Welcome to the last business day without hockey in 2008. At the end of this weekend, feet will be back in boots, and stay there, inaugurating the 2008-09 hockey season. Many Washington Capitals veterans are already in town and skating out at Kettler, but the team’s rookies report for five days of instruction beginning this Sunday. We’ll even have a Caps-Flyers’ rookie scrimmage to follow in less than a week.
Hockey is back!
We wonder, what was your favorite hockey story of the summer — not news item, such as new contracts for Mike Green or Sergei Fedorov, but perhaps some unexpected pleasantry that helped you bridge the puck-less chasm? We’d love to hear about it in your comments.
This was ours: imagine yourself a 13-year-old hockey camper (a goalie), and fresh off your summer session, back in the room, you’re just about to remove your gear when a member of the Ottawa Senators pokes his head in the room and asks if there’s a goalie who could come back out and stand in front of a dozen-plus 90-mile-an-hour slapshots for 90 minutes? A sizable number of Sens had arrived at Bell Sensplex for a customary August intrasquad scrimmage, and they were short a goalie. Now imagine being a real big Senators’ fan and being in that room all ready to go in your gear.
That’s what happened to youth house league 13-year-old Christian Rusu last month.
“At first, I didn’t know what was going on in the drills because they were going so fast. It’s nothing like I have ever seen before. I came out to the top of my (goal crease), and, all of a sudden, I looked one way, then the other, and the puck was behind me and I was thinking, ‘Where did that come from?’”
Best of all, young Christian played well in net in that scrimmage — the Senators’ players said so. Better still:¬† Christian’s father arrived at the rink to retrieve him in time to learn of the experience. We bet that was a special car ride home.
8 Comments
Hi OFB Gang – I want to know where to get the fun t-shirt on today’s post? Keep up the great work and Go CAPS!
My favourite story? Probably just the whole sense of optimism that surrounds the Caps right now. Its really strange to me as a life long fan to hear people on the radio and blogs discussing us as possible Stanley Cup contenders. Makes me feel a lot of pride.
Also gotta love Ovie’s youtube Russian Game show stuff…absolute gold
It was only a week or so from the conclusion of the SCFs, but my favorite summer hockey moment was congratulating Bruce on the night of the Awards Show, and to see him in such an ebullient mood, totally star struck by all of the hockey royalty around him.
I would have the say the “5 ways I would change the NHL” running series on puck daddy with special guest appearance by our own Mr. Leonsis was a nice addition to summer.
Tough call, but there probably isn’t one story but several to chose from (listed in no specific order):
1. Jagr fleeing the NHL
2. Russia winning the WC in May
3. Ovie and Bruce cleaning up at the NHL awards
4. Bradley’s 5 ways to change the NHL on PuckDaddy’s blog
5. The Ovechkin Game Show videos
6. Slovak women winning 82-0 over Bulgaria
Where do I get a shirt like that?
OFB…Wife wants to know where to get that shirt. I have checked cafepress. That was a no go. Please help. Can’t wait till the season starts. GO CAPS.
T-shirt source finally unearthed:
http://flickr.com/photos/gameface/2572787254/in/photostream/
Post a Comment