Member's Blog : Member's Blog

An Expat's Guide to Watching Hockey

2009-10-11T14:30:40Z

When the sound of Nirvana pierces the morning at a crisp 7:45am, I'm up immediately.� This isn't like waking up for work, when I repeatedly use the handy +10minutes function on my cellphone alarm clock.� This is important.� The fact that I didn't get to sleep until around 4am is trivial at this point.� Coffee heals all sleep related wounds.

I stumble out of my bedroom to the kitchen where I plug in the kettle.� For some reason this infernal machine insists on shutting off before the water actually boils.� In South Korea, we don't drink tap water as a rule.� There's nothing dangerous in the water, but I sure wish my kettle would finish the job.� I blame my kettle for the uneasy feeling in my gut most mornings.�

As I wait for the kettle to complete its abortive attempt, I switch on the computer and pace for a minute or so, waiting for the password prompt to appear.� Once my secret information is entered, I walk out to the veranda for a quick smoke.� The kettle, though an underachiever, is slow and will afford me the time anyway.

This cigarette is one of few that I will actually enjoy over the course of the day.� Mornings on Jeju Island are beautiful in the countryside.� People with far more socially responsible tasks to complete than I are already out in the fields, tending their cabbage, broccoli and radishes.� The day is bright and clear; I have a nice view of Halla Mountain to the left and the small island Biyang-do to the right.�

When I come back to the computer room and load up my browser, I notice that I can't hear the kettle anymore.� Coffee time.

I come back to the computer and load up my brand new toy, NHL GameCenter.� This is a thing of beauty.� No more�skimming�Shabbs'�Game Day Thread looking for links; no more failed attempts at finding a SopCast hosted game; no more justin.tv or adhte.net games that last seconds before I'm ousted for being�in another country.� No more.� This is�pure bliss.��

Smiling, generally an unlikely�occurrence for me at this�hour of the morning, I look at the day's crop of games that I can flip through during commercial breaks.� Pittsburg-Toronto�should be a fun game to watch, if only to root on the�Any-Team-But-Toronto.� Washington-Detroit will be a great game,�especially if I get lucky and see some nice plays develop.� Anaheim-Philly should be a bruiser.� These are good tidings so early in the morning, but mere morsels compared to the buffet that I�roused myself out of bed to see.� There it is.� OTTAWA-ATLANTA!!!� Everything is worth it now because....wait, what???

"There is no video feed for this game."

Worlds crash down around me.� Explosions and fire and pain the likes of which no man has ever had to endure are all-encompassing.� A�tear escapes and runs down my cheek, hovering on my chin for a moment before dropping onto my keyboard.��

I sigh.��I open�The Team 1200's site and listen to my beloved Sens�and watch the Toronto�game.� As I do so I smile.�

Kovalev just scored.

�

A Heated Affair

2009-08-09T22:50:16Z

It�s August already and we�re still talking about Heatley.�� Doesn�t it seem like it�s been a year already?� It�s amazing how many rumours and signs we�ve heard in the past couple of months but nothing and I mean NOTHING is happening except for a jinxed deal with Edmonton.

Heatley dug a hole for himself, a huge one.� He is no longer wanted in Ottawa or Edmonton, not even LA.�� And SJ doesn�t think he�s worth anything more than Cheechoo.� So what does he do now?� How about starting with opening your mouth eh?� But hey at least we know he�s going to play next year, how do we know this?�It�s an Olympic year, and Heatley wants to play alongside Getzlaf and Nash and win that gold medal.� So Sens fans calm down, this isn�t as bad as it sounds.�Let�s imagine Heatley comes back to Ottawa and plays absolutely great toguarantee himself an Olympic roster spot.�With Kovalev aboard, don�t you think our offense will be lethal?� And if Heatley is still not sold on Clouston after the Olympics, we still win.� His trade value has to go up with his good play and teams getting desperate andwe�re bound to get a better deal.

So before fans start rioting about Heatley coming back they should think about the team.� And the truth is for now the team is better with Heatley on board.� And if you think booing him is a good idea, think again.�Hockey fans shouldn�t boo their fans ever!� Ok, maybe if they have Avery on their team but that�s it.� The fact that people have vowed to boo him and make his life miserable if he comes back just reflects bad on us not him.� It gives him a better excuse for asking to leave.� Why should we even boo him if he comes back and wins us games?� He might not have all the character in the world but man does he have one hell of a scoring touch.

That being said, I�m a big advocate of him getting traded.� I think Sens fans have suffered enough from dressing room dramas *cough Emery cough* and we can�t afford any more of them.� Maybe nothing will come out of him coming back but the fact that he won�t answer any of his teammates calls (except Spezza�s) isn�t a good sign.� �Good luck with having a smooth comeback buddy.� Either way I don�t see us being as bad as other people are predicting us to be.� Whether we�re with Heatley or without him, we have the tools to be at least a team that can compete against the better teams.� And hey look at the bright side without this whole Heatley debacle we�d have absolutely nothing to talk about this off season.� And let�s hope with all the GM silence, we�ll start predicting next season�s lines pretty soon.

My great idea for Sens fans is, if he comes back we should give him a standing ovation every game.� We should be the loudest when he scores a goal and have his name chanted in all games.� If the guy doesn�t feel like an idiot after all the support he gets, then I�ve lost all hope for him.� This is going to be a fun season for us Sens fans for sure; have faith I can feel it in the air.

"I don't care what the experts say, I'm gonna whup yo butt"

2009-03-24T02:49:19Z

It's about the four minutes into the�third period of the Flyers-Devils game at the Wachovia Center on Versus...Doc Emrick has just shouted "Simon Gagne and he SCOOOORESSSS". They are beating Marty Brodeur and the Swamp Things�4-2.

Wait a minute.

Aren't the Devils supposed to be the best team in the East right now? Isn't Mighty Marty supposed to be the heir to Saint Patrick? Isn't he supposed to be rested and ready for the playoffs?

So how come the Flyers are making Philly Cheesesteak out of him?�

Could it be that Marty just got socked with a multimillion dollar alimony bill by his ex? Nawww, couldn't be...could it?

Or maybe it's just that the Flyers really don't give a rat's hiney about what the 'experts' say. They just know they LOVE to beat the Devils.

Whenever I read or listen to the 'experts' talk about one team or another's chances against their opponent, or�go on--using an endless stream of tripe cobbled together�from "The Book of Hockey Clich�s"--I ask myself how many of them have actually ever even held a hockey stick.

While there are some excellent people in hockey media, the increasing showbiz trend that infects journalists and broadcasters�is contaminating the way more than a few people perceive the game. How many times have you gone on a hockey forum and read people's posts where they regurgitate something�blurted out by the talking heads?

What happened to making up your own mind about hockey, and, by the way, not necessarily having an opinion because you're not afraid to admit you just don't know�enough about a particular team or player?

Fortunately, players--most of the time, it seems, anyway--are too busy�just trying to�keep body and soul together while skating their tail off and getting bashed in the chops with�the latest designer carbon fiber or being smacked around by�other armour clad�dudes at breakneck speeds, to pay attention to the hooey dished out by armchair jocks.��

That's why I like former players as colour commentators. These guys have earned the right to speak their minds as they've had their eggs scrambled more than once and lived to tell about it. There's nothing like a grizzled vet who played for eight different clubs--most of them bottom feeders--sharing his unvarnished view of the world's greatest sport.

�

Whether I agree with them or not, I'm always somewhat in awe when I get a few minutes with one of them on a hockey call-in show and get to hear them answer my inevitably naive questions. Because they've forgotten more about hockey than I'll ever know. And though they've actually played in the best hockey league on the planet, they've usually the most humble and unassuming people you'd ever want to talk to.

Which is another reason I love hockey, and have for almost fifty years...geez, I'm dating myself...but how lucky was I to be a four year old when the likes of Rocket Richard, Jake the Snake, Mr Hockey�and the Golden Jet were all playing in the NHL? And how lucky am I that I've seen hockey evolve from a six team league to a�global family?

So getting back to where we started, hockey players will tell you, over and over again, that on any given night, any team can beat any other team; that a 'slump' sometimes isn't a slump at all, but a period of adjustment as a team or player re-tools their game, or maybe really IS a slump, because the magic just isn't there and you don't know why.

Though I love playing hockey, and hope to play�until I can't lace up a pair of skates any more, I knew from the age of thirteen, and the�first time a monster kid skating straight at me with a look that could kill whistled a puck past my right ear, that I'd never be a professional hockey player. Ever since then, I've had nothing but the utmost respect for those brave enough to sacrifice everything for The Game.

Oh, and about what it takes to win...Cory Clouston is one of those feisty guys who didn't care what people said about him. He�apparently played hockey with everything he had, knowing that if he wasn't the biggest man on the ice, he had to have the biggest heart and the smartest head. That's the way he coaches.

That's probably why the Senators are now making a lot of people scratch their heads. They've stopped worrying about what people say about them. They just go out and play hockey. And as the New York Rangers found out Sunday night,�the Sens are saying with their play "I don't care what the experts say. I'm gonna whup your butt".

�

The elbow benders and the donut eaters masquerading as hockey writers (as opposed to the true, and few, sage scribes)�might call it 'swagger', but it isn't swagger at all. It's a Zen thing. It's what martial artists tell themselves using other, more elegant verbiage like "strike decisively and with overwhelming force to overcome your opponent".�Yeah, whut he sed.

Hockey is the sport of the skating samurai.

Well, the Wings-Flames game just started...so I'm out.

Thanks for reading.

Dave��

THE MAGIC MAN

2008-09-05T17:04:10Z

Since becoming the GM of this team, Bryan Murray has made a plethora of underappreciated moves.

Let's recap; shall we?

June 2007, Murray becomes GM and hires his assistant coach, John Paddock, as his replacement behind the helm. Some have said that this was the wrong move, as things did not work as would be expected; however, how much of a choice did Murray really have? Any of you, above the age of 16, know quite well what it is like to be faced with the decision of whether or not to show trust in a close friend (even if you aren't 100% confident in his/her ability to perform) or spurn him/her.

So let's just say that Murray made the right decision for the friendship, but the wrong decision for the team.

I think thats fair...

Shortly after, Murray locks up his SCFinalist goaltender to a reasonable contract for just over 3M cap-hit. Again, fate conspires against him and the contract ends up being bought out, less than a year after the signing.

Now, on to the good stuff:

Murray lets Preissing and Comrie walk and trades perennial headache, Peter Schaeffer, for workhorse-journeyman, Shean Donovan. Preissing and Comrie would each become well overpayed and would underperform. Schaeffer wouldn't do much more than help the Bruins force a Game 7 (with a fantastic hold, hold, hold, hold, pass for a goal play...one that works once every 20 times it is attempted....) and Donovan wouldn't do much more than make our sweep slightly less painful. Dono was improperly used, like many role players, by Paddock, however; and would not perform well until the stretch drive (which is really all that mattters, anyway)

Murray signs utility-man, Christoph Schubert, to a fantastic 2nd contract, paying him less than a million over three years. Although the money makes sense for what he provides, I believe it will look like a steal well-within the life of the contract. Considering that he's a full-time forward who regularly plays defence on the 2nd PP and PK units: Some would say it�s already a steal.

Shortly after the Schubert and Emery signings, Murray holds on to 2-way forward, Chris Kelly, for one more year, with barely-any raise. Considering Kelly was a member of the Cup Finals team, coming off a career-high 38 point season, it was a good signing. If memory serves...He was signed - much like Vermette in 08 - shortly before arbitration.

The Big Boys

Murray signs heart-and-soul, 2-way, character-player, Mike Fisher, to another outstanding contract. A player who would've made upwards of 6M on the open market, is a member of the team for the next 5 years, at a 4.2M cap hit. *hands-clap*

Following that, Murray signs perennial All-Star, 50-goal scoring, sniper, Dany Heatley, to a 6 year contract paying him an average of 7.5M per season. Again, this is almost a 2M discount, as a player of Heatley's calibre could've made as much as 9-9.5M per season, on the open market.

Almost immediately after the Heatley signing, Murray pulls another rabbit out of his hat and signs soon-to-be perennial All-Star, franchise-centerman, Jason Spezza, to a 7 year contract paying him an average of 7M per season. AGAIN, Spezza would've been one of the most (if not, the most) highly coveted players on the market, and could've received as much as 9M per season. Although the 5 first round picks would've been great, its hard to say any of them would've turned into the player Spezza is now (much less that they'll become that player in time to get our Captain a Cup)

And on went the season...

He would make another ill-fated, yet solid move, in acquiring Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore from the Canes in exchange for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves. Stillman would produce some points for us and Commodore would keep some pucks out of our net (not nearly enough, though) but neither could save the floudering 07-08 Sens.

Corvo and Eaves are still members of the hurricanes at reasonable prices.

�

2007-08 post-post-season

Stillman and Commodore moved on to *cough* "greener" pastures. Much greener......

But the magic man doesn't sweat (he has pixie dust deodorant)...

He would proceed to buy out his Headache and let his Heartburn walk and trade his Hemorrhoid for a draft pick.

Triple H = Healed.

And like a man with stones the size of Mt.Everest, he would walk into free agency with only a single FA signed (Chris Kelly to a reasonable 4 year contract paying him less than market value) prior to July 1st.

2007-08 Off-Season

His first 07-08 off-season move - although modest - was solid. He would sign character-player, backup goaltender, Alex Auld to a reasonable 2 year, 2M contract.

The following day, he would be paid a visit by a man - a journeyman - a journeyman named Shean Donovan. This man wanted to be an Ottawa Senator so bad that he was willing to take a "Stanley Cup (we hope) discount" to stay here. He was signed for just over 600 thousand per season, for two seasons.

That same day, Murray signed my-brother-works-for-you-so-I-will-too, Dion Phaneuf tripping, super pest, Jarkko Ruutu to a 3 year, 3.9 million dollar contract.

And then Murray made the best signing of the lot. He would sign heart-and-soul, play-with-busted-knees-and wrists, eat-your-kids-if-you-don't-play-for-the-team, ex-2-time-Captain, shot-blocking D-man, Jason Smith.

Now, signing a player from your home town, who had already played a year for your team, and didn't have too many great offers (Dono) to a discount, is one thing; but signing a player who had never played for your team and had no link to the city, to a discount, is something altogether different. His two-year, 2.6M per/ contract is insanely good when compared to the big-red-clown-shoes Columbus contract.

Once the initial free agent rush had passed, Murray would show great patience while awaiting and creating a resolution to contract disputes with restricted free agents Antoine Vermette and Andrej Meszaros.

�

After many rumoured contract numbers and much waiting, Murray announced the signing of plays-in-any-situation, PK specialist, 50-point player, Antoine Vermette, to a very acceptable 2 year, 2.7M cap-hit contract; on the day of his arbitration hearing.

His latest stroke of genius: The fleecing of Tampa Bay Lightning management with the trade of unsigned, restricted free agent defenceman, Andrej Meszaros for 6�5�� 225 pound, shot blocking, powerplay anchoring, puck moving defenceman Filip Kuba; 23 year old, 6�2�� 225 pound, puck moving defenceman Alexander Picard; and a San Jose�s 2009 1^st round draft pick.

What a guy that-Murray is...

We're lucky to have him...

Now, if only he could pull another Luongo/Jokinen for Parrish/Kvasha...

�

Future Franchise Goalie?

2008-09-03T04:18:29Z

I have had to do a fair bit of learning about goalies and goaltending because my 10-yr old son has taken up goaltending (much to my dismay...why do some people take pleasure in stopping frozen pieces of rubber with their body parts? Especially their head?)

A year ago, after watching pre-season games where both Elliot and Price were in, the one thing I can say is that both are very mobile, and both move exceptionally well. I have heard a lot of people say that Elliot has the potential to be like Price; I don't doubt it.

His speed across the net, his vision of the play, his anticipation were all excellent. I didn't see a significant drop-off (there was a slight difference, but it was small) when you compared Elliot to Price - keep in mind that when I saw Price up close, it was just as he was breaking in to the NHL, though. What I found interesting was that Elliot actually seemed a bit more confident when he was handling the puck. He did have a few miscues with misplaying angles and such, but nothing major. I didn't see anything acrobatic however - it was all very technical, very precise, very "by the book" (my son has done camps with Eli Wilson, and it was exactly the way Wilson teaches - almost no improvisation at all; kind of freaky actually, like watching a "how-to" video.)

For those who play goalie, or who have studied the position, you will understand. You only have to watch the butterfly and the half-butterfly, the T-glide and shuffle from post to post and simple body movements. Emery's style is one born of athleticism, one which Wilson was trying to mold to a more technical style. Gerber's is more technical, but somehow less precise, although it's hard to describe how or why.

When I saw Price and Elliot, it was like watching one goalie in a mirror - the technical precision was amazing. There were segments of the game where my son and I would lose track of the rest of the play, and would just watch the video screen replay to marvel at the consistency, precision, and machine-like efficiency of each movement.

All in all, to my inexperienced eye, I'd have to say that, much like Price, Elliot does look like he has the potential, although it is much more raw. It comes down to how much Eli can mold that raw talent.

We may already have our Franchise Goalie.

Comparing SCF Sens to now.

2008-08-29T21:13:18Z

2006-07 Ottawa Senators Roster

1 - Emery

29 - Gerber

2 - Nycholat

4 - Phillips

5 - Schubert

6 - Redden

7 - Corvo

14 - Mezaros

24 - Volchenkov

42 - Preissing

11 - Alfredsson

12 - Fisher

15 - Heatley

16 - McGrattan

19 - Spezza

20 - Vermette

22 - Kelly

25 - Neil

27 - Schaefer

37 - McAmmond

44 - Eaves

61 - Saprykin

89 - Comrie

So what has changed for us? Starting with goalies.

Ray Emery is gone. IMO... Good Riddance! From things that happened all
through out last year I think that "Razor" is better off for the team
not in the dressing room. He has potential to be a tremendous
goaltender. His mind has to be in it though and i think that playing
over seas should give him time to realize where his priorities need to
be. If he can smarten up i think he could be a really good accusation
in the future. We picked up Alex Auld, and from my experience in
watching this guy play, i liked him. maybe i didn't see enough but i
know that Gerber does have it in him to be a very good #1. I believe
for now entering the season with this combo between the pipes will work
for now and when the time comes the sens can re-assess their situation
and maybe make a deadline move for a different starting goalie.

Defensive players from that list that have left us are, obvious
hopefully but if not; Redden, Corvo and Preissing. Redden back in the
day was a great defensive d-man with a killer shot. But lately his
breakout passes have been off and has been struggling with stamina.
Once again i think he has potential to be great but i think just needed
a change of scenery maybe to spark something in the back of that head.
Corvo had legs that carried him from behind our net to the front of
theirs back to ours in a matter of seconds. But as of right now our
priorities lie with getting more defense in our line up. Our top three
are alot of power and we need to back that up. Bring in Smith.
Speculators say that he's past his prime but what has Ottawa done for
how many years..? They seem to always have faith in those that are
"getting on" in age. Bondra? Tom Barasso? even Hasek, who maybe wasn't
quite ready to throw in the towel but when he got injured at the
olympics, needless to say I wasn't a happy camper that we didn't have a
#1 goalie for a while. I think that Smith will make an impact on the
line, maybe not as big as Chara but we need the size, and along with
Lee who will make a big step this year (hopefully) I think that the D
will be well rounded, maybe with the addition of someone with a killer
breakout pass.

For forwards I'm first going to list who we lost and who we gained from
the 06-07 team. Lost: McGrattan, Shaefer, Eaves, Saprykin, Comrie.
Gained: Ruutu, Donovan, Bass, Foligno, *Winchester (I'm not even sure
what is going on with him, all i know is that he's on official roster
as per ottawasenators.com) In that list we have lost size, speed and
creative playmaking. For me, the one that we lost that hurts the most
is a toss up between Eaves and Comrie. Eaves was hurt for a large
amount of last season, but still i thought that he had a lot of finesse
and good speed to back it up. Smart player usually knowing where the
puck needed to go. Comrie was the same as Eaves in the knowledge for
the game department, but where he lacked in speed (compared to Eaves)
he made up for in grit and determination, going into the corners
whenever need be. But throw back in size speed and playmaking (to an
extent). Size is obvious where its going to come from now, Ruutu, and
speed is going to need to come from foligno. Like i said before, I'm
not sure of Winchester and what he is capable of. I have never
personally watched him play and have heard mixed feelings of what he
can bring to the table. The other two, Donovan and Bass, round out our
bottom two lines with great determination and a sense of wanting whats
right for the team, and worrying about themselves after the fact.

So, that being said and my hands getting cramps.. where does that leave us? Once again, IMO
we have replaced what we have lost from our stanley cup run season and
i sometimes think that we are now better. We have lost a cancer in the
dressing room, and trimmed the fat of people that were here for
themselves and not for the team ( I'm saying that because when Corvo
was traded, I was actually working within the senators organization and
spoke with some of the players on several occasions, and the word
around was that Corvo's comments when he was traded were along the
lines of "Good, my family and I didn't enjoy living in Ottawa and we're
looking forward to moving back down south.") I guess really my point of
this whole mess of rambling is that the senators are still an amazing
team, and will definitely be contenders in the upcoming season, maybe
not where we would idealy like to be when the season starts, but ladies
and gentlemen, there are still 65 days until the puck drops in Sweden,
and another five months after that before the trade deadline. Give
Murray time and i believe that we will be atleast third rounders in the
playoffs. My four hundred and twenty three cents.

One thing that I left out when I was writing this was the addition of Hartsburg. This man coming in will bring nothing but good to this team. A fresh new set of morals, and a focus on hard work, and playing for your ice time. One of the things that led to our teams downfall last season was coaching, and that got rectified. When the team went down the tubes last year, it started off by some people on the team, who shall remain nameless, showing very poor commitment to the teams desire to perform as one. Fights in practice amongst each other is completely unacceptable, and there is no way it should have gone basically unnoticed.. except to the media obviously. But it did, and our unit began to seperate. And time and time again it happened last season, and nothing was done to show the players that this was not what needed to happen at all. So out went Paddock and in came Mr. Craig. Only time will tell what this team will do, how the coach will adapt, and how long it takes for us to beat detroit's ass for the cup.

Go Sens!

p.s. Once again, I would like to thank Clutch, Cronie, Heater and Jam for giving us a place to vent our anger and preach our beliefs. Thanks for taking your time to read my thoughts, as I'm sure everyone here agrees, hockey is water. Without it, nobody lives.