So, it turns out that working three jobs doesn't provide a lot of time to blog as one might hope, but I have one of those jobs to thank for bringing me back to the Colorado hockey bloggosphere . . .
You see, one of my jobs is at a local ice arena, where this morning Joe Sakic (yes, THE Super Joe, Captain Clutch, Burnaby Joe Sakic) was hanging out in our lobby watching his son (I think Mitchell, the eldest) playing at one of our drop in programs. I was working, so I didn't ever get a chance to talk to him myself, unfortunately, but I did overhear him say something interesting to a little whipper-snapper who was encouraging him to play one more year for the Avs.
Now this is off the record AND just what I over heard (granted, from only 3 feet away, at most). The little boy (probably 9 or 10 years old) said "Please come back and play for the Avs one more year." Joe chuckled at this and then said that he wished it was so simple and there were a lot of thing to consider including " . . . . if they want me back."
IF.
Sounds to me, as a bystander in this conversation, that Joe's back is doing well (*phew*) and he would like to play professional hockey again, and all that really remains to decide is a contract. He may be waiting for the new Avs "management structure" to decide anything, but the implication I got from that one statement is that he WANTS to come back, but he isn't sure if there will be room for him. Which, to be fair, is a VERY legitimate worry - given that the Avs are likely to take center Matt Duchene in the upcoming draft, and the fact that Stastny will essentially be taking over Sakic's contract next year, leaving little cap space for the Avs to re-sign the perennial leader, Joe. With Stastny, Wolski, Stoa and Hensick, capable centers under contract, throw in Duchene and Guite . . . will there be room for our Super Joe??
At this point, it sounds like even Sakic himself is unsure . . . .
Which begs the question: IF there is no room in the inn for Joe, will he just go ahead and retire, OR would he perhaps consider the possibility of actually ending his career with a different team?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Practice Report
I am not working this week, so I decided to head to Avs practices while I have the chance. Yesterday I slept in (I was having a wonderful dream about the Avs winning the Cup that I just couldn't allow the alarm to pry me away from), and missed the Avs morning skate. My bad folks.
But Today.
Today they skated later in the morning and I got there early, before they had even hit the ice, and stayed until almost everyone had left.
In the good news side of things, all of our injured players did at least skate (apart from McLeod, whose hip must still be causing him troubles). Hejduk was out on the ice early and ran the early drills but left after about an hour and did not return to the ice. Wolski also skated for a little over an hour before ducking out. Liles is fine - apart from a nice shiner, and he skated the whole time. Svatos is looking good - he was even getting into a little extra-curricular contact against the boards while waiting his turn in drills. He should be good to go against Dallas tomorrow.
On the bad side of things. Budaj looked out of it at the start of the morning - he was obviously down (perhaps because of the rumors about the Avs going after the waivered Khabibulin - more on that later). After just about every drill he would stop to pray (I assume that's what he was doing anyway - knowing how seriously he takes his faith - and it looked like how I often pray) - but after the ice was cleared and the second half of practice started he seemed to gather himself and did well from then on out.
The guys ran various drills for the first half of practice, mostly shooting in teams, grey and black. Tucker and Jones spent more time on the line with Sakic. Clark and Foote were again paired on D - they have the makings of a great shut down line. Ledin is still going straight to the net - I have yet to see him score - but he making himself available for those rebound chances. Cumiskey looked good - but I'm beginning to side with those that would like to see him get lots of minutes in Cleveland than to have him languish as a 7th d-man here in Denver. Let Tjarnqvist be the 7th man, and put some serious development time into young Kyle on the Monsters.
Around 11 they cleared the ice, the skaters went back to the locker rooms, and Raycroft and Budaj spent some quality time with Hacket on the bench, just talking. (I think that really seemed to help Boots get his head after a crummy first half of practice). Most of the second half was spent working special teams with PP/PK drills. The PK looks good - which will be important as our gritty forwards are apt to take a lot of penalty minutes this season. The PP could still use some work. One screened shot got past Budaj, but for the most part not enough shots were being taken and they weren't jamming away at the few rebounds, so offensive opportunities were limited. The last half hour or so was spent in less organized drills - with Raycroft and Budaj taking turn in net being pummeled at close range, and the defensemen practicing their slap shots on the fly (Leopold hit a nifty one off the post - but with no one in net during the drill that's not saying a whole lot).
Anyway.
I will go back again tomorrow - and yes, I am aware that I missed blogging about Training Camp completely, but I will try to at least post some pictures later on in the week.
Tomorrow the Avs also host the Stars in a pre-season bout at the Can. I will be in attendance there as well, so I will probably have a two blog day tomorrow. I can tell you are all anxious with anticipation.
(Maybe I'll graze the topic of Khabibulin and why I think it would be a bad idea for the Avs to sign him then . . . . for now - he has cleared waivers, so we'll see what happens - maybe the Kings will pick him up, since they still need to get above the salary floor)
Peace, Love and Hockey
But Today.
Today they skated later in the morning and I got there early, before they had even hit the ice, and stayed until almost everyone had left.
In the good news side of things, all of our injured players did at least skate (apart from McLeod, whose hip must still be causing him troubles). Hejduk was out on the ice early and ran the early drills but left after about an hour and did not return to the ice. Wolski also skated for a little over an hour before ducking out. Liles is fine - apart from a nice shiner, and he skated the whole time. Svatos is looking good - he was even getting into a little extra-curricular contact against the boards while waiting his turn in drills. He should be good to go against Dallas tomorrow.
On the bad side of things. Budaj looked out of it at the start of the morning - he was obviously down (perhaps because of the rumors about the Avs going after the waivered Khabibulin - more on that later). After just about every drill he would stop to pray (I assume that's what he was doing anyway - knowing how seriously he takes his faith - and it looked like how I often pray) - but after the ice was cleared and the second half of practice started he seemed to gather himself and did well from then on out.
The guys ran various drills for the first half of practice, mostly shooting in teams, grey and black. Tucker and Jones spent more time on the line with Sakic. Clark and Foote were again paired on D - they have the makings of a great shut down line. Ledin is still going straight to the net - I have yet to see him score - but he making himself available for those rebound chances. Cumiskey looked good - but I'm beginning to side with those that would like to see him get lots of minutes in Cleveland than to have him languish as a 7th d-man here in Denver. Let Tjarnqvist be the 7th man, and put some serious development time into young Kyle on the Monsters.
Around 11 they cleared the ice, the skaters went back to the locker rooms, and Raycroft and Budaj spent some quality time with Hacket on the bench, just talking. (I think that really seemed to help Boots get his head after a crummy first half of practice). Most of the second half was spent working special teams with PP/PK drills. The PK looks good - which will be important as our gritty forwards are apt to take a lot of penalty minutes this season. The PP could still use some work. One screened shot got past Budaj, but for the most part not enough shots were being taken and they weren't jamming away at the few rebounds, so offensive opportunities were limited. The last half hour or so was spent in less organized drills - with Raycroft and Budaj taking turn in net being pummeled at close range, and the defensemen practicing their slap shots on the fly (Leopold hit a nifty one off the post - but with no one in net during the drill that's not saying a whole lot).
Anyway.
I will go back again tomorrow - and yes, I am aware that I missed blogging about Training Camp completely, but I will try to at least post some pictures later on in the week.
Tomorrow the Avs also host the Stars in a pre-season bout at the Can. I will be in attendance there as well, so I will probably have a two blog day tomorrow. I can tell you are all anxious with anticipation.
(Maybe I'll graze the topic of Khabibulin and why I think it would be a bad idea for the Avs to sign him then . . . . for now - he has cleared waivers, so we'll see what happens - maybe the Kings will pick him up, since they still need to get above the salary floor)
Peace, Love and Hockey
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Rookie Camp
Before I post the info on Rookie Camp - I feel I should mention two things that I sadly did not have the time to blog about while I was getting settled back into life in Colorado following my move.
The first, and biggest is Sakic's return. I wish I had written the blog I had planned to write to get my prediction on paper - so all of you could ooo and awe now. But I missed my window of opportunity whilst driving across Kansas. Had I the time to write before he made his decision I would have told you - as I told my friends - that after hearing his interview on The Fan (8/11/08) it sounded to me like he had made his decision - and he would be coming back - but for whatever reason the announcement would not be made yet. I would also have said that no matter his decision, I thought it was likely that he would make his announcement during the DNC, since that would absorb most of the local news media spotlight - and keep it off of him.
BUT I didn't write that.
Never the less, Sakic is back, with another one year contract to captain the Colorado Avalanche.
And there was much rejoicing!
In other news - the Habs will be raising Roy's 33 to the rafters. A little surprising given the way he left Montreal, but he is certainly deserving of the honor. Of course this now means that the Avs will have no retired numbers of our own, as we already share the honoring of #77 with Boston, and will now share #33 with the Canadiens. Oh well, no rush there - because the next number we're likely to retire is one that will truly be ALL ours (well, and our predecessor the Nordiques) - and that's #19 - no rush to hoist that one to the rafters.
Now on to Rookie Camp . . . .
I got there a little late - it started at 9:30am and we didn't get there until nearly 10:00am. Galiardi was out (blue shirt), but we quickly picked out the faces of Hensick, Jones, Tessier, Stewart and Peltier (having neglected to pick up the roster sheet when we first walked in). They ran drills on Hamilton Rink for about an hour and then moved to the Avalanche Rink for a scrimmage game.
During the scrimmage Burki took a puck to the shin, and hobbled off the ice pretty quick after that. If I had to venture a guess I would say that he will have a really gnarly bruise come morning (if not already) - but it didn't look to me like anything was broken. But keep an ear out.
McCutcheon was a bit of a surprise to me. A 24 year old center from Ithaca under an AHL contract with the Avs affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters, he made things happen when he was on the ice, scoring twice during the scrimmage. We have a glut of centers, and as such he will more than likely be back with the Monsters this year, but guys like him help to raise the level of play in their teammates, and hopefully he can lead the Monsters to some playoff success of their own in their sophomore campaign.
You may have heard it said before, but David Jones is a very hard worker. He is really following through around the net, getting his own rebounds and those of his linemates, following through with his checks, maybe it's because he was a 9th round draft pick, but whatever the reason he obviously puts his heart and soul into everything he is doing out there - even when it's "just" a practice scrimmage. This was especially apparent when he hung around to take shots on the rookie goalies after the scrimmage, when most other players and most of the fans had left. Arnason, who has often been accused of being lazy, could learn a thing or two from Jonesy. If he put in the effort Jones does, with his natural talent he could be amazing.
After the scrimmage most of the fans left - I think trying to avoid grid lock on I-25 because of the Broncos game this afternoon at Mile High (an interesting story in its own right - but beyond the scope of this Colorado Hockey Blog). My crew and I hung around a while longer though and watched the rookie goalies go through some drills with Galiardi, Jones and some others while working with "The Goalie Whisperer", Jeff Hacket. We officially have a new favorite - at least as far as personality goes - Keserich was hamming it up for us. Keserich played last year for the Colorado Eagles of the CHL but was recently signed to an AHL contract and will likely be with the Monsters this coming year. While Delmas (or was it Cann??) was in goal running through a drill - Keserich was goofing off trying to hit empty netters on the goal at the other end of the ice. When he happened to hit one on his second try my friends and I cheered and rung our cow bells (yes, we brought cow bells to Rookie Camp - it is training time for the players and fans alike - at least that was our reasoning). I think he honestly thought no one was even paying attention to him, so when he heard us makin' all that noise for his cross-ice empty netter he looked up took off his mask and gave us a big celebratory grin. Later when a few stragglers were left he and Cann were passing and puck handling around the net and he took a shot - hitting it top shelf and got it stuck in the mesh. We all cheered again and Keserich skated around with a celebratory fist pump (well, at least, what I imagine would have been a fist pump if he was wearing a big 'ole goalie catching glove) of the variety forwards Crosby and Stastny are known for. I am almost sad that he will be in Cleveland next year (though it is certainly a step up from the CHL) - because he will be too far away for us to go and cheer for him.
Anyway, I took some pictures, they aren't great, because, well, I don't have a digital SLR camera with a telephoto lens, at least not yet and when I get the image option working I will post them, for now here is the complete Rookie Camp Roster and the schedule for the rest of Training Camp (this week's Rookie Camp and regular camp which starts on Saturday morning).
Rookie Roster
37 - TJ Henick - C
38 - Codey Burki - C
41 - Michael Vernance - D
42 - Chris Stewart - RW
43 - TJ Galiardi - LW
47 - Ray Macias - D
49 - Darcy Campbell - D
50 - Derek Peltier - D
51 - Tom Fritsche - LW
54 - David Jones - RW
56 - Kevin Montgomery - D
57 - Rob Drummond - RW
58 - Nigel Williams - D
59 - Phillippe Dupuis - C
61 - J.D. Corbin - LW
62 - Wes O'Neill - D
63 - Mark McCutcheon - C
64 - Ian Keserich - G
65 - Jack Combs - RW
67 - Trevor Cann - G
68 - Bryan Marshall - C
70 - Peter Delmas - G
71 - Chris Mueller - C
72 - Joel Chouinard - D
73 - Cameron Gaunce - D
74 - Kelsey Tessier - C
75 - Dustin Sylvester - C
Camp Schedule
Sun, Sept. 14 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Mon, Sept. 15 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Tues, Sept. 16 -Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Wed, Sept. 17 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Sat, Sept. 20 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Sun, Sept. 21 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Mon, Sept. 22 - Burgundy/White Game - 6:00 p.m. - Air Force
Tues, Sept. 23 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Wed, Sept. 24 - Preseason game vs. LA - 7:00 p.m. - Pepsi Center
I will post more details on our rookies tomorrow, but that should suffice for now. The countdown to the season can now truly begin!!
The first, and biggest is Sakic's return. I wish I had written the blog I had planned to write to get my prediction on paper - so all of you could ooo and awe now. But I missed my window of opportunity whilst driving across Kansas. Had I the time to write before he made his decision I would have told you - as I told my friends - that after hearing his interview on The Fan (8/11/08) it sounded to me like he had made his decision - and he would be coming back - but for whatever reason the announcement would not be made yet. I would also have said that no matter his decision, I thought it was likely that he would make his announcement during the DNC, since that would absorb most of the local news media spotlight - and keep it off of him.
BUT I didn't write that.
Never the less, Sakic is back, with another one year contract to captain the Colorado Avalanche.
And there was much rejoicing!
In other news - the Habs will be raising Roy's 33 to the rafters. A little surprising given the way he left Montreal, but he is certainly deserving of the honor. Of course this now means that the Avs will have no retired numbers of our own, as we already share the honoring of #77 with Boston, and will now share #33 with the Canadiens. Oh well, no rush there - because the next number we're likely to retire is one that will truly be ALL ours (well, and our predecessor the Nordiques) - and that's #19 - no rush to hoist that one to the rafters.
Now on to Rookie Camp . . . .
I got there a little late - it started at 9:30am and we didn't get there until nearly 10:00am. Galiardi was out (blue shirt), but we quickly picked out the faces of Hensick, Jones, Tessier, Stewart and Peltier (having neglected to pick up the roster sheet when we first walked in). They ran drills on Hamilton Rink for about an hour and then moved to the Avalanche Rink for a scrimmage game.
During the scrimmage Burki took a puck to the shin, and hobbled off the ice pretty quick after that. If I had to venture a guess I would say that he will have a really gnarly bruise come morning (if not already) - but it didn't look to me like anything was broken. But keep an ear out.
McCutcheon was a bit of a surprise to me. A 24 year old center from Ithaca under an AHL contract with the Avs affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters, he made things happen when he was on the ice, scoring twice during the scrimmage. We have a glut of centers, and as such he will more than likely be back with the Monsters this year, but guys like him help to raise the level of play in their teammates, and hopefully he can lead the Monsters to some playoff success of their own in their sophomore campaign.
You may have heard it said before, but David Jones is a very hard worker. He is really following through around the net, getting his own rebounds and those of his linemates, following through with his checks, maybe it's because he was a 9th round draft pick, but whatever the reason he obviously puts his heart and soul into everything he is doing out there - even when it's "just" a practice scrimmage. This was especially apparent when he hung around to take shots on the rookie goalies after the scrimmage, when most other players and most of the fans had left. Arnason, who has often been accused of being lazy, could learn a thing or two from Jonesy. If he put in the effort Jones does, with his natural talent he could be amazing.
After the scrimmage most of the fans left - I think trying to avoid grid lock on I-25 because of the Broncos game this afternoon at Mile High (an interesting story in its own right - but beyond the scope of this Colorado Hockey Blog). My crew and I hung around a while longer though and watched the rookie goalies go through some drills with Galiardi, Jones and some others while working with "The Goalie Whisperer", Jeff Hacket. We officially have a new favorite - at least as far as personality goes - Keserich was hamming it up for us. Keserich played last year for the Colorado Eagles of the CHL but was recently signed to an AHL contract and will likely be with the Monsters this coming year. While Delmas (or was it Cann??) was in goal running through a drill - Keserich was goofing off trying to hit empty netters on the goal at the other end of the ice. When he happened to hit one on his second try my friends and I cheered and rung our cow bells (yes, we brought cow bells to Rookie Camp - it is training time for the players and fans alike - at least that was our reasoning). I think he honestly thought no one was even paying attention to him, so when he heard us makin' all that noise for his cross-ice empty netter he looked up took off his mask and gave us a big celebratory grin. Later when a few stragglers were left he and Cann were passing and puck handling around the net and he took a shot - hitting it top shelf and got it stuck in the mesh. We all cheered again and Keserich skated around with a celebratory fist pump (well, at least, what I imagine would have been a fist pump if he was wearing a big 'ole goalie catching glove) of the variety forwards Crosby and Stastny are known for. I am almost sad that he will be in Cleveland next year (though it is certainly a step up from the CHL) - because he will be too far away for us to go and cheer for him.
Anyway, I took some pictures, they aren't great, because, well, I don't have a digital SLR camera with a telephoto lens, at least not yet and when I get the image option working I will post them, for now here is the complete Rookie Camp Roster and the schedule for the rest of Training Camp (this week's Rookie Camp and regular camp which starts on Saturday morning).
Rookie Roster
37 - TJ Henick - C
38 - Codey Burki - C
41 - Michael Vernance - D
42 - Chris Stewart - RW
43 - TJ Galiardi - LW
47 - Ray Macias - D
49 - Darcy Campbell - D
50 - Derek Peltier - D
51 - Tom Fritsche - LW
54 - David Jones - RW
56 - Kevin Montgomery - D
57 - Rob Drummond - RW
58 - Nigel Williams - D
59 - Phillippe Dupuis - C
61 - J.D. Corbin - LW
62 - Wes O'Neill - D
63 - Mark McCutcheon - C
64 - Ian Keserich - G
65 - Jack Combs - RW
67 - Trevor Cann - G
68 - Bryan Marshall - C
70 - Peter Delmas - G
71 - Chris Mueller - C
72 - Joel Chouinard - D
73 - Cameron Gaunce - D
74 - Kelsey Tessier - C
75 - Dustin Sylvester - C
Camp Schedule
Sun, Sept. 14 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Mon, Sept. 15 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Tues, Sept. 16 -Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Wed, Sept. 17 - Rookie Camp - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Family Sports
Sat, Sept. 20 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Sun, Sept. 21 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Mon, Sept. 22 - Burgundy/White Game - 6:00 p.m. - Air Force
Tues, Sept. 23 - Training Camp - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Family Sports
Wed, Sept. 24 - Preseason game vs. LA - 7:00 p.m. - Pepsi Center
I will post more details on our rookies tomorrow, but that should suffice for now. The countdown to the season can now truly begin!!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Less than one month 'til Avs Training Camp
Okay, so I am moving this weekend and don't have time for a long blog entry, sadly. But I thought I should post something - so for those of you who are not already aware, the Avs announced the schedule for training camp this past week. The following are the dates and times the Avs will be on the ice for the public to watch.
AVS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE
Sept. 14-17 ... Rookie training camp, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Sept. 20-21 ... Training camp, 9 a.m.-noon
Sept. 22 ... Burgundy-White game, 6 p.m., at Air Force Academy *
Sept. 23 ... Training camp, 9 a.m.-noon
Sept. 24 ... Preseason opener vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m., Pepsi Center*
Avs skates are free and open to the public at South Suburban Family Sports Center in Centennial. I will definitely be there as often as possible, for my own enjoyment as a fan, and I'll report daily here on the blog.
*Tickets for the Burgundy & White scrimmage game and other pre-season games are available for purchase online by following the links given below.
Burgundy and White Tickets
Pepsi Center Box Office
AVS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE
Sept. 14-17 ... Rookie training camp, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Sept. 20-21 ... Training camp, 9 a.m.-noon
Sept. 22 ... Burgundy-White game, 6 p.m., at Air Force Academy *
Sept. 23 ... Training camp, 9 a.m.-noon
Sept. 24 ... Preseason opener vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m., Pepsi Center*
Avs skates are free and open to the public at South Suburban Family Sports Center in Centennial. I will definitely be there as often as possible, for my own enjoyment as a fan, and I'll report daily here on the blog.
*Tickets for the Burgundy & White scrimmage game and other pre-season games are available for purchase online by following the links given below.
Burgundy and White Tickets
Pepsi Center Box Office
Friday, August 22, 2008
What do you do when a dream dies?
So before I jump in on the Sakic speculation, the debate over the move from The Fan, rumors of Sundin's ultimate landing spot, Foppa's foot or anything else Avs related I want to take you back.
Back before the Olympics.
Back before Free Agency.
Back to when the interminable summer had barely begun.
Back when Theo was still unsigned by anyone.
Back when many fans still seemed hopeful despite loss.
Back to the draft - and what in my opinion was the most touching moment - the drafting of David Carle.
You see David Carle, who is to be a freshman at DU this fall, and who received a scholarship to play hockey for the Pioneers found out that he will never be able to play the sport to which he has so far dedicated his life at the level he might have hoped. Nope. Carle was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that could result in his sudden death should he participate in the high intensity games of NCAA hockey, not to mention the NHL. The condition, known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, was discovered while at the Draft Combine earlier this summer.
Gwozdecky and the staff at DU athletics agreed to honor his scholarship and allow him to participate with the team, though he cannot play for them. According to Gwozdecky, "There was never any question about us honoring his scholarship. This is something we all know David could handle since he has that type of personality and courage." This might have been enough. Surely that's already above and beyond the call of duty. But then to top it all off the team that had won the Stamkos sweepstakes used their final, 7th round draft pick to select David Carle - knowing full well that he would never see NHL ice.
That, my friends, is why I love hockey - because that is pure class.
The reason I bring this up now (apart from the fact that this blog didn't even exist on the day the original story broke) is that NHL.com recently posted an update on Carle and how life has been treating him since his rather grim diagnosis.
Carle will be the student assistant coach with DU this coming year, and I don't know about you, but I smell Scotty Bowman story in the making here. Not to put all that on Carle at so young an age - but the potential is there. He is certainly a young man to keep an eye on.
Back before the Olympics.
Back before Free Agency.
Back to when the interminable summer had barely begun.
Back when Theo was still unsigned by anyone.
Back when many fans still seemed hopeful despite loss.
Back to the draft - and what in my opinion was the most touching moment - the drafting of David Carle.
You see David Carle, who is to be a freshman at DU this fall, and who received a scholarship to play hockey for the Pioneers found out that he will never be able to play the sport to which he has so far dedicated his life at the level he might have hoped. Nope. Carle was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that could result in his sudden death should he participate in the high intensity games of NCAA hockey, not to mention the NHL. The condition, known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, was discovered while at the Draft Combine earlier this summer.
Gwozdecky and the staff at DU athletics agreed to honor his scholarship and allow him to participate with the team, though he cannot play for them. According to Gwozdecky, "There was never any question about us honoring his scholarship. This is something we all know David could handle since he has that type of personality and courage." This might have been enough. Surely that's already above and beyond the call of duty. But then to top it all off the team that had won the Stamkos sweepstakes used their final, 7th round draft pick to select David Carle - knowing full well that he would never see NHL ice.
That, my friends, is why I love hockey - because that is pure class.
The reason I bring this up now (apart from the fact that this blog didn't even exist on the day the original story broke) is that NHL.com recently posted an update on Carle and how life has been treating him since his rather grim diagnosis.
Carle will be the student assistant coach with DU this coming year, and I don't know about you, but I smell Scotty Bowman story in the making here. Not to put all that on Carle at so young an age - but the potential is there. He is certainly a young man to keep an eye on.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
First Post
Okay - so there is not much at all to say at this point, so I suppose I'll just lay out what the goals of this blog will be. This blog is an extention of the as yet unpublished site: www.thehockeymountainregion.com which endeavors to cover ice hockey in the state of Colorado, from pee wee leagues, to college, to minor league, the NHL and beyond.
A little intro to the anonymous author - she (yes, she, gasp) is a college graduate who grew up in Colorado and fell in love with the sport not long after the Colorado Avalanche moved to town. After year of living in hockey black holes she is finally back home in her beloved Rocky Mountains - trying as hard as she can to follow all of the teams that call her Centennial State home. She has a regular day job, though she would love to cover hockey day in and day out for a living it's just simply not possible. She would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read her (hopefully) daily ramblings on the coolest sport on Earth.
A little intro to the anonymous author - she (yes, she, gasp) is a college graduate who grew up in Colorado and fell in love with the sport not long after the Colorado Avalanche moved to town. After year of living in hockey black holes she is finally back home in her beloved Rocky Mountains - trying as hard as she can to follow all of the teams that call her Centennial State home. She has a regular day job, though she would love to cover hockey day in and day out for a living it's just simply not possible. She would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read her (hopefully) daily ramblings on the coolest sport on Earth.
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