What the Puck??

Driving home from Mite practice my eight year old son, who I have never heard say a bad word ever, asked me, “Dad, you know puck rhymes with a bad word…….”
There was no way I was going to ask him what he was referring to.
“Yes, Cade I suppose it does……what is your point?”
“Well what does Puck mean anyway? Why is it a puck??? Why are some black, some blue and some heavier than others?? What do you really know about the puck?”
I have been around hockey for about forty years and I did not have an answer for him. It was time to do a little research. God bless the internet.

The origin of the word "puck" is obscure. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests the name is related to the verb "to puck" (a cognate of "poke") used in the game of Hurling for striking or pushing the ball, from the Scottish Gaelic puc or the Irish poc, meaning to poke, punch or deliver a blow.
It is possible that Halifax, NS, natives, many of whom were Irish and played Hurling, may have introduced the word to Canada. The first known printed reference was in Montreal, in 1867, just a year after the first indoor game was played there.
A hockey puck is also referred to colloquially as a "biscuit". (Put the biscuit in the basket!!! I love that one!!! …..)
A standard ice hockey puck is black, 1 inch thick, 3 inches in diameter, and weighs between 5.5 and 6 ounces some pucks are heavier or lighter than standard.
There are several variations on the standard black, 6 oz hockey puck. One of the most common is a blue, 4 oz puck that is used for training younger players who are not yet able to use a standard puck. Heavier 10 oz training pucks, typically reddish pink or reddish orange in color, are also available for players looking to develop the strength of their shots or improve their stick handling skills.
Pucks are frozen before the game to reduce bouncing during play.
During a game, pucks can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour or more when struck. The current NHL record belongs to Zdeno Chara, whose slapshot was clocked at 105.9 miles per hour in the 2011 NHL All Star Game SuperSkills competition, breaking his own earlier record. The current world record is held by Denis Kulyash of KHL's Avangard Omsk, who slapped a puck at the 2011 KHL All Star Game skills competition in Russia with a speed of 110 miles per hour.
 
So I relayed all this important information on to my son thinking how much he would be impressed with my work. He just said, “Thanks Dad,…Cool! Good night….”

The next night coming home from a skills practice my son asked me, “Dad, you know stick rhymes with a bad word too…….”

I’ll save that one for another blog………..

Shake Hands

My son plays for the Philadelphia Generals Mite/Squirt Patriot team.

Once again he recently made me think about things in an entirely different and positive way. My hope is that it makes you think that way too.

A couple of weekends ago we were playing at a local rink and it was a very competitive game. This is a little embarrassing to say but yes, Coach John and Coach Kerry found themselves raising their voices to the referees, disagreeing with many of their calls….. (Mite hockey, I know….not good….) The game ended and both teams shook hands as well as did the coaches and the referees.

On the way home my son said to me, “Dad, shaking hands at the end of the game is good.”
I inquired, “What do you mean?”
Cade said, “Well, after all the hard work and all the yelling and excitement, once we all shake hands at the end of the game it feels good…. it feels finished….it feels like it is time to go home….even you, coach John and the refs were friends again…..”

After a couple of years of these observations I now find myself looking for a deeper meaning of his musings. They are becoming ever easier to find.

I began thinking, how many times in life should we just shake hands and move on to the next game? We are all human beings and there are always times in life when we just won’t see things the same way and disagree vehemently on issues. I guess getting older, I now realize there is one side, the other side, and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. Whether it has been in business or family or even with friends, I know I have been guilty of not being able to shake hands, move on and live for the future the way I really should have. We have all been guilty of that. There really has been a lot of wasted negative energy. I wish there are things I could have done differently as I am sure you feel the same way.

Recently, there has been a lot of local coverage of the upcoming Winter Classic Hockey Game and Alumni Hockey Game being held here in Philadelphia. One of the interesting storylines of the game is that Bob Clarke and Eric Lindros will be participating in the game together and the implied mending of the fences of their supposed rocky relationship. If you are a hockey fan you have probably heard all the story lines and history of what had happened or supposedly happened. Who really knows and it really is not that important anymore.
I had the pleasure of playing for Bob when he was a General Manager with the Flyers and also playing with Eric on the same team for a season. They are both fiercely intense and bona fide Hockey Hall of Fame caliber hockey greats. They played extremely hard, and they apparently had extremely rigid differences of opinions at times. But guess what? It took some time but it looks like they shook hands and have agreed to move on to a more positive way. At one time both were captains and considered exceptional leaders. It looks like they still are.

Ok, now moving back from the Greats to the Mites.
My son and I were watching the news the other night during dinner and there was coverage of our military engaged in some battle in Afghanistan. He looked at me and asked, “Dad, those guys have Generals, we are Generals….why can’t they be just like us, shake hands like we do, end it, and everyone go home????”  

There are some conflicts that can’t be settled with a hand shake but most of ours can and should be. In the end most of them are really not that important.
So shake hands, because like my son said, “it feels good…. it feels finished….it feels like it is time to go home….”

Give Thanks for Good Coaches!

Thanksgiving-Webster’s Dictionary

	1.	The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
	2.	A public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.

As you probably know with this blog, I get a lot of my material from my son’s mite team, some former players and just from random thoughts that come into my head. (Scary, I know…) Being Thanksgiving week, I thought I would reach out and lean on a group of hockey people that we all should all be thankful for. After all this time I realize how grateful and thankful I am to all the people who coached me up along the way!!!

Coaches are fascinating individuals. I have played for ones that I loved. Ones I feared. Ones I hated at points but after time, pretty much respected them all. Many of them have a gift to be able to focus with extreme intensity on the current day, how to prepare and are meticulous planners. They know how to motivate and how to strategize to get the best results out of a group of highly talented individuals. They can knock you down to toughen you up and also pick you up when you have stumbled or been beaten down. Coaches do a lot for a team and can make or break a hockey season. Without question.
They are also very human and when they get time to take a deep breath and think about things, are a lot like the rest of us. They are also very similar to each other regardless of the level they coach at.
I reached out to a few local coaches from all levels and asked them two questions appropriate for this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend and this time of year.
“Coach, what are you most thankful for as a coach?” and, “What are you most thankful for as a person?”

Make sure if you have a young hockey player, have them read these answers. I only asked a few but there are thousands of mentors like them all over the country. Take note how little emphasis there is on winning and losing but on other more important things. Not one of them even mentions the words win or lose……Great Stuff!

Riley Cote-Assistant Coach- Adirondack Phantoms- American Hockey League: "I’d have to say I am so thankful for the Flyers for giving me an opportunity to coach with the phantoms and help develop young players and guide young men to become the best they can be. I am most thankful to have learned what true health really is."

Bob Prior-Head Coach Princeton University-Division 1 ECAC: "As a coach I am thankful for the opportunity to educate young men that are driven to get better, I am thankful for the opportunity to be in a profession that I have a great passion for, I am awfully lucky.  There is a tremendous sense of fulfillment in working with these young men in watching them grow both as players and as people.As a person I am thankful for my family and friends everyday, I love the people that I am surrounded by on a daily basis and am excited every day that I wake up.  I learn from my family, friends, and student athletes daily and I am thankful they are in my life."

Guy Gadowsky- Head Coach Penn State University Division 1: "As a coach I am grateful for great goaltending and as a person I am grateful for a great wife, both can make life a lot better!"
Randy Walker- NJ Junior Titans: "As a coach, I am thankful that I am still involved in this great game and get to watch both my sons build lasting relationships and memories like I did as a player.As a person, I am thankful for my wife and kids and the love (and time) we have to share with our family & friends.
Happy Thanksgiving!"

Jeremy Hall- Team Comcast u-16 AAA: "As a coach, I am thankful to be given the opportunity to work with high level hockey players and have a chance to impact their lives through this great sport. As a person, I am thankful to have a wonderful wife and beautiful little boy to share everything with."

Roman Bussetti-Team Comcast Squirt Team: "As a coach I am thankful for the knowledge and understanding that the lord has granted me to teach and instruct this great game.As a person I am thankful for the well-being of my family, my friends and myself."

John Seravalli-Coach of The Philadelphia Generals Select Mite Powerhouse Team (our team..): "I am thankful to be able to help players become better people first then better hockey players. There is nothing more rewarding as a coach when an ex-player comes back years later and thanks you for helping them to become a good person on and off the ice.  I am thankful to my parents who gave me an opportunity to play sports and get a good education so that I now can help others."

This is a weekend to express how much we are thankful for. Make sure you do. Thank your coaches. Often they don’t get the recognition they deserve. Deep down they are great people as evidenced by those answers.

Remember their answers and at some point this weekend, step away from hockey and focus on being thankful for the following regardless of your win loss record.

1.      Your health

2.      Your family

3.      Your friends

4.      Your great country you live in

5.      Your ability to lean and rely on hockey when you need to.(and of course....great coaches!!!!)

We are all blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

First Timers and Old Timers-One and the Same

Thank you to all the Philadelphia Flyer Alumni guys who took the time to get back to me and help me out with content for this week. Super guys and a phenomenal group to be associated with and as always, thanks to our Mite team.

It is a wonderful time of year. There is hockey everywhere. We are only weeks away from the Winter Classic game that is getting so much attention around this area and it seems like there are good NHL games on TV every night. With all the negative news recently in sports it is great to be in the heart of a hockey season.
While watching a Philadelphia Flyers game with my son Caden the other night I began to think of some other things to write about. Sitting there enjoying the game and his company, he asked me, “Dad, what do you miss most about hockey? Not like the guys you played with or the great fun you had and all that stuff I hear you talk about..…. What do you really miss about the actual game and playing??”
Wow. This from an eight year old. I had to think for a while and then I told him, “Cade, I just really miss the feeling of gliding along the ice at a speed I know I will never go again.”

Then like a normal parent, I turned the tables and asked him, “What do you love about playing hockey?” He said Dad, “I really love when I try to shoot the puck at a spot and it goes there….it feels great! …… and I love going to Chickie’s and Pete’s (our local sports bar) for chicken wings after practice….” Again, one of those moments that just made me smile for a long time.
I was so deep in thought after our little exchange. I had our two opinions but then felt the need to get more. I decided to ask my son’s Mite team the same question I asked him and ask my friends from the Philadelphia Flyers Alumni the same question he asked me. No one knew what I was doing or looking for, I just simply asked them to answer those questions.
Here are the results for you to enjoy. Remember some of these people are only separated by about 50 years…..But look at how close the answers are. I love it. I just took ten answers from each group and matched them up as best I could. The similarities are remarkable. It really is a great game.

Mite #1: “I like when the ice is all clean and we go out skating on it for the first time. We go fast…”
Flyer Alumni #1 Kevin Dineen: “There was always no better feeling than being the first guy on that clean smooth sheet of ice and having that building to yourself, just skating around and shooting pucks.”

Mite  #2: “I love it when a teammate passes to me and I score a goal……”
Flyer Alumni #2 Mark Freer: “I miss the tic tac toe of the puck in the games and practice.  There is nothing better than going down the ice in practice and zipping the puck around hard and fast hearing that smack as the puck goes from one stick to another.”

Mite #3: “l love right at the first faceoff when we are getting ready to play a game and it is exciting…..”
Flyer Alumni #3 Mark Howe and Chris Therien: “What I miss the most about playing is the energy that flows through your body as the national anthem is being sung and the building is coming alive. The anticipation and excitement of the contest ahead.” Mark Howe
“I really loved being at a faceoff and looking up realizing you we're a member of the greatest league on the planet! The fans the scoreboard the noise....great feeling I truly miss!
Chris Therien

Mite 4: “I love going so fast on my skates…..”
Flyer Alumni #4 Kerry Huffman: “Cade, I just really miss the feeling of gliding along the ice at a speed I know I will never go again.”

Mite #5: “I like when it is a close game and then we win…….”
Flyer Alumni #5 Keith Primeau:" I miss coming to the rink in the spring for playoff hockey.
I miss the feeling of a big win and celebrating with my teammates, the close ones were the best”

Mite #6: “I love it when we score more goals than the other team and then we end up winning, it is awesome….”
Flyer Alumni #6 Bill Clement: “I actually miss the feeling of exhaustion after a shift. Also after a game, but only when we won. That feeling wasn't any good after a loss.”

Mite #7: “it is fun to see us play really good…..like we were taught…..”
Flyer Alumni #7 Keith Jones: “I miss my seat in the middle of the bench. Sad that I'll never to be able to purchase a seat with such a great view!!!!”

Mite #8: “What I love about hockey is standing in front of Sydney, our goalie, like coach Kerry told me to and blocking a shot by the other team, popping it off the boards to one of my teammates who take it up the ice and score.  The team gets a goal and I get an assist”!!
Flyer Alumni #8 Reggie Leach: “The most I miss about playing is getting a great pass from Bobby Clarke and letting a slap shot go from top of circle hitting the far corner of the net. Great assist, great goal…”

Mite #9: “I love scoring goals!!!!!
Flyer Alumni #9 Brian Propp: “I miss the excitement of scoring goals and doing the “Guffaw”.  I miss the intensity of playing playoff hockey and the focus on every game for the ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup.

I saved the best one for last.

 

Mite #10: “We do cool things on the weekend, sometimes after hockey we go to McDonalds!!!”
Flyer Alumni #10 Ed Hospodar: “I loved traveling and being with my Dad on game day. Yep, my Dad that’s what I loved and miss most about not playing hockey. Time with my Dad and having him watch me.”

Me too Ed.

Well said guys! Both teams!!!!!

All hockey players age but their hearts remain young……. and sometimes blogs write themselves….

Rookies and Veterans

Hockey just isn’t that important today.

Maybe I look at things a bit differently now knowing that my oldest son has committed to serve in the armed forces for this great country. It doesn’t even need to be said. I couldn’t be more proud of him.

In the hockey world, this time of year there is always talk of how impressive the Rookies are.  Today it is not about the Rookies it is about the Veterans. The important Veterans……

I hope everyone can have the opportunity to say thank you today to a member of our armed services. Current or former.

Whether you are American or Canadian, please take time away from hockey and sports to reflect and think about the true heroes of our countries. Not someone who got a hat trick last night or scored a game winning goal.
Heroes who give us the freedom and ability to enjoy hockey and all the other things we take for granted.

It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and focus on scores, highlights and how our teams and young players are doing.  Just remember though that we are all part of a team that is fighting for something way more important than a playoff spot.

There are daily injury reports that are not putting players on a 7 to 10 day unable to perform list. There are members of our team every day going on an injured reserve list that will last forever….Remember that. Be grateful for their sacrifice. Be thankful for their service and if you can let one of our players know that, make sure you do. These are people who are not looking for a new contract, a highlight on Sportscenter or a scholarship. They are usually just appreciative of a warm thank you. A lot of them deserve our support now and will really need it when they are no longer in the service.

So today, let’s stop for a moment focusing on the horrifying story involving Penn State University and all the other negative news stories and spend some time thinking about the positive role models and people who secure our freedom every day. Rarely are they in front of a camera defending or explaining themselves. They just do their jobs and make sure we can go about doing ours every day.

There is always the weekend to go back to our mite games, our junior games, our pro games and all the fun that goes with it.

But today and every day, remember who really the true All Stars in this world are.

The Winter Classic and Thin Ice

I know that this Blog is usually all about fun and all the great and humorous things about hockey but some weeks are tougher than others…….

This past weekend at our local rink I ran into Philadelphia Flyer legend Bob ‘The Hound’ Kelly. We were catching up and chatting about the upcoming Winter Classic Game being held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as well as the Alumni game being held a day or two before it. All the while my 8 year old son Caden was listening and digesting the information. As we got into the car to go home after our Mite game, Cade asked me, “Dad, is that Classic game and the Alumni game being held on the ice outside?”
I said, “Yes of course, why?”
He responded, “Big trouble, I have seen how big the Alumni guys are…….they are going to fall thru the ice……”
Once again the little guy made me laugh harder and longer than I have in a long time. He also made me think….
With just under two months to go, we are in dire need of a Winter Classic. It is truly a great event that reminds us of how special the game of hockey is, played in its simplest form outside in a cold environment.
The way hockey was originally meant to be played. The NHL should be proud.
It hasn’t been a great time in Pennsylvania for sports recently. Our Phillies went out of playoffs much too early. Our Eagles have been less than ‘a Dream Team’ and of course the horrifying story that has come out of Penn State University concerning a football coach and his alleged sexual abuse of young children that he was supposed to be helping.
Now I know that no one has been found guilty of anything but typically a grand jury and twelve accusers don’t come forward after a three year investigation with over 70 charges of misconduct against an innocent person and the cover up that followed unless they have a lot of evidence.  It is just so hard to comprehend but it is also a story that gives us all a wakeup call and a lesson about trust and parenting.
In my current job I deal with a lot of parents and young players in search of the dream of playing hockey at a very high level. Along the way young players leave home very early and also travel with people to showcase events and tournaments that parents and families trust, sometimes blindly. Canadian hockey has had some very tragic and storied incidents of sexual abuse of young children and players. It is important that we teach the basic rules of life to our children and equip them with the necessary skills that are needed to survive and thrive in this environment.  We need to teach our kids about confidence, what is right, what is inappropriate and keep a very open line of communication so that they are not afraid to tell us about anything. Good and bad. 

As hockey grows at an incredibly rapid rate in the United States we should be aware of what we are doing in the search of 'the dream' concerning our kids. Get to know your coaches. Get to know your billets. Trust that hockey is a great game but also question the credentials and worthiness of our coaches, billets and chaperones.

The good news is that 99 percent of the people your child comes in contact with, (teachers, coaches, mentors and fellow parents), will be good people who want to help your child grow and become a better player and person.  But reality has told us to arm our children with the tools they need to “thwart” that 1 percent that intends evil.  We have to for our kids' sake.

We can’t let them fall thru the ice……..

Great Lines!

This weekend I got to spend some time with Bill Underwood a longtime hockey person and scout for the Ontario Hockey League. We got telling some old stories and talking about some of the funny hockey quotes we had heard over the years. Some of them obviously are not for print…. But some are great and so I had our research team look for some of the more memorable hockey quotes. Enjoy!

We’ll start with two of my favorites.

“Guys…..Guys…..settle down…….we are not that bad!!!! We are not that bad!!!!!......we just play in a really good league.” Doug Smail, addressing his teammates from the expansion days Ottawa Senators after falling behind to the Boston Bruins 6-0 after one period.

Harry Neale on the broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada from Los Angeles when the camera panned the crowd and showed Sylvester Stallone sitting in between two attractive blond ladies. “now there is Sly Stallone with the only two good wingers in the place……..”

"Half the game is mental; the other half is being mental." Jim McKenny.

"By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series." Steve Rushin.

"I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out." Rodney Dangerfield.

"We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital." Brad Park.

"We take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor." Bobby Clarke.

“We can’t win at home…..we can’t win on the road…..we are running out of places to play…..” Harry Neale.

"One road trip we were stuck on the runway for seven hours. The plane kept driving and driving until we arrived at the rink and I realized we were on a bus." Glenn Healy, on his time in the minors.

"I had to pinch myself seeing the grassy knoll and the book suppository building." Trevor Linden, on viewing the site of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas.

"It felt like a golf swing and my head was on the tee." Edmonton's Tyler Wright, on being clubbed by Joe Murphy.

"This is the only thing that has seen more parties than us." Steven Tyler, Aerosmith's lead singer, after admiring the Stanley Cup.

"You're playing worse every day and right now you're playing like the middle of next week." Herb Brooks, 1980 US Olympic hockey coach.

"I have to thank the guy who fired me because he was also the guy who hired me." Serge Savard, on his firing from Montreal.

"A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.” - Paul Gallico

"I know my players don't like my practices, but that's OK because I don't like their games.” - Harry Neale.

"It takes brains. It's not like a forward, where you can get away with scoring and not play defense. On defense you have to be thinking.” - Chris Chelios

"It would have been worse if we hadn't blocked the kick after Toronto's second touchdown.” - Alex Delvecchio

"My former wife made me a millionaire. I used to have three million dollars.”- Bobby Hull

“When I look at the net I don't see a goalie.” - Pavel Bure
“When I look at the net I see 2 or 3 goalies.” - Radek Dvorak.

"Goaltenders are 3 sandwiches shy of a picnic. From the moment primitive man lurched erect, he survived on the principle that when something hard and potentially lethal comes toward you at great velocity, get the hell out of it's path.” - Jim Taylor

"Some guys play hockey. Gretzky plays 40mph chess.” - Lowell Cohn

"They say you're not a coach in the league till you've been fired. I must be getting pretty good.” - Terry Simpson

"We've made a final offer. We hope Ziggy Palffy will come to his senses. We have NO hope his agent will.” - Mike Milbury

"The hockey lockout of 1994-1995 has been settled. They have stopped bickering... and can now get down to some serious bloodshed!” - Conan O'Brien

You gotta love this game!!!!!

"Dont worry Dad, it's not a percussion."

That is what my eight year old son Caden said to me on the way to the emergency room to get his broken wrist x-rayed after hockey practice the other night. Of course he meant ‘concussion’, and again in one single instance, he made me laugh and think all at the same time. It is scary that at eight years old he knows about concussions, but after the last few years watching hockey and Sportscenter that word will become ingrained in a young person’s head.
As a young player I broke both my wrists, one of them twice and none of them were as painful as seeing him break his. Yes, I am officially a hockey parent….His injury got me thinking about the sport and everything that goes along with it, injuries and all.
It is funny when you are done playing the game and time passes. Your brain has a great ability to remember all the great times and makes you work very hard to remember the pain, the surgeries, the re-habilitations and just the everyday bumps and bruises that go along with the game.
At least that is how it used to be. When I was sitting in the emergency room, then the doctor’s office and then the casting room with my son it made me think about the pro players today. Front and center, the concussion issue. I began hoping it would not be something my son would ever have to deal with as he continues to play. It made me think about the tragic events that happened in the hockey world this summer and how they may have been concussion related. I know the game is a very tough, high impact game. Always has been always will be. That is part of what makes it great. But things changed some years ago. Players not only became stronger, better conditioned athletes; the speed of the game increased dramatically. Changes in technology improved equipment which further gave the players confidence to play at such high speeds. Higher speeds, greater collisions, more brain bruises. It really isn’t that hard to figure out.
Thank god the NHL looks like it is stepping up and doing something about it. The new head of discipline, Brendan Shanahan, has taken a very aggressive approach to dealing with some of the play that leads to some of these injuries. Not many people played the game as hard as Brendan did and it is great to see an ex-player that is so intelligent, helping to make a stand. Let’s hope it continues as his lead will dictate how things filter down to the minor hockey level. Our kid’s heads depend on it.
Broken bones heal but finally I think we are all realizing that broken brains may not…….

Parental Evaluations

Another minor hockey season is upon us and I am happy to say I am once again coaching my son's Mite team. We had such a great time last year; I hope we have half the laughs as we did in our first season.  Already one of the little guys welcomed me back by saying to me when I walked in the dressing room, “Back for more huh sucker?” Gotta love it.
This is a great time of year when teams are just getting settled and everyone is finding their way on their new teams. I know different programs have their so called evaluations (not tryouts…) at different times during the season. We just had ours the other night. No one ever gets cut now, just placed on a new team…… Not sure what that teaches the kids but that is for a whole other blog topic. Could you imagine the first time they get fired and they are told, “Well Johnny, we have evaluated your work and have decided that we are not going to fire you, we are simply going to place you on Team Unemployed, keep on smiling, you tried!……..”
Anyway, the whole process got me thinking, maybe we need evaluations for the parents as well. I have been called a dreamer before so why not dream a little now.  Nothing on the ice, strictly a question and answer session that would determine if they are allowed to come inside the rink or not.  

Example 1:
Question: “Mr. Smith, what do you want your son to get out of hockey?”
Answer: “Well, he is a very talented player, I think he can someday play professionally if he is coached properly.”
Please wait outside the rink.

Example 2:
Question:“Mr. Jones, what as a coach can I do to make the season a success?”
Answer: “Make sure the kids learn how to be winners. I mean play the best kids in important parts of the game so we win and we teach the kids how to be winners.”
Please wait beside Mr. Smith outside the rink……..

Ok enough of the dreaming. I know this can’t and won’t happen. But maybe this is a great time of year to look at things as parents in the correct way.
Dreams do keep the human spirit alive and I don’t want to be one to squelch anyone’s hopes, but hockey moms and dads should tether their own ambitions. This is minor hockey time. Time to watch your kids and share precious time with them. Just for fun remember.  Chances are Mr. Smith, none of them will ever play professionally.
I recently travelled to my hometown in Ontario and read some interesting information concerning kids making it to the pros. For every 1 Million Canadians, 16 play in the NHL…..A study of Ontario minor hockey players born in 1975 reveals only 22 of 30,000 saw ice time in an NHL game….or how about this, even the elite players, ones that play college or junior, less than 5% make it all the way to the NHL…..Please share this this with any Mr. Jones or Mr. Smiths on your team this season.
All that being said we have to remember that Hockey is an incredible game. It teaches kids invaluable life skills. Among many things it teaches them how to be a good teammate, the value of hard work, discipline, how to interact socially and the importance of physical fitness.
 Above all, it gives us as parents an opportunity to spend so much valuable time with them. Let’s not blow it.

For Perspective

Another story from my trip north is about a report I read about the gregarious and friendly Walter Gretzky probably the most famous hockey dad in history, father of Wayne. Walter was once a very passionate and driven hockey parent and ended up having a son rise to levels that no one had ever reached and may never again. Then in the early 90’s he suffered long-term memory loss from a near fatal brain aneurysm.  In an ironic twist, the only Canadian of his generation who recalls nothing of Wayne’s career is him…..not the cups not the records….
He does acknowledge that the single greatest memory he has when Wayne was the greatest player in the world was his marriage to Janet Jones.
Maybe that is just a little reminder to all us hockey parents what truly is most important.

Hurry up Hockey!

“Hard times, baby well they come to us all……..sure as the ticking of the clock on the wall…..”
Bruce Springsteen
Waiting on a Sunny Day


It’s early August and we are still a ways away from the Hockey season but it is so good to know it is approaching.

Earlier this week my wife and I were sitting watching the news and my eight year old was there listening to us not saying much. As I am sure most conversations around that time were about a lot of heavy issues. There was the ongoing story about the hard feelings of the national debt debacle, then on to the horrific and terrible story of the thirty special force soldiers lost to enemy fire and then to talk of the stock market crashing over six hundred points. Needless to say the conversation was less than upbeat. After this went on for quite a while my eight year old piped up and came out with this: “Dad, I wish hockey season would hurry up……we don’t have all these problems during hockey season……”

It is amazing that a simple statement by an eight year old can put things into perspective. He is on to something. Yes I know that bad things are happening all the time but isn’t it amazing how a hockey season can help us cope and get by. It is what is truly great about the game no matter what age you are or level you are involved with. Sometimes we just need the eight year olds to remind us.

I am a firm believer in letting kids take a break from the game. I just really loved the feeling when I was a kid of taking a break in the summer and doing some other things. There is something special in putting your old gear back on in August and seeing how much you’ve grown and telling mom and dad you need new gear! That being said, there is also something refreshing with the birth of a new season.

Well we are getting down to it. Time to buy more gear and get a welcome hiatus from the ongoing brutal news we seem to be dealing with each night. Like I said, I know there will always be tough news but nothing a real good hockey game can’t fight off for a while…….So whether you are an eight year old, a forty eight year old  longing for the earlier days or an eighty eight year old fan that loves to watch the game, ….Let’s all say it together….. “Hurry up hockey!”

Is the NHL a fan of the NFL?

Let’s hope so.

Let’s hope that the NHL and NHLPA watched this spring and summer how the NFL and NFLPA got a deal done and avoided missing any meaningful games.

Say what you want about how the owners of the NFL teams locked the players out when the CBA expired and the Players de-certified the Union to gain leverage and all the other posturing and maneuvering that went on this summer. The bottom line is, both sides sat down and hammered out a deal.
At times it was actually quite refreshing to see how the deal got done. Sure you had the odd ridiculous player complaining that they were being treated like slaves……and once in a while you had a billionaire owner elude to the fact that their share of the $9 billion dollar revenue number that had to be split up might not be enough for the future….. For the most part though, when it became evident to both sides that the game and business was too good to mess up, they got behind closed doors and got a tough deal done. Which side won? Who cares? The fans won and the health of football won. Come week 1 of the NFL schedule real fans won’t even be thinking of what happened in May, June and July.

It is hard to even bring this up but yes, the CBA between the NHL and its’ players is expiring in about a year. Hard to believe right? Certainly I am not comparing the health and wealth of the leagues but hopefully the same saneness can prevail to get a new deal done. Yes there are major issues the league has to address. No doubt. There always is.  But both sides also need to see that a huge amount of damage that was done by missing the 2004-2005 season has been made up and that any further work stoppage would be ruinous to that progress. I am by no means a labor lawyer or a player union representative but some things are easy to see. The League brought in nearly $3 billion, the fifth straight year it has brought in record amounts.  Things are looking up. The salary cap has consistently increased. Even with both those things there are still concerns and unhappiness on both sides with the current deal. Is it so broken that a work stoppage will occur again to try and get it fixed? Only time will tell. But wasn’t that what the last stoppage was for? It would be hard to imagine the owners of NHL teams wanting to bring whatever momentum hockey has recently developed to halt. Surely the new ownership groups in Tampa and Winnipeg don’t want or need that. They say history is the best teacher. Let’s hope the NHL is a good student.
Time moves very quickly, especially once a hockey season starts. It will be playoff time before you know it. Hopefully Mr. Bettman and Mr. Fehr get directed by their bosses to work like Mr. Goodell and Mr. Smith did. Get behind closed doors and get working on a deal.

Gotta love it! Time for kickoff!!!!!

Canada Day!

It is obviously a big weekend in the United States and always great to celebrate July 4rth. But let's not forget that July 1st is also Canada Day! So for all us goofy Canadians, this one is for us. (remember all in good fun.)

You know you're Canadian if :

You're not offended by the term, "Homo Milk".
You understand the sentence, "Could you please pass me a serviette, I just spilled my Bowl of Poutine!"
You eat chocolate bars instead of candy bars.
You drink pop, not soda.
You had a Prime Minister who wasn't fluent in either of the official languages (English & French).
You know that a mickey and 2-4's mean "Party at thecamp, eh?!"
You talk about the weather with strangers and friends alike.
When there is a social problem, you turn to your government to fix it, instead of telling them to stay out of it.
You get milk in bags as well as cartons and plastic jugs.
Pike is a type of fish, not some part of a highway.
You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
You know that Mounties "don't always look like that."
You dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children and the elderly."
You have an Inuit carving by your bedside with the rationale, "What's good enough protection for the Prime Minister is good enough for me."
You wonder why there isn't a 5 dollar coin yet.
Like any international assasin/terrorist/spy in the world, you possess a Canadian Passport.
You know the French equivalents of "free", "prize", and "no sugar added", thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
You are excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
You were mad at the CBC when "The Beachcombers" were taken off the air.
You know what a touque is and you own one and often wear it.
You know Toronto is NOT a province.
You never miss "Coach's Corner" during Hockey Night in Canada.
Back bacon and Kraft Dinner are two of your favourite food groups.
If you live in some of the colder Canadian provinces, your car has a cord and plug sticking out of the grill ... it's a block heater for those sub-zero (in Celsius) days.
You only know three spices: salt, pepper and ketchup.
You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
The mosquitoes have landing lights.
You have more kilometres on your snow blower than your car.
Canadian Tire Store on any Saturday is busier than most toy stores at Christmas.
You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with frozen snow and slush.
You think sexy lingerie is tube-socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons.
You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car.
The local paper covers national and international headlines on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant.
The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.
Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof.
You think the start of deer season is a national holiday.
You head South to go to your cottage.
You know which leaves make good toilet paper now that there are no more dollar bills..
You find -40C a little chilly.
You know 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, almost Winter and Construction.
The municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.
You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.
You perk-up when you hear the theme from "Hockey Night in Canada".

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!!!!!

How Many Shots are in a Fifth of Scotch?

Hey Everyone. Took a little time off from the blog as the hockey season ended. Thanks to everyone who have asked me to get back to it.

I know it is the end of June and as we know, Hockey no longer takes a break. Lots going on with the NHL Draft, Free Agency and all sorts of young players trying to figure out where they are going to play, but I always think we should step back and take a break from the game.

That is why this week’s blog will be about what most good hockey players love…..Golf!! Enjoy!!!!

How many shots are in a fifth of Scotch?

The following is not intended to offend fans of tennis, basketball, baseball or football. It is, rather, an attempt to put everything in its proper perspective.

Ever wonder why golf is growing in popularity and why people who don’t even play golf go to tournaments or watch it on tv? The following truisms might shed some light.

-Golfers don’t have some of their players in jail each week.
-Golfers don’t kick dirt on, or throw bottles at other people.
-Professional golfers get paid in direct proportion to how well they play.
-Golfers don’t get per diem and two seats on a charter flight when they travel between tournaments.
-Golfers don’t hold out or demand new contracts, because of another player’s deal.
-Professional golfers don’t demand that the taxpayers pay for the courses on which they play.
-When golfers make a mistake, nobody is there to cover for them or back them up.
-the PGA raises more money for charity in 1 year than the NFL does in 2.
-you can watch the world’s best golfers up close at any tournament, including the majors, all day every day for $30-$50. Even the nose bleed section a ticket to the Super Bowl will cost you over $350.00, $1500 from a scalper……
-Try this at a taxpayer funded stadium, bring a soft drink into it and they’ll give you two options….get rid of it or leave.
-in golf you cannot fail 70% of the time and make $10 million a season, like the best baseball players do.(.300 batting average)
-Golfers keep their clothes on while they are being interviewed.
-Golf doesn’t have free agency. In their prime, Palmer, Nicklaus, Norman and other stars, would shake your hand and say they were happy to meet you. In his prime Jose Conseco wore a shirt that read “Leave me alone.”
-at a golf tournament you won’t hear a steady stream of four letter words and nasty name calling while you are hoping no one spills beer on you.
-golf courses don’t ruin the neighborhood.

And finally……here is a little piece of golfing history that you might enjoy. Ever wonder why there are 18 holes instead of 20, 10 or an even dozen?

During a discussion among the club’s membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, a senior member pointed out that it takes exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.
Enjoy the off season!!!!!!!

Cooperalls and The Mullet

There is nothing more satisfying than educating the youth of today.

The other day I am getting my seven year old son ready for hockey and I mistakenly asked him where his garter belt was. I had to then explain to him that prior to Velcro, his old man and all hockey players used garter belts to hold up their hockey socks. A barrage of seven year old insults and mockery ensued. (there actually was some pretty good lines…one about hot ladies on skates, but some things always stay in the dressing room……)
But the garter belt thing wasn’t always the case and it got me once again thinking of days gone by. I told him when I was young, a good portion of the time we wore long pants instead of hockey socks and that they were called Cooperalls. I got from him a dazed and confused look on his face much like the time I told him McDonalds was going out of business. So thank god for the Internet! We did a little research and this is what we found.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cooperalls are a type of discontinued ice hockey equipment, which were made by hockey manufacturer Cooper. They consisted of a girdle with built in pads that wore snug to the body. Over the girdle is a shell, which came in two sizes: a traditional looking hockey pant (down to the knee) or a long pant (down to the ankle). The long pants became synonymous with the name Cooperalls and were worn in place of hockey shorts and did not require leggings. Cooperalls were the standard for youth hockey players in the early 80s. Cooperalls were first used professionally by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1981–82 NHL season. The Hartford Whalers wore them for the 1982–83 NHL season. Following considerable criticism^[1] and concern for player safety, the NHL banned the use of long pants.^[2] However, the girdle and short shell design is still available from some hockey manufacturers.

So that took care of that issue. But then comes this zinger of a question, “Dad, way back then did you have one of those real goofy haircuts, a Mallet????”
Being a good father I quickly corrected him and told him that I indeed did have a Mullet back in the day. I also told him that he should be respectful of the Mullet and that it was one of the greatest hairstyles in history.....  ‘Business in the front, Party in the back!’ I also educated the young lad on some of the other aliases for the legendary hockey haircut, such as:
Nebraska Neckwarmer
Kentucky Curtain
Arkansas Ape Drape
Schlong (short/long)
West Virginia Waterfall
The Cyrus Virus
By this point we were travelling well down memory lane. He then said to me, “Dad, those must have been great times, what was your favorite car back then???”
“The Camaro IROC.” I responded.
Again with the stunned look he inquired, “What does IROC stand for???”
Once more, being a good dad, it was time to be honest and teach the boy…., “Italian reject out cruising……”

Needless to say, Mom is not impressed……J

Long live Cooperalls, The Mullet and Muscle Cars!!!!



Good Insight into the Recruiting Process-D1

Follow us on Twitter at Platinumhockey.

I came across this article on the recruiting process through the eyes of the UVM D1 coaching staff. Really good insight from the other side of the process. Enjoy!

http://bit.ly/kNbDIB

NHL Alumni Members to help in tracking former player brain injuries

This article was good to see in light of what is going on in pro hockey today. Sad to see it getting as serious as it is but hopefully the good people that played the game can help fix it. Great job!

http://nyti.ms/lenJgV

And finally this week, congratulations and thank you to our Armed Forces on a great week! Heroes that allow us to live the way we do! The world is a better place this week.



Twenty, not Fifteen

This is the time of year in the hockey world when young players and parents get really worked up. With the major junior drafts approaching as well as the USHL Futures draft and even the NHL draft, everyone gets overheated about when and where they will be selected. It is a very exciting time but also a time when people put way too much stock in the selection process. Many players and families become very disappointed when they are not selected as high as they thought they would be and it really is a shame.
When we talk and advise young players and families, we try to stress that although the bulk of the selection process begins at age fifteen, their future success will depend on how they develop up to the age of twenty, not fifteen.   So much growth can take place in those years and it is the complete exception that a player is ready to play professionally at age eighteen.
To make my point, take a look at this list of over 100 players who have signed professional contracts coming out of college this season alone, many of whom were undrafted to junior or the NHL. These players simply developed and grew as players over time.
http://www.collegehockeyinc.com/view/ncaa/in-the-nhl/pro-signings 
It is the same in the NHL. There are so many good players that just weren't that high a prospect at age seventeen or eighteen.
When the Detroit Red Wings were scouting Tomas Holmstrom, they liked his fire and his aggressiveness around the net. No one else noticed him because he was so small that he got knocked around a lot. He was 165 pounds at the time. They drafted him anyway and when he returned in the winter he weighed in at 210 pounds. They talked to his coach and the coach said he'd planned to cut him, until he showed up at training camp so much bigger.

“A lot of things come down to genetics and you might be a late bloomer or grow a little bit later — it all comes down to the commitment of that player,” said Hockey Manitoba executive director Peter Woods. “Sometimes kids get labels, as an A1 or a AA player or whatever it may be. Players can interpret that in a number of ways. The kid that is maybe not playing at the elite level right now needs to enjoy what he’s getting out of the game and those opportunities might come along down the road. Jarome Iginla wasn’t taken in the bantam draft and it worked out pretty well for him.

“You have to use some of those examples as motivation.”

Check out this list of NHL players and how late they were drafted and remember, come draft time, keep everything in perspective and focus on age twenty, not fifteen.....

Player	Pick	Year	Drafted By
Jaroslav Halak	271st	2003	Montreal
Mark Streit	262nd	2004	Montreal
Pekka Rinne	258th	2004	Nashville
Dustin Byfuglien	245th	2003	Chicago
Dan McGillis	238th	1992	Detroit
Pavol Demitra	227th	1993	Ottawa
Vladimir Konstantinov	221st	1989	Detroit
Anson Carter	220th	1992	Quebec
Johan Hedberg	218th	1994	Philadelphia
Cristobal Huet	214th	2001	Los Angeles
Dave Taylor	210th	1975	Los Angeles
Dominik Hasek	207th	1983	Chicago
Henrik Lundqvist	205th	2000	New York Rangers
Joe Pavelski	205th	2003	San Jose
Sergei Kostitsyn	200th	2005	Montreal
Arturs Irbe	196th	1989	Minnesota
Brooks Laich	193rd	2001	Ottawa
Vladimir Malakhov	191st	1989	NY Islanders
Matt D'Agostini	190th	2005	Montreal
Ryane Clowe	175th	2001	San Jose
Trevor Letowski	174th	1996	Phoenix
Luc Robitaille	171st	1984	Los Angeles
Roman Cechmanek	171st	2000	Philadelphia
Theoren Fleury	166th	1987	Calgary
John-Michael Liles	159th	2000	Colorado
Peter Bondra	156th	1990	Washington
Doug Gilmour	134th	1982	St. Louis
Kris Versteeg	134th	2004	Boston
Kyle Wellwood	134th	2001	Toronto
Daniel Alfredsson	133rd	1994	Ottawa
Steve Larmer	120th	1980	Chicago
Brett Hull	117th	1984	Calgary
Johan Franzen	97th	2004	Detroit
Valtteri Filppula	95th	2002	Detroit
Jonathan Quick	72nd	2005	Los Angeles
Cal Clutterbuck	72nd	2006	Minnesota
Steve Mason	69th	2006	Columbus