French Connection Memories

It's always a tough day when the hockey world loses a legend, but it's even harder when that legend is one of the nicest men to ever walk the planet. Rick Martin, a Buffalo Sabres legend, passed away yesterday at the age of 59 from what was determined to be Hypertensive Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, which is related to high blood pressure and clogged arteries. Martin had suffered a heart attack while driving which forced him to be in a single-car accident. The former member of "The French Connection" was loved in the Buffalo area, and always seemed to have a smile on his face. The Sabres great will always be remembered as a team-first guy who loved his extended Sabres family as much as he did his immediate family, will always stand out as a fantastic hockey player.

"On behalf of the Sabre family and all his former teammates, friends, as being a guy that I've been in the community with now for 30 years, we lost a heck of a guy today," said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said on Sunday. "He was a teammate, he was somebody I worked with as part of the coaching staff, somebody I played golf with. He was a great person. I think anybody that crossed his path would say the same. It's tough when you lose anybody, and we lost a real good person today. It's a tough one to take."

Channel 4 WIBV in Buffalo put together a really nice video about Rick Martin. I think this says a quite about how great Mr. Martin was as a person, teammate, and Buffalo Sabre.

I never had the opportunity to watch Rick Martin play before he retired, but there are lots of clips online that show Martin's abilities very well. The fifth pick of the 1971 NHL Entry Draft showed soft hands and great skill in a lot of his goals on The French Connection line when teamed with legends Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert, and there are some great clips of him in action. To the video!

Rick "Rico" Martin pots his first of two against the Soviet Wings in 1976.

And his second goal against the Soviet Wings.

Rick Martin vs. Phil Esposito on April 13, 1978 in the playoffs.

Marin still holds the team record of hat tricks as Sabre with 21, and he's still in top-ten for points scored as a Sabre with 695. His number proudly hangs from the rafters at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, and he has been immortalized as a Sabres legend by thousands of adoring fans.

Rest in peace, Mr. Martin. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. All my best go out to the Martin family during this difficult time.

Until next time, raise your sticks high for this legend!

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Coyote Ugly Situation

I've had a number of people email me over these last few days as the situation surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes nears the boiling point. I've said it before and I'll say it again right here: I'm not going to comment on any team moving to any other city without seeing the moving trucks heading out of town. Could I make comments? Of course. However, it's far better to not let speculation, innuendo, and rumour whip people into a frenzy when nothing may come of it. Besides, I still have a team that I'm passionately following, and I think that the AHL's Manitoba Moose are perfect for a city of Winnipeg's size. So let's tone down the Phoenix-to-Winnipeg chatter for the next few weeks, and let's focus on some more important hockey news.

First, some great news out of Toronto where the efforts to raise funds for the Pat Burns Arena has now broken through the seven-figure mark! The Stanstead, Quebec arena should not only wear Burns' name as a tribute to the NHL coaching legend, but all that he embodied should be a part of that arena. There still is some work to be done, though, as the city of Stanstead has to raise the remaining $1.2 million to reach the goal needed to put this arena on the map. Good job in getting halfway there! You're almost there!

Next, I received an email with a very impressive link in it, and I want to give some credit to Mr. Mark Divver for his work in researching Alton White's career at Providence as a member of the AHL's Reds. As you may remember from my January 29 article last year, Alton White was the first black player to record a hat trick in professional hockey and the first black player to record a 20-goal season as part of the WHA! Mr. Divver has taken a small part of Mr. White's hockey career and expanded on it wonderfully in his article. Thank you, Mark, for sending me a link to your excellent work!

Lastly, there was a very scary hit in the NHL tonight, and one player looks like he may not return until next season. Let's go back to January 8, 2011 where Montreal's Max Pacioretty and Boston's Zdeno Chara appear to be developing quite the rivalry.

Pacioretty scores the overtime winner, appears to shove Chara, and then a fracas breaks out. Fast-forward to tonight's game, and it appears this rivalry just crossed the line.

Wow. Listen to what NESN's Andy Brickley says in his commentary on the play:

"You cannot finish your check. You gotta release him... when that puck is chipped by. Chara's gotta let him go there. And not only does he ride him into the boards, he puts him into that dangerous spot and that is a defenceless position for Pacioretty."

I fully agree with Brickley's assessment on this one. Pacioretty was trying to go wide, and Chara was trying to slow him up. That's a textbook case of interference, but the fact that he was destroyed by the stanchion only makes this look a lot worse.

The good news is that Pacioretty was awake when they finally got him off the ice on a stretcher, so that's positive. He did spend approximately five minutes on the ice, so there is certainly some concern as to his long-term health. It's a scary situation, but I'm not sure that anything can be done in this situation in regards to punishing Chara. This is the kind of hockey play that coaches teach everywhere.

Personally, I'd like to see a game or two for Chara just for the NHL to send a message to the players that this kind of play, while a normal hockey play 99 out of 100 times, needs to be controlled. Thoughts on this one, readers?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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HBIC YIR - Part Two

We're back for the second half of Hockey Blog In Canada's Year In Review. Champagne, good food, and friends and family should be on the docket tonight, so HBIC will run through some of the highlights from the second half of the year. Yesterday, we took a look at the stories from January to June that attracted some attention, and we'll do the same today as we work through July to December. Happy New Year, everyone, and we'll be back in the normal fashion starting on January 1 with more hockey-related news and stories. Until then, all the best in the new year, and may health and happiness find you no matter where you are!

July Highlights

• July 2: An interesting Sports Illustrated article from 1976 shows that some of rules instituted by the NHL in the last few years are the same ones that players in the 1970s wanted. History does indeed repeat itself, it seems.
• July 5: Hockey loses one of its most feared players as Bob Probert passes away. I always respected Probert as a hockey player because he was the ultimate hybrid of guts and skill. Unfortunatley, his star burned out far too early.
• July 9: The National Film Board of Canada has another video gem in their archives. The Rocket is all about Maurice Richard, and is a fascinating film!
• July 16: The Hartford Whalers. I love the Whale, and I really wish the original Hartford Whalers were still playing. This article brings back some great memories.
• July 26: ESPN runs an interesting column that looks at the cleanliness and overall food quality of arenas and stadiums. A very interesting read for those attending games.
• July 29: Sports Illustrated's 1969 article about how Vancouver was going to become competitive as an expansion team is almost too incredible to believe. Except it happened, and Sports Illustrated ran the story.

August Highlights

• August 4: We get out first glimpses of what the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames will be wearing during the 2011 Heritage Classic. Also included: my comments.
• August 12: HBIC recaps the first-ever Canadian Women's Hockey League draft. There are some good teams being assembled, and I think this league deserves a little recognition.
• August 15: Some incredible WHA news was reported in this 1979 Sports Illustrated article. It's amazing to read some of the interesting stuff that happened in the "Dub".
• August 31: Seventy-four year-old Chris Chelios announces his retirement from hockey. Immediately after, hell freezes over.

September Highlights

• September 4: HBIC's month-long road trip through the midwestern US takes me through Kansas City, Missouri. Lots of good hockey history in that city, and I look at some of it.
• September 5: The following day had me in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Great city, and some solid hockey history there. I really enjoyed my time in the city.
• September 8: Houston's WHA era was interesting, and certainly has some very cool history behind it. The Howes, the flirting with the NHL, and their eventually dissolution are all covered in this piece.
• September 9: Houston's WHA Aeros led to the IHL's Houston Aeros being born in memory of the WHA franchise. Some more excellent hockey history here.
• September 20: San Antonio is a gorgeous city, and I really enjoyed my time there. Because of my visit, I wrote a piece on San Antonio's hockey history.
• September 23: My stop in Des Moines, Iowa was short, but I drove through the city rather than going around it. A lovely little city that has a solid hockey history attached to it.
• September 29: The Whale return! Unfortunately for Hartford, the Whalers continue to not exist while the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack will become the Connecticut Whale. I'm not impressed with these developments.

October Highlights

• October 2: Washington shows off its uniform choice for the Winter Classic. While the jersey choice is highly appropriate, Reebok's lack of effort in recreating the uniform is more than disappointing considering the magnitude of the game.
• October 17: Found some great viral video from France that features a guy showing people what it looks like when a player gets bodychecked into the boards. Hilarious!
• October 29: The Penguins show off their chosen duds for the 2011 Winter Classic. It's kind of a mish-mash of former uniforms, but it gets a pass.

November Highlights

• November 7: Buffalo and Toronto clash in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game, and Buffalo shows up with some serious problems on their uniforms.
• November 12: The New York Rangers officially unveil their new alternate uniforms just weeks after Sean Avery unveiled them on his website.
• November 13: The Saskatoon Blades donned their "Canadian tuxedo" uniforms to welcome the Professional Bull Riders Association, as well as Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed.
• November 20: Pat Burns, the legendary NHL coach who won three Jack Adams Awards, succumbed to cancer after a long battle. Burns' contributions to hockey will live on forever, and we lost a great man far too soon.
• November 25: The Columbus Blue Jackets unveil their new alternate jersey, and I express my unhappiness with their choices. This won't be the last time we talk about these uniforms, I assure you.
• November 26: Another day, another alternate unveiling, more unhappiness from Teebz. This time sees the Anaheim Ducks squarely in my cross-hairs.
• November 30: It was a tough November as the hockey world lost another great. Hall of Fame writer Jim Kelley lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, and the world loses one of the most passionate hockey voices on the planet.

December Highlights

• December 2: The Portland Winterhawks unveil a new alternate jersey, but it looks remarkably like a jersey from a team in a different sport. To err is to be human, but this one just makes the team look bad in ripping off another team's idea.
• December 9: The University of Michigan and Michigan State University look to make history as they play an outdoor game in The Big House at Ann Arbor. Lots of cool information here about outdoor games.
• December 13: Remember those Blue Jackets' alternate uniforms? Apparently, the team has decided that superstition will kill them off as Columbus looks to mothball them.
• December 18: Donald Fehr is introduced as the new Executive Director of the NHLPA. Baseball laughs and mocks the NHL over their horrible luck. However, Fehr sounds like he's more interested in making hockey better.
• December 20: The world of Teebz and HBIC are changing. Actually, they already have by this point, but I've now charted a better future for me. Cross your fingers, kids!
• December 23: John MacLean is fired by the New Jersey Devils, and Jacques Lemaire is brought back. I point a finger at the $100M root of all the problems in New Jersey.

So there's another year down in the history of Hockey Blog In Canada. I'm really looking forward to next year already, and it starts with the 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic tomorrow afternoon evening. Hunker down in front of the old cathode ray tubes, and enjoy some outdoor hockey from Sid the Kid and the Great Eight!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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HBIC YIR - Part One

Time certainly has flown this year as we're two days away from recycling those 2010 calendars hanging on walls and posted on desks. Hockey has seen some great things this year, and we've also lost some icons that made the sport much better with their presence. We've seen players emerge as superstars and we've seen superstars fall to below-average play. All of this is actually a statement about the game - it's fluid, and it's constantly changing and evolving through each shift, each game, and each season. Today, HBIC looks back on the first six months of the year, and the important stories that came from January to the end of June.

January Highlights

• January 1: We start every year off right with the NHL's Winter Classic, and the January 1, 2010 game was certainly memorable as the Philadelphia Flyers visited the Boston Bruins in historic Fenway Park. What a great day of hockey!
• January 2: Switzerland's World Junior Championship team pulls off a massive upset as they defeated Russia 3-2 to beat the Russians for the first time in history at the WJC.
• January 5: The 2010 World Junior Championship is decided in overtime as American John Carlson ends Canada's streak with his goal to give Team USA the gold medal. Great game, and a very impressive showing by America's best young hockey talent.
• January 21: If you've been following this blog, you know I'm a big fan of Frank McClelland's newest equipment invention. January 21 was the first time I was lucky enough to speak to Frank and bring to light what would eventually be his Skate Fenders product. A very interesting story to see how the plastic skate guards got started!
• January 23: I arrive in Minneapolis for the US Pond Hockey Championships, and the weather was very un-winter for the tournament. Strange weather is nothing new on the prairies, but January is rarely a month known for rain. Great uniforms seen at the tournament, and a few great stories!
• January 25: I express my disappointment with the NHL's stance on protecting its players after a major incident in the QMJHL.
• January 29: I bring to light the story of Alton White, the first professional black hockey player to record 20 or more goals in a season as well as the first professional black hockey player to record a hat trick in a professional game. Since it happened in the WHA, no one seems to care that he doesn't get this recognition. But I do.

February Highlights

• February 5: The hockey world stops for a few moments to grieve the loss of Brendan Burke, Brian Burke's son. Brendan worked as student manager for the hockey team while attending the University of Miami (Ohio), but made headlines when he announced to the world that he was a gay man. And I still believe in my words: "Being gay doesn't change who he is or how much respect I have for him. Nor should it change you."
• February 13: Phil Hecken of Uni Watch Blog and I take a look at what each team will be wearing at the Olympics. Some uniforms are good. Others are not.
• February 14: I discuss some of the ways that women's hockey at the Olympics can fix blowouts between the elite teams and the rest of the field. I still feel that getting more women involved from the other countries will make the game stronger.
• February 21: Team USA plays a much more complete game in the round-robin at the Olympics and beats Canada soundly. I'm hard on Canada and praise the Americans. And this will only set up the inevitable.
• February 28: The Goal. Need I say anything more? I take a look at the 2010 Winter Olympics as a whole, and celebrate "The Goal.

March Highlights

• March 4: Frank McClelland returns with some updates on his Skate Fenders. I'm truly a fan of Mr. McClelland's and LSSU's work, and this product is something that players should really look into for their own health.
• March 11: HBIC renews its commitment to the Vancouver Olympics by giving the sport of sledge hockey as much coverage as possible. I really like this sport, and there have been some excellent games as of late as a number of countries have improved in this sport.
• March 18: One of the countries that has improved? Japan. They defeated the heavily-favoured Canadian squad by a 3-1 score in the semi-final to earn a berth in the gold medal final. If you haven't seen a game of sledge hockey in your life, you're missing out.
• March 21: The 2010 Women's Frozen Four wrapped up in style as there were some incredible games played by the NCAA women. Congratulations go out to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs who captured their fifth NCAA Championship!
• March 30: The 2010 CIS Men's Hockey Championship wrapped up, and the Canadian collegiate champions are the Saint Mary's Huskies! Canadian collegiate hockey, while not as prolific as NCAA hockey, is certainly one of the places where NHL teams can find some hidden talent. There are lots of good players studying across Canada!

April Highlights

• April 4: The Alberta Pandas, the women's CIS hockey team, pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the CIS as they defeated the McGill Marlets in the CIS Championship game to be called "Canada's best".
• April 5: Columbus Blue Jackets' forward RJ Umberger calls out the Washington Capitals, and makes a prediction for the playoffs about the Capitals' chances of going all the way. A number of people wrote Umberger off, but read his comments. Hockey players know hockey.
• April 10: The Boston College Eagles defeat the Wisconsin Badgers and capture the 2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship. The win was a great effort for a team that many didn't pick to win the championship, but the Eagles captured their fourth championship!
• April 18: I'm fairly harsh towards Hockey Canada and the effort put forth at the World U-18 Championships. I like Canadian hockey, but I hate lack of effort.
• April 27: The NHLPA decides to change the Lester B. Pearson Award to the Ted Lindsay Trophy. More hockey history is being killed, and I'm not happy about it.
• April 30: In the same fashion I criticized Hockey Canada's efforts in the U-18 Tournament, I rip the Washington Capitals for their lack of hard work. Another exit far too early in the playoffs, and the Capitals spend more time on the golf course.

May Highlights

• May 3: The KHL crowns a champion as Ak Bars Kazan won their second KHL Championship in consecutive seasons. While there are still major differences between the NHL and KHL, it appears that Kazan is becoming the "Detroit Red Wings" of the KHL.
• May 7: I found a great article in Popular Science from 1935 about the game of hockey! It's a very good read with lots of pictures, but it goes to show that some magazines were covering hockey before it was popular!
• May 14: A reader by the name of Chelsea sent me a great email about head trauma suffered by hockey players. She makes some excellent points in her email, and there are several NHL players who echo her sentiments.
• May 23: The Czech Republic snaps the Russian's 27-game winning streak at the World Championships, and captured the World Championship title! Jaromir Jagr's reason for winning? "They had stars and we had guys who play in the Czech Republic, but this shows that talent doesn't matter - you have to work hard." Hard work, kids. I can't say it enough.
• May 25: I still have no clue as to what happened to the Charlie Conacher Memorial Trophy that was awarded annually to an NHL player. Any ideas?
• May 28: Damian Cox goes absolutely loopy with his suggestion that the Chicago Blackhawks change their logo because it's offensive. Cox stirring the pot? Nothing new.

June Highlights

• June 1: A fabulous video from the National Film Board of Canada shows off a ton of Quebec Nordiques history. This video is amazing!
• June 7: More videos are posted, this time of the WHA in all its spectacular glory. I really wish I had more WHA video. Note this foreshadowing. It will come in handy next week.
• June 9: The Chicago Blackhawks are your 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Champions. They dispatched the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to capture their first Stanley Cup in 49 years. To the victors go the spoils!
• June 14: The AHL's Hershey Bears stand atop the pile of AHL teams as they capture the 2010 Calder Cup as AHL Champions! The Bears defeated the Texas Stars in six games to capture their second consecutive Calder Cup. Well done, Bears!
• June 22: In what seems like a crime against humanity, the Hockey Hall of Fame finally allowed women to be eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Women's hockey has its detractors, but the pioneers of the sport deserve their kudos as much as the men.
• June 28: More amazing hockey video is found through the National Film Board of Canada's website as we see the UBC Thunderbirds heading to China to help grow the game in the Communist country. This is another amazing video that shows how significantly-different cultures can work together to grow the game.

So there are the highlights from the first six months of HBIC's 2010. I really had a great time writing this year, and the interactions with you, the readers, are what makes this so rewarding. I love reading other opinions and ideas, and I encourage you to continue to email, comment, friend me on Facebook, and whatever else you to do to send me your hockey thoughts.

More tomorrow as we review the year that was from July to December!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Another Great Is Gone

It's been a rather tough month for the world of hockey. Ten days ago, we saw coaching great Pat Burns finally succumb to the cancer that has been plaguing his body for the last few years, and today we find out that sportswriter and NHL reporter Jim Kelley has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. Kelley was a long-time newspaper reporter for the Buffalo News, and could recently be found contributing articles to Sportsnet.ca, FOXSports.com, and ESPN.com. Kelley's work in the NHL earned him the Elmer Ferguson Award in 2004 when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and that legendary career of bringing the hard-hitting stories will cease.

I'll admit that I always found Kelley's stories on Sportsnet.ca to be a little contentious, but the man was paid to deliver the big stories for the website. He was seemingly always hard on the Maple Leafs, especially Brian Burke, but he never held back when he thought a story should be told. I respect him for his candor and style, and he deserves a moment of silence for his incredible body of work.

Sportsnet.ca's Mark Spector, another of Sportsnet's stable of hockey writers, had these kinds words to say about Kelley today:

"'To any writer of my generation, Jim was old school. A column, sidebar and notes were considered a regular day on the beat for Jimmy at the Buffalo News - 1700 words boss? No trouble just get it all in. There, Jim became to Sabres fans what Frank Orr was in Toronto and Jim Matheson still is in Edmonton: a workhorse, who gave you a laugh every day while keeping you up on your team,' said Spector.

"'He was that veteran scribe who could sniff out a misdirection play from some coach or organization faster than you could say 'Hull's foot was in the crease.' He would break the story the team didn't want broken, and had a legendary dust-up with Dominik Hasek because of it. In his last year, when he realized his days were few, he shared much with me whenever I'd call or email. So eloquent, so oozing perspective.

"'He filed his final column at 1:30 am on the day he passed. This, dear readers, was a sports writer's sports writer.'"

Even Kelley's own biography stated that his views were his own, and often may have caused a few people to push back against him:

"Most of you who have read me know I have strong opinions on the game and the people in it. Being of a certain age I don't worry much about what those people think. I write what I believe and let the chips fall where they may. That angers some people including some of you who read me regularly, but I didn't get into the business to make friends, I got in it to tell stories and, now, to give opinions based on what I've seen and learned in what is now a professional lifetime in the sport.

"I like offence, appreciate good defence and great goaltending and lean toward larger nets, even less obstruction and a limit on the kind of stupid actions that too often disgrace the game and the many good people in it.

"I don't ask you to agree with what I write, but I would hope you read it with an open mind, think about what's being said and, hopefully, realize that there is always more than one way to see the game."

It is that last paragraph that we, the readers, will lose out on one of the game's most trusted eyes and voice. Jim Kelley is a Hockey Hall of Fame writer, a man of integrity and conviction, and a true fan of the game of hockey. Those ingredients sometimes would cause him to write some pretty sensational stuff, but his views on the game were always ones that I respected because of his experience.

Another hockey legend has passed on. You may not have liked Jim Kelley or his writing, but his views on the game were his own and they prompted discussion. That, readers, is why this hockey great will be missed by me.

Rest in peace, Mr. Kelley. Your words will live on forever.

Until next time, raise your sticks in Mr. Kelley's honour!

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Tuesday Hodgepodge

Occasionally, I need to clean my desktop off when it has a number of images, stories, and emails sitting on it that have yet to be addressed. Today is one of those days as I find myself with a lot of images, stories, and emails that should be posted, but have yet to be posted. So I'll post them. I'll clean out the old file cabinet of stuff and miscellaneous items, and we'll take a look at my thoughts on each of them. There are a couple of historical pictures, there are definitely several jersey pictures, there's an "oops" picture, and there's my commentary. The pictures will certainly be more entertaining that my comments, but I'll also throw in a few emails that I've received just for good measure so that you're not overwhelmed by my sardonic outlook today. You've probably had enough babbling from me already, so let's get started.

• I never noticed it before, but I was looking through the Classic Auctions website once again and I came across an auction for a Neal Broten jersey from the Minnesota North Stars. What caught my attention was how the number is cut. Notice the top right corner is angled downward to the right? I had never noticed that about the North Stars' font before.
• Also from the Classic Auctions website, there's a good look at the Babe Pratt patch worn by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1988-89 season. Pratt was the goodwill ambassador for the Vancouver Canucks before succumbing to a heart attack on December 16, 1988. As a tribute, the Canucks honoured him with a patch for the remainder of that season. Very classy move by the Canucks.
• Speaking of classy, the New Jersey Devils took to the ice last night wearing a new patch on their jerseys. With the passing of Pat Burns, there were a couple of teams who honoured the fallen coach, and I'm glad to see a man like Pat Burns getting this kind of reaction. I completely support the Devils in their honouring Pat Burns, and they look good doing it.
• The other team that took the ice with a memorial for Pat Burns was the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, unlike the Devils, the Leafs wore their tribute on their helmets. Check out the back of Colton Orr's helmet for the "PB" sticker as he punches out Krys Barch. Another classy tribute by a hockey team, and I fully support it.
• There was a grand unveiling on Facebook today as the AHL's Connecticut Whale showed off their new green uniforms. I still think the logo is far too cartoonish and minor-league to be a professional team's logo, but that's clearly in the past and will not be changed now. Apparently, Reebok couldn't come up with jerseys in time, so they contracted SP Apparel, to make the Whale's uniforms. The Whale will wear the green uniforms both at home and on the road until mid-December when the new white and blue uniforms arrive. So just like their name, the Whale's uniforms are becoming a major debacle.
• I was going through Bleacher Report's slideshow of "The 100 Worst Decisions in Sports History", and I was entertained by some of their choices. It's a pretty good slideshow with lots of info in it, but I was bothered by one picture in particular. On slide 79, they highlight Brett Hull's 1999 Stanley Cup-winning goal where he had his foot in Dominik Hasek's crease. As you remember, the NHL rule said absolutely no player could be in the crease as a goal was scored, yet Hull's goal was allowed to stand as the series winner. However, slide 79 shows Hull's foot in Patrick Roy's crease as the Stars played the Colorado Avalanche! Every other slide in the series has the correct photo with it except this one. Oops!
• Sports Illustrated had a great shot of a very young Steve Nash in British Columbia dressed in hockey gear! Nash was an accomplished soccer player, is one heckuva basketball player, and now he has hockey on his resumé as well! How cool is that?
• I received a pretty interesting email from Benny who works on behalf of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The press release states that the CWHL and Bauer Hockey have partnered to bring the women in the CWHL elite hockey equipment from Bauer! This is a great announcement as all the women will now have top-of-the-line gear to play in, and this gives the CWHL a very credible hockey partner. "Bauer Hockey is committed to growing the sport and as a company, we have always supported women’s hockey," said Kevin Davis, chief executive officer and president of Bauer Hockey. "We’re excited to partner with the CWHL and do our part to help move the women’s game forward." I, for one, think this is an excellent announcement. Congratulations to both the CWHL and to Bauer for their commitment to the women's game!

There's the hodgepodge for Tuesday. Antler Banter returns tomorrow, and I'll have a full run-down of the Columbus Blue Jackets' new alternate uniform on Thursday as they unveil their newest design tomorrow evening. Lots of stuff coming up, so stay tuned!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Gone Too Soon

The man to the left looks nothing like he once did, and it is with great sadness that I report that Pat Burns, former NHL coach, has finally succumbed to the cancer that his body fought so valiantly for the last few years. HBIC wishes his family and friends all the best in this difficult time, and I want nothing more than for the pain of losing a great man, husband, brother, father, and son to be eased. Pat Burns was a living legend in terms of how great he was behind an NHL bench, and he truly deserves to rest in peace after his long battle with a relentless foe. I just want to post a few images and some comments from NHL icons about the great Pat Burns as a memory of his legacy.

"Next to my parents he's the most influential person in my hockey career. He's the one that gave me a chance and the one that taught me how to play so I could last in the NHL," said former Montreal Canadien Mike Keane to Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press.

"What I learned from Pat gave me the foundation that kept me in hockey. He was instrumental," said Keane. "John Ferguson Jr. called me earlier. It hasn't been a very good day. It was an honour to play for him and then to call him a friend."

"He believed in me when not a lot of people did. Everything I have today, I owe to Pat Burns."

"I just heard — I can’t talk about it right now," former Maple Leaf Doug Gilmour told Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun, his voice cracking with emotion. "It’s such a sad sad day."

"He definitely was the best coach I had in my career," former Maple Leafs goaltender Felix Potvin said to Bill Beacon and Neil Stevens of the Hamilton Spectator. "He was hard, but honest."

"Pat was really emotional and really a great coach," former Boston Bruin Ray Bourque said to NESN. "I never had a better coach who taught players how to play without the puck and in your end. He was so knowledgeable about the defensive side of the puck and really taught a lot of young guys how to play defense."

"Being an 18-year-old player, it’s tough when you don’t always play because you’re used to playing all the time," former Boston Bruin Joe Thornton said to David Pollak of the Mercury News. "Back then you might not have understood why that was happening, but in the big picture, he was a smart hockey man. He’d dealt with a lot of good, young hockey players before. And you look back now and there was definitely a method to his madness.

"He definitely made me grow as a player and as a person," Thornton added, "and I definitely owe him a lot from the days back then to now."

"Pat was a close friend to us all, while dedicating his life to his family and to the game of hockey. He has been part of our family here in New Jersey for eight years. Today, the hockey world has lost a great friend and ambassador. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Line, and the entire Burns family," Devils president Lou Lamoriello said in a statement released by the team.

"Just as they will remember Pat for his success as a coach, hockey fans also will remember his humour, his honesty, his humanity and his courage," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "As it mourns the loss of an outstanding contributor to the game, the National Hockey League sends heartfelt condolences to Pat's family and friends."

"He met his final and most difficult battle with that same tough and gritty spirit," Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper said in a statement. "Canada has lost a sports legend today, but Pat Burns' legacy will live on in the players and coaches whose careers he touched, as well as the young people who will skate in the Pat Burns Arena for years to come. He will not soon be forgotten."

There isn't much more that can be said that hasn't already been said by his peers and colleagues. But there is one thing that needs to be added: rest in peace, Mr. Burns.

You'll always have utmost respect and admiration from HBIC for your abilities, dedication, and success as a coach. However, you'll always be one of the best when looking at your achievements and generosity as a Canadian.

R.I.P., Mr. Burns.

Until next time, raise your sticks high in honour of Mr. Burns.

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Lest We Forget

If you're Canadian, today is Remembrance Day. If you're American, today is Veteran's Day. Regardless of where you live in North America, it's a day where we should all be thankful for the men and women currently in the Armed Forces and those who were in the Armed Forces. It's a day where we should never forget the men and women who gave their lives for our freedoms and ways of life. And it's a day where our children and their children should be taught about all the great things the men and women of our Armed Forces have accomplished and allowed us to do in everyday life.

If anything, hockey players have also sent a lot of men to the front lines of battle, especially in the early days of the NHL when World War I and World War II were happening. There have been many men who have fought, and luckily most have come back safely. There have been a few casualties from hockey ranks, but we've been lucky in seeing the majority of hockey players come back from where ever they are serving.

The hockey blogging world even has their own man who has served. IwoCPO is a highly-respected blogger who I read often for his no-nonsense look at the Red Wings and their battles. However, he is also a serviceman for the United States Navy as he serves as an initiated Navy Chief Petty Officer. The Chief deserves some of your respect, so I encourage you just to head over to his site and say "thanks" for all he has done in his service career.

Lest we forget, and my heartfelt thanks to all the men and women and their families for providing the world with the bravest souls on the planet.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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A True Champion

You've probably heard the news by now, but 45 year-old Bob Probert has passed away. The long-time Detroit Red Wing and Chicago Blackhawk enforcer collapsed on a boat on Lake St. Clair after suffering from "severe chest pains" around 2pm this afternoon. By the time he arrived at the hospital, it was too late. Now, I never met Bob Probert during the course of my travels over the years, and his problems on and off the ice are well-documented. What I do know about him is limited to what I've read and what I've heard from various sources. However, I want to talk candidly about Bob Probert today, and bring to light some of the most positive things he has brought to the sport and the world through his actions.

Bob Probert is probably most well-known for his pugilistic skills on the ice. Probert was the reigning heavyweight champion of the NHL for the better part of three seasons, and represented half of the "Bruise Brothers" moniker with Detroit teammate Joey Kocur. His 3300 PIMs in 935 career NHL games has him ranked fifth all-time in terms of the most-penalized players in NHL history.

He had a lengthy battle with Tie Domi over the course of several seasons where both players claimed the heavyweight crown, battled with Vancouver's Craig Coxe in a couple of memorable bouts, and introduced the world to Link Gaetz with their memorable wars.

However, I respected Bob Probert for winning the biggest battle in his life: the battle with alcohol and drugs.

It was well-known that Bob Probert's career was derailed by alcohol and drugs, and his March 1989 arrest for trying to bring cocaine across the Windsor-Detroit border was one of the lowest points in his battle with his demons. He didn't escape prosecution, and his actions brought him a three-month stay in a US prison. The NHL suspended him indefinitely, and his reputation took a major blow in both the public's eyes and around NHL boardrooms.

The Detroit Red Wings, under the watchful eyes of Jimmy Devellano and Colin Campbell, brought Probert back into the Red Wings family, and he was given a choice: clean up or get out. Probert opted to stay, but was limited to games in the United States as his criminal record prevented him from crossing the border into Canada.

Elliotte Friedman of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada recorded a phenomenal segment about Probert's battles with drugs and alcohol on his "Inside Hockey" segment, and it's an absolutely excellent piece. View that link in Internet Explorer, though. I couldn't get it to work in Firefox.

Bob Probert's skills were not limited to just fighting, though. His 29 goals during the 1987-88 season earned him his only All-Star Game appearance, and the big forward didn't waste the opportunity. Probert assisted on Wayne Gretzky's first period goal in the 1988 All-Star Game in St. Louis, earning his only All-Star Game point. In the 1988 postseason, Probert led the Red Wings in scoring in his sixteen playoff games, scoring eight goals and adding 13 assists. Clearly, he could skate and score when he put his mind to it.

The fact that Bob Probert played sixteen seasons in the NHL is a pretty impressive accomplishment considering the punishment he put his body through while on the ice. However, it becomes even more impressive when you consider he defeated his fiercest opponent in his addictions, and became a better husband and a better father to his four children.

At age 45, Bob Probert is gone too soon. Forget his stats, his PIMs, and what he did on the ice. The man was a regular participant in charity hockey games, and willingly visited the Canadian troops stationed in Afghanistan for ball hockey games and morale-inducing fun.

I guess what this entire article comes down to is that I respect Bob Probert not so much for what he did in the NHL, but more for what he has become since leaving the spotlight. He's a committed and loving husband, a proud father, a recovering addict who can be an inspiration for others, and a proud Canadian. In other words, he's a true champion for overcoming all his adversity and for touching others with his message and good will.

And now he's gone. Far too soon.

Rest in peace, Bob Probert. Your legacy on the ice is far overshadowed by all the good you've done off the ice in my view. I just wish the world had more time for you to do more.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Thanks, Dad!

Today is a big day for dads. Father's Day is always special as we take time to honour and celebrate our father or father figure for the influence and guidance he has provided us over the years. Hockey dads are a part of hockey culture around the globe, especially when families are large and a number of children are playing the sport. As much as mom drives the family foundation by being a provider for kids, dads share an equal responsibility in helping his children and his children's friends become better people. Most often, we see a lot of fathers as coaches.

My father had the same role as I grew up. He often coached at both the amateur and high school levels in the one sport he knew best: soccer. He recently called it quits after coaching for over twenty years, but the one thing he always stressed was fair-play and respect for both his opponents and the officials on the field. Yes, disagreements will occur, but he was always the first one to shake hands with the officials after the game despite their differing opinions on calls.

Today, I would like to look at the men who are making kids' sporting lives a little better by teaching them the importance of being good people. This includes teaching sportsmanship, respect, fairness, and how to be part of a team, and there are a lot of dads out there who do this regularly through coaching. The linked article below probably didn't get a lot of fanfare from hockey bloggers and reporters over the last year, but I think these men deserve to have their stories told.

• Bruce Ferguson, a Fort McMurray, Alberta father, has been coaching for over twenty years, including his two sons. The most important thing he teaches his team is the importance of equality. Ferguson's sons never got preferential treatment on any of his teams. Everything that came with it - respect, communication, sportsmanship - came with his lesson.
  
• Jay Greco, an Ottawa, Ontario father, has coached his daughters through various levels of hockey, and now sees his daughters coaching younger players in the Ottawa area. He credits the bond through hockey he has with his daughters of making him a better dad. And his daughters agree. The best part? Mr. Greco's philosophy in coaching came from a man who coached him in North Bay when he was a youngster. Highly recommended read!
• Ben Hoger talks of the late Art Missias, a coach in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who became a second father to a lot of the players he coached. Missias showed a tough exterior on the ice, but he was a true softie underneath his gruff exterior. Because of his love of the game, he inspired players to greater heights, and had a number of players and people follow in his coaching footsteps. Rest in peace, Art. Your lessons will live on throughout time because of the life lessons you taught your players.
• We can't forget the lessons taught to society by Leafs general manager Brian Burke after his son announced that he was gay. John Buccigross penned an exceptional piece on how the gruff Brian Burke supported his late son, Brendan, when he first came out as a gay man to his family and then the world. Burke showed the kind of unconditional love that you'd expect from a true father, and Burke's support of his son, who passed away in an auto accident last winter, continues today. As much as Burke may not be liked by some in the hockey circles, Burke is the kind of father all sons and daughters should want.
• A great story comes from Manhattenville College where Michelle Witz has benefitted greatly from her father's humbleness about his daughter's ability as a hockey player. While Michelle Witz was getting better as a hockey player under her father's tutelage, Ed Witz was always the last person to suggest his daughter should be elevated to better teams. In fact, most coaches had to force Ed Witz to speak about his daughter. Ed's lessons in humility has allowed Michelle to grow without the pressures that some children in sports feel. That is a very important lesson being taught.

Now, there are probably hundreds of other stories out there about coaches who have done amazing jobs in shaping children to be better people as they move through the stages of their lives. I simply selected these stories because they show exactly what kind of lessons I learned from dad as he coached me: respect, fairness, and sportsmanship like Mr. Ferguson; give back and help other like Mr. Greco; inspire and teach, but don't be a jerk like Mr. Massias; love unconditionally like Mr. Burke; and, be humble while being supportive like Mr. Witz.

To all dads today, I want to say thank you for the time and effort you put in while coaching and making today's tykes into the great coaches of tomorrow. More importantly, I want to say thank for molding these young people into great adults by teaching them lessons they need to know in life.

Thanks, Dad!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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