tie at four games each. The 4-1 game 2 win in Toronto tied the series at 1-1. Without this win in Toronto, the lost in game 5, the first game in Moscow, would have ended the series.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Sports Nation Votes

2007-09-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was pondering a piece on predictions for the up coming season. All writing starts with a little research. I stumbled over this site at ESPN where fans can vote their predictions for conference and cup winners in the 2007/08 season. I was quite surprised by the fans collective opinion. Slightly over 3,000 votes had been cast as of mid day 27-Sep-2007 (Pacific). The fan favorites in the east and west (drum roll please): Pittsburgh and Los Angeles? Take it a step further and imagine that 50.5% voters figure Sid the kid and crew to finish atop the eastern conference standings. Buffalo and the Rangers come in second with 15% (+/- 2%) and Ottawa was the only other team worth noting with 7.5% of the votes. The remainder of the east together gathered about 12% of the fans approval as best in their conference.

The west is far less certain. Observation of the potential winner out west is more distributed between the Kings, Detroit Red Wings and your Vancouver Canucks. Even the defending champ Ducks and the San Jose Sharks garnered significant vote percentages. The votes were LA 29.6%, Detroit 20.5% and Vancouver 13.4%. The Sharks and Ducks came in with 9% each. A full 17% of votes were for other western teams to make it to the top of the conference. Colorado bested the other others.

When it comes to winning the Stanley Cup the voters still have a love affair with the LA Kings. Dean Lombardi and Marc Crawford must be selling a particularly good brand of Kool aide down in LA LA Land. At 29% of the votes, LA had double the fans second choice of Buffalo (14%). Other vote getters were Pittsburgh and New York Rangers in the east and Detroit and the San Jose Sharks out west.

Of course a statistician would give you fifty two reasons why such an unscientific web based vote does not present reality. I also look at the numbers with a great deal of skepticism.

Where did I cast my votes? The east: I think the Rangers have taken steps to improve their team. Buffalo has lost Drury to New York. Pittsburgh? Maybe, but I think they are still a year or two away from leading the east. I picked the New York Rangers.

The west: Like the poll voters showed, this is a harder one to pick. Brian Burke is perhaps the best management mind in the game. However, his Todd Bertuzzi move is going to turn out to be brilliant or a disaster. If brilliant the Ducks may just remain the best in the west. Colorado is improved with the addition of Smyth and Hannan. They also have a lot of good young guys like Stastny and Liles. You would think the Sharks are going to be a contender at some point. Suspect defence may still be the Sharks weakness. The fans choice of LA is just plain loopy. There is no way in heck that the Kings are going to improve from 27-41-14 in ‘06/07 to notching around 48 wins this year no matter how darling Anze Kopitar is.

Your Vancouver Canucks? Well we do have one of the best net minders in the game. The team benefits from a full year under the new coaching regime. Scoring depth remains a question. With the improvements to Colorado, Calgary and Edmonton, which represents 24 Canuck games, the boys are going to be hard pressed to repeat even as a divisional winner.

I picked Colorado Avalanche. And my pick depends on Peter Budaj. If Budaj can maintain a decent save percentage deep into the season I suspect you’ll be seeing the Avalanche lead the west and contend for the cup.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Canucks Pare Preseason Roster

2007-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

The ‘Nucks sent eleven players to the AHL Manitoba Moose 25-Sep-2007. There were no surprises in the cuts.

Players assigned to the Moose included:

Fitzgerald, Zack Defence American 6’2” 205lbs 3rd round draft in 2003

Fortunus, Maxime Defence Canadien 6’1” 190lbs undrafted

Heshka, Shaun Defence Canadian 6’1” 205lbs walk on (I think)

Labrie, Pierre-Cedric Left Wing Canadien 6’2” 212lbs Free Agent

MacIntyre, Drew Goaltender Canadian 6’0” 173lbs Detroit 4th round pick in 2001

Schneider, Cory Goaltender American 6’2” 195lbs 1st rounder in 2004

Sharrow, Jim Defence American 6’2” 195lbs We got him for Jesse Schultz.

Simek, Juraj Forward Slovak 6’1” 189 6th round pick in 2006

Balej, Jozef Right Wing Solvak 6’0” 195lbs Montreal’s 3rd round pick in 2000. We got him for Fedor Fedorov from the rangers in ’05.

Classen, Greg Centre Canadian 6’1” 200lbs Free agent who has played a few games with Nashville.

Moran, Brad Centre local boy from Abbotsford 5’11” 187lbs Drafted by Buffalo back in 1998. Played three games with the Canucks in 06/07.

Balej, Moran and Classen need to clear waivers before they become Moose.

Tags: hockey; Manitoba+Moose; Vancouver+Canucks

William “Dollar Bill” Wirtz Dead at 77

2007-09-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Bill Wirtz died 26-Sep-2007 at Evanston Hospital, Chicago after battling cancer. The owner of the NHL Chicago Blackhawks franchise served as team president for 41 years and as a governor of the NHL for 18 years.

The Wirtz family bought into the Chicago Blackhawks in 1952 and Bill became President in 1966. With Wirtz at the helm the team only missed the playoff once between 1966 and 1997. Unfortunately their only playoff appearance since then was in 2002.

William Wirtz spanned several era’s in the NHL and is perhaps best remembered as an enigma of himself. Notable contradictions in his legacy include:

He lost Bobby Hull to the upstart World Hockey Association as a result of not wanting to pay the league’s marquee player what was considered by Hull as an appropriate salary. Yet in the late 1970’s Wirtz played a significant role on negotiations that resulted in the merger of the WHA back into the NHL.

Legendary for his attention to the bottom line, Wirtz’s philanthropy through Blackhawk Charities is often over looked. Since establishment in 1993, Blackhawk Charities has donated millions of dollars to worthy causes in Chicago, including the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois.

Wirtz refused to enter into agreements that would see Blackhawk games televised yet he was also instrumental in making the success of amateur sport having server on the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympic committees.

I’m sure we’ll all be hearing more of William “Dollar Bill” Wirtz in the days to come.

Tags: hockey; Chicago+Blackhawks; Vancouver+Canucks

What's News

2007-09-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

At the end of the 2005/06 Season things looked bleak. I wrote this analysis of the team at that time. Carolina when on to win the cup and Rod Brind’Amour went on to take his rightful place as a member of the select few who wear the “C” and have won the cup.

The 2006/07 season came with a bang. Fourteen regulars from the 2005/06 team were gone including Todd Bertuzzi, Anson Carter, Dan Cloutier, Alex Auld, Ed Jovanovski, Jarkko Ruutu and Bryan Allen. Brian Burke was let go after 2005/06 and more about that in a moment. Dave Nonis,the new GM, was putting his stamp on the team including the hiring of new coach Alain Vigneault.

The new look Canucks got their major face lift the eve of the 2006 draft which was held in Vancouver. GM Nonis, three days after hiring Vigneault, pull off arguably the largest heist in NHL history. The Florida Panthers were the victim of the crime. Moving to Vancouver were Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round draft pick who turned out to be Sergei Shirokov for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld. Bertuzzi fizzled in Florida. Auld was released after one year. Allen remains the only roster player the Panthers can show for their fleecing.

The team started slow as could be expected with a new coach, new systems and so many new faces. Come New Years Day the team lumbered in meritocracy. Then caught fire! The climbed from lower middle of the pack to first place in their division and west side third seed in the Stanley Tournament. Along the way Luongo notched 47 wins to set a team record for most in a season. The wins were only a tangible metric of how “Robby Lo” was putting his stamp on the team and endearing himself to the fans. Rumors have it that one well know local hockey blogger even had his name tattooed on her (umm) “body.”

The return to the playoffs was welcome celebration of spring. A hard fought seven game win in round 1 only furthered our delusions of expectations. The series featured a quadruple overtime win which was the longest game in Canucks history and the sixth longest in league history.

The second round brought on Brian Burke’s Anaheim Ducks. The series was much closer than the eventual game five win the Ducks posted on their way out of the west and past Ottawa to the first west coast cup win since – well the Vancouver Millionaires in 1915. Scott Niedermayer lifted the cup for the fourth time, kissed it and passed it brother Rob. The senior brother took his rightful place in the Captains Club.

We choose to ignore the events that actually lead the exit of the 06/07 ‘Nucks. Something about Luongo discussing a perceived penalty while Rob Niedermayer threaded a seeing eye shot into the back of the net in overtime. It was a puck up of the brain fart variety. We never mention it. We ignore it. Luongo is the promised land. He will bring us closer to a potential cup. He has got all the latitude he wants: for now.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Who is hated.

2006-08-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

We the aforementioned list of the loathed was published in the Province newspaper today. As the population submitting commentary was Province readers of course there would be some bias towards hockey celebrity. Notes from the list are as follows:

#1) Don Cherry – most hated but likely most loved too. It is interesting that the man can be seen as both narrow minded and rude yet patriotic and insightful at the same time. Often with both views held by the same person. Remember Don was voted to the CBC’s ten greatest Canadian’s list. Don placed seventh amongst vote getters. In a segment of Coaches Corner he seemed to believe he had actually been voted ‘the’ greatest Canadian, then the greatest Canadian ‘still living.’ He seemed truly crestfallen to have Ron remind him that David Suzuki is still alive. Dr. Suzuki placed fifth. CBC Greatest Canadian

#5) the ‘sports’ media – Tom Larcheid (former?) Canucks colour man, Tony Gallagher Province columnist and Dave Pratt Team 1040 Anchor all took hits for their approaches to their work. For my money Larcheid is a nice exuberant guy who loves his work. It hard to believe that he was once a linebacker. Gallagher is a damn good gumshoe even if he does come off as snide at times. We all remember Burkie. There was no love lost between Brian and Tony. Brian’s commentary: when the Canucks win the cup, Gallagher’s headline will be “Canucks use ugly cars in parade.” Which leaves Pratt who is just damn annoying. Donny Taylor was recently interviewing Trevor Linden. Donnie asked the Canucks veteran if he liked Jim Rome’s sports talk show. Trevor’s measured response was “are you asking me if I like the show or if I listen to the show.” Rome suffers from a similar syndrome as Pratt known as FigJam(Wiki it in the context of Phil Mickelson).

My personal favourite Greg Millen didn’t make mention in the article.

#6) Gary Bettman – the Count took all the usual shots. Like Cherry, Bettman can be both loathed and loved. It is interesting how he has single-handedly both destroyed and saved the NHL. My only real beef with Bettman is his organization's control over Lord Stanley’s mug. What happened in ’04-05 was criminal for the history of the game and the chalice. Here’s a suggestion. As far as I know the Canadian Senate is useless. Give administrative control of the Cup to the Senate. You kill two birds with one stone! The Senators get a reason to exist. Should insanity ever overtake labour/management in the NHL let the fine Senators decide to award the cup to the top Junior team or the top European team or arrange a tournament of ALH/ECHL teams. The possibilities are endless. Interesting rant.

#8) Dick Pound – I often wonder if this guy is, himself, on drugs. He seems so adept at beating his own chest and going off half cocked. Come think of it given his name maybe it isn’t just his chest that’s taking the beating. Or going off. Dick’s Rant

#9) Mark Messier – This one is a bit of a surprise. For those outside the coven of Canucks fans I’m sure the Moose’s selection is truly a puzzle. Keep in mind Messier’s years here in Vancouver were some of the darkest in the franchise’s history. Still I’d have thought Iron Mike Keenan would have been seen as a bigger villain from that era. Try this.

Tags: hockey; Don+Cherry; Dave+Pratt; Gary+Bettman; Dick+Pound; Mark+Messier

Vote Early Vote Often

2006-08-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Province - our local tab format rag - is inviting readers to 'tell us. Who do you love to hate?' Hockey fans get your Greg Millen votes in early and often.

Submit your material here: Mail

Greg Millen Home Page
Greg Millen Blog

Can you spot the spoof?

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Greg+Millen; Vancouver+Canucks

Who DO the Canucks have?

2006-07-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

NHL

Matt Cooke Left Wing 5'11" 205 lbs.
Willie Mitchell Defence 6'3" 205 lbs.
Brendan Morrison (A) Centre 5'11" 185 lbs.
Markus Naslund (C) Left Wing 5'11" 195 lbs.
Mattias Ohlund Defence 6'2" 220 lbs.
Rick Rypien Center 5'11" 170 lbs.
Sami Salo Defence 6'3" 215 lbs.
Daniel Sedin Left Wing 6'1" 190 lbs.
Henrik Sedin Centre 6'2" 192 lbs.
Brandon Reid Centre 5'9" 170 lbs.

Dan Cloutier Goaltender 6'1" 195 lbs.
Roberto Luongo Goal 6'3" 205 lbs.

Farm

Marc-Andre Bernier Right Wing 6'3" 198 lbs.
Mike Brown Right Wing 6'0" 210 lbs.
Nicklas Danielsson Right Wing 6'0" 170 lbs.
Evan Fuller Right Wing 6'1" 198 lbs.
Michael Grabner Right Wing 6'0" 170 lbs.
Jannik Hansen Wing 6'0" 176 lbs.
Jeff Heerema Right Wing 6'1" 190 lbs.
Ilia Krikunov Wing 5'11" 169 lbs.
John Laliberte Right Wing 6'1" 185 lbs.
Justin Morrison Right Wing 6'3" 200 lbs.
Tommi Santala Right Wing 6'3" 215 lbs.

Mario Bliznak Centre 6'0" 185 lbs.
Matthew Butcher Centre 6'1" 185 lbs.
Artem Chubarov Centre 6'1" 205 lbs.
Brad Moran Centre 6'0" 190 lbs.
Tim Smith Centre 5'9" 160 lbs.
Sergei Topol Centre 6'1" 183 lbs.

Evgeny Gladskikh Left Wing 6'0" 176 lbs.
Mason Raymond Left Wing 6'0" 170 lbs.
Andrew Sarauer Left Wing 6'4" 190 lbs.
Sergei Shirokov Forward 5'10" 176 lbs.
Juraj Simek Left Wing 6'1" 189 lbs.
Francois-Pierre Guenette Left Wing 6'0" 183 lbs.

Luc Bourdon Defence 6'2" 199 lbs.
Chad Brownlee Defence 6'2" 190 lbs.
Alexander Edler Defence 6'3" 194 lbs.
Kris Fredheim Defence 6'1" 170 lbs.
Matt Gens Defence 6'0" 180 lbs.
Denis Grot Defence 6'1" 180 lbs.
Matt Hansen Defence 6' 198 lbs.
Mikko Jokela Defence 6'1" 215 lbs.
Kiril Koltsov Defence 5'11" 183 lbs.
Nathan McIver Defence 6'2" 185 lbs.
Daniel Rahimi Defence 6'3" 213 lbs.

Julien Ellis-Plante Goaltender 6'0" 188 lbs.
Lukas Mensator Goaltender 5'8" 167 lbs.
Cory Schneider Goaltender 6'3" 195 lbs.
Alexandre Vincent Goaltender 6'4" 193 lbs.
Matt Violin Goaltender 6'1" 180 lbs.

Draft but not Signed

Michael Grabner Right Wing
Daniel Rahimi Defence
Sergei Shirokov Right Wing
Juraj Simek Wing
Evan Fuller Center

Canuck Free Agents.

2006-07-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Vancouver's Free Agents are:

Group 2 - Restricted

Juha Alen
Jozef Balej
Kevin Bieksa
Tyler Bouck
Alex Burrows
Josh Green
Ryan Kesler
Jason King
Lukas Krajicek
Mika Noronen
Prestin Ryan
Jesse Schultz
Roberto Luongo - signed by Vancouver for $27M on 29-Jun-06, Four year deal.
D & H Sedin - resigned by Vancouver for 3.5M each on 30-Jun-06. Three year deal.

Group 3 - Unrestricted

Nolan Baumgartner - signed by Philly no financial details. Two year deal.
Sean Brown
Sven Butenschon
Keith Carney - signed by Minnesota 01-Jul-06. No terms available.
Anson Carter - said to be talking hard with the Leafs.
Craig Darby
Johan Davidson
Jason Doig
Wade Flaherty
Ed Jovanovski - signed by Phoenix 1-Jul-06
Justin Kurtz
Trevor Linden
Richard Park
Leif Rohlin
Jarkko Ruutu - signed by Pittsburgh 4-Jul-06 for $2.3M on a 2 year deal.
Vadim Sharifijanov
Lubomir Vaic
Eric Weinrich
Willie Mitchell - signed by Vancouver for $14M. Four year deal.

Group 6 Unrestricted

Lee Goren
Maxime Ouellet

Players without Contracts or Qualifying Offers.

Wade Brookbank
Rob McVicar
Brandon Nolan
Marc-Andre Roy
Nathan Smith

Phew seems like a lot of paper work!

Welcome Willie Mitchell

2006-07-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sportsnet.ca -- To help replace Ed Jovanovski, the Vancouver Canucks have signed free agent defenceman Willie Mitchell to a four-year deal which will pay him $3.5 million per season.

Mitchell was a +19 last season. The knock on him is his foot speed. Suggestions are he'll never be a +19 on a team other than the Jacques Lemaire ruled Minny Wild.

Still Mitchell is a BC boy. Welcome home Willie.

Bye Bye Baumgartner.

2006-07-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Sheeze....

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have agreed to terms on a contract with 6’2”, 205-pound defenseman Nolan Baumgartner and 6’2”, 198-pound defenseman Lars Jonsson, according to club General Manager Bob Clarke. Baumgartner, a Group 3 free agent, signed a two-year contract, while Jonsson signed a one-year contract. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

We'll miss the Baummer.

Bye Bye Jovo Cop!

2006-07-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Ed Jovanovski agreed to terms on a five-year deal worth $32.5 million with the Phoenix Coyotes, who pried the big defenseman away from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

"He was the player we wanted," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said of Jovanovski. "This is huge for our franchise."

The Canucks didn't make an offer to keep him.

"Obviously we're dealing with a ceiling in this game and Vancouver had a lot of players ... that were obviously a priority to get done and I don't think there was any room to get me in there," Jovanovski said. "I had a great time playing in Vancouver and I appreciate the support the fans gave me there."

Bye bye Bert!

2006-06-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

The secret is official on the Canucks web site now. Luongo is a Canuck. Allen, Auld and Bertuzzi were the high price. Well we did also get a first round Czec defenseman named Lukas Krajicek and a sixth round pick this year. And Keenan had a good chuckle too.

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice-President and General Manager Dave Nonis announced today that goaltender Robert Luongo, defenceman Lukas Krajicek and a sixth round pick in tomorrow’s Entry Draft have been acquired from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Bryan Allen, Alex Auld and Todd Bertuzzi.

"We are very excited to be making this announcement today," said Nonis. "We believe that in Roberto we are getting a player who has represented his country at the highest level, has been nominated for the Vezina Trophy and has proven that he is among the elite goaltenders in the world. Lukas is a young, skilled, puck-moving defenceman who has a very bright future in this League. I would like to thank Todd, Bryan and Alex for their contributions to our hockey club over the years and wish them and their families the best of luck in the future."

How Much Do Hockey Refs Get Paid?

2006-06-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

I noticed in the Google searches that bring people to this site that there have been some queries on how much a NHL Referee gets paid. It does make you wonder how much Mick (Mr. Magoo) McGeough gets to tweet his whistle and waive his arms in obvious, yet never successful, attempt to take flight.

Now I don’t think the NHL would publish such personal information so here are three sources:

From www.AskMen.com

“Incidentally, while the National Hockey League's (NHL) athletes make less than their brethren in football, basketball and baseball, no other officials in any of the four major sports leagues make more than those in the NHL, where starters get a $115,000 salary. After a 15-year career, an NHL referee may be looking at an annual pay upwards of $220,000."

From USAToday.com

“The base salary range for NHL referees is $110,000 to $255,000 and $72,000 to $162,000 for linesmen. But no NHL official is getting paid during the lockout. Most are essentially unemployed, according to Walkom, although referee Don VanMassenhoven is selling cars and Bill McCreary is installing cabinets.”

From slam.canoe.ca

“The entry level salary is $90,000 a year, while the most senior officials can make up to $225,000. The referees are paid extra for each game they work over 70 games -- overtime, if you will -- and the 20 referees and 19 linesmen selected to work in the playoffs earn bonus money.”

If we throw out the high and the low the number is about $110K for starters and $225K for veterans. Average the numbers and the range is $105K to $233K. I’d assume these are all current US$.

I wondered how Mr. Magoo was selected to work the finals. For example where’s Kerry Fraser – for my money a very creditable yet much less influential part of the games he stewards. Much to my surprise there is an entire site dedicated to hockey referees. http://www.hockeyrefs.com/ They referenced the following story. The bottom line is the league picks the officials for the finals based not on experience but by their past performance in the playoffs. So Mr. Magoo is your ref for the finals because this is the ‘style’ the league wants. *roll your eyes now*

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada — The NHL has announced the four referees and four linesmen on the officiating team for the Stanley Cup Finals. Taking charge will be referees Bill McCreary, Brad Watson, Mick McGeough and Paul Devorski with linesmen Greg Devorski, Jay Sharrers, Jean Morin and Pierre Racicot assisting.

NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom selected the officials based on their performance in the playoff’s earlier rounds, a HockeyRefs.com source said.

The Stanley Cup Finals starts with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Edmonton Oilers Monday in game one.

Notebook
McCreary, 50, is making his eleventh appearance ... Watson, 44, and Devorski, 47, are making their third appearances … McGeough, 48, is making his first … Greg Devorski, 36, is the brother of Paul Devorski … He is making his first appearance … Sharrers, 38, the league’s first black official, is back in the finals after several seasons trying to become a referee … Morin, 42, is working his second finals, while Racicot, 39, is in his first … All eight officials are Canadian, though some of them have resided in the United States since joining the NHL.

And Mister Richard Pound Responds...

2006-06-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

This one is from the AP.

WADA Calls NHL Doping Test Meaningless

© 2006 The Associated Press

MONTREAL — The NHL is trying to fool the public with a flawed anti-doping program, the chairman of the World Anti-Doping agency said Tuesday.

Dick Pound said league statements Monday that there were no positive tests among 1,406 administered during the season were meaningless given the loopholes in its anti-doping program.

"All we can do is keep drawing the attention of the public to its shortcomings and make sure the public understands that it's being fooled by the NHL when it says it has a serious testing program," Pound said.

He said the NHL does not test for stimulants and other banned substances and does not test at times when players are likely to be caught, such as during offseason training.

Pound did not back off a statement he made in November that up to a third of NHL players may be using performance-enhancing drugs "if you include the full range of drugs, most of which they don't test for.

"I think they should make clear what they test for and what they don't. And make it clear when they're testing out of competition and in competition. And make it clear they don't test before and after games. And they don't test in the offseason and that they only test for steroids."

NHL players, management personnel and representatives of the NHL Players Association expressed delight when it was made known that none of the tests taken since January were positive.

And many mentioned Pound, saying the results proved his estimate was wrong.

NHLPA executive director Ted Saskin said Pound "should be embarrassed by his baseless and uninformed allegations.

"I would hope that in the future he refrains from commenting on NHL players since his last remarks were so off-base."

Pound said the league's program lacked transparency and that it should make public its "whole testing protocol," including who is administering the tests, how they were taken and which players were tested at what times.

The league said each of the league's roughly 700 players was tested up to two times between Jan. 15 and the end of the regular season. The tests were administered by the independent lab Comprehensive Drug Testing of Long Beach, Calif.

The program is run jointly by the league and the players association. It is the first time the league has had anti-doping tests.

Players were not tested for the drugs on WADA's list of banned substances that are prohibited only during competition, such as stimulants. Some cold remedies that contain stimulants, such as ephedrine, are suspected to be widely used by hockey players.

Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner, said the test results showed that "doping is not a problem in our sport.

"We're pleased but not surprised by the results," he said.

Well Mister Richard Pound?

2006-06-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

From the Canadian Press (CP) - Think Don's gonna have a comment on this?

NHLers come up clean

1,406 drug tests this season
By PIERRE LEBRUN

(CP) - There were no positive drug tests among the 1,406 administered under the NHL's new anti-doping program, The Canadian Press has learned.

Sources confirmed no violations were found after doping tests began in January under a program jointly run by the league and the NHL Players' Association. It's the first season the NHL has had an anti-doping program.

A first-time offender under the league's policy faces a 20-game suspension. The ban is increased to 60 games for a second offence while a third offence means a permanent suspension.

Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, wasn't immediately available for comment Monday.

Pound said earlier this year that NHL's anti-doping program was "very seriously flawed."

He also made headlines last November during a speech in London, Ont., when he claimed one third of NHL players were likely taking performance enhancing substances. Players as well as league and union officials unanimously denied his claims.

Defenceman Bryan Berard of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore both failed out-of-competition tests administered by their respective national anti-doping organizations. But neither was suspended by the league because the failed tests didn't come under the NHL program.

Berard's urine test on Nov. 12 showed traces of the steroid 19-norandrosterone. He was banned from international competition for two years. He tested by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency because the blue-liner was on the U.S. Olympic hockey preliminary roster released last September.

Theodore, who was on Canada's preliminary 81-man Olympic eligibility list but not named to the final squad, failed a doping test Dec. 9. The urine sample showed Finasteride, a masking agent for steroids that is also commonly found in hair-restoration drugs. Theodore used the hair product propecia and that's what led to the failed doping test. He had been taking the drug for years didn't realize it contained a banned substance.

Another Round

2006-05-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well we start the conference finals Friday. The Ducklings host the Oil in the west. Carolina take on Buffalo back east.

Some more invites to the Captains Club have been revoked. Joe Sakic, of course, but he’s a member already.

Patrick Marleau. Hold your head up high. You are a great leader on a great young team. I suspect you are going to have several more opportunities to be invited into the club in the coming years.

Interesting the NJ Devils do not have a player who wears the ‘C.’ Had they won likely the cup would have been passed from Bettman to either Elias or Madden. Other teams have won the cup with no ‘C.’ For example, the Bruins with Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr won in ’70 and 72 with no player wearing the ‘C.’

The other player to have his invite rescinded was Daniel Alfredsson. This one creates the most buzz. For whatever reason there is a bias towards Canadians in the Captains Club. In fact if you forget those Scottish and even one Russian born players from back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s every Stanley Cup champion has been Captained by a Canadian – with one exception Derian Hatcher an American – Dallas Stars in 1999. Even this distinction has a footnote. Many believe Mike Modano was the Captain of that team – he is also American. Others say Hatcher was injured in the final series and that the ‘C’ was worn by Joe Nieuwendyk – a Canadian when the cup was passed to the winners. For my money Hatcher receives full credit for being the only modern era, non Canadian, cup winning Captain.

Alfy, of any European born Captain, plays the game, in my opinion the most like a Canadian. He’s a former Calder Trophy winner. He’s had 56 points and 58 penalty minutes in 79 playoff games. Will Alfredsson get another chance to win? Most likely he will. Will it be as a Captain? I suspect not.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey

Sorry Burnaby Joe

2006-05-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well Mister Sakic… not this year. Not in ’06. Anyway you have two rings. You've been handed the challis and lifted it over your head. But being from a ‘burb of Vancouver you understand. It is bitter but you swallow and accept it. Your mind, your teammates, your fans tell you “maybe next year.” Yes isn’t it always “maybe next year.”

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks; Colorado+Avalanche

Cup Captains

2006-05-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Captain’s Club Members

Dave Andreychuk, Arthur Coulter, Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, Bill Cook, Bob Davidson, Bob Gainey. Bobby Clarke, Bruce Stuart, Cecil Blachford, Charles Joseph Sylvanus "Syl" Apps, Chuck Gardiner, Clarence "Happy" Day, Dan Bain, Denis Potvin, Derian Hatcher, Doug Young, Dunc Munro, Ed Litzenberger, Eddie Gerrard, Emile "Butch" Bouchard, George Armstrong. George Boucher, Guy Carbonneau, Harry Trihey, Harvey Pulford, Hector "Toe" Blake, Henri Richard, Howard McNamara, Jean Béliveau, Joe Malone, Joe Sakic, John Gottselig, Lanny McDonald, Lionel Hitchman, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Mike Grant, Modere "Mud" Bruneteau, Pud Glass, Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Reginald "Hooley" Smith, Scott Stevens, Sid Abel, Sprague Cleghorn, Steve Yzerman, Sylvio Mantha, Ted Lindsay, Theodore Samuel "Teeder" Kennedy, Tommy Phillips, Wayne Gretzky, Yvan Cournoyer

From the modern era of the NHL I am missing 1925 (maybe Lester Patrick), 1922 Toronto St Patricks, 1918 Toronto Arenas and 1917 Seattle Metropolitans.

Missing from the ‘challenge years’ 1915, 1914, 1912, 1908, 1903, 1902, 1899, 1896, and 1894.

New candidates for induction this year: Jason Smith, Mike Modano, Jerome Ignila, Scott Neidermayer, Greg Johnson, Patrick Marleau, Daniel Alfredson, Rod Brind´Amour, Saku Koivu, Daniel Briere/Chris Drury, and Keith Primeau.

Passed the selection committee’s first round test: Jason Smith, Partrick Marleau, Scott Neidermayer, Daniel Briere/Chris Drury, Daniel Alfredson and Rod Brind´Amour.

Exiting member with hopes to exclude new membership in 2006: Joe Sakic.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey

Foster City Looking to Adopt

2006-04-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

We are the City of Vancouver (and surrounding burbs). Our troubled child has finally gone and left us - again. With eight weeks of hockey left in the 2005/06 season we are hopelessly adrift without a team to cheer for. Applications are welcome to be our foster team. We do not want to seem ungrateful but we do have some minor conditions.

Management: Your GM has to have a name that fits into a sentence that contains the names Bob Gainey and Doug Wilson and doesn’t seem out of place. Preferably he’s not a New York lawyer and has never worked for the NHL Office. Your claim to the position has to be more substantive than you once lit Brian Bruke’s cigar. If you were once Brian Burke’s errand boy that’s nice – now run along.

Coach: Your coach has to be a former player that’s won more than one Stanley Cup. He can’t be a screamer. His name can not be Mike. He has to blend the right combination of tactics and strategy with instilling a fear of failure within his players.

Owner: Your owner has deep pockets and a passion for the game. Your owner knows to stay the hell away from anything to do with hockey operations unless it is to drop off cheques. If you have some documented connection to Captain Cook that would be nice too.

Captain: Your Captain is Canadian born. He’s from a place like Owen Sound or Sault St Marie or even better Burnaby. He’s lead the Canadian Juniors to a world championship preferably as their Captain. Joe Sakic I mean you. Iggy? Ok maybe you too.

Primary Line: You seem to score about six points a night. Not every night but most nights. You never start sentences “We had our chances, but” You never say “it is what it is” or “we don’t care.” You do say things like “I, personally, will do whatever it takes to make this situation better.” You play 3/4 of the game in the opposition's end of the rink in control of the puck. You tried a drop pass once and it was nice. You're thinking to try it again maybe next week.

Secondary Line: You seem to score about five points a night. Otherwise you’d be the primary line. You are never a risk on the ice. You’re a collective plus 30. Carter, Sedin, Sedin feel free to think we are talking about you.

Role Players: You do not have a needler in your midst’s. You do not hit from behind. You do not chirp. Individually, you score at least a point every three games. You fight when needed. One of you is a feared pugilist. One other is suspected to be able to beat the crap out of your tough guy if he was so inclined. If your names are Cooke, Park, Ruutu or Burrows please do not apply.

Defence: Your defence corps is consistent, fast and sure. You have more than one guy who can shoot the puck. You crumple opposing forwards on a regular basis. You have a blend of wily veterans and youth. If your name is Luc Bourdon please step up. If you are thinking about life in Florida or Sweden or Finland please do not. Vancouver is a nice city.

Goal: You have taken your team deep into the playoffs more than once. You have a habit of winning one game a month all on your own with a score like 1 – 0 or 2 – 1. You do not need fancy hair products. You do not easily break your bones. You have never had major reconstructive surgery. You’re happy to play 65 games and win 40 of them. Your backup is happy to play less than 20 games and will win 10 of them.

Applications are being accepted now. Calgary and Edmonton – stop laughing – and forget applying. We could never bring ourselves to cheer for you.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Who Won?

2006-04-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

I sit at the dinner table Friday night poking at a piece of steak and a naked baked potato. The conversation goes something like this:

The Little One: “Dad who won the game last night?”
Dad: “I don’t know. I didn’t watch it” he lied.
Wife: “The Sharks won. It was lots to two.”
Dad: “It was five to three and it doesn’t matter.” Stunned silence. Whoa did Dad just say hockey doesn’t matter?
Dad: “Hockey is over now. It doesn’t matter. Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal and Ottawa all get to go on and play for the Stanley Cup. In Vancouver we get to go home. Even the Ducks and the Sharks get to go on.”
Wife: “They are the Canucks what do you expect.”

Oh please let me pick and major artery out of my neck with this steak knife and hopefully I’m dead long before the Emergency Response Team even answers the 911 call.

The Little One: ”We can just cheer for another team Dad!”
The Big One: “Yea we can cheer for Calgary. Zoro is from Calgary.” (Zoro is the damn cat - and another story.)

Forget the steak knife I’ll use the fork.

Dad: “We are NOT cheering for Calgary. Or Edmonton.” After some thought “maybe we could cheer for Ottawa.”
The Little One: “Who will win the Stanley Cup Dad?”
Dad: “Well sweetie maybe Detroit. Detroit is very good. But from the east Ottawa and Carolina are good. Also the Rangers look to think they are special. But Detroit sweetie.”

The Big One: “Can’t Calgary win the Stanley Cup?”
Dad: “I don’t think Calgary can beat Detroit.” And thoughts turn to yes who will win the Stanley Cup Tournament this year? The steak tastes a little better now.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Playoff Seeds

2006-04-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

This report for the Western Conference discusses the results for games between April 9th and April 15th. The point predictions are for the days April 16th to April 18th.

Period of Analysis 09-Apr-06 to 18-Apr-06

Seed	Team	Current Points	Last 10 Points	Predicted Points
1	Detroit	122	19	126

Detroit, again, picked up all the available points this week. They beat the Oilers, St Louis and Chicago.

Detroit has two games left. One with Dallas one with Nashville. Look for Detroit to end the season with an astonishing 126 points. The Wings are the West’s number one seed.

Dallas

111

113

This week the Stars dropped another game to the Sharks. This time on the road. They beat the CBJ’s and Minny. Dallas ends its season on the road with games in Detroit and Columbus.

Dallas has two games left. The Stars could go as high as 115. Dallas Stars are the West’s second seed and should end up with 113 points.

Calgary

103

102

Calgary picked up points in every game this week yet lost to LA (SO). They beat Anaheim and Colorado this week.

Calgary has a game left. It is on the road at the Duck Pond. The Flames could go as high as 105. Based on the play of the Ducks I’d suggest they’re stuck at 103. The Calgary Flames are the West’s third seed.

Nashville

104

102

The Preds won all their games with the bottom feeders. Blues-Minny-Dogs produced 6 points for Nashville.

The Preds have a game left with Detroit. The Preds could go as high as 106 points. Given it is Detroit, Nashville has toped out at 104 points. The Nashville Predators are the West’s fourth seed.

San Jose

101

The Sharks have got in the habit of winning and they like it. In the last seven days they picked up 10 points. Included in this were wins over Dallas, Phoenix, Vancouver (twice) and Anaheim. There is talk of Joe Thorton for MVP.

As the last game of the year is with LA look for the Sharks to end with 101 points. The Sharks are the West's fifth seed.

Anaheim

The Ducklings seem to have come back to earth. A trip into the western death triangle can do that. They beat Vancouver but lost to both Calgary and Edmonton. Roast Duck was also on the Sharks’ menu on Saturday. Three unanswered first period goals cooked the fowl. At 96 points and sixth seed the Ducks have given a good show for themselves. Congratulate Burke as this has his finger prints all over it.

Anaheim’s last game is at home to the Flames. I think the Ducks will win to end up with 98 points. Anaheim will be the West’s sixth seed. If they don’t win check Colorado for the complications.

Colorado

The Av’s have not had a road win since March 25th. It shows. This week the Av’s lost to Minny but beat Phoenix in the Pepsi Center. Then it was out onto the road and into the death triangle – not usually a problem for the divisional rival. Theodore started two games and lost them both. Calgary in regulation and Vancouver in OT were the victors.

Colorado’s last game is in Edmonton. If Colorado wins or gets to overtime and Anaheim loses then the Av’s can leapfrog the Ducks into sixth. I don’t think this is going to happen simply because the Ducks are going to beat the Flames. I suspect it is a bit much to be asking Theodore to step up and be a playoff goalie now. Then again I’m not a NHL GM. Give Edmonton the win.

Edmonton

Edmonton picked up the only two points they needed this week with a 2 – 1 win over Anaheim. Coupled with the Canuck losses the Oil backed in to the post season with 93 points on Thursday night.

The Oilers have a game left. On Monday the host the Av’s Rexall Place. I’ll give that one to the Oil on the strength of home ice and better goaltending. The Oilers have 93 points and will get to 95. They will be the West’s eight seed.

Booking Tee Times.

Vancouver

The Canucks’ season officially ended with a lost in San Jose and Edmonton’s win over Anaheim the same night. Truth be told the season was over with the loss to Anaheim on the Duck Pond back on April 2nd. The lost the next night in LA signed it. A second loss this time at home to Anaheim sealed it. The loss at home to San Jose stamped it. Joe and the boys delivered it express mail to the Shark Tank Thursday.

Vancouver’s defence, scoring and goaltending is just not good enough to be a NHL playoff team. Now the off season will see if Vancouver’s management is good enough to build a NHL playoff team.

Los Angeles

LA’s imploded. Their done…. And no Sean Avery to boot.

Current Dance Partners.

When the playoffs start my predictions for match ups are as follows:

Detroit – Edmonton
Dallas – Colorado
Calgary – Anaheim
Nashville – San Jose

The only questionable spot is will Calgary get the Ducks or the Av’s in the first round.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Detroit+Red+Wings; Dallas+Stars; Calgary+Flames; Nashville+Predators; Vancouver+Canucks; Los+Angles+Kings; Edmonton+Oilers; Colorado+Avalanche; Anaheim+Ducks; San+Jose+Sharks

Playoff Hunt #9

2006-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

This report for the Western Conference discusses the results for games between April 2nd and April 8th. The point predictions are for the week April 9th to April 15th.

Period of Analysis 02-Apr-06 to 15-Apr-06

Seed	Team	Current Points	Last 10 Points	Predicted Points
1	Detroit	116	17	109

Detroit picked up all the available points this week. They beat Minny, Calgary and the CBJ’s twice. This week the Wings host the Oilers before going out the road to meet St Louis and Chicago. The President’s Trophy looks to be a lock for the Wings as they are eight up on their closest rivals and nine up on the rest of the west. For the sake of the Canucks let’s hope there is no collective let up in the Wings. A win against Edmonton, their only serious opponent this week, would suite the Canucks fine. Looks like another six point week for the Wings.

Detroit has five games left. Three road and two home. The Wings could go as high as 126. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 125 points.

Dallas

107

113

This week the Stars dropped a home game to the Sharks. They beat the Ducks and the Dogs. Dallas continues its road trip to San Jose Sunday night. Three road games in four nights. They face a desperate Sharks team. I figure the only plus the Canucks can draw from this that the Stars may want to avenge the home loss to the Sharks last week. Modano is day-to-day with a wonky knee. I figure Dallas for six points this week.

Dallas has five games left. Three road and two home. The Stars could go as high as 117. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 114 points.

Calgary

102

Calgary picked up points in every game this week but still lost to Detroit (SO) and Vancouver (OTL). Calgary has games with Anaheim (home), Colorado (home) and LA (road) this week. Kiprusoff is still playing unbelievable. I saw the game with Vancouver. Had the Kipper not kept his team in it the game could have been five or six zip in the second period. Kiprusoff is a MVP candidate. Anaheim is a hot team. Give Cowtown four points this week.

Calgary has four games left. Two on the road and two at home. The Flames could go as high as 106. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 104 points.

Nashville

102

Early in the week Nashville continued their tail spin. Again, they finally won thanks to the St Louis Blues. Other than the Canucks who doesn’t love those Blues. This week brings three more dances with the bottom feeders. Blues-Minny-Dogs should produce as many as 6 points but more likely 4. Give them the loss in Phoenix.

The Preds have four games left. The Preds could go as high as 106 points. Their results would predict low at 101. The end result will be closer to the 103 given their easy opponents.

Anaheim

The Canard take it out on the road and into the death triangle this week. The order is Vancouver, Calgary then Edmonton. They end the week in San Jose’s Shark Tank. Huge games all round here. However, Anaheim needs only about one or two points to land them in the post season. As well, wins in Vancouver, Edmonton or San Jose could end those respective teams’ seasons. First up is Vancouver who recently beat Calgary by the will and determination of Ed Jovanovski. Although these same Canucks were on a three game losing skid including being embarrassed by the Ducks on the Pond last Sunday afternoon. Vancouver is a desperate team with home ice advantage. After the game the Ducks will hop the commuter flight over the Rocks to Calgary. Here I see a bit more success. Calgary has their position for the post season secured. I’d expect to see Kipper get a night off somewhere and why not against Anaheim who they face twice in the next two weeks. Then it is up Highway 2 with a day off to visit the city with that big shopping mall. Edmonton is also a desperate and needs to win two of four to get to the 95 points plateau. The week ends in San Jose. By then the Sharks will have played four games including a home and home set with Vancouver. The Sharks need to win three of six to reach 95. If the Sharks have one or more wins between now and the Anaheim game – look out. Otherwise, it will be a meaningless game and the Ducks will prevail. Give the Ducks four points this week via wins in Calgary and San Jose.

Anaheim has five games left. Every game is against a team fighting for playoff position including games with Edmonton, San Jose and Vancouver. They also play Calgary twice. Anaheim could go as high as 104. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 101 points. Given the strength of the opponents 99 points might be very optimistic.

Colorado

Joe Sakic and the boys had two bottom feeder wins and a lose to San Jose. At 92 points the Av’s need to win two of the five remaining to reach 96 points. They should get these points early with easy games at home against Minny and Phoenix. The other two games this week are on the road with Calgary then Vancouver. I guess a split of these two. Give Colorado six points this week.

Colorado has five games left. All at home before going out to the death triangle – Calgary-Vancouver-Edmonton as their last three. Colorado could go as high as 102. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 98 points. Given four points in the next two games, picking up two more on the road trip to end the season at 98 and in the playoffs sounds about right. If they lose either of the first two, you might wonder about the Av’s picking up four points in three games on the road out west.

Edmonton

Edmonton picked up five of what should have been six easy points. There was a huge controversy in Minny as the video review didn’t pick up a Edmonton goal that was scored and Edmonton went on to lose in OT. This week the Oil continues their road trip and face St Louis then Detroit. They then return home to face the Duckies. St Louis should be a win and Detroit a loss. The Anaheim game will require a win if the Oil is going to make the play offs. Give Edmonton four points this week.

The Oilers have four games left. Two at home after completing the remaining two on the current road trip. The final game of this week against Anaheim. This game could be more meaningful to Edmonton. Edmonton could go as high as 99 points. Based on results of the last twenty the total looks like 96. Winning against Anaheim and Colorado is going to be important to the Oil.

San Jose

The Sharks did what they have to do. Win. They hold their own destiny more than any other bubble team. The Sharks play Dallas (home) and Phoenix (road) before the two games in two nights with Vancouver. They end the hosting Anaheim. At 89 points the Sharks need six points to reach 95. They have many options and can get to 95 without a win against Vancouver. Most likely though the best bet is a home win against the Modano-less Stars, win in Phoenix, and split with Vancouver.

With six games left the Sharks could go as high as 101 points. They have two road games and four home games. Based on their last twenty their projection is 97.

Outside looking in.

Vancouver

The Canucks could make the playoffs. I think they need help. The bubble teams they could reach are Colorado, Edmonton and San Jose. San Jose is the realistic target. Last week's lost to Anaheim and Los Angeles down in La La Land hurt far more than they realized. Saturday night they took a two – zip lead in to the third period and promptly threw that away. When desperation turned to panic, Ed Jovanovski put himself in the right place at 2:27 of the extra frame to score the winner. Jovo played 17:26 in his first game in two and a half months. Eddy seemed to provide the spark and leadership that the Nuck’s have lacked for sometime. We’ll even forgive him that he was the one in the sin bin when the Flames got their first goal half way through the third period. Vancouver’s regular season ends this week. Does Vancouver’s season end this week? Likely it does. The games remaining are Anaheim, San Jose back to back and Colorado. The Nuck’s have 89 points and need six to reach the 95 level. Their games are at home with the exception of the two hours and a bit flight down to San Jose.

With four games left, the Canucks could go as high as 97 points. Based on their last twenty results the predicted total is one short at 94. If Vancouver wins them all they still need San Jose to drop a couple along the way.

Los Angeles

LA’s imploded. They can at best hope for 91 points. Their done….

Current Dance Partners.

If the playoff were to start only a few days early on April 16th my predictions for match ups are as follows:

Detroit – Edmonton
Dallas – San Jose
Calgary – Colorado
Nashville – Anaheim

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Detroit+Red+Wings; Dallas+Stars; Calgary+Flames; Nashville+Predators; Vancouver+Canucks; Los+Angles+Kings; Edmonton+Oilers; Colorado+Avalanche; Anaheim+Ducks; San+Jose+Sharks

The Role of Blogs

2006-04-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Alanah at Canucks Op Ed were rejected by the Canucks on a request to interview a member of the Canucks team. There is an interesting discussion of this – here. Including my comments on the issue which are reprinted below:

A couple thoughts.

J & A: I take small issue with the line “Increasingly, it is blogs who are filtering the mainstream media, and that is incredibly important.”

I read Canucks Op Ed and a handful of the other usual suspects’ material religiously. I write my own material. In my opinion you (we) express opinion that leads the ‘accredited’ media. For example, on January 30th you wrote “Just say goodbye to Eddie, Canucks fans. Wish him well, then put him out of your head. Pretend he never existed.” Your insight to the fact that we had perhaps seen the last of Jovo in a Canucks’ uniform. Yet on April 5th Gordon McIntyre writes in the Province that “one or two games could be all GM Place fans may see of Jovanovski in a Canucks uniform.” This is one of many examples where Bloggers actually lead the mainstream media coverage. We see and say things far faster than the accredited media can ever hope.

JJ: When searching through the game recaps over on Canuck’s dot com I found an error in one of the scoring summaries. The area that Kevin Klinghorn calls Ice Pack. I mailed Kevin and alerted him to the problem. Within a few hours Kevin had responded politely and fixed the error. Seems like a good guy to me.

Temujin: Nothing personal dude. Just my observation. I used to read that stuff on the message boards at canucks dot com. After a few months of the colour of the Cayenne Cloutier was driving and endless announced trades for Luongo one has to ask isn’t there a better way to waste my time? So I started my own blog – at least, I feel my content is relevant. At least, I feel Canucks Op Ed, Tom Benjamin, JJ, Mike Browne, Todd contribute to my understanding of the games and the team. Suggesting assistance from the 1000+ message board posters, in my opinion, only furthers the lack of credibility of quality blogs like Canucks Op Ed.

Tom Benjamin has more related to this topic here

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks

Playoff Hunt #8

2006-04-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

This report for the Western Conference discusses the results for games between March 26th and April 1st. The point predictions are for the week April 2nd to April 8th.

Period of Analysis 26-Mar-06 to 8-Apr-06

Seed	Team	Current Points	Last 10 Points	Predicted Points
1	Detroit	108	17	109

Stop the presses! Detroit failed to pick up all the available points. The Wings dropped a game to Chicago of all teams. The loss was in over time so only one point was forsaken. Since the Olympic break the Wings have lost two outright, lost two via the Shoot Out and has now lost one in OT. This week the Wings play Minny and Calgary on the road. They return home to meet the CBJ’s in a home and away twin bill next Friday and Saturday. With a six point cushion on Dallas, the questions this week is when does Mike Babcock take his foot of the gas in preparation for the second season. Calgary, who played strong in their last two, represents the only significant opponent this week. Columbus has fancied themselves in the spoiler role. Nash and the lads are on a five win streak. Prior to this was a five game losing streak so I’m not to worried about the CBJ’s against Detroit. Give the Wings six points and make note of the predicted loss being in Calgary.

Detroit has seven games left. Five road and two home. Two are against teams in the playoff hunt. Calgary (road) this week and Edmonton (home) next week. The Wings could go as high as 122. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 120 points.

Dallas

102

101

This week was pretty much as expected. LA did pull off an upset on Saturday. This week the games are all within their own division with San Jose visiting followed by a trip out to the Duck Pond and Phoenix. I figure Dallas for six points this week. Sorry Lexie.

Dallas has six games left. Three road and three home. One or three are against teams in the playoff hunt. Depends on how you view the Sharks. The game mid week with Anaheim is the toughest match up. The two with the Sharks, at home this week, and out in the Shark Tank next week, could be key to the Sharks’ success. The Stars could go as high as 114. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 111 points.

Calgary

Calgary ended the week on a high. They lost early to Dallas. Then beat LA. They went down 2-1 to Colorado then poured five in to win 6-3 in a battle for first in the division. The week closed with a Battle of Alberta notched up with a convincing win over Edmonton in Edmonton. Calgary has a busy week with four games in seven nights. Detroit, Phoenix and Minny come to the Saddledome. The week ends with a hop out to Vancouver for a loss to the Canucks. Give Cowtown six points this week.

Calgary has seven games left. Two on the road and the rest at home. Five are against teams in the playoff hunt albeit one is Detroit. The Flames face both Vancouver and Detroit this week. The Flames could go as high as 106. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 100 points.

Nashville

100

Nashville has been in a little tail spin. They finally won again thanks to the St Louis Blues. This week brings four dances with the bottom feeders. CBJ’s, Hawks-Blues-Hawks should produce as many as 8 points but more likely 6. Give Columbus the win.

The Preds have seven games left. With all the games against bottom feeders, they are a lock for the 4th seed. The Preds could go as high as 108 points. Their results would predict low at 102. The end result will be closer to the 108 given the opponents.

Anaheim

Burkies Duckies cooled a little this week. They picked up one home ice win against the Stars. The Ducks face a big challenge this week. Vancouver visits Sunday afternoon. They then play LA, Dallas and LA. Next week it just gets better with a stroll through the Northwest death triangle and a season ending visit to the Shark Tank. We are about to see how real these Ducks are. I predict it to unfold this way: Loss to Vancouver, two wins over LA and a loss to Dallas. Give the Ducks four points this week.

Anaheim has eight games left. Three at home before going out for the last five on the road. Every games is against a team fighting for playoff position. The Ducks should end LA’s hope this week. Anaheim could go as high as 104. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 99 points. Given the strength of the opponents 99 points would be very optimistic.

Colorado

Joe Sakic has 17 points in his last 9 games. Unfortunely Joe can’t carry a whole team. The Av’s lost to Edmonton and Calgary. They beat the Ducks. The schedule is fairly easy one for the Av’s this week. Only three games home games with Hawks, Sharks and Blues visiting the Pepsi Center. Give the Av’s an easy six points this week.

Anaheim has seven games left. All at home before going out to Calgary and Vancouver for the last two. The Sharks are the other team in the hunt that the Av’s will face. Colorado could go as high as 102. Based on their results in the last twenty they will reach 96 points. Given the strength of the opponents the total will be closer to 102 than 96. Maybe about 99 points.

Vancouver

The Canucks are on track to make the playoffs. They need wins in Anaheim Sunday afternoon and in LA Monday night. Then they sit and wait for the week to unfold and the Flames to arrive next Saturday for the late edition of HNIC. The Av’s and Ducks are at 88 points. A win Sunday will leap frog the Nucks up to 5th seed. The idle period that follows will see them drop back to 7th or 8th seed.

Vancouver has seven games left. Three road games and four at home. All the games are with teams fighting for playoff position. The Canucks could go as high as 101 points. Based on their last twenty results the predicted total is that magic number 95.

Edmonton

An easy six points for Edmonton this week. They host Phoenix Monday then go out on a four game road trip to the mid west. Thursday/Friday will see them in Minny and Chicago. No worries there I think. Give Edmonton six points this week.

The Oilers have six games left. Two at home and a four game road trip. Two games are against play off teams – one being Detroit. The final game of the year is against Anaheim. This game could be meaningful for both teams. Edmonton could go as high as 100 points. Based on results of the last twenty the total looks like 93. I’m not sure 93 is enough to make the second season. Edmonton is going to have to win everything except the one game in Detroit.

Outside looking in.

San Jose

The Sharks didn’t do as well as they should have in this last week. Two loses to the CBJ’s and the Coyotes followed up with a OTL to the same Coyotes hurt them. This week gets no easier. The Sharks go out on the road to Dallas, Colorado and LA. They may pick up one or two points in LA. Maybe by next week the Sharks are out of it.

With eight games left the Sharks could go as high as 99 points. They have five road games and three home games. If the magic number is 95 points the Sharks can only drop two games from now to the end of the season. Seven of eight opponents are in the hunt and the other is Phoenix who just beat them twice. The Sharks are not going to make it.

Los Angeles

LA experienced what many team have this year. A trip to Western Canada that saw them play three games in four nights. The order was Vancouver, Calgary then Edmonton. Three losses. Say good night Jeremy. Good night Jeremy. The game is going to miss you. The win picked is against the Sharks on Thusday.

Current Dance Partners.

If the playoff were to start only one week early on April 9th my predictions for match ups are as follows:

Detroit – Anaheim or Edmonton
Dallas – Edmonton or Anaheim
Calgary – Vancouver
Nashville – Colorado

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Detroit+Red+Wings; Dallas+Stars; Calgary+Flames; Nashville+Predators; Vancouver+Canucks; Los+Angles+Kings; Edmonton+Oilers; Colorado+Avalanche; Anaheim+Ducks; San+Jose+Sharks

Wild 2 at Canucks 1

2006-04-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

I watched the game on SportsNet with my eight year old daughter. For whatever reason for the first time she took interest in the game and had questions. Watching a game with a young non hockey fan leads to some interesting scenarios.

First up was the puck taking a crazy bounce off one of the Referees directly at the Canucks net where a startled Auld had to steer it to safety. Jim and John got into an exchange. John says that if the puck goes directly in off an official a goal is not awarded. That’s a new one. I’m not sure I believe John but he is indeed an ex-NHL goalie so I figure he’d be up on subtle rules like this. An eight year old daughter’s take was “how do you tell which one is the Ref?”

“Ah no worries. There are two of them. They wear the striped shirt with the red arm bands.”

“Why red arm bands?”

“So you can tell them from the linesmen who do not have arm bands.”

After some time of picking out Ref’s and Linesmen her thoughts turned to “what is their job?”

“Ah great question. The Refs get to call penalties. The Linesmen can too but they never do. The Ref blows the whistle when the puck goes out of the rink and he controls the game. He decides when a goal is scored and who scored it. The Linesman looks after offside, icing and they get to stop the players when they fight.” Good enough answer to create another session of officials watching. BTW we’re calling them Zebra’s by now.

“Dad one of those Zebras was waving his arms like this.” She makes the ok sign for an onside play at the blue line. Wow ok.

“It is the Linesmen’s job to make sure the puck doesn’t go over that blue line before any of our players do. The puck must precede the players into the offensive zone. The Linesman will signal like that to tell the players and fans that the puck went across the blue line legally.” We also cover the raised arm for offside.

“Oh so the puck is like royalty. It must be first in line and the players have to follow behind?”

“Yes sweetie but only when it crosses those blue lines.” And good enough for another session of game watching.

“Dad? I think that was offside but the Zebra did not blow the whistle.”

“Ah yes it was dear but there is a slight change in the rule called ‘tag up offside.’ It means that our players can go inside the blue line before the puck but as long as they do not touch the puck or the other team’s players the linesman can decide to wait and give the player a chance to go back outside the line and then come back in after the puck. We call that ‘touching up’ or ‘tagging up.’ Understand?”

“Why do they have off side anyway?”

“Ah errr ummm because it has always been that way? Actually, the offside gives an advantage to the defence. It creates the offence and defence zones. The blue line helps a team defend against getting goals scored. You see, if the defenders can get the puck just over that blue line then all our players have to all go out of the area and have to start again. The blue lines are very important to our game.”

Oh look the first period is over. Nothings happened – still 0 – 0. We’ved covered officials and the finer points of offside. So far so good.

Second period drags on an we are reduced to singing “Boring, Boring” like they would at a English soccer game. Then Chouinard dribbles one through Auld. Oh heck now we’re done. The way this is going I’m seeing 1 - Zip Wild as a real ending.

BUT NO! The Brothers come through! Sedin to Sedin to my other brother Carter(31) and we’re back on even terms.

The second period featured a lot of discussion about scoring goals. For example: “How much do the players get paid if they score a goal? Is it like $10?”

“Well no sweetie. It is much more than that but they do not get paid per goal. If you score lots of goals the team will want to pay you more. If you can not score goals the team will not want to pay you much.” Thinking of rich D-Men, I add “of course stopping goals is important too. If you stop lots of goals the team will want to pay you much too.”

“So the goalie gets paid a lot?”

“Exactly.”

We go a little deeper. “Some players do have rules where they get bonus money if they score lots of goals. But these bonuses are more like you get one bonus if you score 30 goals and another for 40 goals and even more for 50 goals.”

“How much bonus do you get for 50 goals?”

“Oh it depends on the team and the player. In some cases it could be millions of dollars.”

“Wow! Did any of our players get millions of dollars for scoring 50 goals?"

“No sweetie not for a very long time. We had two players Naslund and Bertuzzi who a couple years ago came close to getting bonuses for their goals scored. But they ended up with only 49 and 46 goals.”

“Why what happened?”

“That is a good question. We do not really know. Some people though there could be some selfish play as one tried to make sure he got to 50. Other thought that they stopped scoring as they tried to help the other get to 50. Still others think that the team was more focused on being in first place and that distracted them from their scoring.”

“So were we in first place?”

“Well, again, no sweetie. We came close but no 50 goals, no first place and we lost early in the playoffs too. Then we say well maybe next year.”

“Was next year good?”

“Nope. Not as good. Then we had a year off. And now this year we are not as good again. Each year the team is getting a little less ‘good.’”

Oh look second period is over. Two goals and incentive bonuses covered. Ah love these Wild Minny games. All over the hockey world look at the opportunities Jacques Lemaire is creating for parents to bond with their children.

Third period – half way through and shots are 2-2. “Dad I’m going to bed.”

“Good idea sweetie. This isn’t very exciting is it?”

A total of seven shots in the third. OT settles nothing. The SO is ends with Koivu being one in six to score. Even that was boring.

While the Nucks lost their Shoot Out the Ducks were winning one. Ducks and Stars featured 8 goals and a 2 – 0 shootout win. Dallas’ first lost of the season via the SO.

Since ‘the team meeting’ we have three of six points against Edmonton. Three of four against the Wild. This was the minimum required but OK still on track to get to 95 points.

Next up those same Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on the pond Sunday afternoon.

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks
Minnesota Wild

Nice Globe n Mail Piece

2006-03-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

Grant Kerr of the Globe and Mail did a nice piece on Trevor Linden in the paper today. You can find an online version here

Thanks for the heads up to JJ over at Canucks Hockey

Ciao,

Tags: hockey; Vancouver+Canucks
Trevor+Linden