Blog Archives
Off-Season Shrapnel
Here are some things to get you through the summer. Check back often as I’ll update it when more shrapnel hits.
“Never avoid contact!” Walter Payton
The ’67 LA Kings with their expansion “gems,” including a 74 year-old Terry Sawchuk.
People made fun of Mark Lee’s glasses, but a pitcher is never exactly the same after having Elton John Surgery
June 12 – PENS WIN!!!
Took him 7 years but “Sid the Kid” is back on top.
June 10 – Goodbye Gordie
In this Oct. 27, 1963, file photo, Detroit Red Wings star forward Gordie Howe is surrounded by teammates as he kneels after scoring his 544th goal to tie the National Hockey League all-time record, in Detroit. From left are Larry Jeffrey, Bill Gadsby, Howe, and Terry Sawchuck. Behind Howe is Alex Faulkner. Gordie Howe, the hockey great who set scoring records that stood for decades, has died. He was 88. Son Murray Howe confirmed the death Friday, June 10, 2016, texting to The Associated Press: “Mr Hockey left peacefully, beautifully, and with no regrets.”
18 year old rookie (notice elbow pads outside of jersey)
June 5 – A great pic of The Greatest
Ali knocking out Cleveland Williams, Nov. 14, 1966. Third round TKO.
Stanley Cup Final Moments
Just a couple of Canadian boys playing some hockey
That moment when you realize Korbinian Holzer is a lot bigger than you
May 19 – Andre the Giant would have turned 70 today.
Crack open a cold one for Fezzik. “Anybody want a peanut?”
Don’t mess with the Raptors’ mascot.
Joe Thornton feelin’ it.
May 18 – Yankee Stadium introduces the Obesity Snack Pack
The “Grub Tub” can also be used for relieving yourself so you don’t have to miss a moment of the game.
May 11 – Time to cut Linden Vey some slack. Click on image to read.
May 11 – Capitals lose to Penguins in rd 2.
Ovechkin = Yzerman? Mendes + Ovie = Bromance?
If Burns is Chewbacca, Jagr’s the Sasquatch
May 5 – Read about the greatest upset/accomplishment in sport from Claudio Ranieri, Managaer of Leicester City FC. Leicester City won the 2016 English Premier League after starting the season with 5000:1 odds.The entire team only made 1/2 the salary of the highest paid EPL player. Click on pic to read The Players Tribune story.
May 4 – Coyotes announce 26 year old John Chayka as GM. His analytical company has been used by many NHL teams for tracking player/team trends, but his greatest claim to fame is 3 points in 4 games for the Cowichan Valley Capitals back in ’09.
Seriously? A stats geek gets a job as an NHL GM? There’s hope for all of us yet.
What Burkie felt like at the draft lottery…
The best screen cap from the NHL Draft Lottery…
That moment when you jump from 6th to the top 3, and the guy beside you falls into your spot.
Most GMs brought along a lucky charm. Trevor Linden asked Pat Quinn’s daughter for something from her dad. She gave him a hockey card of the Toronto Maple Leafs former Coach, General Manager & Club President.
NHL & OFHL Draft Lottry 2016
Odds for the NHL draft lottery.
Odds for the OFHL Draft Lottery
- Stifler: 8/36 – 22.2%
- JBR: 7/36 – 19.4%
- Vinny: 6/36 – 16.7%
- EZ: 5/36 – 13.9%
- Haukster: 4/36 – 11.1%
- Cordy (from Orv): 3/36 – 8.3%
- Erty: 2/36 – 5.6%
- Gojo: 1/36 – 2.8%
- Oilers 100%
Week 15
RAMBLINGS
Some wise person said the musical offering should be at the beginning of the week review so that it can play as he scrolls through the jetsam & flotsam of the blog. So here goes…Here’s the song I think of every week when I put my ch-ch-ch-changes on the board. Thanks, Ziggy. And so long to Alan Rickman as well.
- Fulty has the big week with 43 points and jumps past Derko into 2nd
- Rolphy now only one point of 3rd
- 3-0 weeks for Fulty, Cordy, Rolphy, EZ, & T-MAN
- Derko has 3rd best week (39) but loses both his games
- Orv’s 26 points were good enough for a 2-1 record
- It’s been awhile since a 6 was rolled, but it happened and Haukster gets the pick-up for week 15
- The Great Turtle Race is all tied up at 2, as Stifler takes this week’s match-up.
Even Hans Gruber finds humour in the Turtle Race.
GET TO KNOW ME!
Time to get to know your OFHL Franchises. This week’s spotlight…. TEAM DERKO
- 18th season of operation
- 1st season: 1998-99 (0.148 winning %)
- Worst finish: 10th (’99, ’00, & ’03)
- Best finish: 1st in 2010 (0.760 %), & 2014 (0.722)
- Derko Cup Winner: ’08, ’09, & ’13
- 1st ever draft pick: Daniel Briere PX, 6th overall 1998 draft
- 1st pick-up: Hrdina PT
- 1st trade: traded Khabibulin PX & a 3rd (Gomez NJ) to Andrew for a 1st (V. Bure CY)
- 1st overall selections: 2004 Ovechkin WS, 2013 McKinnon CO
- Team logo:
NOW THIS….
You can just imagine the conversation….
……”So….you want the T-shirt to say ‘SIGN LUCIC’? That’ll be $45. Are you ever going to wear this again, or is it a door prize for a hockey pool?”
The Finnish WJC kids will be immortalized in a stamp. (does anyone use stamps anymore?)
Looks more like Kapanen is the lead on the Finnish Short-Track Speed Skating team.
Speaking of prospects…..
Sportsnet puts out their Top 30 2016 NHL Draft Prospects by Damien “You know nothing” Cox
POTW
There were lots of 7’s this week, Kane CH, Kopitar LA, OEL of Arizona, but a rookie gets the honours this week.
Calgary: When you score 4 goals in one game you get to drive the fire truck. Too bad he still can’t do a pull-up.
STANDINGS – WEEK 15
That’s it. Remember that Week 16 is an extended OFHL week due to the all-star weekend (and for ease of scheduling.) The week runs from Jan 18 to Jan 31.
Random Stuff
Time for some fishing.
Carey Price was the big winner at the NHL Awards Night.
Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens poses with, from left, the William M. Jennings trophy, the Vezina Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award trophy and the Art Ross trophy after winning the awards at the NHL Awards show Wednesday, June 24, 2015, in Las Vegas. Missing: THE DERKO CUP 2014-15
The Women’s World Cup team from Norway is a disgrace! Here’s why (with subtitles)
Sports on Earth ranked the NHL’s Most Tortured Fans. Listed here are the Top 10 & Canadian markets.
21. Montreal Canadiens (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 29. Stanley Cup wins: 22. Most recent title: 1993.)
They are the most successful franchise in NHL history, even if much of that success happened many decades ago. Since their 1970s dynasty, they’ve won two Cups, in 1986 and 1993 — not amazing, but not too bad either.
18. Winnipeg Jets (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 0. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
The franchise has never won a playoff game, let alone a series, even dating back to their days in Atlanta. But the Jets (well, this iteration of the Jets, at least) have only been in town since 2011, so their current fans haven’t had much time to suffer. Frankly, hockey fans in Winnipeg were so happy for the NHL to return after the original Jets moved to Phoenix that it will be a while before they can be considered truly tortured.
14. Edmonton Oilers (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 7. Stanley Cup wins: 5. Most recent title: 1990)
Boy, do their glory days feel like a long time ago. The past decade has been especially painful: Since their unexpected run to the Final in 2006, they haven’t returned to the postseason, and have finished last in five out of nine seasons. There’s reason for hope: Connor McDavid.
12. Calgary Flames (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 3. Stanley Cup wins: 1. Most recent title: 1989.)
They won the only championship in franchise history in 1989, but they have had a couple of particularly bad dry spells since, missing the playoffs seven straight years in the ’90s and ’00s, then again for five consecutive seasons before getting in as a surprise playoff team this year.
10. Ottawa Senators (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 1. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
They’ve yet to win a Cup, and only once have reached the Final.
9. Florida Panthers (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 1. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
The Panthers joined the NHL a year after Ottawa, and just like the Senators, they have one Final appearance and no Stanley Cups. Ottawa’s fan base is more devoted than Florida’s (the Panthers were last in attendance this season), but Florida also has had to endure more lousy hockey.
8. Arizona Coyotes (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 0. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
On the ice, the Coyotes haven’t been very good since arriving in Arizona in 1996, but it’s the off-the-ice craziness that has truly tortured fans. That drama is still unfolding, but it’s never a good sign for a fan base when the thing it should be happiest about is the fact that the team hasn’t left town yet.
7. San Jose Sharks (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 0. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
This year, the Sharks missed the playoffs for just the sixth time in their history, but they routinely disappoint come playoff time.
6. New York Islanders (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 5. Stanley Cup wins: 4. Most recent title: 1983.)
On the one hand, the Islanders won an incredible four straight Cups in the early ’80s. On the other hand, the franchise eventually devolved into an absolute circus, from the John Spano debacle to the switch to the loathed fisherman logo to the regrettable 15-year contract they gave to Rick DiPietro. Fun fact: Alexei Yashin’s contract just came off the books this week.
5. Washington Capitals (Stanley Cup Final appearance: 1. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
The Capitals have been around since 1974 and have never won a Cup. But it’s the past decade that’s really tortured fans, because expectations have been so high. Alex Ovechkin revived the franchise after the 2004-05 lockout, but the Caps still haven’t advanced past the second round since he came into the league, despite five division titles.
4. St. Louis Blues (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 3. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
The Blues made the playoffs every season from 1980 until 2004, and in recent years, they’ve been considered a threat to make a deep playoff run. But they’re the only still-in-existence franchise from the NHL’s 1967 expansion that hasn’t won a Cup, and they haven’t even been to a Final since getting there in each of their first three seasons.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 19. Stanley Cup wins: 13. Last title: 1967.)
A soap opera of a franchise that hasn’t won a title since 1967, and hasn’t even won a playoff series since 2004. Playing in Canada’s biggest city, they’ve got a rabid (if frustrated) fan base and are constantly under a ton of media scrutiny. Winning a Cup is the ultimate goal, but it’d be a step in the right direction to even bring some stability to the franchise and get it out of the laughingstock category.
2. Vancouver Canucks (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 3. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
The Canucks have been around since 1970 without a title, despite twice getting to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Routinely one of the best teams in the West under Alain Vigneault, they just as routinely underperformed in the playoffs. They have many of the elements of a truly tortured fan base: no titles, a dedicated fan base and a couple of agonizing near misses.
1. Buffalo Sabres (Stanley Cup Final appearances: 2. Stanley Cup wins: 0.)
To clarify, we’re not even considering the double whammy of being a Sabres fan and a Bills fan. We’re just looking at hockey here. But Sabres fans, passionate hockey fans that they are, have it rough: zero titles since entering the league in 1970, and one of their two trips to the Final ended in controversial fashion. (Brett Hull is still trolling them over that.) There’s reason for hope: Jack Eichel.
Summer is here and time to practice your high-dives…like these 2 Filipino National Dive team members.
Looks like Orv diving into the Tough Mudder’s Arctic Enema after Fulty “persuaded” him to enter.
Remember the Pontiac Silverdome? It’s now abandoned and run down. However, Red Bull put one of its BMX riders up to one last performance at the crumbling stadium. Watch as Tyler Fernengel takes on the old dome.
Looks like the pictures of modern-day Chernobyl…..sad.
Looks like Nick Bonino is healthy and ready for the season to start (said no one ever!)
Don’t know which is the bigger concern — that Bonino is forced to roll out his back in a Whole Foods parking lot, or that it’s mid-June and he still has the beard.
In the news; A pitcher who is equally adept throwing right or left, and at living on land or in water.
Some classic tennis coming up this summer. Get ready with Andy Samberg…
…or with The Royal Tenenbaums, featuring a big match played at “Windswept Fields”:
The Red Wings aren’t going to miss a beat. Check out this clip of new coach Jeff Blashill from the Wings’ 2014 prospect development camp. Gives you a pretty good idea what they’re getting.
Erty just ordered JBR’s “Draft oh-16” t-shirt today. I can’t wait to hear him say, “The Magic Unicorns are pleased to select Connor McDavid.”
But JBR probably won’t show so Derko will pick for him and mistakenly select David McConnor of the Scottish 3rd Division. He will justify the selection by stating, “He may be a soccer player, but have you seen him in yoga pants?”
Duncan “Freakish” Keith. King of the VO2 Max. Click on his 3rd grade promise to read the story.
Good on ya’, Tampa Bay Lightning Twitter feed.
Ad of the decade.
Runner-up
Some good research here by American Nate Silver:
“Professional hockey has an extremely regional following: it is extraordinarily popular in almost all of Canada, reasonably popular in parts of the northeastern and midwestern United States, and quite obscure elsewhere in the United States. These differences more than make up for the smaller size of Canadian markets. In fact, the typical Canadian team has considerably more N.H.L. fans in its market than the typical United States team does.” Did you read that Gary Bettman?
Silver is a analytics fan and researched Google search traffic for “NHL” is various media markets. His findings below show that Canadians are “avid fans”; Americans, more “regional fans.” The Canadian cities all scored above 50% except for Montreal (but that’s probably because Silver didn’t research “LNH” on LeGoogle.)
How about relocation? Seattle? Six Canadian cities show a more avid fan base than Seattle. Even Saskatoon has more NHL fans than Houston, Vegas, Milwaukee, or KC. Saskatoon.
If only “Wild” Bill Hunter hadn’t meddled in 1983, Saskatoon would be singing the Blues. Read it here.
Sorry Canucks fans, this is too good to pass up. The Province writers, in their desire to prove that their club is “Les Habitants” West, created the 101 greatest Canucks of all-time (yes, 101. I’ll get to that.) You’d expect to see the Sedins, Smyl, Bure, Linden, Naslund et al. on the list, followed by more obscure picks that only a die-hard would remember: #41 Chris Oddleifson, #67 Ivan Hlinka, #83 Garry Monahan, #88 John Gould, #93 Mark Messier (ooooohhhh, that’s gotta hurt!) But the best? #100 Brent Sopel – Makes the list for picking up a cracker. Food can be dangerous, ask Dustin Penner.
101? No consensus. Alex Auld, David Bruce, Mats Sundin, Luc Bourdon, Nathan Lafayette. Lafayette (10 career points as a ‘nuck) is known for only one mythical, traumatizing event: hitting the post in ’94. It’s such an iconic moment in Canucks history because of legions of Canucks fans who grew up with the Mighty Ducks movies, and recall Coach Bombay telling young Charlie Conway the story of the championship game where he hit the post:
Bombay: A quarter-of-an-inch this way and it would have gone in. A quarter of an inch, Charlie.
Charlie: Yeah, but a quarter-inch the other way and you’d have missed completely.
Bombay: I never thought of it that way.
You gotta keep the faith, Canucks fans.
Enjoying the semis?
From the ertyfiles
Welcome to the Club, Sid.
THN Draft Preview ’15 is out now. Draft is June 26th. Derko, set your PVR now!
Draft Simulator 2015
There’s a cool lottery simulator site out there that gives you the chance of drawing the winning team for the daft. I ran our league through it with the NHL odds. Our are a bit different than the NHLs.
NHL odds:
- Buffalo Sabres – 20.0%
- Arizona Coyotes – 13.5%
- Edmonton Oilers – 11.5%
- Toronto Maple Leafs – 9.5%
- Carolina Hurricanes – 8.5%
- New Jersey Devils – 7.5%
- Philadelphia Flyers – 6.5%
- Columbus Blue Jackets – 6.0%
Here are the odds for each OFHL team in our draft lottery:
- JBR 22.2%
- Stifler 19.4%
- T-Man (from Orv) 16.7%
- GoJo 13.9%
- Erty 11.1%
- Vinny 8.3%
- Orv (from T-Man) 5.6%
- eZ 2.8%
So in the Draft Simulator, these NHL teams would represent our OFHL teams:
- JBR – Buffalo Sabres
- Stifler – Arizona Coyotes
- T-Man – Edmonton Oilers
- GoJo – Toronto Maple Leafs
- Erty – Carolina Hurricanes
- Vinny – New Jersey Devils
- Orv – Philadelphia Flyers
- eZ – Columbus Blue Jackets
ofhl hq 
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