'Twas The Night Before Christmas

With it being Christmas Eve, I thought it might be appropriate to speak about my favorite part of the holiday season. Some people get excited for the presents and the festivities, but the one thing that I honestly look forward to every Christmas is the World Junior Championships. This is some of the best hockey you'll ever get to see, and the majority of the players are future NHL players. The rivalries between the Canadians, Russians, Americans, Swedes, Finns, and Czechs are still there, and each year provides a little more fodder for the battle, and a little more drama to the tournament.

But since it doesn't start for another two days, I thought I'd have a little fun with a traditional holiday practice that a lot of families still do. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the HBIC version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Enjoy!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the league
Not a player was stirring, not even Kris Versteeg.

The jerseys were hung in their lockers with care,
In hopes that Lord Stanley would soon be there.

The fans were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of Cup parades danced in their heads.

And Gary in his office, and I near my tree
And just tuning in for the World Junior Tourney.

Back in Regina there arose such a rattle!
I turned on the TV to see who was in battle.

Off to the sofa, I flew in a dash!
TSN has the feed; it starts in a flash!

The lights on the sheet of the freshly-laid ice
Gave way to red shirts and Canadians scoring twice!

When, what to my Canadian eyes should appear,
But 23 junior players, complete with hockey gear!

With a little coach deciding who is startin'
I knew it must be Willie Desjardins.

More rapid than eagles his players they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Go, Caron! Go, Brayden! Go, Teubert and Allen!
Go, Kadri! Go, Kozun! Go, Ellis and Cowen!

To the top of the pool! Be a defensive wall!
Now score a goal! Block a shot! Defeat them all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, raise their game high,

So up through the standings the players they flew,
With a slew of big goals, and defensive play too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard the crowd roar,
Five straight gold medals, and we want more.

As I drew in my head, and the excitement grew,
Down the length of ice Taylor Hall flew.

He was dressed all in red, from helmet to his skates,
The Hockey Canada logo on his chest looked great.

A big defenseman he carried on his back,
But with his speed and strength broke away from the pack.

His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And his teeth were clenched, as white as the snow.

The shaft of the stick he held tight in his hands
As the cheering grew from the crowd in the stands.

He had a gleam in his eye as he deked to the left,
before juking to the right with a move so deft.

Hall was alone by himself with a wide-open net
As the goalie guessed wrong, his fate having been met.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Hall scored the goal, and put this game to bed.

He spoke not a word, but thanked his teammates roundly,
A sixth gold medal after beating the world soundly.

And laying his medal inside of his stall,
He was thankful to be a part of it all.

This is my guess, and with solid reason,
A sixth gold medal in this holiday season.

So get ready for hockey for the next two weeks,
World Junior Championships are so sweet!

Happy Holidays to all my readers, and thanks for making my year so great! I'll have a full preview of the World Junior Championships tomorrow as the tournament kicks off on Boxing Day here in Canada, and December 26th for those without Boxing Day.

Until then, Merry Christmas!