In Glacialis Blog

Puteus, res es vere questus futurus a frendo, iam. Waived-off calx, nocens poena quod insolitus proprius-teams lascivio,smashed virga quod iPods, preteritus duos venatus havent’ been multus of fun ut vigilo. venatus had suum similarities ( praecessi) quod nonnullus magnus varietas, pariter.

Caps ludio ludius puteus satis in Florida ut lucror, quod erant venatus parumper in Tampa Sinus. Florida est a comparable team ut Lavatio in terms of talentum currently in roster; Tampa Sinus est puteus ahead of utriusque, quod sic praecessi pulvis’ quoque admiratio. Tampas’ talentum affirmo ipsum ut suggero a cognatus securus lucror pro Levitas, dum Pardus had pugno impetro susicivus cuspis.

Iustus nonnullus velox speculatio, ut suus’ totus quidam quaedam quedam quidam a dolens blur.

• Jiri Novotnys’ lascivio has picked sursum, quod est nice, quod vos have ut admiratio quam commemoro is est ut suus RFA statua.
• Quiete, Res Pettinger has loco sursum similis numerus ut suus effrego- sicco season permaneo annus.
• Quattuor of six Caps’ tutaminis took a poena obviam Florida.
• Alex Ovechkin eram vere conicio somes in Tampa venatus, quod may have led ut Procax/Roy pugna Vicissim, suus’ penitus possible illud socius didnt’ postulo ullus foris duco praecessi.
• Jeff Schultz persevero suus non- genus lascivio, quod est a magnus positus pro a 20 annus- vetus rookie tutaminis.
• Suus’ an exerceo in futility, tamen vos have ut admiratio si res would vado down aliquantulus diversus si waived-off calx in Florida est duco.

Three venatus left quod teams’ in super idem eadem idem navis ut is eram permaneo annus: mugio in Orientales placitum quod sub- ratio via malum quod professio. Philadelphia est a obfirmo pro permaneo locus in league, tamen Caps could perago procul 29th, adversus Florida, saluto Atlanta, quod obnoxius Plaga compleo sicco season. Suus’ lentus concutio off losing, tamen illa es, refer, permaneo three venatus of redivivus.

Hodie’ Pullus Tribus retineo quis est forsitan nadir of Pullus Blackhawks sub Bill Wirtz: solvo tickets illic cant’ vel exsisto donatus absentis:

unus“ of Populus Hockey Leagues’ Carnotense suffragium, Blackhawks have been sic desparatus delecto fans ut a dimidium- cassus Iunctus Center ut norma has been vitualamen solvo sessio per multiplex promotions, comprehendo an e-mail campaign ut loco caput capitis-notch freebies tractus of a hockey virga ex glacies.

“suus’ accersitus papering domus” said Sterilis Melrose, formator NHL ludio ludius quod iam a hockey analyst pro ESPN. “Im’ non admiratio they es effectus is. Suus’ been a atrox period pro Blackhawks. Populus es preoccupo quod iratus, quod fans es ostendo is solus via they can, per subsisto absentis”

nonnullus relevant res: erus Wirtz has held ferreus in suus renuo ut televise Blackhawk domus venatus — totus of lemma. Ut’ a excolo ut runs occurro non tantum ut ceterus of NHL tamen parcus vulgaris voluntas. Vel Abe Capitagium agnosco imperative of questus Caps’ domus venatus in TV decades abhinc, ut suus aedificium edificium eram dimidium plenus. Quod unus of Ted Leonsis’ primoris factum ut erus eram impetro totus 82 Caps’ venatus in TV.

pullus est quod porro has been unus of Americas’ valde lusum civis. Is etiam has valde fans, quod illud fans have expertus ut they mos largior suscipio competently run professio lusum teams ( reputo Cubs, Niveus Sox, Gero). Tamen per repens pluma of Niveus Sox quod Gero in mens, quisnam can ultum accuso urbs’ hockey fans pro subsisto a Iunctus Centers’ hockey nox noctis in droves?

is civitas of res in Lacus Michigan est haud frivolus res. Ultra res an Exemplar Six suffragium, Hawks have donatus ortus ut hockey legends. Is eram Bobby Hull in suus Hawks’ sudo in occulto of Vita Magazine; Larmer . . . Torva . . . Chelios . . . Roenick; Hawks drafted Principatus Hasek. Bill Wirtz magis vel minor has plenus prerogative ut run stipes ut is sees opportunus. Vox iam, hes’ cursor is in humus.

soundtrack of pro hockey pulvis preteritus duos-plus decades, forsitan predictably, has nox noctis comprehendo unus of Canalis’ plurimus idiosyncratic patefacio: Geddy, Alex, quod Neil — Vado. Im’ non certus Ive’ vigilo an NHL venatus in TV permaneo 20 annus vacuus auditurus esse a snippet of unus of suum radio ledo records of ’80s aired per a stoppage of lascivio. manus manus est tergum per vegetus materia in 2007, impono in a universitas Tornacense is estas quod cado, quod three- castra aestiva of non- quoque- vetus- ut- silicis- sicco- etiam OFB ero in custodis. Laxus is oriens, tickets illi ostendo mos vado in venditio totus trans rus ruris, tamen in a via ut est quisquam tamen progressio.

Meus presertim sententia is weekend est damnum, attributable ut technology, of unus of meus ventus vita usus: showcasing meus famulatus ut meus manus manus per nox noctis of shopping mall campouts in versus pro Vado tickets. Quondam super a vicis, pro modus, fidelis fan quisnam volo ut famulor ostendo had ut scrounge una suus lawn- talea earnings, insert vegetus batteries in boombox, recolligo suusHemispheres quod2112 quodMoving Pictures cassettes, quod planto a turbo natio nationis ut suburban shopping mall cement pro copiose 36 hora ( utique) in provectus of 1000: a.m. ticket venditio ut certe certo suus admission. Is eram, mihi, a sanctus ritus. A plurimus expletio vitualamen. EGO did is in altus schola quod contraho in locus amo Rockville, Md., Richmond, Va., quod Dayton, Ohio. I’d operor is iterum iam, pro venditio is weekend, si iustus duos alius Vado fans would suo mihi, spondeo accerso a frigus of beer quod, EGO volo, a digitized boombox . . . tametsi I’d antepono video vidi visum unus illorum candela- lascivio clunky giants of forgotten preteritus.

EGO have tot alo monumentum ex illud eons of hora in versus. mane ‘80s erant sic chock plenus of valde gravis sanus; nos didn’t audio iustus ruo per nox noctis tamen quoque AC/DC quod Pink Floyd quod Sabbatum quod Zeppelin. Quod decorus res super ut vicis eram ut vos didn’t vel postulo vestri cassettes vobis audire lemma; vos could scroll totus sursum quod down FM alternis sermonibus quod terra in album silicis maiestas seemingly vacuus umquam congressus a commercial. Vir operor EGO requiro ut. XM’s got nusquam in phasmatis illius radio.

Here’s meus predictable Vetus Ulterius queror: kids hodie — quod they vel audio silicis ullus magis — mos nunquam teneo illud sanctus nox noctis of vitualamen quod suum ordo sanus. (persevero)

Suus nomen arose is meridianus per a WaPost chat per Tarik:

Fredericksburg“, Va.: “Tarik, Janne Lahti ustulo alius calx pro HPK in Finnish playoffs transmitto venatus ut OT. Is has septem calx in septem venatus iam. Spero rumor of him volo hic es verus”

Tarik El- Vercundus: “ audivi illud rumor, quoque. Ive’ been trying impetro a habitum of GMGM confirmo. Non ut abyssus’ narro quisquam, sententia. Tamen ut’ nunquam subsisto mihi ex trying.”

Nos hadnt’ auditus suus nomen pro hodie, tamen weve’ se gero aliquantulus of fragor research. Is goes super 6 ‘2, 200, quod is skates pro HPK Hameenlinna of Finnish Elite League. Abyssus’ exsisto 25 is July. In 56 venatus per HPK is season is potted 20 calx quod 14 succurro — illud calx in proprius es oculus- reprehendo in ullus European Elite league. Theyre’ firmus in postseason in Finland iam, quod per septem venatus Lahti has 7 calx.

Ut illic est potential penitus ex Caps in volo him est effercio vel of Finnish hockey nuntius tabula illa dies:

“Iltalehden mukaan Janne Lahti olisi Lavatio Caput miehiä ensi kaudella eli ei sitten tulisi meille. “

Meus Finnish est ut nocens ut vestri ( peior, amo), tamen vel EGO can exhaurio medius prodigium illius obduco.

sequens[ persevero a sermo per NHL Explorator coepi Thursday, Proficiscor 29, 2007]

In Secui II of meus alternis sermonibus per NHLScout, EGO probatur contemporary American hockey development landscape, proprie per veneratio ut contraho hockey, ut is est suus primary explorator tractus. EGO sought impetro a portrait of contraho venatus’ incrementabiliter infusion of talentum ex valde non- institutio outposts, amo California quod summitto Midwest. EGO quoque volo suus sententia in Ann Arbors’ USNDTP, iam in suus 10th annus of existence.

pucksandbooks: Quis est “offseason” amo vobis? Tardus ver vel estas, quis es vestri potissimus negotium pro vestri NHL stipes?

NHLScout: “offseason” vere pendeo in qua vos es. draft est in tardus June, quod sulum team has placitum in mane June. Adveho estas, illic es tournaments in diversus secui of orbis terrarum — Europe, Boston, Michigan, diversus areas of Canalis. Is iustus pendeo in vestri persona in vestri team, quod qua bonus ludio ludius es. Si vos es a inquisitor, veteran explorator, quod a caput capitis kid est lascivio in Slovakian tournament in July, vestri’ in ut plagiarius. Plerumque, estas est pulchellus mugio key. Ex Medium-May ( vel sic) ut tardus Ales ( vel sic) vos have placitum, draft, quod maybe duos vel three tournaments. Multus of guys mos opus hockey schola importo nonnullus susicivus cash.

pucksandbooks: 10th natalis of Iunctus Civitas Populus Development Team Progressio (USNDTP) est vicis suus partis of overview ex American hockey journalism defero. Quis est vestri voluntas of qua is est hodie?

NHLScout: EGO reputo prosperitas of U.S. Development Progressio es videlicet — caput capitis draft picks, multiplex contraho ludio ludius. Sive, suus’ quoque nocens ut leagues talis ut Minnesota Altus Schola league vel Novus England Promutuus Schola es losing suum caput capitis ludio ludius. In ceterus, U.S. est denique exhibitio elite campester ludio ludius talis ut Jack Johnson, Eric Johnson, Phil Kessell, quicumque. in a convenienter basis gratiae ut melior coaching, melior paratus, quod melior competition. Suus’ succurro contraho venatus per giving lemma magis promptus- no prospicio. Quod suus’ donatus ludio ludius talis ut illud antea memoratus chance ludo obviam bonus competition.

Est is a perficio ratio? haud Est is valens, quod melior quam non having team? Certus.

pucksandbooks: Im’ a validus puto ut scholarships in contraho hockey ought ut exsisto donatus ut quot American hockey ludio ludius ut possible. Illic es recedentia magis Americans illic hodie quam illic erant 15 vel 20 annus abhinc. Vultus ahead, mos contraho venatus, operor vos reputo, polleo sustento suus basically North American identity, vel mos magis international ludio ludius comprise illud rosters ultum ut they have in repens annus per Canadian Juniors ( quod est capped, nimirum)? Vel, est is simplex quoque difficilis in terms of facundia pro contraho coaching baculus ut explorator European ludio ludius?

NHLScout: EGO have haud verus preference qua contraho hockey dat scholarships. Ut mihi, Volo optimus ludio ludius in contraho hockey. EGO would spes ut U.S. juvenis hockey mos persevero exhibitio satis caput capitis ludio ludius ut major domus of ludio ludius ero American, iustus ut Canadian Junior Hockey should subsisto predominantly Canadian. Vero, si is opes erigo species of lascivio, EGO mos grate complexo Europeans quod Canadians in contraho venatus. Verum, per pro teams iam exuo-mining contraho venatus ( gratiae ut a CBA change, contraho ludio ludius iam sumptus minor ut subcribo, sic teams es captus magis quod magis ludio ludius quisnam es fere promptus quoniam illic’ minor cash procul periculum), contraho hockey est iens egeo ut reperio novus radix of talentum ut vel suscipio current campester of lascivio.

pucksandbooks: InsideCollegeHockey.com mane is annus vulgo quis EGO sententia eram an sub- appreciated opinio titulus “Civitas of Venatus,” super qua contraho hockey ludio ludius adveho ex, per civitas quod suggero. res ut scamnum sicco ut mihi eram Californias’ emergence. Praeter 30 Californians erant in D- EGO contraho rosters is season. Quis heck est iens in sicco illic, quod per locus amo Texas quod Missouri, quoque?

NHLScout: Quis’ iens in in tepidus tempestas civitas est valde simplex — NHL laxamentum opus. In 1991, San Jose Partis supervenio in California, impendo NHLs’ presentia ultra LA. Suus’ iam 16 annus laxus. Illud contraho kids ex California erant truculenter 3-5 ut NHL got illic. Iam theyre’ hockey ludio ludius. Ut’ non an casus.

Alius mos inviso Gretzky professio — 1988, hockey hits magnus vicis in LA. Ut eram 19 annus abhinc. Coniecto quam vetus illa contraho kids es? 1992, Tampa Sinus. 1993, Florida, Anaheim, Dallas. kids quisnam picked sursum hockey quoniam they erant denique res patesco ut is es modo hitting aevum qua they es hitting populus scaena.

California, Texas, quod Florida es penitus duco ( inter) optimus civitas pro athletes in football quod baseball. Facio meus math securus, lets’ narro ut in 1993 illic erant 5 million 5- annus- vetus boys in illud three civitas. 2.5 million ludio ludius football, 2.5 ludio ludius baseball. Iam, lets’ narro 500,000 illorum kids picked sursum hockey. Totus of a subitus, vestri’ sermo super nonnullus of optimus tener athletes in America lacing sursum skates instead of lascivio alius lusum. An susicivus dimidium million athletes pro leagues eligo per ut reperio talentum. Dum ingens major domus illorum athletes mos deficio ( ut est theca per totus athletes), USHL, NAHL, Novus England Promutuus Schola, NCAA, quod, eventually, NHL iam have a profundus talentum lacus ut utilitas.

EGO alieno qua Audivi is, tamen Im’ certus unus of vestri lector can reperio is: vultus tergum procul repens U.S. Ludo/Midget Populus Champions. Im’ iuste certain plures of lemma have been ex California. numerus of rinks in illa civitas has praemium, voluntas ut glacies vicis fio vilis quod parentes dont’ have urgeo three hora impetro suum kids in glacies. kids quisnam adsuesco assuesco exsisto centerfielders es iam centres, quod ut’ vitally maximus pro posterus of NHL. Dum intelligent populus can discrepo in dignitas of laxamentum quod quam is statim motum NHL talentum lacus, erant’ modo orsa ut tondeo beneficium of explicatus tener athletes ut venatus.

pucksandbooks: Meus permaneo question vobis: quisnam mos adepto — quod quisnam should adepto — Hobey Baker is annus?

NHLScout: Si EGO had a suffragium pro Hobey Baker, EGO would suffragium pro David Frons ex Notre Dame. Aperte, haud ludio ludius had a melior season quam Frons. Is eram plurrimi palmarium ludio ludius in contraho hockey. Ceterus nomine tenus totus had valde seasons — Bagnall eram an prodigiosus tutaminis, Curry portatus BU interdum, Hensick quod Duncan es duos of optimus obscoena threats in contraho hockey, quicumque. — tamen EGO have questions super dignitas of totus of lemma.

Vel, Frons had melior numerus quam Curry, quod in a peior team. Duncan lascivio in a versus per Oshie quod Toews, condita him tertius optimus ludio ludius in suus own versus. Hensick, amo Curry, est constipatus per an infigo suscipio iacio. Aperte, pro suum talentum campester, ND eram vix a Caput capitis 25 team. Is eram tantum propter coaching quod David Frons ut they erant ordo #1. Ut said, EGO specto Hensick quod Frons ut scindo Midwest/ Occasus suffragium quod Curry gero universus Oriens Coast, sic abyssus’ addo is domus. Mihi, is would have absentis (1) Frons, (2) Hensick, (3) Curry, (4) Bagnall, (5) Duncan.

Per via, Ive’ had a iugo of dies sisto sicco vestri site, quod duco mihi ut a posterus ordinarius lector. Vos guys have perfectus a magnificabiliter officium.

Id’ amo ut primoris gratias ago vos huic vicis, quod lector illae blog pro suum suscipio of maioribus lusum obvius universitas. Quod si vos animadverto a explorator procul a venatus, sumo him a capulus. Is officina suus ass off ut loco uber vos animadverto sicco illic in glacies, quod abyssus’ appreciate is.

pucksandbooks: Glacialis Quattuor est coming ut Lavatio in 2009, quod EGO specto video vidi visum vos illic. Vos moris’ exsisto pensio pro vestri capulus vel vestri beer ut week. Gratiae pro giving meus lector quod mihi adeo of vestri vicis quod talis sententia-provoking insight.

Notre Dames’ David Frons, Aer Copiae copie’ Eric Ehn, quod North Dakotas’ Ryan Duncan hodie erant renuntio ut finalists huic annus’ Hobey Baker award. award ero no tunc Friday in St. Louis procul Glacialis Quattuor.

Si vos erant ut congero a album of plurrimi intriguing quod prolecto professio ( foris of res a altus pensus pro athlete), quis vires exsisto accersitus “ somnium jobs,” vos vires comprehendo a ski instructor procul Vail, a photographer pro Hugh Heffner, forsitan a via expertus coegi pro Porsche. Meus list would include being paid to travel around the world to watch hockey, with rinks as my office, as a scout. On conference calls I’d be asked to discuss slick-skating Slovaks and mischief-makers from Moose Jaw.

In this role I could envision myself shamelessly dropping the names of athletes and locales, annoying my fellow air travelers in their comparatively mundane business comings and goings with “Once I land in Stockholm I’ll race over to national team headquarters to obtain a progress report on Jergen . . . for I understand he’s tearing up the Elite League.” This likely explains why I am not a hockey scout; at times I lack subtlety.

Of course, our perceptions of these professions are premised on myth and an outsider’s necessarily flawed vantage. When you actually get a chance to talk to someone in them, markedly different realities are detailed for you. This was my experience recently in an entirely unplanned and altogether fortuitous exchange I had with a full-time NHL scout. From the moment I confirmed his identity I knew I wanted to pick his hockey head clean of its “a season in the life of” experiences and analyses, for his is a line of work long shrouded behind the scenes, in mystery even, by design.

In this scout I had not only a fertile and fruitful information source but an emblem of hockey’s most impassioned: you don’t go into hockey scouting because the loading gig at Home Depot didn’t come through, you scout — necessarily making unfathomable sacrifices on your personal life — because you possess in inexhaustable fire for life on ice, he told me. He didn’t merely answer my questions in rich detail but created compositions with my readers’ perceived curiosity foremost in mind. He asked of me only that I preserve his anonymity and that of his NHL employer. I happily obliged.

He is based in the U.S. He covers a major region of the country — its colleges and prominent high school programs. He is responsible for all of the teams and players in one of college hockey’s power conferences. And at times he is also tasked with scouting junior hockey and the occasional professional game.

pucksandbooks: Most hockey fans have an impression that the life of an NHL scout has to be pretty much the closest thing to Heaven on Earth as far as careers go. I mean, what could be better than getting paid to watch terrific hockey! Jet planes, morning skates, and hotels with embroidered bathrobes. Firstly, how accurate are our general impressions of this career, and would you identify for OFB readers both your favorite and least favorite aspects of it?

NHLScout: I love when people talk about the glamour of this job. Let me make it clear from the start that I love my job. There is literally nothing I would rather be doing in the world. As you said, I get paid to watch hockey — what could be better? I’m sure people will skip this disclaimer and read what follows as me complaining, but that’s not my intention. I just want to strip the “glamour” idea from the job. Scouting is a grind. The glamour is for athletes, GMs, and some coaches. The scouts are the faceless drones who do the grunt work without the public recognition.

I’m one of the younger scouts, and single. On a “home” week for me, I’ll spend Tuesday through Sunday driving to games, watching games, and sitting at home filing game reports. I frequently drive 5 hours to see a game, then drive 5 back (through snow, rain, ice, whatever else) when the game ends. That means I’ll leave my house around noon on Friday, and get home around 3 a.m. Saturday. I haven’t had a Friday or Saturday night off since the last weekend in August. When I’m on the road, it’s long drives, small towns, and hotel rooms. Ever been to Medicine Hat, Alberta? Or Sioux City, Iowa? Or some random town I can’t spell in Latvia? NHL scouts have.

And this isn’t NHL hockey we get to watch every night. I’ve seen high school games where one player is a borderline 7th round pick, and the rest of the kids can’t even skate. It’s painful to watch and hard to focus — you end up trying to find attractive women in the crowd, or staring at the clock as the minutes count down. Scouting is a time consuming, exhausting job, especially for wives and children. I’m incredibly lucky to not be married at this point — I don’t know how the wives are able to do it. Their husbands are gone for weeks at a time, work strange hours, and have very little time off. Honestly, the toughest people in hockey are the wives and children. It’s amazing what they have to deal with.

My favorite part of the job is hard to choose. I love the community. Scouts are a tight-knit group of men who do their best to look out for each other. Older scouts helping rookies with things like hotels, directions, back doors to rinks, etc. Rookies driving the older guys while they catch up on some rest. Going and talking to the athletes and coaches and finding out information. Hearing the stories of guys who have scouted for 50 years (”I remember seeing Bobby Orr back in juniors. One game . . . “) never ceases to entertain me. I love the first moment of every day when I walk into a rink, and feel the cold, and smell the sweat, and just feel at home. I love those infrequent games where you see something special — a player you just know will be a star, or a goal you’ve never seen before, or a great fight. I love that my job changes every day.

My least favorite part of the job is just the travel and lack of free time, which gets old pretty fast. For every trip to a great city like New York or Boston or Madison, Wis., there’s the trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, or some small town in Western Canada, or a place in Russia where no one else speaks English. I don’t really have time for a social life because I’m working every night. I also wouldn’t mind if women were more impressed by the job title. When I get a rare night off and go out to a bar, I usually end up surrounded by male hockey fans who are asking me questions, while the girls of the group walk off to find a doctor or a cop. (Continued)

ESPN’s Page 2 debuted their Pain and Suffering formula today for the four major sports. The writers calculate just how much misery has been inflicted upon a given team’s fans (any team that won its sport’s championship in the past twenty-five years is excluded), then list the 46 most aggrieved fan bases.

The Flyers come in at #3 overall, the highest (lowest?) ranked NHL team. The Caps make an appearance on the list as well . . . with a bonus Jagr Mullet photo:

30. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Last title: Never Seasons: 31 Playoffs: 18 Winning seasons: 18 Finals losses: 1 (1)

The worst team ever? The Capitals joined the NHL in 1974, and let us pray we never see a team this bad again. They finished 8-67-5 and won just one road game. They were outscored 446-181. Apparently, the Hanson brothers were unavailable.

Not quite a soul-sucking moment but much worse than a kick to the groin: The Caps were strong through the ’80s, making the playoffs every year from ‘83 to ‘96. But their playoff heartbreak was best defined by the famous Easter Epic first-round loss to the Islanders in 1987. The teams were meeting for the fifth straight year in the playoffs, but the Caps took a 3-1 series lead. New York forced Game 7, which was broadcast on ESPN on Saturday night before Easter … but the game wouldn’t end until Easter morning, when the Islanders’ Pat Lafontaine finally scored the winner in the fourth overtime.

P & S rating: 3.00 (equivalent to six Jaromir Jagrs)

Fans of every team sport enjoy owning and wearing the uniforms of their heroes, but the relationship between the hockey fan and the sport’s sweater is distinctive in the sporting landscape. We’ve documented this in some detail at OFB, and so to us the news yesterday of the Caps overhauling their look for next season struck us as significant indeed. It is not of course on the order of a major trade or free agent acquisition or management shakeup, but it is not inconsequential either. And it might not be uninteresting to examine why.

I was able to find a YouTube link to the entire “Hockey Falls” series of superbly amusing television commercials that ran during ESPN’s coverage of the NHL years back, and two things stood out to me about the litany of spots. Every one featured the puck-crazed enthusiasts in their hockey sweaters, in every setting at every hour. And one spot, titled “April,” magnificently illuminates the sweater’s enduring lure for its owner. It takes place over a bar’s bubble hockey game and is predicated on an ex-girlfriend presenting herself and her new boyfriend before her jilted sweatered mullet, to flaunt her new dalliance.

“That’s just wrong,” the mulleted friend tells his stunned and sullen playing partner.

“And he’s wearing my sweater, too,” replies the cross-checked to the heart . . . “That’s really wrong.”

It would be really wrong, in my judgment, if the Caps didn’t get their new look really right. I’m pretty sure that last summer the Ducks didn’t (although admittedly they had nowhere to go but up with their look), and I know with their BuffaSlug the Sabres didn’t, either. I hope the fashion bar set by Caps’ management is considerably higher.

You see, we in hockey D.C. have had so little to be fantastically enthusiastic about over the past 30-plus years. Spasms of victory and achievement book-ended and blunted most often by enormous struggle. With the present darkness yielding to a new and far more promising dawn, it would be wonderful if Hockey Falls, Nation’s Capital style, could march into Verizon Center next autumn outfitted in fresh new threads that were the talk of the entire league. And perhaps beyond.

When enemey fans whose teams are outfitted in the finest, Original Six look roam our arena concourse they are entitled to a fashion haughtiness that we as Caps’ fans, at long last, I think deserve. It’s funny how what was once taken for granted as moderately good looking sports fashion (the original Caps’ and Bullets’ jerseys) regain popularity when juxtaposed by forgettable replacements. Clearly the Caps can’t and won’t return all the way back to their original look, but I hope the redesign captures much of what was good about it.

But what specifically drives the profound attachment a puckhead has with his team’s and or favorite players’ sweaters? I’d love to hear from OFB readers their own rationale for the size and quality of the collected hockey garb they possess — to learn of the significance the collection has for them. I know that among the four of us at OFB we could fill a First Lady’s closet with game worns, practice editions, and novelty sweaters (I’m ever angling for OrderedChaos’ Guinness sweater).

I can think of two prime motivations fueling the enduring appeal of the hockey sweater. The most primal is what I think is a shared yearning to be visually associated with the rugged warrior ethos and culture of our great game. In wearing a Scott Stevens’ sweater, for instance, a puckhead is clearly expressing his appreciation for the future Hall of Famer’s brutal bravado.

But I think it’s also likely true that sweatered hockey fans also want to advertise their basic love affair with this niche game, what is akin to patronage of the underground rock band while your big brother rocks out to Bon Jovi. The Sporting News’ Steve Wulf puts it this way: “Part of the joy of being a hockey fan is knowing you love something that not everybody gets.”

Here’s what we know already about the new look: it’ll be produced by Reebok and carry the controversial “slimmer” look. We’re no fans of that, as you know, and last autumn we joined thousands in adding ourselves to an organized protest against it, but Gary Bettman’s flawed vision and attacks against tradition once again won out. So it is what it is. We do know that the Caps will return to their original red, white, and blue colors, which I cannot imagine eliciting protest from anyone in this town. We never should have ditched them. Count me among those who’ll never miss the dour and drab black look that blurred names and numbers from the view of every upper deck (and many lower ones too). We don’t know what manner, if any, of emblem change might accompany the new look.

My wish list for the new sweater is brief:

• That it achieve durable and classic distinction. As a fan, I’m not interested in change for change’s sake, and being back on message boards in seven or nine years’ time reading full-throated fan appeals for an improved look. Shifting looks virtually by the year are for the NBA. It seems to me that you overhaul your look to improve it but you do so with the expectation that you get it so right with the remake that you arrive at a realm akin to the durable distinction of the Original Six appearance. If you’re not striving for this rarefied realm, why bother?

Yesterday we posted a blurb from boston.com about Vincent Lecavalier calling Milan Jurcina one of the toughest defensemen he’s had to play against.

Well NHL.com has jumped on the Jurcina bandwagon, with this feature article by Tom Worgo about the Caps’ new defenseman.

“‘I see nothing but good things for him down the road,’ says Jay Leach, who coaches the team’s defensemen. ‘I can’t say enough about him. We didn’t know what we were getting, whether he could play or couldn’t. He has gotten a lot better defensively in a shorter period of time than I ever thought he would.’

“Along with all the eye-catching skills Jurcina possesses, his rugged style of play impresses Leach the most.

“‘When he hits people he hurts them,’ Leach said.

“With Jurcina, an eighth-round pick in the 2001 draft, playing as well as ever with the Capitals, it sounds like the Bruins now wish they could undo the trade. After all, Jurcina could be on track for a solid career as a top-four NHL defenseman.”

High praise indeed. It seems that Jurcina, after warming the Bruins’ bench for most of the season, has found a productive and welcoming home in the nation’s capital.

Ten years ago today, in Detroit, fans witnessed one of most brutal games in hockey history. 144 penalty minutes, a bloody goaltender fight (c.f. Patrick Roy’s dazed look), and the significant deepening of a great hockey rivalry between the Red Wings and Avalanche. Whether you are for or against fighting in the sport, that game was undeniably riveting.

We thank Thomas Neumann, ESPN Page 2 editor, for chronicling the anniversary of that historic donnybrook—in an ESPN article filled with great external links no less. Be sure to read the article here; it’s good stuff, and it’s heartening to see quality hockey content on ESPN.

If like us you greatly appreciated MASN’s stellar coverage of the NCAA puck postseason this past weekend — the outlet ended up televising fully five games in their entirety Friday through Sunday — drop management there a kind word of appreciation, and urge them to make the tourney a staple of their broadcast future.

Ours was a Billy Packer-less weekend, and we loved every hour of it.

In his blog today, WaPost Caps reporter Tarik El Bashir claims that the Caps will be switching to Red, White, and Blue beginning next season.

As best as I can tell, English has no word for the ubiquitous wish hockey fans harbor for prolonged and momentum-shifting sudden death overtime drama, be it contested in the NCAA or NHL postseasons. As we settle in for this gunslinger’s showdown that in drama has no rival anywhere in sports, and assuming we have no dog in the fight, it seems to me the last thing we expect and long for is a swift resolution, while the ice sheet is still shimmering. We want, perhaps, at least a half-period’s worth of white-knuckled back and forth, with goalposts clanked and odd-man rushes raising us out of our seats. Ideally, we’d be treated to two or three extra 20-minute sessions that obliterate the rest of the day or evening’s plans and empty our fridges. It’s when hockey fans become drama junkies.

The NCAA’s marquee postseason weekend kicked off last Friday afternoon with successive sudden death sessions, and so it was fitting that its final game last night so ended, and the moreso with it being contested in one of college hockey’s fiercest rivalries, Minnesota and North Dakota.

I watched it and luxuriated in a splendid spring Sunday afternoon turn first into early evening and then deep darkness with the game’s outcome still undecided. Every North American with a single thought about the sport of hockey has a prescription to improve its overall appeal, but here, in this extra session exhilaration, hockey has it perfect. Extra innings in the World Series are superb, but even they’ve got nothing on hockey’s sudden death.

While we’d like the game’s referees to slide back a bit from their whistle-happy whims and allow rugged heroism to determine sudden death’s outcome, we also savor I think the high alerts from manpower advantages, monitoring every power play pass and head-first dive to clear the zone with a laser focus and relish we don’t during the regular season. Whether we’re in the stands or seated before a TV screen, our sensory scope is at its widest during this action. We are attuned even to the footwork of the puck-carrying, backpedaling blueliner, knowing any error in agility could end his team’s season. I call this the Lesson of Gonchar.

It seems to me that most often a hockey team’s true character is revealed in these showdown sessions, and that most often the deserving team prevails. As the college hockey regular season concluded more and more observers pointed out Minnesota’s seeming lack of cohesion and chemistry — a trait that is becoming a bit of a staple in that superstar-laden program. And sure enough, last night it was North Dakota that carried the play in OT. And whereas the Gophers are perhaps a program increasingly of one- and two-year high profile pitstops en route to the pros, note that Sioux senior Chris Porter won UND’s entry to the Frozen Four last night.

I think if I were building a hockey team designed to prosper in sudden death, I’d seek leadership and experience. Is it any wonder that at the NHL’s trade deadline every year we see GMs across the league pony up high value assets for grizzled greybeards?

Special hockey teams seem to rise to the remarkable challenge of sudden death. The 1998 Capitals went 5-1 in overtime in the East’s playoffs en route to their only appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Last season’s Hurricanes went 4-1 in extra time in their postseason run. We may never again see the likes of the 1993 Montreal Canadians, who won ten straight postseason overtime games. Doubtless there are dozens more testionials to champion fortitude forged in this frenzy, and it seems doubtful that a team involved in at least a handful of OT games has won a Cup while amassing a losing record in them.

Let’s invent a word for our yearning for this marvelous mayhem.

I saw one of the oddest things on Kukla’s Korner last night.

A collection of over 95 goalie masks from the past.

An interesting tidbit from Boston.com writer Kevin Paul Dupont about Milan Jurcina. Seems like there’s some serious regret about Jurcina’s departure in Boston . . . I, for one, hope to see Jurcina in a Caps jersey for many years:

Last Sunday in D.C., the lowly Capitals slapped a 7-1 loss on the lofty Lightning, a thumping that left Bolts star Vincent Lecavalier without a point and a minus-2 for his 22:17 of ice time.

“Vinny came away from that one talking about how impressed he was with [Milan] Jurcina,” said a veteran scout with close ties to Tampa’s franchise center. “I guess Jurcina was out there every time Vinny was, and he said he’s one of the toughest defensemen he’s had to play against.”

[tap of the stick to OFB regular reader Odessa Steps for the link]

The 2007 Frozen Four is now set. Here is the updated bracket:

After a break next weekend, St. Louis, Missouri, will host North Dakota vs. Boston College and Maine vs. Michigan State in semifinal games on April 5th. Both games will be aired on ESPN2. The championship game will be on the 7th of April on ESPN.

Video of first-graders at Watkins Elementary School on Capitol Hill singing Stompin’ Tom Connors’ “The Hockey Song.” It warms my heart to see such hockey love from these Washington D.C. muchkins.

I have friends who are spirited WCHA partisans, and for a week now I’ve heard moans and groans from them about their conference being slighted by the NCAA selection committee. The WCHA placed three teams in the field of 16 — Minnesota, North Dakota, and St. Cloud. My friends correctly noted: the past five NCAA hockey champions have hailed from the WCHA. It’s college hockey’s best conference, hands down.

But the gap, today I allege, is closing.

Ascendant — most dramatically — are two CCHA clubs, Miami and Notre Dame. Miami is now at home in its new two-sheet, state-of-the-art rink that set back Ohio taxpayers a cool $35 million. The Redhawks appear to be a Top 20 fixture. The Fighting Irish under Jeff Jackson — what’s left to be said about them this season that already hasn’t? Blue and Gold Illustrated last month on its cover tabbed Jackson’s efforts in South Bend this season ‘Another Miracle on Ice.’ And one-year wonders they almost certainly aren’t: seven recruits arrive on campus this autumn, and all seven appear on the NHL’s list of likely-to-be drafted this June. Wow.

Meanwhile, the WCHA clubs who did make the field didn’t exactly blow away the competition. St. Cloud went out Friday without a whimper; Minnesota, facing the demons of last season’s all-time first-round shocker at the skates of Holy Cross, trailed 15-loss Air Force 3-1 well into the third period Saturday before prevailing 4-3.

The CCHA placed four teams in the field of 16, Hockey East a conspicuous five. The CCHA has acquitted itself superbly: it’s 3-0 through play Saturday afternoon. Alabama-Huntsville may well have snared a spot from a fourth WCHA team, and I’m with Michigan State coach Rick Comley about the five-team CHA: their tournament winner ought to earn merely a play-in game berth rather than one of the coveted sixteen slots outright.

But the Denver Pioneers finished 4th in the WCHA this season with 15 losses. Are the league’s supporters, confronted with 19-loss Huntsville and 15-loss Air Force already in the field of 16, seriously suggesting that another 15-loss-plus team ought to earn a selection?

But a word of commendation about both Huntsville and Air Force. Huntsville’s record, as unimpressive as it was, didn’t tell the full story of that fiery team that pushed the no. 1 team in the country to the sudden death brink Friday. Comebacks — large ones — littered Huntsville’s season. They trailed Wayne State 3-0 and won in OT. They trailed Niagra 3-1 and won 5-3. They trailed Robert Morris 4-0 in the CHA championship game and prevailed 5-4 in OT. And Friday they trailed the Irish 2-0 and yanked their goalie in the first period before knotting things up. Netminder Marc Narduzzi came in off the bench and stopped 49 of the 50 shots he faced.

I also heard a lot of dismissive talk this week against the Chargers predicated on their distinctive geographical locale. In point of fact, Huntsville has a rich hockey legacy (three minor pro teams there since the ’70s), and this season’s Chargers’ roster contained no fewer than 20 Canucks.

Friday was Head Coach Doug Ross’ last game after 25 years behind the Huntsville bench. I didn’t know that until this morning, but that explains a lot of the Chargers’ gutsy showing in a game everyone thought would be a laugher.

I thought Air Force was set up for a slaughter Saturday, with every resident of the Hockey State reminding Gopher head man Don Lucia this month about last season’s unacceptable round of 16 opening dismissal. But there the Falcons were Saturday, up 3-1 late against the Golden Gophers. Ten Falcons hailed from Minnesota, so you can imagine the motivation and pride with which they played.

Many of these Regionals are being contested in AHL rinks — Manchester, Grand Rapids, Rochester, for instance. They share this quality: charitably put, there’s no need to print standing room only tickets. And because college hockey has such a wonderful product to sell, and because hockey in general is on its hands and knees in terms of securing America’s fiercely competitive sports patronage, I’m led to think that college hockey should take these regionals to new and non-traditional outposts. I’m thinking . . . 10,000-seat, new and impressive rinks . . . like . . . Hershey’s Giant Center.