Aah, the Norris. One of the three easiest ways to engage me in a bar fight. Let it be known that I hold my pro-Lidstrom bias out in front, for all to see. The guy should have at least one, possibly two more Norrises than he does. The hockey world as a whole, in my opinion, was a few years too slow in recognizing his true greatness, and despite all the awards, accolades, and gushing commentary about him, I still will contend that he is somewhat underrated and will be in the historical long-run. It is highly unlikely I will ever enjoy watching someone play defense as much as I have Nick Lidstrom. Mention Scott Niedermayer in the same sentence, and unless the words ‘couldn’t carry his jockstrap’ are included, I’m likely to end the conversation and dismiss you. So, anyway, the narrative that took hold early this year when the Wings sputtered out of the gate defensively (thanks, Ozzie, for being yourself again) was that this was finally going to be the year when someone would swipe the trophy from #5. And despite the fact that there could be a perfectly legitimate case made for him to win it anyway, I agree that there is a better candidate this season. My fears are growing, however, that the writers will pick the wrong guy.
Barring an obscene lack of good candidates- which this season certainly does not have; “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position” had better be the guy you would have on the ice in the last minute of a game if your team was up OR down a goal. He had better be your top PP and PK guy, or pretty close to it. That guideline may be simplistic, but I think it’s pretty damn accurate. I love pure defensive d-men, and there are a ton of really good ones. However with the way the game is today, a ton of your offense comes from the blueline- in terms of creating a rush, transition, and on setups in the offensive zone. Guys who contribute at a high level in that category have to get preference. So, sorry Willie Mitchell, and Greg Zanon, and Robyn Regher. The reverse is also true. If your contributions are heavily skewed towards the offensive side of things, I don’t care if you control the game like Paul Coffey, I am not going to name you the best defenceman in the league- especially as I said when we are in an age right now where there is no shortage of guys who do both.
Now, Mike Green’s offensive stats are just disgusting. He had one of the most ridiculous offensive seasons we’ve seen in decades. And the way he plays is 100% game-changing. He’s lethal. Also, to be fair, the Caps play a very open, run-and-gun style, so it may be slightly more difficult to see his true defensive prowess.
But you’re not throwing Mike Green out there 30 minutes a game in all situations. He isn’t on your top PK unit. And If you’re up a goal and going the purely shutdown route, he probably isn’t the guy you’re putting up against Jarome Iginla or Evgeni Malkin. It is certainly possible to be elite defensively in other ways, but to me, Green falls short of that level, and its enough to make me quite sure that he isn’t deserving- yet- of the Norris.
The Norris goes to Zdeno Chara, a player who can control a game in every conceivable situation. We’ve long been told that guys play differently when for example, there is or isn’t s a goon on their bench watching after them. Whatever. It is certainly the case that players and entire teams play differently because of Chara. I truly believe that if you took Chara off of Boston, the entire identity of their team as a rugged, chippy, relentless group would go out the window. There is no way to properly assign credit to all of the factors involved- be it coaching, maturation, or whatever else, but look at the seismic shifts/evolutions of many Bruins over Chara’s seasons as their leader. Savard. Kessel. Wideman. Thomas. In my mind you just cant overstate the importance of a guy who plays in all situations, gives you 30 minutes a night, is an absolute rock defensively, is a tremendous leader/example to younger players, and shoots 100mph. Oh yeah, and he will FUCK YOU UP if he so chooses. The Norris top 5 are Chara, Lidstrom, Green, Streit, and Keith. In that order. Because I say so.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Selke
It’s pretty unreasonable to think one can make a judgment on an award like the Selke without seeing every team on a nightly basis. It really can't be determined on stats alone or even on stats + copious Center Ice viewing. Of course, this same reasoning does *not* apply to the Norris, which I am perpetually qualified to award because I am smarter than the voters, and that's just the way it is. Anyway. You really have to care and appreciate solid, if boring, defensive play to get a sense for the skills of guys like Lehtinen, Madden, or Axelsson. I’m sure if I was a fan and 82-game observer of their teams, I could make a nice case for Antti Miettinen or Kamil Kreps or Manny Malhotra….you get the point. So I fully acknowledge that the guys on my list are certainly the sexier, more glamorous choices. It is also worth noting that the star who plays amazing two-way hockey is now becoming a lot more common than it used to be- brutal defensive slackers are becoming the exception now. It doesn’t take much focus to realize that these are fantastic, game-controlling defensive players, but when you do focus on them, the appreciation just grows bigger.
Winner: Pavel Datsyuk. There isn’t too much more to say about this guy at this stage. He is one of the more unique players I’ve seen in some time. Last year was really his overall coming-out party, and this year he has played at a super-high level all season long. His ‘takeaways’ get the most press, but his overall speed, positioning and smarts, ferocity on the backcheck and in the corners, and physical play make him an absolute treat to watch. He could probably win this award any given year for the foreseeable future.
Then again, so could my runner-up, Mike Richards. His candidacy (and possible win) will rest largely on his outstanding stats on the penalty kill (no, I’ll never call it on the shorthand), where he was the top guy on a very dangerous unit. Richards fits the hockey world definition of the elite, two-way, gritty center to absolute perfection.
Coming in third I have Ryan Kesler, who is far less flashy than either Datsyuk or Richards, and falls into the mold of more of a shut-down type player. No one likes playing against Ryan Kesler, and the fact that he can add 58 points to his tick-you-the-hell-off presence is massively important to his team.
Winner: Pavel Datsyuk. There isn’t too much more to say about this guy at this stage. He is one of the more unique players I’ve seen in some time. Last year was really his overall coming-out party, and this year he has played at a super-high level all season long. His ‘takeaways’ get the most press, but his overall speed, positioning and smarts, ferocity on the backcheck and in the corners, and physical play make him an absolute treat to watch. He could probably win this award any given year for the foreseeable future.
Then again, so could my runner-up, Mike Richards. His candidacy (and possible win) will rest largely on his outstanding stats on the penalty kill (no, I’ll never call it on the shorthand), where he was the top guy on a very dangerous unit. Richards fits the hockey world definition of the elite, two-way, gritty center to absolute perfection.
Coming in third I have Ryan Kesler, who is far less flashy than either Datsyuk or Richards, and falls into the mold of more of a shut-down type player. No one likes playing against Ryan Kesler, and the fact that he can add 58 points to his tick-you-the-hell-off presence is massively important to his team.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
QMJHL Arena Review
Colisee Pepsi – Quebec RempartsConvenience/Access – It’s sort of on the outskirts of the city but traffic is not an issue in Quebec. I drove there from my hotel in Vieux Quebec (old Quebec) in like 10 minutes or so. The parking wasn’t free, which was kind annoying to be charged to park for a junior game. They also use a variety of lots and we were in one that was a good walk from the arena. In fact, you couldn’t see the Colisee from where we parked.
Location/Scene – The Colisee sits on some sort of exposition grounds along with some other buildings whose uses I didn’t bother to determine. Imagine the Nassau Coliseum but just on a bigger footprint with some other buildings around. There are no restaurants or bars within walking distance.
Outside Appearance – I believe the building was erected in 1950 but it doesn’t look nearly that old from the outside. The front of the building is mostly glass. I imagine the glass facade was added in a renovation at some point.
Inner Aesthetics – Absolutely awesome. The seats are the colors of Quebec’s old NHL team, the Nordiques. I don’t know if that was on purpose or not but it looks great. The lower seats are red, the middle section is blue and the upper seats are white. The upper levels sweep upwards behind the nets in a way that I’ve never seen anywhere else. These seats are very steep and come equipped with guard rails to keep their occupants from tumbling to a serious injury. The Colisee has a very old school rink feel that you can’t get in very many places anymore.
Concourse – The hallways of the Colisee are very crowded and very quirky. There are parts of the upper level that are wide open but then bottleneck everyone through a single doorway that leads to a narrower area. Weird. If you’re not paying attention you might run over a little kid playing ball hockey between periods. The bathrooms were spacious though and there weren’t lines spilling into the hallway, which was good. I had to miss the first five minutes of the third period in order to make my way through the throngs to see all of the displays on the lower concourse. The lobby was absolute chaos before the game. Will call tickets were distributed not from the ticket windows, but from a table in the middle of the lobby that you couldn’t even see until you got right up to it because of the swarm of people around it. That was confusing and not practical.
Sightlines – Good, unless you sat where I sat, which was under the overhanging upper level. My view of the rink itself was fine, which is the most important thing but I couldn’t see the scoreboard at all. There were monitors on the overhang for us but it was impossible to read the clock on them. Like most old rinks, the seats are very steep.
Concessions – Besides standard arena fare there was the provincial staple poutine and popcorn enhanced with maple syrup. Poutine is a pile of fries covered in gravy and cheese curds.
Fans/Atmosphere – Canada is obviously obsessed with hockey but there are many CHL teams that play before half empty buildings and less than fired up crowds. The Quebec Remparts are not one of them. There were over fifteen thousand fans (just short of a sellout) at the game I attended, game 6 of the Remparts’s second round series with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The crowd was electric from the drop of the puck. Cape Breton had three or four power plays in the first period. The crowd booed the Eagles extra man unit the entire time they had the puck. There were plenty of “Let’s go Remparts” chants, some egged on by a recording, some spontaneous. Most of the crowd wore red, which looked awesome. Like every Canadian NHL arena, everyone was glued to their seat during play. When I was returning to my seat after the third period had started, there was nary a soul in the halls. These people came to watch a hockey game, not eat ice cream and chiens chaud (hot dogs). That goes for the many children at the game too, which tells you something. As for the artificial part of the atmosphere, the music was heavy on techno (no surprise there). Refreshingly, there was no toolbox in-arena host constantly on the scoreboard and no puck shuffle. Again, these people were there for hockey. Props to the Remparts staff for recognizing that.
History/Banners – The ceiling of the Colisee is littered with Quebec hockey history. Where to start? The Quebec Aces were the building’s first tenant and their star Jean Beliveau’s number 9 hangs proudly. There have been two incarnations of the Remparts. The first one was from 1969 to 1985 and the current one that began in 1997. The first team won the Memorial Cup in 1971 with the help of Guy Lafleur, whose number 4 still hangs. The current team won the Memorial Cup in 2006. Their star that year, Alexander Radulov, has his number 22 retired. Simon Gagne’s 12 is also up there. Then there’s the Nordiques of course. Their WHL Avco Cup banner is still there, as are the retired numbers of J-C Tremblay, Marc Tardiff, Peter Stastny, and Michel Goulet. The history in the House That Beliveau Built is palpable and the banners reflect that.
Cool Stuff – The hallway on the lower level bears displays on the Quebec International Pee Wee Tournament, the Memorial Cup teams, former Remparts, the 2008 World Championship that took place there, and Jean Believeau. The only black mark is that the hall displays ignore the Nords.
Bars – The only beer offered is Bud Light. I can’t really say I’m surprised. It’s the lame world we live in now. Canada and Quebec produce plenty of tasty beer but yet the only beer available at this hockey palace is shitty, American, and light. You can get red wine though.
Store – Small, but solid. I got a hooded sweatshirt for $26 CDN. T-shirts, hats, pucks, sticks, car flags, hockey cards, windbreakers are all offered. The staff was very friendly and happy to speak English.
Value – The tickets were $14 but of course needed an extra $4 tacked on each for bogus charges, but that’s just the way it is now. The concessions were reasonably priced, as they should be. It’s a junior hockey game, not the NHL.
Overall – Personally, I was like a kid on Christmas morning in this place. It’s an absolute treat for anyone who’s interested in hockey history and this building holds so much of it. Attending a game with 15,000 enthusiastic Quebeckers was awesome enough and I haven’t even mentioned that Patrick Roy coaches the Remparts, which is very cool. Just considering that players like Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur skated there as teenagers and that players like Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe played there in the WHA and that greats like Stastny and Goulet played there in the 1980’s blows my mind. No building in the NHL today can offer that.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Top 10 Games - E
Listed below are the top ten professional hockey games I've attended. I'm using the same criteria as JP - evaluating the games in their present context. After careful consideration, I picked these games either because of the excitement of the game, the company, or the context in which the game was played - and sometimes all three. I allow myself to cheat by listing two games at the number 10 spot.
#10 (t). Saturday, June 1, 2008 - Chicago Wolves, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2 (Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL) - Game 2, Calder Cup Finals
Minor league baseball games sometimes feel more pure than
professional games. This game was the hockey equivalent. The view from the seats made you feel like you had traveled to the 1960s. The game featured brutal hitting, lots of talking on the ice, and a rowdy, obnoxious crowd that screamed obscenities for the full 60 minutes. Sure, the level of play was significantly lower than in the NHL. (Let's just say that Joel Kwiatkowski won't be playing serious minutes in the Stanely Cup finals anytime soon.) But it's tough to get to the finals in any sport, and this game had all the feel of a championship match.
#10 (t). Saturday, June 13, 1998 - Detroit 2, Washington 1 (Verizon Center) - Game 3, Stanley Cup Finals
Of the games on the list, this one had the fewest interesting moments by far. After the opening introductions, the level of excitement dropped and never returned. But it was a Stanley Cup Finals game, and that alone qualifies it for the 10th spot. President Clinton attended this game - his first hockey game and also the first time a sitting president attended an NHL game while in office. The nation's capital had a buzz about it during the early summer of 1998, and for the first time in my life everyone was talking about hockey. Unfortunately, this game was the penultimate chapter of that wonderful playoff run.
#9. Saturday, March 14, 1998 - Dallas 3, Boston 1 (TD BankNorth Garden)
My first game at a non-Patrick Division stadium. In fact, this was only the second "new" stadium I had visited. Perhaps the seed for attending all 30 NHL arenas was born that day. Anyway, it was also a great game. Brett Hull scored career points 998, 999, and 1000. Sergei Samsonov showed why he was drafted in the first round by Boston, skating circles around players.
#8. Saturday, March 25, 2006 - Washington 3, Carolina 1 (RBC Center)
This was the first time I attended a Caps game outside of DC (not counting the many times I saw them play in an old, ugly stadium in Landover, Maryland). I thought it would be a pretty benign place to watch a game wearing the opposing team's jersey, but I caught a surprising amount of heckling from Carolina fans. The trip was justified, however, because the Caps won an exciting game, Ovechkin scored a goal and an assist, and the Canes won't be winning the Southeast Division anytime soon. I was impressed with Carolina fans - they were surprisingly passionate and knowledgeable fans considering North Carolina's biggest sports draw is NASCAR.
#7. Saturday, Feb. 5, 1994 - Washington 6, Tampa 3 (Capitals Centre)
Peter Bondra scored four goals, including three in first period, and Tampa received a lesson in how to play in the NHL. To this day, this was one of the most memorable games, and one of the most dominating individual performances, I have seen.
#6. Friday, Feb. 3, 2006 - Washington 4, Toronto 1 (Verizon Center)
Alex Ovechkin approached a special level of dominance during this game. He didn't do much on the score sheet, tallying only an assist on the Caps first goal. But he was targeted by the Leafs - and particularly Bryan Berard - the entire game, and he proved that he could stand up to all kinds of harassment. Throw in three quasi-brawls and a very near fight between Olie Kolzig and Ed Belfour and this was one helluva game.
#5. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004 - Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 4 (Wachovia Center)
No special context here, just an awesome game. The Flyers dominated early, scoring three goals on a 5-minute power play in the 1st period. Atlanta made a great comeback, but everyone in the building knew that it would end well for the home team. Simon Gagne won it on a penalty shot with one minute left in the 3rd period.
#4. Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005 - Washington 3, Columbus 2 (Verizon Center)
This was the Caps home opener, and my first game after the lockout, so it was bound to be special. It was also Alex Ovechkin's first game, and he didn't disappoint. Ovechkin excited us from his very first shift, during which he hit an opponent so hard that he dislodged a support beam. He went on to score two goals and almost a third on a breakaway. This game marked the start of something special for the NHL and something transformative for the Caps.
#3. Saturday, March 8, 2008 - Pittsburgh 4, Washington 2 (MCI Center)
I flew from St. Louis to DC to attend this game. The atmosphere at the Verizon Center was electric; even during the Stanley Cup finals it was never like this. The teams played playoff-style hockey for three periods, scoring two goals each. With a minute left overtime seemed like a surefire bet. But Nicklas Backstrom put the puck in his own net, Sidney Crosby got credit for the goal, and the Penguins scored an empty netter to seal the win. Probably the most devastating game I've attended since the lockout.
#2. Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 - Washington 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT) (Wachovia Center)
If this game had been in the playoffs, it would have landed in the top spot. When the ref dropped the puck for the first faceoff, the Capitals had a league-worst record of 6-14-1. This game, Bruce Boudreau's first as coach of the team, sparked them onto an incredible run that would end with them winning the division and fin
ishing third in the conference, only to lose to the Flyers in Game 7 of the first round. This game was all Washington for the first 30 minutes, with the Caps taking a 3-0 lead. The Flyers rallied for two goals in the second period and then future captain Mike Richards tied it with five minutes left in the third, a potentially backbreaking goal that sent the teams to overtime. But the Caps demonstrated an ability to bounce back, a trait Boudreau taught them which led to great success the rest of that season and the next. Three minutes into overtime Ovechkin took the puck up the wing, right in front of our seats, and dished a perfect pass to Nicklas Backstrom, who scored the winner. And so a rivalry was rekindled.
#1. Monday, May 25, 1998 - Washington 3, Buffalo 2 (OT) (Verizon Center) - Game 2, Eastern Conference Finals
Simply the greatest game I have attended, without question. Washington and Buffalo squared off as two strong teams with very distinct styles: Washington had great scoring, strong veterans, and a string of overtime victories; Buffalo had solid defense, hitting, leadership, and - oh yeah - the best goaltender in the world playing at his peak. Buffalo won Game 1 in Washingotn; in Game 2 of this series the teams were still getting to know (and hate) each other. One of the most indelible memories I have is watching Peter Bondra run Dominik Hasek. Hasek responded by throwing his blocker pad at Bondra thirty feet away (and missing). An even better moment happened a few minutes later in overtime. The Caps dumped the puck deep into the Buffalo zone, on what was probably a blown icing call by the referee. Underrated forward Andrei Nikolishin dug the puck out of the corner, passed to the high slot, and Todd Krygier slammed the puck home for the gamewinner. This team was in Hasek's head, and they had that extra spark that you need in the playoffs. Washington would go on to win the series, four games to two, before getting swept in the Stanley Cup Finals.
#10 (t). Saturday, June 1, 2008 - Chicago Wolves, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2 (Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL) - Game 2, Calder Cup Finals
Minor league baseball games sometimes feel more pure than
professional games. This game was the hockey equivalent. The view from the seats made you feel like you had traveled to the 1960s. The game featured brutal hitting, lots of talking on the ice, and a rowdy, obnoxious crowd that screamed obscenities for the full 60 minutes. Sure, the level of play was significantly lower than in the NHL. (Let's just say that Joel Kwiatkowski won't be playing serious minutes in the Stanely Cup finals anytime soon.) But it's tough to get to the finals in any sport, and this game had all the feel of a championship match.#10 (t). Saturday, June 13, 1998 - Detroit 2, Washington 1 (Verizon Center) - Game 3, Stanley Cup Finals
Of the games on the list, this one had the fewest interesting moments by far. After the opening introductions, the level of excitement dropped and never returned. But it was a Stanley Cup Finals game, and that alone qualifies it for the 10th spot. President Clinton attended this game - his first hockey game and also the first time a sitting president attended an NHL game while in office. The nation's capital had a buzz about it during the early summer of 1998, and for the first time in my life everyone was talking about hockey. Unfortunately, this game was the penultimate chapter of that wonderful playoff run.
#9. Saturday, March 14, 1998 - Dallas 3, Boston 1 (TD BankNorth Garden)
My first game at a non-Patrick Division stadium. In fact, this was only the second "new" stadium I had visited. Perhaps the seed for attending all 30 NHL arenas was born that day. Anyway, it was also a great game. Brett Hull scored career points 998, 999, and 1000. Sergei Samsonov showed why he was drafted in the first round by Boston, skating circles around players.
#8. Saturday, March 25, 2006 - Washington 3, Carolina 1 (RBC Center)
This was the first time I attended a Caps game outside of DC (not counting the many times I saw them play in an old, ugly stadium in Landover, Maryland). I thought it would be a pretty benign place to watch a game wearing the opposing team's jersey, but I caught a surprising amount of heckling from Carolina fans. The trip was justified, however, because the Caps won an exciting game, Ovechkin scored a goal and an assist, and the Canes won't be winning the Southeast Division anytime soon. I was impressed with Carolina fans - they were surprisingly passionate and knowledgeable fans considering North Carolina's biggest sports draw is NASCAR.
#7. Saturday, Feb. 5, 1994 - Washington 6, Tampa 3 (Capitals Centre)
Peter Bondra scored four goals, including three in first period, and Tampa received a lesson in how to play in the NHL. To this day, this was one of the most memorable games, and one of the most dominating individual performances, I have seen.
#6. Friday, Feb. 3, 2006 - Washington 4, Toronto 1 (Verizon Center)
Alex Ovechkin approached a special level of dominance during this game. He didn't do much on the score sheet, tallying only an assist on the Caps first goal. But he was targeted by the Leafs - and particularly Bryan Berard - the entire game, and he proved that he could stand up to all kinds of harassment. Throw in three quasi-brawls and a very near fight between Olie Kolzig and Ed Belfour and this was one helluva game.
#5. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004 - Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 4 (Wachovia Center)
No special context here, just an awesome game. The Flyers dominated early, scoring three goals on a 5-minute power play in the 1st period. Atlanta made a great comeback, but everyone in the building knew that it would end well for the home team. Simon Gagne won it on a penalty shot with one minute left in the 3rd period.
#4. Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005 - Washington 3, Columbus 2 (Verizon Center)
This was the Caps home opener, and my first game after the lockout, so it was bound to be special. It was also Alex Ovechkin's first game, and he didn't disappoint. Ovechkin excited us from his very first shift, during which he hit an opponent so hard that he dislodged a support beam. He went on to score two goals and almost a third on a breakaway. This game marked the start of something special for the NHL and something transformative for the Caps.
#3. Saturday, March 8, 2008 - Pittsburgh 4, Washington 2 (MCI Center)
I flew from St. Louis to DC to attend this game. The atmosphere at the Verizon Center was electric; even during the Stanley Cup finals it was never like this. The teams played playoff-style hockey for three periods, scoring two goals each. With a minute left overtime seemed like a surefire bet. But Nicklas Backstrom put the puck in his own net, Sidney Crosby got credit for the goal, and the Penguins scored an empty netter to seal the win. Probably the most devastating game I've attended since the lockout.
#2. Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 - Washington 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT) (Wachovia Center)
If this game had been in the playoffs, it would have landed in the top spot. When the ref dropped the puck for the first faceoff, the Capitals had a league-worst record of 6-14-1. This game, Bruce Boudreau's first as coach of the team, sparked them onto an incredible run that would end with them winning the division and fin
ishing third in the conference, only to lose to the Flyers in Game 7 of the first round. This game was all Washington for the first 30 minutes, with the Caps taking a 3-0 lead. The Flyers rallied for two goals in the second period and then future captain Mike Richards tied it with five minutes left in the third, a potentially backbreaking goal that sent the teams to overtime. But the Caps demonstrated an ability to bounce back, a trait Boudreau taught them which led to great success the rest of that season and the next. Three minutes into overtime Ovechkin took the puck up the wing, right in front of our seats, and dished a perfect pass to Nicklas Backstrom, who scored the winner. And so a rivalry was rekindled.#1. Monday, May 25, 1998 - Washington 3, Buffalo 2 (OT) (Verizon Center) - Game 2, Eastern Conference Finals
Simply the greatest game I have attended, without question. Washington and Buffalo squared off as two strong teams with very distinct styles: Washington had great scoring, strong veterans, and a string of overtime victories; Buffalo had solid defense, hitting, leadership, and - oh yeah - the best goaltender in the world playing at his peak. Buffalo won Game 1 in Washingotn; in Game 2 of this series the teams were still getting to know (and hate) each other. One of the most indelible memories I have is watching Peter Bondra run Dominik Hasek. Hasek responded by throwing his blocker pad at Bondra thirty feet away (and missing). An even better moment happened a few minutes later in overtime. The Caps dumped the puck deep into the Buffalo zone, on what was probably a blown icing call by the referee. Underrated forward Andrei Nikolishin dug the puck out of the corner, passed to the high slot, and Todd Krygier slammed the puck home for the gamewinner. This team was in Hasek's head, and they had that extra spark that you need in the playoffs. Washington would go on to win the series, four games to two, before getting swept in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Top 10 Games - J
My criteria for these rankings are fairly simple. Simply, the best 10 hockey games that I have attended. I am basing these on the quality and experience of the game when it happened- I am not including games that in retrospect qualify as momentous due to a milestone, retirement ceremony, or event that I was too young to remember. In short- has I attended a game like Wayne Gretzky's last one, it would have qualified, but a game that sucked or was unremarkable but happened to come after Mike Richter's banner-raising does not. Onwards.
#10. Feb 11, 2007 – Colorado @ Dallas
A 7-5 shootout seen from great seat, and in Texas. Both goaltenders pulled. That’s good enough to qualify for #10 on this list.
#9. April 3, 2007 – Rangers @ Islanders
To set the stage: as always, a half-Ranger fan crowd (but not a sellout). The Rangers need 2 points to clinch a playoff spot- and in doing so would eliminate the Islanders, who were long shots at best to make a late run to the postseason. Only a full 2 points would keep NYI alive- they had to win out and get a ton of help in their final 5 games to make it. Complete afterthought backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz is in nets. Isles take a 2-0 lead, slightly easing some nerves, but then cough it up brutally, and NYR tie it. Game goes to OT, Isles survive a penalty kill and force the shootout. Now, Henrik Lundqvist was and is the most successful- by a fair margin- shootout goalie in the league. And we have Dubie. But Dubie manages to stone Nylander, Shanahan, and, on a gorgeous save, Jagr, to give NYI the win and prolong their season- which ultimately did indeed continue into the postseason. The legend of Dubi was born.
#8. Jan 30, 2007 – Detroit @ Islanders
Detroit’s first trip to NVMC in 5 years (another memorable game which I attended). Arena nowhere near full. Fast, well-played game. Isles look terrific, going up 3-0 heading into the third. Hasek in net, looked bad. Wings come back to win 4-3 in overtime, with Lidstrom (my all-time favorite player) setting up the final 3 with gorgeous, gorgeous assists. Zetterberg with the winner.
#7. Oct 12, 2006 – Pittsburgh @ Rangers
6-5 thriller, with some suspect goaltending and Crosby stealing the show with 3 assists, and a jaw-dropping game-winning goal with 3 seconds left in regulation.
#6. Dec 9, 2005 – Detroit @ Washington
An early game in the newfound NHL arena quest, which is important in itself. My first NHL game with Eric. A good, intense game that I will always remember so vividly because it was my personal, “holy shit this #8 is outrageous” game. 4-3 win by Detroit, who were excellent, but Ovechkin was all over the ice, playing exactly the type of game which has made him what he is. I will never forget his complete pasting of Lilja in open ice.
#5. Jan 4, 2009 – Hannover @ Berlin
There’s no way my first and only European league game isn’t getting on here. While I was pretty prepared for the overall atmosphere since I follow the European sport culture more than many might, it was still a completely different, intriguing and unique hockey-watching experience. And a 5-2 good game, too.
#4. May 27, 2006 – Edmonton @ Anaheim
It was obviously just cool to be at the deciding game of the Western Conference Finals, but this game was very well-played and there was a terrific vibe/tension in the arena throughout. Roloson and Pronger were outstanding.
#3. Apr 14, 2003 – Ottawa @ Islanders
My first playoff game, as absurd as that is to contemplate. In what would become a trend, the Isles come home with the series tied 1-1 against a heavily favored, #1 seed opponent. A great game that goes to double OT, with Todd White scoring a goal (after a fluke deflection off a linseman in the neutral zone) directly in front of my seats, the image of with will be with me for a long time. An absolute crusher.
#2. Nov 3, 2005 – Pittsburgh @ Islanders
My first time seeing Crosby live (and just his 13th game), but that doesn’t put it on the list. He had 2 goals and an assist (his first multi-goal game), but that’s not it either. The lasting memory from this game was sitting with my dad, in our great seats, watching Mario Lemieux collect 3 ridiculous assists, and just shaking our heads watching 2 guys, one age 40 and one age 18, at totally disparate stages of their careers, that just oozed talent above and beyond anyone else on the ice. 5-1 Pit.
#1. Aug 31, 2004 – USA @ Canada
The 2-1 Canada final was probably a bit flattering to the USA. It wasn’t that close. I wasn't planning on having this be number one. But more than anything, this is a list of hockey games, and I'm a lover of the sport. And so beyond the phenomenal atmosphere, beyond the coolness of the effort we put in to be there, beyond being in Montreal and able to watch it with my dad, and beyond being able to partake in what is a rivalry that means a hell of a lot to me, is the simple fact that this game was played at such a high level, it was really breathtaking. The talent and the effort and the overall entertainment value of the hockey game was absolutely unparalleled in my experience.
#10. Feb 11, 2007 – Colorado @ Dallas
A 7-5 shootout seen from great seat, and in Texas. Both goaltenders pulled. That’s good enough to qualify for #10 on this list.
#9. April 3, 2007 – Rangers @ Islanders
To set the stage: as always, a half-Ranger fan crowd (but not a sellout). The Rangers need 2 points to clinch a playoff spot- and in doing so would eliminate the Islanders, who were long shots at best to make a late run to the postseason. Only a full 2 points would keep NYI alive- they had to win out and get a ton of help in their final 5 games to make it. Complete afterthought backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz is in nets. Isles take a 2-0 lead, slightly easing some nerves, but then cough it up brutally, and NYR tie it. Game goes to OT, Isles survive a penalty kill and force the shootout. Now, Henrik Lundqvist was and is the most successful- by a fair margin- shootout goalie in the league. And we have Dubie. But Dubie manages to stone Nylander, Shanahan, and, on a gorgeous save, Jagr, to give NYI the win and prolong their season- which ultimately did indeed continue into the postseason. The legend of Dubi was born.
#8. Jan 30, 2007 – Detroit @ Islanders
Detroit’s first trip to NVMC in 5 years (another memorable game which I attended). Arena nowhere near full. Fast, well-played game. Isles look terrific, going up 3-0 heading into the third. Hasek in net, looked bad. Wings come back to win 4-3 in overtime, with Lidstrom (my all-time favorite player) setting up the final 3 with gorgeous, gorgeous assists. Zetterberg with the winner.
#7. Oct 12, 2006 – Pittsburgh @ Rangers
6-5 thriller, with some suspect goaltending and Crosby stealing the show with 3 assists, and a jaw-dropping game-winning goal with 3 seconds left in regulation.
#6. Dec 9, 2005 – Detroit @ Washington
An early game in the newfound NHL arena quest, which is important in itself. My first NHL game with Eric. A good, intense game that I will always remember so vividly because it was my personal, “holy shit this #8 is outrageous” game. 4-3 win by Detroit, who were excellent, but Ovechkin was all over the ice, playing exactly the type of game which has made him what he is. I will never forget his complete pasting of Lilja in open ice.
#5. Jan 4, 2009 – Hannover @ Berlin
There’s no way my first and only European league game isn’t getting on here. While I was pretty prepared for the overall atmosphere since I follow the European sport culture more than many might, it was still a completely different, intriguing and unique hockey-watching experience. And a 5-2 good game, too.
#4. May 27, 2006 – Edmonton @ Anaheim
It was obviously just cool to be at the deciding game of the Western Conference Finals, but this game was very well-played and there was a terrific vibe/tension in the arena throughout. Roloson and Pronger were outstanding.
#3. Apr 14, 2003 – Ottawa @ Islanders
My first playoff game, as absurd as that is to contemplate. In what would become a trend, the Isles come home with the series tied 1-1 against a heavily favored, #1 seed opponent. A great game that goes to double OT, with Todd White scoring a goal (after a fluke deflection off a linseman in the neutral zone) directly in front of my seats, the image of with will be with me for a long time. An absolute crusher.
#2. Nov 3, 2005 – Pittsburgh @ Islanders
My first time seeing Crosby live (and just his 13th game), but that doesn’t put it on the list. He had 2 goals and an assist (his first multi-goal game), but that’s not it either. The lasting memory from this game was sitting with my dad, in our great seats, watching Mario Lemieux collect 3 ridiculous assists, and just shaking our heads watching 2 guys, one age 40 and one age 18, at totally disparate stages of their careers, that just oozed talent above and beyond anyone else on the ice. 5-1 Pit.
#1. Aug 31, 2004 – USA @ Canada
The 2-1 Canada final was probably a bit flattering to the USA. It wasn’t that close. I wasn't planning on having this be number one. But more than anything, this is a list of hockey games, and I'm a lover of the sport. And so beyond the phenomenal atmosphere, beyond the coolness of the effort we put in to be there, beyond being in Montreal and able to watch it with my dad, and beyond being able to partake in what is a rivalry that means a hell of a lot to me, is the simple fact that this game was played at such a high level, it was really breathtaking. The talent and the effort and the overall entertainment value of the hockey game was absolutely unparalleled in my experience.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
#7
TD BankNorth Garden – Boston Bruins
Convenience/Access – Right on top of the main train station and some subway lines. Directly off of the highway. About as good as it gets.
Location/Scene – The location is fine, although a tiny notch below the gold standard of NY/WAS. There is plenty of activity around the Garden although it is in the city of Boston, which detracts points. No one ever said we were unbiased.
Outside Appearance – A huge square box with a slightly cool curved roof atop it. Its relatively unique looking, which is good.
Inner Aesthetics – If you cant tell by now, we love color-matching seats. Especially when you have distinctive colors like black and yellow, and when those colors win out over an equally historic NBA co-tenant’s, extra points. But the view of this rink from your seat is terrific. Beyond the yellow, the setup is good, the boxes are unobtrusive, the LED boards aren’t out-of-hand, and the ceiling is low.
Concourse – Compared to some other cookie-cutter rinks, the concourse here feels small, and somewhat sparse. Totally uninteresting one way or the other.
Sightlines – Good. We sat in the last row of the place in the corner, and we loved the view. The rink feels small and steep.
Concessions – This is another rink that fell very early on the trip, before we would make it a point to scour the entire rink for its food offerings. We did enjoy the decent prices and plentiful dunkin donuts stands.
Fans/Atmosphere – Again- our game was during the very lean years for the Bruins. The crowd was small and provided zero intimidation for the plentiful Isles fans there. Now it has obviously turned around 180 degrees, however we will note that even during the game we were at, we noted that with a good team, the TDBNG had the potential to be a sick scene. Boston’s a good sports city, what can we say.
History/Banners – Fan-fucking-tastic. Awesomely displayed, tasteful, and as unique as we’ve seen (the circular B logo, ful-name ones for the bruins, the very small, checkerboard ones for the Celts. There were statues of past greats around the arena. Tons of points here.
Cool Stuff – Of all the things it has going for it, this category isn’t one of them.
Bars – Or this one.
Store – A very good store with good prices. One of the first places we saw to carry non-superstar name and number shirts. Random note: many years ago during a visit here, JP bought a small box of ground up parquet floor from the old Garden. I think I lost it.
Value – No good at all on the tickets. For the state of the team at the time, we should not have spent 50 bucks on the worst seats in the house for a Bruins Isles game. The concessions and store were slightly better than we expected.
Overall – This rink tops the list of ones that we want to return to. Mostly because we have a feeling it may rank even higher when we do. This place dhas a ton of the things we all like in a rink, and hardly any of what we don’t. Even situated in this b.s. city, we all give TDBNG high marks, with the footnote that they may even be too low.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
#11
Madison Square Garden - New York Rangers
Convenience/Access - Couldn't be better. Located on top of Pennsylvania
Station, North America's busiest train station, MSG is easily accessible
from just about anywhere in the tri-state area. There are over priced
parking garages in the vicinity but there is absolutely no need to drive to
attend a Rangers game, no matter where one is coming from.
Location/Scene - We're talking about the heart of New York City here.
Bars, restaurants and nearly everything else abound.
Outside Appearance - Unique for an arena in that it is round. There are
only windows on the four elevator columns. An arena amongst the urban jungle
of Midtown Manhattan looks pretty cool.
Inner Aesthetics - MSG sports a very unique interior look. The ceiling in
particular, has an interesting spoked wheel look to it, reminding you that
you're in a round building. The seats are very ugly. Prior to a 1991
renovation the Garden's seats were referred to by their color. The reds were
the two digit sections, the oranges were the 100's, the yellows were the
200's, the greens were the 300's, and the blues were the 400's. Since the
renovations the two digit sections are purple, while the rest of the
building's seats are teal. The seats are neither the colors of any team that
calls the arena home nor the most intimidating hues.
Concourse - The hallways of the Garden are small. Some are more narrow
than others. If they pass fire code it must be by the slimmest of margins.
There are very few areas to eat your food if you don't want to eat in your
cramped seats.
Sightlines - The self-proclaimed "World's Most Famous Arena" has the worst
sightlines we've seen. Many older buildings offer a steep set of seats that
often gives the feel of being on top of the play. The Garden couldn't be
more different. The slope of the seats is very gradual. By the time you get
to the 400's you are quite a ways away from the playing surface. There are
two inner walkways, which are great in that you can keep your eyes on the
game while walking to your seat, but you're also blocking the view of others
while doing so. If you're sitting in the front row of the 100's or 300's
you'll have fans and vendors walking in front of you all night. Also the
angles of the seats in relation to the rink are awful. 95% of the building
can't see a thing in the corner nearest to them. The seats are also small
and offer little leg room.
Bathrooms - MSG's bathrooms are small and many are weirdly arranged. When
approaching some Garden lavatories one notices there are two ways into the
space, neither of which are labeled. Many assume that one side is for
entering and the other for exiting. But if you enter the side that appears
to be the exit way you'll find stalls and urinals that are on a different
side from the rest of the bathroom that none of the people going through the
"enter" side are spilling into. Many people are miffed to see people
seemingly cut the line to enter what looks like the exit. These people are
merely going to the lightly used side of the bathroom. It is a very poor set
up. Also, the bathrooms begin the game clean and well prepared but fall into
disarray quickly.
Concessions - The Garden's food is great if you like soggy knishes or half
cooked pretzels. The food options at MSG are scarce and not so healthy. All
of the common fare is offered: pizza, hot dogs, burgers, chicken fingers,
pretzels, peanuts, etc. You'd think maybe a New York arena would sell good
pizza given that the area flaunts its ability to produce superior pizza.
Nope. They sell La Famiglia, a terrible chain pizza.
Fans/Atmosphere - This is hit or miss. Some nights you'd swear the Garden
is the most rocking building in the league and others it's a library. The
game presentation has suffered over the past few years. Probably the best
example of this is a "fan" known as Dancing Grandma. Dancing Grandma is an
elderly woman who dances to a particular song that is often played during
the third period. She is put up on Gardenvision (fancy name for the
scoreboard video monitors) during this. She is so obviously a planted fake
fan it is sickening. The atmosphere has also suffered over the last decade
or so as a result of so many seats being owned by corporations. Many of the
premium seats visible on TV are often unoccupied. Too many people using
those seats show up late and leave early. Many games are listed as sellouts
because all 18,200 seats are sold. That doesn't mean they're all in use.
History/Banners - The Rangers don't have the most decorated history if you
only measure history in winning. They only have four Stanley Cups to show
for their 81 years in the NHL. That said, walking through MSG doesn't inform
one in the least about the eight decades of New York Rangers hockey. This
is a shame. The retired number banners are tasteful, besides the arch on
some of the players' names not being true to the arch as it is on Ranger
jerseys.
Cool Stuff - There isn't any.
Bars - There are a few bars but they don't match up with the bars in many
of the newer buildings. They're hardly the only ones to do it but MSG
servers measure out their liquor, ensuring you get an exact, miniscule shot
for your $9. The beer selection isn't great but a few choices are offered.
Store - Possibly the worst in the league. The stores are small and very
cramped and don't offer much. The player t-shirt selection is awful.
Cosby's, a private store located outside the main entrance to the building
is well stocked, but very expensive.
Value - When the Blueshirts failed to qualify for the playoffs for the
sixth year in a row in 2002-03, MSG chairman Jim Dolan promised a 10% drop
in ticket prices if they didn't end that streak the next year. They didn't
so prices were dropped coming out of the lockout in 2005-06. The team has
made the playoffs every year since though and things have been looking up.
The prices have gone up considerably since.
Overall - JP and CC have been to many, many games here so we have a
soft spot for it. I (cc) especially do being that I'm a Ranger fan. MSG
definitely has charm and plenty of character. It manages to feel cozy
despite the slope of the seats. In a tough-to-describe way, it definitely
feels different in every way from any other building we've been to in the
NHL. That said, it needs to and probably will be updated or replaced in the
near future.
#10
Bank Atlantic Center – Florida Panthers
Convenience/Access – Get in your car and drive to Sunrise for the treat of watching the Cats. Apparently only the Heat are worthy of Miami proper.
Location/Scene – There is clearly no room on South Beach, but somewhere a bit more connected to the nightlife and social scene down here would undoubtedly help. There is no scene that we saw in Sunrise, besides at the tiki/margarita bar that we ate at a few hundred yards from the parking lot. There are probably some good reasons to have the rink out here, more central to other areas than all the way south, but these are our rankings and we like rinks in cities.
Outside Appearance – Chock up another newish, glass and white concrete structure to the NHL landscape. Nice, but nothing otherworldly. Some funky Miami art deco architecture would have been cool.
Inner Aesthetics – More blandness. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t memorable or good. The seats are green, which is nothing if not different. The scoreboard and outer LED boards are on the hard to read side.
Concourse - Best feature of the arena, by far. One of the higher scores in any given category of any rink, actually. The inside of this place is clean, interesting, unique, and screams Miami. Among the highlights: CARPETING, curtains, salsa dancers, lots of neon. Our game was actually the highest-attended game in Panthers history, and the concourses were not suffocating.
Sightlines – Good. Our club level seats were excellent and while there are steeper setups, this place certainly affords pretty good views. To our discredit, we did not check out the upper level sets in any detail.
Concessions – Like all good newer rinks, you can get anything you want here. We don’t recall anything amazing us or jumping out as especially interesting, but the lines weren’t long and there were plenty of stands.
Fans/Atmosphere – We got a sweet game- Montreal and all of their snowbird fans in town on the day before New Years’ Eve. Made for a crowd vibe but we really cant give any credit here, because we all know that the usual scene is way worse, and even with the charged crowd, the overall atmosphere was bland anyway. The continued “tradition” of the “Panthers….Goal” fan response is cool.
History/Banners – The few actual accomplishment-related banners were fine. There were the obligatory, cheap and unnecessary banners of all 30 nhl teams, but there wasn’t any #1 fan or such nonsense. A push, we say.
Cool Stuff – For a team with very little history, the panthers acknowledge and display their tradition well. Lots of homages to the 96 team, rat displays, etc. The large banners proclaiming the various skill-sets of current panthers (our favorite: Mike Van Ryn – KNOWLEDGE, is above) were a riot.
Bars – At least 2 big, non-generic bars on the main level- one of which was a cool vodka/ice bar type thing. We partook.
Store – Great selection, albeit light on jerseys and player shirts that we noticed. High prices.
Value – Very good, at least for the club seats. This team needs cheap tickets.
Overall – A really clean and attractive arena with a very bland seating bowl and no atmosphere in or around the rink to speak of. Another rink whose ranking is influenced heavily by one “outlier” ranking (EP’s).
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
USA disappoints in WJC...again.
It’s the holidays, so here’s my analysis of USA Hockey’s latest flop at the World Junior Championship.
First off, let me state that I realize it's weird that my allegiance to my pro team (the New York Rangers) is equal to my allegiance to my country’s teams in the sport I love. This is common in other countries but not so much here.
So, much to my chagrin, the US finished fifth this year. Just about their customary spot. Since winning their first WJC gold medal in 2004, the US has snagged one lonely bronze. It is completely unacceptable to have nothing to show for the last five tournaments except one bronze medal. It’s beyond a shame.
Now, I can’t get in the heads of the kids who’ve suited up for us in recent years, nor can I get in the heads of the coaches, but it just seems to me that no one cares about this tournament. This blows my mind. When they see the excitement it generates in Canada, how can they not have a burning desire to win the thing? How can they not want to rain on Canada’s parade? Many of these kids are junior or college teammates or have been with some of the Canadian players. How can they not have a strong desire to beat them? Have they no pride? Russia loses their semifinal to Canada and Nikita Filatov looks like he wants to jump off a bridge. The Canadians would have been in tears if they had lost on home ice. I don’t recall any Americans taking any of these bad showings over the last five years to heart.
If we were choosing teams from a shallow talent pool, or if we were simply without the talent to compete, I might be able to understand the apathy shown toward this event. Even though we don’t have Canada's depth of talent, our top players equal theirs.
I’m not suggesting President-elect Obama call together a summit on the state of American hockey like Canadians might ask of their leaders after results like these, but USA Hockey needs a complete overhaul. The leadership is rotten and crooked. But, the same old problem persists: no one notices. No one cares.
There are rinks in Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, and other warm weather states. This is viewed as great progress for our game in this country, and it is. I just think the game would be better off if those same rinks could display posters of players like James vanRiemsdyk and Colin Wilson wearing gold medals around their necks. A kid in Atlanta who learns of us winning a tournament might think it is worthwhile to play hockey over another sport.
We have made some progress. We’ve done well in the World Under 18 Championships. There are far fewer foreigners on American college rosters than ever before. I don’t say that because I don’t want Canadians or Europeans coming to our schools. I just think it’s awesome that there are enough Americans to fill most of our rosters. Ten or twenty years ago, the Canadian major junior castoff or academic-minded player who was starting to think about playing in the NCAA didn’t have to worry about a player from Texas or California taking his spot. Now he does and I think that’s great. But somehow we fail so spectacularly in the most prestigious tournament for young players.
Some things to consider:
World Junior Championship medals since 2005
Canada – 5 (5 gold)
Russia - 5 (3 silver, 2 bronze)
Sweden – 2 (2 silver)
Czech Republic – 1 (1 bronze)
Finland – 1 (1 bronze)
United States – 1 (1 bronze)
First round NHL draft picks who’ve played in WJC since 2005
Canada – 47
Unites States – 30
Czech Republic – 9
Russia – 7
Sweden – 7
Slovakia – 4
Denmark – 2
Belarus – 1
Switzerland - 1
A little intense, but here’s the entire list of those players. I had to put it together to arrive at those numbers, so why not look at it?
Canada - 47
2003
Braydon Coburn, 8th
Dion Phaneuf, 9th
Jeff Carter, 11th
Brent Seabrook, 14th
Ryan Getzlaf, 19th
Mike Richards, 24th
Anthony Stewart, 25th
Corey Perry, 28th
Shawn Belle, 30th
2004
Cam Barker, 3rd
Andrew Ladd, 4th
Devan Dubnyk, 14th
Kyle Chipchura, 18th
2005
Sidney Crosby, 1st
Benoit Pouliot, 4th
Carey Price, 5th
Luc Bourdon, 10th
Marc Staal, 12th
Sasha Pokulok, 14th
Ryan O’Marra, 15th
Ryan Parent, 18th
Kenndal McArdle, 20th
Andrew Cogliano, 25th
Steve Downie, 29th
2006
Jonathan Toews, 3rd
Jonathan Bernier, 11th
Bryan Little, 12th
Claude Giroux, 22nd
Leland Irving, 26th
2007
Kyle Turris, 3rd
Thomas Hickey, 4th
Karl Alzner, 5th
Sam Gagner, 6th
Brandon Sutter, 11th
Colton Gillies, 16th
Angelo Esposito, 20th
2008
Steven Stamkos, 1st
Drew Doughty, 2nd
Alex Pietrangelo, 4th
Luke Schenn, 5th
Cody Hodgson, 10th
Tyler Myers, 12th
Colton Teubert, 13th
Zach Boychuk, 14th
Chet Pickard, 18th
Jordan Eberle, 22nd
Tyler Ennis, 26th
United States - 30
2003
Ryan Suter, 7th
2004
Blake Wheeler, 5th
Al Montoya, 6th
Drew Stafford, 13th
Rob Schremp, 25th
Cory Schneider, 26th
2005
Bobby Ryan, 2nd
Jack Johnson, 3rd
Jack Skille, 7th
Brian Lee, 9th
T.J. Oshie, 24th
Matt Niskanen, 28th
2006
Erik Johnson, 1st
Phil Kessel, 5th
Kyle Okposo, 7th
Peter Mueller, 8th
Trevor Lewis, 17th
Mark Mitera, 19th
Bobby Sanguinetti, 21st
Chris Summers, 29th
2007
Patrick Kane, 1st
James vanRiemsdyk, 2nd
Ryan McDonagh, 12th
Kevin Shattenkirk, 14th
Ian Cole, 18th
Max Pacioretty, 22nd
Jonathan Blum, 23rd
Jim O'Brien, 29th
2008
Colin Wilson, 7th
Thomas McCollum, 30th
Czech Republic - 9
2004
Rostislav Olesz, 7th
Ladislav Smid, 9th
Marek Schwarz, 17th
Lukas Kaspar, 22nd
2005
Martin Hanzel, 17th
Jakub Kindl, 19th
2006
Michael Frolik, 10th
Jiri Tlusty, 13th
2007
Jakub Voracek, 7th
Russia - 7
2004
Alexander Ovechkin, 1st
Evgeni Malkin, 2nd
Alexander Radulov, 15th
2006
Semen Varlamov, 23rd
2007
Alexei Cherepanov, 17th
2008
Nikita Filatov, 6th
Viktor Tikhonov, 28th
Sweden - 7
2003
Robert Nilsson, 15th
2005
Nicklas Bergfors, 23rd
2006
Nicklas Backstrom, 4th
Patrik Berglund, 25th
2007
Mikael Backlund, 24th
2008
Erik Karlsson, 15th
Mattias Tedenby, 24th
Finland - 5
2004
Lauri Tukonen, 11th
Petteri Nokelainen, 16th
Lauri Korpikoski, 19th
2005
Tuukka Rask, 21st
2006
Riku Helenius, 15th
Slovakia - 4
2004
Boris Valabik, 10th
Andrej Meszaros, 23rd
2005
Marek Zagrapan, 13th
Vladimir Mihalik, 30th
Denmark - 2
2007
Lars Eller, 13th
2008
Mikkel Boedker, 8th
Belarus - 1
2003
Andrei Kostitsyn, 10th
Switzerland - 1
2008
Luca Sbisa, 19th
Of course, having players of great repute doesn’t guarantee success on the ice. And of course, Russia would surely have had more players chosen higher in the draft had the relations between the NHL and Russia not grown so frosty. Still, to have had three more first round picks play for us in the last five years than the Czechs, Russians, Swedes, and Slovaks combined and yet to have only one medal to show for it…I sound like a broken record.
Anyway, in thirty-three years of competing in the WJC, the US has won five medals. Five medals in thirty-three years.
Ron DeGregorio, Walter Bush, Jim Johannson, David Ogrean, Scott Sandelin, Walt Kyle, Ron Rolston, John Hynes, and whoever else who has or has had any power whatsoever at USA Hockey, I ask you...What the fuck?
First off, let me state that I realize it's weird that my allegiance to my pro team (the New York Rangers) is equal to my allegiance to my country’s teams in the sport I love. This is common in other countries but not so much here.
So, much to my chagrin, the US finished fifth this year. Just about their customary spot. Since winning their first WJC gold medal in 2004, the US has snagged one lonely bronze. It is completely unacceptable to have nothing to show for the last five tournaments except one bronze medal. It’s beyond a shame.
Now, I can’t get in the heads of the kids who’ve suited up for us in recent years, nor can I get in the heads of the coaches, but it just seems to me that no one cares about this tournament. This blows my mind. When they see the excitement it generates in Canada, how can they not have a burning desire to win the thing? How can they not want to rain on Canada’s parade? Many of these kids are junior or college teammates or have been with some of the Canadian players. How can they not have a strong desire to beat them? Have they no pride? Russia loses their semifinal to Canada and Nikita Filatov looks like he wants to jump off a bridge. The Canadians would have been in tears if they had lost on home ice. I don’t recall any Americans taking any of these bad showings over the last five years to heart.
If we were choosing teams from a shallow talent pool, or if we were simply without the talent to compete, I might be able to understand the apathy shown toward this event. Even though we don’t have Canada's depth of talent, our top players equal theirs.
I’m not suggesting President-elect Obama call together a summit on the state of American hockey like Canadians might ask of their leaders after results like these, but USA Hockey needs a complete overhaul. The leadership is rotten and crooked. But, the same old problem persists: no one notices. No one cares.
There are rinks in Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, and other warm weather states. This is viewed as great progress for our game in this country, and it is. I just think the game would be better off if those same rinks could display posters of players like James vanRiemsdyk and Colin Wilson wearing gold medals around their necks. A kid in Atlanta who learns of us winning a tournament might think it is worthwhile to play hockey over another sport.
We have made some progress. We’ve done well in the World Under 18 Championships. There are far fewer foreigners on American college rosters than ever before. I don’t say that because I don’t want Canadians or Europeans coming to our schools. I just think it’s awesome that there are enough Americans to fill most of our rosters. Ten or twenty years ago, the Canadian major junior castoff or academic-minded player who was starting to think about playing in the NCAA didn’t have to worry about a player from Texas or California taking his spot. Now he does and I think that’s great. But somehow we fail so spectacularly in the most prestigious tournament for young players.
Some things to consider:
World Junior Championship medals since 2005
Canada – 5 (5 gold)
Russia - 5 (3 silver, 2 bronze)
Sweden – 2 (2 silver)
Czech Republic – 1 (1 bronze)
Finland – 1 (1 bronze)
United States – 1 (1 bronze)
First round NHL draft picks who’ve played in WJC since 2005
Canada – 47
Unites States – 30
Czech Republic – 9
Russia – 7
Sweden – 7
Slovakia – 4
Denmark – 2
Belarus – 1
Switzerland - 1
A little intense, but here’s the entire list of those players. I had to put it together to arrive at those numbers, so why not look at it?
Canada - 47
2003
Braydon Coburn, 8th
Dion Phaneuf, 9th
Jeff Carter, 11th
Brent Seabrook, 14th
Ryan Getzlaf, 19th
Mike Richards, 24th
Anthony Stewart, 25th
Corey Perry, 28th
Shawn Belle, 30th
2004
Cam Barker, 3rd
Andrew Ladd, 4th
Devan Dubnyk, 14th
Kyle Chipchura, 18th
2005
Sidney Crosby, 1st
Benoit Pouliot, 4th
Carey Price, 5th
Luc Bourdon, 10th
Marc Staal, 12th
Sasha Pokulok, 14th
Ryan O’Marra, 15th
Ryan Parent, 18th
Kenndal McArdle, 20th
Andrew Cogliano, 25th
Steve Downie, 29th
2006
Jonathan Toews, 3rd
Jonathan Bernier, 11th
Bryan Little, 12th
Claude Giroux, 22nd
Leland Irving, 26th
2007
Kyle Turris, 3rd
Thomas Hickey, 4th
Karl Alzner, 5th
Sam Gagner, 6th
Brandon Sutter, 11th
Colton Gillies, 16th
Angelo Esposito, 20th
2008
Steven Stamkos, 1st
Drew Doughty, 2nd
Alex Pietrangelo, 4th
Luke Schenn, 5th
Cody Hodgson, 10th
Tyler Myers, 12th
Colton Teubert, 13th
Zach Boychuk, 14th
Chet Pickard, 18th
Jordan Eberle, 22nd
Tyler Ennis, 26th
United States - 30
2003
Ryan Suter, 7th
2004
Blake Wheeler, 5th
Al Montoya, 6th
Drew Stafford, 13th
Rob Schremp, 25th
Cory Schneider, 26th
2005
Bobby Ryan, 2nd
Jack Johnson, 3rd
Jack Skille, 7th
Brian Lee, 9th
T.J. Oshie, 24th
Matt Niskanen, 28th
2006
Erik Johnson, 1st
Phil Kessel, 5th
Kyle Okposo, 7th
Peter Mueller, 8th
Trevor Lewis, 17th
Mark Mitera, 19th
Bobby Sanguinetti, 21st
Chris Summers, 29th
2007
Patrick Kane, 1st
James vanRiemsdyk, 2nd
Ryan McDonagh, 12th
Kevin Shattenkirk, 14th
Ian Cole, 18th
Max Pacioretty, 22nd
Jonathan Blum, 23rd
Jim O'Brien, 29th
2008
Colin Wilson, 7th
Thomas McCollum, 30th
Czech Republic - 9
2004
Rostislav Olesz, 7th
Ladislav Smid, 9th
Marek Schwarz, 17th
Lukas Kaspar, 22nd
2005
Martin Hanzel, 17th
Jakub Kindl, 19th
2006
Michael Frolik, 10th
Jiri Tlusty, 13th
2007
Jakub Voracek, 7th
Russia - 7
2004
Alexander Ovechkin, 1st
Evgeni Malkin, 2nd
Alexander Radulov, 15th
2006
Semen Varlamov, 23rd
2007
Alexei Cherepanov, 17th
2008
Nikita Filatov, 6th
Viktor Tikhonov, 28th
Sweden - 7
2003
Robert Nilsson, 15th
2005
Nicklas Bergfors, 23rd
2006
Nicklas Backstrom, 4th
Patrik Berglund, 25th
2007
Mikael Backlund, 24th
2008
Erik Karlsson, 15th
Mattias Tedenby, 24th
Finland - 5
2004
Lauri Tukonen, 11th
Petteri Nokelainen, 16th
Lauri Korpikoski, 19th
2005
Tuukka Rask, 21st
2006
Riku Helenius, 15th
Slovakia - 4
2004
Boris Valabik, 10th
Andrej Meszaros, 23rd
2005
Marek Zagrapan, 13th
Vladimir Mihalik, 30th
Denmark - 2
2007
Lars Eller, 13th
2008
Mikkel Boedker, 8th
Belarus - 1
2003
Andrei Kostitsyn, 10th
Switzerland - 1
2008
Luca Sbisa, 19th
Of course, having players of great repute doesn’t guarantee success on the ice. And of course, Russia would surely have had more players chosen higher in the draft had the relations between the NHL and Russia not grown so frosty. Still, to have had three more first round picks play for us in the last five years than the Czechs, Russians, Swedes, and Slovaks combined and yet to have only one medal to show for it…I sound like a broken record.
Anyway, in thirty-three years of competing in the WJC, the US has won five medals. Five medals in thirty-three years.
Ron DeGregorio, Walter Bush, Jim Johannson, David Ogrean, Scott Sandelin, Walt Kyle, Ron Rolston, John Hynes, and whoever else who has or has had any power whatsoever at USA Hockey, I ask you...What the fuck?
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
#13
RBC Center – Carolina Hurricanes
Convenience/Access - Getting here from our hotel in Cary (W hy Cary? Good question) was easy. Without knowing much about the travel patterns in North Carolina, apparently it’s quite convenient.
Location/Scene - With few exceptions and allowances for instances where it isn’t feasible, we prefer rinks be located in a downtown/central/core area of a city. Even if that city is small or barely qualifies as one to us big city folk (see: NJ, TB, NAS, etc.). Carolina loses points here, as RBC is in the middle of a lot of nothing near the NC State campus. However it does redeem itself with excellent tailgaiting. Basically if the rink is in a damn parking lot, it had better have a tailgate scene. Carolina does, and we expected as much in the south.
Outside Appearance - Another in the line of large white ovals with moderate amounts of glass. It isn’t unattractive, but its certainly lower-tier as looks go.
Inner Aesthetics - The inner look of RBC elevates it to a ranking it would never get if we didn’t care so much about this category. The seats are all red. This looks cool. The setup of the seats is very simple yet effective and the luxury boxes are barely noticeable. It’s a bit worn and not a fancy-looking place, but we all liked it quite a bit.
Concourse - Your basic oval concourse. Lots of width and even with a sellout did not feel cramped at all. Beyond that it is very bland and even comes close to being that unforgivable trait, ‘sterile’.
Sightlines - Fantastic. We had among the worst seats in the house and felt close to the action. Good seat angles too.
Concessions - More blandness. We saw a few BBQ/sticky rib type kiosks, but little else to enhance the feeling of being in the South. American, macro-centric selection of beers.
Fans/Atmosphere - This was the first game we all hit up together in a “non-traditional” NHL market. It was also in the season the Canes went on to win the Cup. The atmosphere here was very, very boisterous. This place got LOUD, and at times in the game usually reserved only for crowds in Canada (i.e., times other than the Noise Meter, power plays, and goals.) For that alone, it gets high marks. Also cool: after goals a fan waves the flag of the home country of the goal scorer. Once the Cup Finals rolled around in ‘06, everyone got to see for themselves how awesome the atmosphere was. Granted that was a Cup final, but anywhere that can produce the noise level we experienced for a random game in March is ok by us. As for the actual hockey/overall acumen of the individual fans we encountered, well, that’s a different story.
History/Banners - The Hurricanes, due to legal squabbles, do not have any acknowledgement/link to their Hartford days on display. They also have (especially when we were there prior to their Cup win) very little history or success to acknowledge. So instead of doing what far too many other teams do and litter their rafters with cheap logo pennants of all 30 NHL teams, or worse, raise an inane banner commemorating “Fans #1”; Carolina had banners honoring the international success of its players- small tasteful banners with a player’s name and home country for the at the time upcoming Olympics (and presumably gone now). We liked this a lot. We also liked seeing Tom Gugliotta honored.
Cool Stuff - Besides those banners, there was a nice mural of the team’s first Cup run.
Bars - We stopped at one small but decent bar in the concourse. If there was much more, we didn’t see it.
Store - The Eye! Great name. Very small store but it had a very good selection.
Value - Probably better than average. Nothing seemed crazily priced, and the tickets were reasonable.
Overall – It’s pretty damn hard to write a long, interesting review about the RBC Center. Sorry. In short, we all had a very good time there and it probably beat expectations. But, paraphrasing EP, red seats will only get you so far.
Monday, December 08, 2008
#14
HSBC Arena - Buffalo Sabres
Convenience/Access – Central location and walkable from pretty much anywhere downtown. Getting a cab outside of the arena was not difficult.
Location/Scene – Its not exactly surrounded by things to do, but the walk to them isn’t long (or scenic).
Outside Appearance – A lot of the newer rinks look the same, and while HSBC may not be the most unique exterior around, it is still great looking. Big and imposing while not looking completely gargantuan or out of place.
Inner Aesthetics – This is a good time to divulge an important detail of our overall ratings. In general, the way the rink looks when you first walk into the seating bowl and take a glance around is the most important thing for us, combined of course with the look of it while you are sitting in your seat. It is why this rink (and others) is comparatively low despite being great in many other regards. HSBC in particular ranks very low on one of our lists (JP) specifically because of this (JP is the inner look czar). It’s unfortunate, and for some it may not be as important as, say, a gaping concourse with 20 microbrew bars. Anyway, the inner look of this rink is not great. The luxury boxes are pretty intrusive, it feels very open and cavernous inside, and the layout is boring and not especially appealing visually.
Concourse – Fantastic, massive, clean lobby upon entry. The concourse is one of the best, although also an example of a rink that makes their lower, primary concourse a thing of excellence and then skimps on the fans who use the one up top. The good one is slightly asymmetric and has plenty of room and stuff to see. The upper one has a bunch of carts selling Canadian beer and gets muddled with bathroom lines.
Sightlines – We have made visits to this rink and sat in good seats, which had great views. The views from the worst seats is not good, and not comfortable.
Bathrooms – Clean, but there were some long lines and a lot of loitering going on in there.
Concessions – Not as cheap as we’d have liked, but outstanding selection and JP still drools over the beef on weck consumed here. In general this is an underrated food city, and this rink does Buffalo proud.
Fans/Atmosphere – Sadly for a city and an area known for awesome people, there was a high jackoff quotient experienced on multiple trips here. A bunch of college kids sitting in cheap seats makes for a good atmosphere…sort of. It also can be really annoying when said college kids are non-hockey savvy d-bags. We have to be fair here. We know that Buffalo fans are legit and there's a good vibe in this rink. It just so happens that on our trips here, the overall experience wasn’t optimal. The inverse of this will show up later in other rinks.
History/Banners – Terrific French Connection banner. That’s pretty much it. Sporadic at best in the displays of tradition and history, and then of course there is the blatant ignoring of most fans’ wishes with respect to their logo and jersey.
Cool Stuff – The Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame greets you when you enter, and has a lot of interesting items to check out. Beyond that there isn’t that much to stand out in our memory.
Store – The best store in the league so far, without any close competition. Big, with everything you might want, and an absolutely awesome and unparalleled selection of ready-made jerseys of all styles. God damn shame about that new logo though.
Value – For a team that uses one of those stupid tiered-pricing structures based on date/opponent, forty bucks for horrible seats against Florida really cant be considered good value. Concessions/store/etc. were average, although for WNY some may consider them overpriced.
Overall – One of a small group of rinks where one of our ranks probably alters its consensus rating. It would be a spot or 3 higher under different circumstances. But this is a 3 man crew, and we’d all agree that while this is a very nice, attractive, and totally acceptable rink, it definitely doesn’t threaten the upper-crust of our hierarchy.
Random - Wonder what Olli Jokinen's agent/handler/hanger-on is up to these days.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
#15
Tampa Bay Lightning - St. Pete Times Forum
Location/Scene – None of us can really be considered fans of central * Florida, but the location is fine, right in “downtown” Tampa. The usual nice weather means there are probably always a good amount of people hanging around the rink. There were a few exhibits/stands set up around the entrance. More importantly, across the street is Andreychuk’s, which is possibly the best hockey/pregame bar we’ve been to yet. Nice time there.
Outside Appearance – This place is massive looking from the outside. Tons of clean lines and glass make it a very appealing exterior. Simple, but very attractive.
Inner Aesthetics – One of the easiest ways to please us in terms of the seating bowl of a rink is to make the damn seats match the arena and team colors. This is especially true if the hockey team is the lone/major tenant. SPTF gets this right; the seats look great and make an otherwise cavernous and boring interior look great. Still, the place is giant and you definitely feel like you’re a mile from the ice when you’re up top. The rest of the layout is nice, as is the scoreboard.
Concourse – Bland. Another instance where if we’d come here just having experienced NVMC and MSG in our lives, this would be a palace. But there isn’t much to distinguish it, give it a local flair, or attract your attention. Strangely, the font used on the exterior section markers is tiny and hard to read.
Sightlines – Very good for a big rink, which usually means very vertical. We had pretty poor seats and yet the view was as good as a lot of other, smaller rinks. A good hockey-watching venue
Bathrooms – The only thing worth a comment is that there were a ton of them. Has to be a good thing, right?
Concessions – Good quality, selection, and price; but poor in terms of interesting or unique items.
Fans/Atmosphere – Quite good, as is usually described. The building gets quite loud and the fans don’t need stupid prodding to get into the game. Not afraid to voice their displeasure (appropriately) either. Yet another in what will be a trend of very, very good crowds and savvy fans in non-traditional areas.
History/Banners - The banners are absolutely awesome. Beyond that there is very little honoring their history. Obviously, they were bad for so long but they had some players the fans liked. Brian Bradley, Darren Puppa, John Cullen. Put freaking pictures of them up or something. Represent.
Cool Stuff – Not much, which is made worse by the fact that there’s plenty of room for it here. Probably two times more interesting stuff outside of the building than in it.
Bars – Actually quite a few places to get cocktails, which is great for us. A few larger spots with seating.
Store – Another rink with a lot of stands cluttering up the concourse that offer a whole lot of nothing. Between the two visits we can’t remember anything cool or worth buying (again- that is saying something for this group). CC remains appalled at the lack of player t-shirts here. Note to NHL teams: after you load up on pink jerseys and rally monkeys and 70 dollar hoodies, go ahead and stock some non-superstar name and number shirts. We will buy them.
Value – The upper tickets were very cheap. Probably a big reason they draw so consistently well. Nothing else stood out as crazy one way or the other.
Overall – Can’t put it much better than CC did after his 2nd (solo) visit here: Positives include the awesome blue seats, a nice scoreboard, pretty solid fans, reasonable tickets and food, plentiful bathrooms, good sightlines (though it is massive), and the great pavilion out front highlighted by the lightning bolts. On the negative side the place is pretty bland. Absolutely no bells and whistles. Not one food item that approaches unique. Their hallways are boring. A middle of the pack building as it is now.
* The state of
Thursday, November 06, 2008
#16
Phillips Arena - Atlanta Thrashers
Convenience/Access - Its right in downtown Atlanta (whatever the hell that even means) and easy to walk to from much of the city. There was plenty of parking, including a massive garage that we mistook for the rink for about 5 minutes.
Location/Scene - Inside the CNN center which is basically a fancy mall. There wasn't much of a scene but there were a lot of people milling around.
Outside Appearance - Very nice. Lots of windows and a cool "Atlanta" sculpture on the front. The outside look sort of masks how giant this building is inside.
Inner Aesthetics - One of the only real unique layouts in the league here- all of the luxury boxes and club seats are stacked on one side of the ice. They themselves look nice, but overall this gives the whole inside an odd look when you're sitting across from them. The look of the seating bowl and seats themselves is decidedly average. Light blue dividers between glass panes is nice. Gray steel steps and barriers visible everywhere is not.
Concourse - Probably the biggest concourse we've ever seen in an indoor stadium. Big enough to have a nice, multi-story lobby in the front. Big enough to have the old scoreboard from the Omni (sweet) sitting there and not look overly big. There is a ton going on out here- stores, food, non-sports shops, a million televisions, and nooks and areas that seem like they've never been discovered. There is no denying that it's a really nice concourse but we all agree that the overall impression becomes a bit too much. Also, on the upper level, due to the aforementioned layout of the luxury boxes, you cant make a 360 degree lap around the arena. This is a major, major ding to us.
Sightlines - The upper seats are pretty far away. Once more, nothing of note to report here.
Bathrooms - Big and clean. They were definitely used thoroughly by at least 2 of us.
Concessions - Everything you could possibly want, it really does remind you of a mall food court. Quality was good.
Fans/Atmosphere - We aren't going to pile on Atlanta here. They have had it really rough. But even with Philly (and a lot of their fans) in town, there was nothing in the atmosphere here to warrant a positive or even condescendingly upbeat comment.
History/Banners - The Thrashers have no history, but the Hawks banners were awesome.
Cool Stuff - Let's see. There's the aforementioned scoreboard. Tons of TVs with other games from around the league on (something we haven't seen enough of across the trip). Two bird head type structures dangle from the ceiling and spew fire whenever the Thrash do something good like score (or, presumably, win). But its unlikely anything will ever approach the cool factor of stumbling (literally) into a random (and giant) room somewhere just off the concourse to find boxes of Hawks promotional items. It's generous to count this in the arena's overall favor, but damn right we are going to.
Bars - There were certainly tons of them, but we were too busy combing the bowels of this mega-concourse to be distracted by them.
Store - The store here is excellent and had the largest amount of off-the-rack player customized jerseys we've seen outside of Buffalo. This store spawned the most absurd impulse purchases of the trip when Justin and Mike simply could not resist 40 dollar Hawks jerseys. There are multiple stands where you can bring a jersey and get it professionally stitched right there.
Value - We paid well under 40 dollars to see an NHL game and an NBA game in a nice building in a span of 18 hours. Win.
Overall - Here is where we start to see the difficulty in ranking these places. Phillips is a sweet building. It is has a lot of quirks and is clean and easy to get to. But as a place to watch a hockey game, we all agreed that it is overwhelmingly bland. Juxtaposing those 2 things is hard to explain, but you'll have to trust us.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
#17
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - New York Islanders
So yeah, the write up here will be much longer than usual, since this is one of our "home" rinks. Between the three of us we have seen more NHL games here than anywhere else. That's unfortunate, but really no better base to get an appreciation for what else is out there. Listen, the Coliseum sucks. Really, really hard. It's bad for visiting players, bad for the home team, bad for fans. Yes, its old-school and no frills. Yes, it has the best sightlines anywhere in the league- too bad this simply affords one a superlative view of Andy Hilbert. But there are places that give you these things and still act as viable locations for professional sporting events. The Isles need a new facility to survive as a franchise, plain and simple.
Convenience/Access - There are two ways to assess this category for the NVMC. If you live on Long Island, then you likely own a car (or three) and are used to ridiculous traffic and giant parking lots. The location of the rink is fine and relatively central population-wise. The other way of looking at it is that there is next to no way to get here via public transport if you don't live on the Island, are coming from out of town, cant drive, or would like to imbibe heavily while watching Freddy Meyer and Chris Campoli. A shuttle service from the nearest LIRR stations would do wonders here. Note that nearest does not mean close. In the end its probably unlikely that the location of NVMC keeps that many people away, but it for damn sure doesn't bring anybody, either.
Location/Scene - The only things within legitimate walking distance of NVMC are a Marriott (where many opposing teams no longer even stay) and a few delis/pizza joints across a 6 lane highway. Not so sweet. There is some proper tailgating on weekend games.
Outside Appearance - It's a big white dish in the middle of a parking lot. There are no windows. It isn't attractive, but it does scream 'hockey rink'. It would scream 'hockey rink' even more if there wasn't an equal-to-the NYI-one-sized New York Dragons (that's the Arena Football League, folks) banner draped hideously across the front. We're All Islanders. Or Dragons.
Inner Aesthetics - This place looks great largely because you can see all of it so easily. It is small, and it feels small. The seats are close to the ice, and there isn't much wasted space (except for a wide walkway behind each net). You really do feel like you could pick out someone sitting at the other corner of the rink, or in one of the luxury boxes. When half the building isn't empty, it looks even better. The seats/interior are slightly drab looking, but not enough to be a negative. The scoreboard, after a much-maligned absence and reemergence a decade ago, is small and basic but plenty adequate for such a small rink.
Concourse - Word up to Mellon Arena, which has given us new perspective on how poor a concourse can be. We now know that NVMC sports only the second-worst concourse in hockey. The floors are nasty and hideously tiled, it gets crowded due to the lines for the bathrooms which snake along the length of 3 gates, and there is absolutely nothing to do or see except possibly sign up for Newsday and ruin your credit rating. Ask Eric.
Sightlines - This is an outstanding rink to watch a hockey game in, possibly the best in the league. While it wouldn't be 100% accurate to say that there isn't a bad seat in the house, (some back row seats have really bad views under a low overhang) its damn close. The upper sections are closer to the ice than anywhere we've seen. The front rows of the upper tier and back rows of the lower tier are probably the best vantage points for a hockey game in the NHL. The sightlines here are phenomenal and you can feel the game from anywhere in the rink.
Bathrooms - Oh, the coliseum bathrooms. The stuff of lore. At 6:30 on a weeknight, during warm-ups, even with < style="font-style: italic;">
Concessions - Nothing interesting or really worth getting. There are more than enough stands though.
Comfort - The seats have above-average comfort, but with below-average legroom. It is consistently very, very cold in this rink.
Fans/Atmosphere - Everything that's written about the Coliseum atmosphere on a big playoff night is true- the place is loud and awesome. The low ceilings and tiny seating bowl equate to a lot of noise. But let's not kid ourselves- most people who just come to LI to see one game here will leave thinking that this is nothing short of a brutal, mid-tier ECHL team atmosphere, if for no other reason than that the Islanders rarely draw more than 12k, and put on the most heinous, insulting-to-fans game presentation of any major sports team in history. That is not an exaggeration. Buzz during NYI-NYR games is fantastic.
History - On one hand, the Isles bleed every possible event they can out of their 4 year glory run. There are alumni appearances/'nights' pretty much every season, as well as anniversary tributes and special appearances designed to get fans in the rink. They are always done with class (amazing for the Isles) but are way too frequent and have thus lost much of their cache. There are a lot of nice pictures around the concourse windows of past players, but no plaques or other informative displays. Of course, a large portion of the Islanders' history has no business being displayed. As for banners, NVMC should get a high score here, as the Isles have tons of players and accomplishments to celebrate. However, it took until very recently for management to see fit to clean any of the white banners, which were visibly soiled and had looked atrocious. They are also hung haphazardly and the font on the retired player banners is not consistent. More bush league, easily fixable stuff from the Isles here that goes from odd to completely infuriating once you've been to enough games.
Cool Stuff - There is absolutely nothing cool or interesting or interesting to see in this arena.
Bars - There is one on the lower level. It's always crowded and we've never hung out there. Last year they put a few tents outside and have tables and beer stands set up, which is a good start and sort of expands the concourse.
Store - Scattered booths around the concourse offer the usual stuff, all very expensive. There is actually a pretty good selection of player t-shirts, which is vital to us. You can buy NY lottery tickets here.
Value - Very overpriced tickets, which leads to a vicious cycle of poor attendance and ownership having to keep prices up to compensate. The 10 dollar walkup tickets are a good initiative which should be extended.
Overall - The Coliseum is a dump, and has been for some time. Its sole selling point- tiny size and terrific view- gets swallowed up among a litany of negatives. Justin‚s hockey credentials have been impeccably hardened here- watching one of the worst team in the league in one of the worse structures in the sport. We love it, and yet, we hate it.
Random - This will always be a funny sidenote in our chronicles- we all attended this rink together in 1997, a solid 8 years before the genesis of this quest. We sat in 3 different places and it was totally unknown at the time. We were (separately) with some of the other jabronis who we would, a decade later, drag along (or try to) on future trips. It was also a hilarious 3-3 tie with STL, the team which Eric would later become a full STH of, and featured one of the most Coliseum-defining moments ever (the re-unveiling of a new, slightly-less-crappy scoreboard- complete with black drape and spotlight). Feeling that this experience wasn't enough, we ventured back there together for a mid-year NYI-NJ contest which had all the potential in the world of being one of the least interesting games in NHL history- and somehow wound up being an awesome and entertaining game with a boisterous crowd.
2010 Olympic teams
My first post in quite a while. Here are my picks for Team USA and Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics.
Team USA
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Assistant Coach: John Tortorella
Captain: Chris Drury
Assistant Captains: Mike Komisarek and Zach Parise
Patrick Kane-Paul Stastny-Dustin Brown
Zach Parise-Scott Gomez-Phil Kessel
Patrick O'Sullivan-Chris Drury-Brian Rolston
Erik Cole-Brandon Dubinsky-Joe Pavelski
extra forwards; Jason Pominville and Peter Mueller
Brooks Orpik-Brian Rafalski
Ryan Suter-Mike Komisarek
Ryan Whitney-Erik Johnson
extra defenseman: Jack Johnson
Ryan Miller
Rick DiPietro
extra goalie: Tim Thomas
It's remarkable how much more depth we have compared to 2006. Assuming our up and coming young players develop the necessary leadership skills, USA Hockey should be fine for a while. We've got as much or more talent than we did in 1996 when we won the World Cup and in 2002 when we almost made away with a gold in Salt Lake City. This team was very hard to pick. Just 4 years ago at the World Cup we had the likes of Steve Konowalchuk, Ken Klee, and Jeff Halpern suiting up for us. All solid citizens, but basically third liner/third pair types. (Sorry Powers, not picking on ex-Caps). We've got a lot more to choose from now.
The same old problem persists though. We don't bring the consistent level of urgency to tournaments that other bring. We want to win but we'll never have the pressure of the other hockey playing powers. If Sweden or Finland are in a gold medal game, their countries shut down to watch it. Same in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of heads literally rolling in Russia if their team ended a tournament with a loss. Canada is Canada. They have to win.
Team Canada
Head Coach: Mike Babcock
Assistant Coach: Lindy Ruff
Captain: Sidney Crosby
Assistant Captains: Jarome Iginla and Chris Pronger
Rick Nash-Sidney Crosby-Jarome Iginla
Martin St.Louis-Vinny Lecavalier-Dany Heatley
Mike Richards-Jonathon Toews-Shane Doan
Eric Staal-Jordan Staal-Ryan Getzlaf
extra Forwards: Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton
Chris Pronger-Brent Burns
Dion Phaneuf-Shea Weber
Brian Campbell-Mike Green
extra defenseman: Dan Boyle
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
extra goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
Canada's teams are always disgustingly good, but this one seems more so. Not since Steve Yzerman was getting snubbed for Canada Cup teams has someone with as much skill as Joe Thornton or Jason Spezza not gotten the call of duty. Poitras convinced me that Crosby would be a better captain than Iginla. This trio of captains will stare a hole through your soul if you fail to pick up your man. As long as the pressure their country puts on them doesn't unravel them it's hard to see them not at least making the gold medal game.
Team USA
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Assistant Coach: John Tortorella
Captain: Chris Drury
Assistant Captains: Mike Komisarek and Zach Parise
Patrick Kane-Paul Stastny-Dustin Brown
Zach Parise-Scott Gomez-Phil Kessel
Patrick O'Sullivan-Chris Drury-Brian Rolston
Erik Cole-Brandon Dubinsky-Joe Pavelski
extra forwards; Jason Pominville and Peter Mueller
Brooks Orpik-Brian Rafalski
Ryan Suter-Mike Komisarek
Ryan Whitney-Erik Johnson
extra defenseman: Jack Johnson
Ryan Miller
Rick DiPietro
extra goalie: Tim Thomas
It's remarkable how much more depth we have compared to 2006. Assuming our up and coming young players develop the necessary leadership skills, USA Hockey should be fine for a while. We've got as much or more talent than we did in 1996 when we won the World Cup and in 2002 when we almost made away with a gold in Salt Lake City. This team was very hard to pick. Just 4 years ago at the World Cup we had the likes of Steve Konowalchuk, Ken Klee, and Jeff Halpern suiting up for us. All solid citizens, but basically third liner/third pair types. (Sorry Powers, not picking on ex-Caps). We've got a lot more to choose from now.
The same old problem persists though. We don't bring the consistent level of urgency to tournaments that other bring. We want to win but we'll never have the pressure of the other hockey playing powers. If Sweden or Finland are in a gold medal game, their countries shut down to watch it. Same in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of heads literally rolling in Russia if their team ended a tournament with a loss. Canada is Canada. They have to win.
Team Canada
Head Coach: Mike Babcock
Assistant Coach: Lindy Ruff
Captain: Sidney Crosby
Assistant Captains: Jarome Iginla and Chris Pronger
Rick Nash-Sidney Crosby-Jarome Iginla
Martin St.Louis-Vinny Lecavalier-Dany Heatley
Mike Richards-Jonathon Toews-Shane Doan
Eric Staal-Jordan Staal-Ryan Getzlaf
extra Forwards: Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton
Chris Pronger-Brent Burns
Dion Phaneuf-Shea Weber
Brian Campbell-Mike Green
extra defenseman: Dan Boyle
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
extra goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
Canada's teams are always disgustingly good, but this one seems more so. Not since Steve Yzerman was getting snubbed for Canada Cup teams has someone with as much skill as Joe Thornton or Jason Spezza not gotten the call of duty. Poitras convinced me that Crosby would be a better captain than Iginla. This trio of captains will stare a hole through your soul if you fail to pick up your man. As long as the pressure their country puts on them doesn't unravel them it's hard to see them not at least making the gold medal game.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
#18
Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh Penguins
Convenience/Access - It isn't hard to get to and its in Pittsburgh proper. There are probably few to no people who walk here, though. Its not in a crowded area.
Location/Scene - The only thing that seemed remotely walkable was the hotel down the street. Hop in your car (perhaps a Mercedes truck) if you want a postgame scene.
Outside Appearance - It's a big white dish in the middle of a parking lot. Aah, the parallels with Nassau continue. (they aren't done). After some debate, we all agreed that this place is actually quite cool looking. The roof is definitely unique and doesn't look so bad from the outside. The outside of the structure is nice.
Inner Aesthetics - The roof is a goddamned bubble! It is Idaho-level white and looks completely jarring, especially with giant ads plastered brutally all over it and scaffolding hanging down. The seating bowl is unique looking and hard to describe. It certainly isn't the oval/igloo shape you might expect. The seats are all red, except for the club seats, which are black. This would look good if the Devils played here. The scoreboard and signage are sub-par.
Concourse - It isn't common for the three of us to completely agree on something rink-related, much less use the same adjectives and superlatives when describing it. Yes if each of us had to summarize the Mellon concourse, it is a five-star lock that we would all use the following three words in some order: hazard, brutal, fire. There is nothing much to see or do other than pray for a swift return to your seat, or out of the building.
Sightlines - We expected better. They aren't bad of course, but for an old, smallish rink they certainly aren't outstanding. We have no idea what the view is like from the upper seats behind the nets that basically touch the roof as it slopes inward.
Bathrooms - Unacceptable. First you have to navigate there, and then you have to handle them. Just hold it.
Concessions - Apparently all of the decent sporting event food in this city is at PNC. Expensive too. Iron City beer gets 2 out of three thumbs down.
Fans/Atmosphere - Thanks to a great young team, Pitt has gone from almost being relocated to Waterloo to being a tough ticket and an obnoxiously popular team. When we went the fans were loud but there was a high asshole contingent behind us. Its worth noting that besides that, every single encounter all three of us have ever had with Pittsburgh people is overwhelmingly positive. Some great folk in western PA.
History/Banners - Tons of great success in this place's past, but like on Long Island, you can't really feel it just being here. Its got the banners and such but you're not swimming in it (which we thing you should be) like in many other rinks.
Cool Stuff - We think we remember some table hockey games set up somewhere.
Bars - nah.
Store - The main store seemed decent, but the smaller kiosks were way too expensive and boring. This is one of the rare arenas where none of made an impulsive souvenir buy.
Value - Our tickets were very expensive for the quality, as was just about everything else. Apparently there are good student programs here.
Overall - We all like Pittsburgh a lot as a city. We all like the Igloo. It‚s just old and decrepit and needs replacing- and unlike with the Islanders, it will be soon. PNC Park is off-the-charts awesome, and Heinz is always rated highly as well. Consider also that Pit is one of the few NHL teams making money, and there are plenty of reasons to expect the new arena will be boss. But for now, the fact that it's a hilarious bubble and has a cool nickname does not cover up its warts, making it our choice (albeit a contentious one) for worst of the rinks so far.
Random - For lack of anything else better nearby to do, we hung around in the parking lot after the game on a really fucking cold night. Doing so provided us with humor and pictures that still stands out among trip moments.
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