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-- The Official NHL 2008-2009 Season
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Got the Avs today. Im guessing 3-1 sharks.

what a comeback last night..

lol rangers

Damn it seems like a long time since the sharks played...and its only been a day.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak what a comeback last night.. lol rangers

just a blip on the radar

at least we didn't blow a 5 goal lead this time

The canes just had a crazy comeback against the leafs.

quote:

Originally posted by verndogs just a blip on the radar at least we didn't blow a 5 goal lead this time

lol that was the highlight of last season for me

Toronto has been surprisingly less shit than expected this year, but the rangers should win every time against them...won't happen twice i think

had it been any other team than the isles 9 times out of 10 we would have lost.

LEN i feel your pain..my habs don't play until next friday, but i'll watch the sharks this week while waiting. They are really a fun team to watch, you must be ecstatic.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak LEN i feel your pain..my habs don't play until next friday, but i'll watch the sharks this week while waiting. They are really a fun team to watch, you must be ecstatic.

Im very happy with their looks so far but Im trying to be humble because its early. They beat some good teams but those teams were still rusty so its hard to feel real comfortable. This new style is really fun to watch, Id just like to see the PP score more because the sharks are drawing a ton of penalties. Passing is sloppy still too.

HA the sharks just went up 2-0

the thing is the sharks should beat 95% of the teams they face in the regular season...the playoffs will be different. I already can not wait for this "useless" hockey to be over and to get to the real motherfucking deal.

Another win! 5-3 sharks! Rocky game but got through it. Not the usual sharks...less aggressive. 10-2..best for the franchise start.

Yes...playoff are the sharks tough spot...we will see if this pace keeps up.

i like the fact that we have a lot of games in hand and are still almost at the top of the conference.

pressure is on the rangers.

congrats on the win, i will watch this week...friday is so far away.

also big props to being an american fan in a place where there are not enough...we need more, this is the best game there is.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak pressure is on the rangers.

Unless we figure it's ok to shoot on goal when we're on the power play (AGAIN), we'll probably end up being in the middle of the pack. Great goaltending can only take us so far

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak also big props to being an american fan in a place where there are not enough...we need more, this is the best game there is.

It'll help tremendously if ESPN got back the rights to broadcast the NHL. I really miss watching random games on ESPN.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak i like the fact that we have a lot of games in hand and are still almost at the top of the conference. pressure is on the rangers. congrats on the win, i will watch this week...friday is so far away. also big props to being an american fan in a place where there are not enough...we need more, this is the best game there is.

Thank you sir! I agree...it is the best sport around...not enough love or exposure out here.

Fun Fact: San Jose actually has the largest adult hockey league in the U.S. San Jose seems to be the only area on the west to really embrace the sport. Im proud of that. You really have to want to learn/like hockey here. You arent born into it.

Wednesday we play the Wild. They look pretty good so it should be a good one. Playing like tonight will get us a loss against them. Gotta step back into that aggresive mode.

I love hearing that...being from Montreal, you are born in it...and when i read something like you just wrote it is emo in a good way. I never believed in hockey being in the "sun belt", but if it is working than i am more than happy to admit i was wrong.

@ Vern...the rangers will finish higher than middle of the pack. It is the lack of depth though that still makes me think they wont make it far post season. That is just my opinion, but the future is bright for the blue shirts...just not in our year

Dubam...you must be so happy about crosby playing strong on saturday. Semin fucking ripped him in the press...my oh my will he eat his words.

ps...the wild power play is a joke...san jose will win if they get more than 25 shots on goal. Iron clad, bet the sharks.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak Dubam...you must be so happy about crosby playing strong on saturday. Semin fucking ripped him in the press...my oh my will he eat his words.

Yeah I heard those comments, almost laughed myself to death.

It's not like Ovechkin needs that hype, especially from a guy who's nothing compared to either one of them.

he is a good player, and he does lead the league in scoring right now if i am not mistaken...but i have a feeling he will defect to russia and no one will care. The KHL will lure many russians into making less than they are worth. I just find it silly that a player who has not had a full season to his credit (aka: a fragile pussy with talent) would make comments about a small guy that puts up a fight like crosby does.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak i like the fact that we have a lot of games in hand and are still almost at the top of the conference. pressure is on the rangers. congrats on the win, i will watch this week...friday is so far away. also big props to being an american fan in a place where there are not enough...we need more, this is the best game there is.

Hockey is a fucking awesome sport. I wish I didnt stop playing. I played hockey for 3 years - its been almost 10 years since Ive been back on the ice... this winter Im buying myself a new pair of skates and Im gonna start practicing again so I can play with my boy. My good friend Mike has been playing since he was a kid still plays now for Mens league, they travel to Miami for the tournaments and they won last year, were runner ups this year. He used to train, practice and play with Kasparitis and Mironov.

Jay, I agree somewhat that the Rangers dont have depth outside of whats on the bench, but so far so good, no one is getting hurt and people arent sitting out games for sore muscles and bruises.

One Christmas hits, and Im working 70hrs a week, Im getting these skates...

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak ps...the wild power play is a joke...san jose will win if they get more than 25 shots on goal. Iron clad, bet the sharks.

25 might not be enough, because Backstrom is a good goalie, unless of course the D just sits back and lets SJ just skate right around them.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak he is a good player, and he does lead the league in scoring right now if i am not mistaken...but i have a feeling he will defect to russia and no one will care. The KHL will lure many russians into making less than they are worth. I just find it silly that a player who has not had a full season to his credit (aka: a fragile pussy with talent) would make comments about a small guy that puts up a fight like crosby does.

The thing is, the KHL will give them more money then the NHL to play in russia, im sure the mentality about it is something like this... "im not winning a cup with this team, might as well go there and make money".

It would be unfortunate, but if things keep going the way they are with Atlanta, Kovalchuk might leave to russia. Atlanta should do a Boston and trade him and get a bunch of players and draft picks in return.

Another thing Atlanta could do is actually go with the move, and they definitely need to move to Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford or Seattle. They HAVE TO move someplace where hockey is appreciated and loved, and the players actually feel like theyre being embraced. Ovechkin has gone on record saying how much he loves playing in Canada because of how hockey crazy the fans are.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak i like the fact that we have a lot of games in hand and are still almost at the top of the conference. pressure is on the rangers. congrats on the win, i will watch this week...friday is so far away. also big props to being an american fan in a place where there are not enough...we need more, this is the best game there is.

The UK & Europe is a huge market in waiting too. Even though the quality of our hockey leagues is fairly poor, we still sell loads of tickets & a winter classic type game at wembley stadium would be absolutely immense, or just the odd league game played over here, similar to the prague/stockholm deal this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Ian The UK & Europe is a huge market in waiting too. Even though the quality of our hockey leagues is fairly poor, we still sell loads of tickets & a winter classic type game at wembley stadium would be absolutely immense, or just the odd league game played over here, similar to the prague/stockholm deal this time.

The leagues might be poor not because of the players, but because there isnt much quality coaching out there. If somebody were to step up and actually want to take the initiative to set something up in the UK, Im sure plenty of talent would be discovered.

As far as Europe, the market is already huge over there, they just dont have a NHL type thing there where countries and battle each other on a constant basis. Its set up like soccer with all the clubs, but hockey doesnt nearly have the depth that soccer does, so its kinda flawed.

The leagues in Europe are not that weak at all, it is just a different game. The players there tend to be on the smaller side and play on an IIHF sized rink. This is a whole different game with a rink this size. When the Czech Republic won their Olympic Gold medal they were one of the only teams from the "big 7" that had less non NHL players than NHL players.

I think coaching, especially at the youth level could be a problem for some of these counties, but the bigger one would be accessibility. Hockey is a very expensive sport to play as compared to soccer. Families with lower incomes in Europe are more likely to involve their kids in soccer because it can be played with little more than a pair of shoes and a ball. A growing boy can go through many sets of hockey gear (extremely expensive...when i grew almost a foot over a summer, i was lucky to get some donated goalie gear, because it was just too much of an investment to keep up and change gear so often),and this does not count ice time, which is very very expensive. You don't only play games, but need to practice at least 2 times a week.

Canada has many programs to help with this, and even government grants to encourage the level of one of our National Sports, because it is important to our national identity abroad that we be the best hockey nation. When other governments catch up or show interest in becoming a dominant hockey country, they will be able to acheive this. A good example would be Germany and Switzerland. Since the governments there have invested into hockey, both programs have gone from being minor league , to producing several NHL players.

The NHL presence in Europe right now is a good thing. It is just a few games a year now, but combine that with the new Champions League and you have the recipe for exponential growth of this sport. The NHL and NBA are the only "American" sports leagues that get significant interest in Europe, and the NHL wants to be there before basketball.

/rant

SD Version: In the near future you will see NHL and European leagues compete at some level against each other. (on the ice) If inter continental travel sees any breakthroughs to shorten travel times, there is a high probability of European based teams. The KHL has sparked great debate over this this year already. Either way, every hockey fan is a winner.

Honestly though, the equipment itself (all the pads) are pretty cheap, for $200 bucks you can get the entire set, and it will be top of the line stuff.

Its the skates and the sticks that break your back. Especially the sticks, I remember back in the day when I would get Christensen sticks for like 20-30 bucks... now its like $75 for a decent stick, and if it breaks, youre fucked, gotta get a new one.

some families don't have 200$. I also never had gear that cost that little, even when i was not in nets. Full goalie gear will cost above 2k. You can't even get a decent pair of skates for less than 200, and it is important not to wear shit skates, because breaking your legs,foot, ankle is very easy and not too fun.

Add to this that ice time will cost in the very least a few hundred a year, not counting tournament expenses.

Makes soccer a much easier choice no?

I hate graphite sticks.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak some families don't have 200$. I also never had gear that cost that little, even when i was not in nets. Full goalie gear will cost above 2k. You can't even get a decent pair of skates for less than 200, and it is important not to wear shit skates, because breaking your legs,foot, ankle is very easy and not too fun. Add to this that ice time will cost in the very least a few hundred a year, not counting tournament expenses. Makes soccer a much easier choice no? I hate graphite sticks.

I totally agree, hockey is by far the most expensive sport out there. I didnt play goalie but I remember the pads, even 10 years ago, would be like $1500 just for the leg pads. Goalies are the exception to what I said before.

But yea, skates are murder, the Graf's I want are $450, which is crazy, but its worth it, they will last forever.

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