Archive for December, 2009
Holiday Gifts for Dad
Though shopping for dad often isn’t a challenging task, in case you need some help here are a few ideas which are sure to please the old man.
~NHL merchandise; every dad has their favorite team or player—get him a jersey, a t-shirt, or other autographed hockey memorabilia and he’ll love it.
~Gadgetry; whatever kind of obscure gizmos you can find, if they have a blade, a flashlight, or a compass attached to them he’ll probably love it.
~Sausage and Sauces; common to mall pavilions during the holidays, these savory treats are sure to be a hit from Christmas all the way until New Years.
~Tools; if your dad is a mister fix-it, or just enjoys keeping a hoard of seldom used tools and crafting appliances, these are a sure pleaser.
Fourth From The Bottom Toronto Maple Leafs To Send Players To The Olympics
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs are near the bottom of the NHL standings, they will be able to send a few players to the Olympics. Surprising as it may seem, the Leafs do have a handful of decent players who will be beneficial to the Olympic line up.
Tomas Kaberle will be in his third Olympics playing for the Czech team who won a bronze medal in the 2006 Olympics. Although Jason Blake is a long shot for the US team, Phil Kessel and Mike Komisarek will be heading to Vancouver in February.
Sweden’s team will be getting Jonas Gustavsson and Niklas Hagman who made up part of Finland’s team when they won the silver in the 2006 games will also go to the Olympics. And last but not least center Mikhail Grabovski will play for Belarus.
With all of this talent heading off to the Olympics, it makes you wonder why the Toronto Maple Leafs are so near the bottom of the standings. It would be nice for the Leafs fans to be able to wear their Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys with pride instead of just wondering whether their team will ever get back to the way they were in the good old days.
Philadelphia Flyers To Have Strong Showing In Olympics
The Philadelphia Flyers appear to have the opportunity to have a strong showing in the upcoming 2010 Olympic games. Unfortunately, Simon Gagne who has played in the last two Olympic games for Canada has had two hernias and abdominal surgery in early November which has precluded any chance for a third shot at the Olympics.
Matt Carle, winner of a gold medal at the 2004 world juniors, has improved greatly since he joined the Flyers. He had not shined while playing with the San Jose Sharks and the Tampa Bay Lightning. If his performance continues to improve, he will be considered for the US team.
Also 35-year old Chris Pronger will likely join team Canada to play in his fourth Olympics. Kimmo Timonen will play for Finland as well as Mika Pyorala. Although Pyorala is only in his first season playing for the NHL, he has put in nearly a decade playing for Finland and Sweden. He played for Finland in the past three World Chamionships.
Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards will suit up for team Canada although Carter still has to prove himself over the new month.
Alexander Ovechkin Comes Through For The Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin has given head coach Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals something to smile about. The coach has been looking for some action from the star forward. Ovechkin had received quite a tongue-lashing from Boudreau to pick up his game.
Ovechkin certainly got down to business on Saturday during a game with the Edmonton Oilers. After the first 40 minutes of play, the Capitals were down 2-0. Ovechkin came through with 2 third period goals and as assist. He scored just 32 seconds into the third period. He went on to score another goal and an assist.
Also scoring for the Capitals were Tomas Fleischmann and Nicklas Backstrom as the Washington Capitals went on the beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2.
New York Rangers Olympic Prospets
The New York Rangers have a couple of prospects for the Olympics, one being Marian Gaborik who plays right wing for the Rangers will play for Slovakia. While Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is hoping to join the Swedish team and possibly relive the gold medal performance from 2006. Possibly included for team U.S.A. is Ryan Callahan.
On the injured list for the Rangers and therefore possibly out for the Olympics are Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky. Chris Drury was out with a concussion but returned late November. Drury won a silver medal in the 2002 Olympics while playing for team U.S.A. Brandon Dubinsky, however, is still out after he broke his hand during a game on November 7th, the same game in which Chris Drury suffered a concussion. Dubinsky played in the 2006 Olympics.
The New York Rangers have been plagued by illness and injuries losing 41 manpower games this season. Hopefully the remainder of the season will be a healthier one.
Four Bruins to head to the Winter Olympics
Although the Boston Bruins will likely be sending four of its team members to the Olympics, Canadian team members Marc Savard and Milan Lucic may not be that fortunate. Both players have been out with injuries. Lucic returned in great physical shape in late November so he may find himself a position on team Canada.
Shoe-ins for the Olympic teams are Zdeno Chara and Marco Sturm. Defenseman Zdeno Chara will play for Slovakia and left winger Marco Sturm will play for his homeland of Germany. Goalie Tim Thomas should be playing with team U.S.A. Center David Krejci may play for his country of the Czech Republic, however, that depends on whether he can get his game back together. Krejci underwent hip surgery in the off season and had a bout with the H1N1 virus during the season.
It seems as though a lot of players in the NHL will have their Olympic hopes made or broken due to illness or injuries.
Detroit Red Wings To Supply Players To Olympics
Although quite physically damaged at the moment, the Detroit Red Wings should be supplying the Olympics with a few choice players.
Sweden will be defending their gold medal. Although currently on the injured list, Niklas Kronwall will be playing for Sweden. Also suiting up for Sweden will be Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom. However, Johan Franzen is not expected to be fit to play for Sweden. Another Swedish player, Tomas Holmstrom, was a long shot, however, with a strong start to the season he is being considered.
Despite a broken wrist that will keep him out of play until mid-December, Valtteri Filppula is expected to play for his homeland of Finland. Brian Rafalski will play for team USA and Pavel Datsyuk will play for Russia.
Not a bad showing for an injured group of guys!
St. Louis to Send a Few Hopefuls to the Olympics
With the 2010 Winter Olympics just around the Corner the St. Louis Blues, like all other NHL teams, are hoping to send some of their players to the Olympics in February.
Both Alex Steen and Patrik Berglund have a chance to represent Sweden. Blue player Roman Polak is pretty much a sure thing to be added to the Czech team.
As far as North America goes, Andy McDonald did attend Canada’s orientation camp, however, his position on the Canadian team team has not been secured. Team USA hopefuls include Erik Johnson, TJ Oshie and David Backes. David Backes has not exactly been a great scorer this season but is still hopeful to make the team.
With the excitement of the Olympics heating up all Olympic hopefuls are looking forward to the decisions like children on Christmas morning.
Will There Be Any Ducks At The Olympics?
Although Anaheim has had a disappointing season so far with a record of 12-13-7 with 31 points more than one third of their roster could be selected to trade their Anaheim Jerseys for Olympic Jerseys.
It looks as though Scott Niedermayer will be considered for captain of the Canadian team. Corey Perry is likely to clinch a spot on the team also. Evgeny Artyukhin would be suiting up for the Russian team. Other members of the Ducks to go back to overseas roots will be Jonas Hiller for Switzerland, and Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu will play for Finland. For team USA, possiblities include Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney.
Only time will tell which of the Anaheim Ducks will actually be suiting up for the 2010 winter games in Vancouver in February. Good luck to all the Mighty Ducks who are choosen to represent their countries in these pretigeous games.
The Real Mighty Ducks
Like most kids who grew up in the 90’s, I was introduced to the game of hockey through the movie “The Mighty Ducks”. When I first saw Emilio Estevez lead that group of ragamuffins to hockey greatness, I became an immediate fan of the game. My neighbors and I bought a full supply of hockey gear and began to play on a daily basis.
As can be imagined, I was ecstatic when I learned that Disney would be introducing the Ducks as an expansion team to the NHL. Being from Southern California, I immediately developed an affinity for the squad. For Christmas that year the only thing on my list was a couple of Anaheim Duck NHL jerseys.