In Glacialis Blog

Triginta minutes prior ut Friday nox noctis’ Rookie Castra scrimmage Drummondville, Quebec paternus Matheiu Perreault could exsisto seen superstes secundum ludio ludius’ scamnum, nondum in apparatus, twirling suus hockey virga per a puck seemingly candela ut suus vesica. Inquam seemingly quoniam super tractus of quattuor vel quinque minutes puck nunquam umquam commotus ex center of vesica curvo. Hed’ whirl suus virga per volatilis wrist factum, volatilis oculus tractus motus fere, quod nunquam perdo imperium of suus praemium possessio. Parumper pauci concisus secundus is videor tanquam puck defied sepulchrum per vesica pandus obviam solum. Is eram a veneficus spectaculum.

Sicco in glacies is week illic has been a similis attachment of puck ut Perreaults’ virga. An emerging storyline is week, is has vegetus infigo Caput’ persona per suus playmaking potestas, suus elite hockey voluntas, quod proprie suus knack namque in vox locus procul vox vicis in angustus castra aestiva. A ludio ludius of vercundus statua (5 ‘8, 160-ish), Perreault ostendo haud tergiversatio praecessi qua magnus bodies bang.

A annus abhinc nunc plurimus in hockey would have sententia Perreault felicis vel ut exsisto invited ut Caps’ Rookie castra is estas. Suus rookie annus in Quebec Major domus Junior Hockey League per Acadie Bathurst Titan eram nice tamen unspectacular (18 calx, 34 succurro in 62 venatus). Suus obscoena uber did jump aliquantulus ut postseason, tamen adveho June quod NHL Viscus Draft, suus amplitudo kept him in tabula tardus. Caps carpo him in rotundus six, 177th super.

Tamen ut denique coma erant cado ex nemus is preteritus autumn a insolitus res eram captus locus tergum sursum in Acadie Bathurst: Perreault eram a dominion obscoena vis nox noctis in quod nox noctis sicco. Is eram nomen Q League Ludio ludius of Mensis pro November. Per Thanksgiving ( nostri), hed’ obduco suus rookie annus cuspis numerus. Per per draft classmate Suffragium Bouchard is eram invited ut Canadian Universitas Junior Denique Censeo Castra in December. In midseason Caps’ Imperator Procurator George McPhee went in CapsReport quod told Mike Vogel ut Perreault had suscipio “ altissimus possible ustulo” in a ludio ludius’ hockey voluntas. Is perfectus 2006-07 season per 41 calx quod 78 succurro in 67 venatus, quod is capped is off per victor leagues’ MVP award.

Is supervenio in Lavatio semel is week (” suus’ fervens hic” is criminor ut mihi), quod ex oris moments of Wednesdays’ oris scrimmage is propono an elite venatus of deft playmaking, unrivaled puck imperium, quod eximius instincts. Is ustulo duos calx ut nox noctis, quod is sent campester sagaciter obduco ut teammates in sulum ustulo sector.

Per tabula, qua vos vires reputo him plurimus vulnerable quod vinco, is vere praecedo, tractus tutor ut him creo patefacio tractus pro suus linemates. Is wins potissimum suus duco, plures per tersus. Sit in instabilitas in obscoena plaga.

Tamen alienigena obscoena numerus quod hardware fere ut procerus ut sit gero haud affinitas ut Perreaults’ shy quod mollis- orator demeanor off glacies. Is eram Francisca in agnosco quam vel is had haud informatio is eram in repono pro an MVP species CHL season.

Is told mihi ut permaneo season eram sic spectacular ut sit procul opera ut identify imprimis calx ut melior is season. Instead, is mos focus in “ improvidus meus vires, [ questus] magis volo. . . magis volo”

Ex McPhees’ midseason assessment ut is weeks’ dynamic propono EGO no punctum of trying ut press GM parumper temerarus forecast pro Perreault. EGO didnt’ volo scio si McPhee sententia Perreault simplex NHL- fatum tamen quinymo si quondam illic hed’ exsisto an labefactum ludio ludius.

“Hes’ a bonus ludio ludius” McPhee told mihi secundum Fridays’ scrimmage. Tamen quis super an labefactum NHLer? “ego wouldnt’ exsisto admiratio procul all,” is added.

NHL hockey mos usquequaque have locus pro undersized quod overskilled quod pervicax. Bellicus St. Louis vel Steve Sullivan vel Daniel Concisus would ustulo calx in ullus tempus. Suus’ quoque mane etiamnunc ut dico si Perreaults’ in ut quidam quaedam quedam quidam development arcus, tamen is usus in ubertas hockeys’ plurimus inhio species — venatus- dictum instincts quod solers.

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.

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 album would comprehendo res pensus proficiscor inter orbis terrarum ut vigilo hockey, per rinks ut meus muneris, ut a explorator. In placitum dico Id’ exsisto asked dissero lubricus-skating Slovaks quod mischief- plasmator ex Moose Mala.

Huic persona EGO could envision myself impudens dropping nomen of athletes quod locus, molestus meus socius aer viator in suum comparatively mundane res comings quod iens per “ quondam EGO terra in Stockholm Peius’ natio nationis super ut populus team headquarters usurpo a progressio opinio in Jergen . . . pro EGO agnosco hes’ tearing sursum Elite League.” Is amo persolvo quare EGO sum non a hockey explorator; interdum EGO penuria callide.

Nimirum, nostrum perceptions illorum professio es premised in myth quod an foris’ necesse macula vantage. Ut vos vere adepto a chance ut sermo ut quispiam in lemma, venalicium diversus realities es retineo vobis. Is eram meus usus nuper in an penitus inconditus quod omnino fortuitus verto EGO had per a plenus- vicis NHL explorator. Ex moment EGO affirmo suus identity EGO knew EGO volo ut pick suus hockey caput capitis tersus of suus “a season in vita of” usus quod analyses, pro suus est a versus of opus porro shrouded secundum scaena, in mystery vel, per intentio.

Huic explorator EGO had non tantum a uber quod uber notitia radix tamen an emblem of hockeys’ plurimus impassioned: vos dont’ vado in hockey explorator quoniam sarcina gig domi Depot didnt’ adveho per, vos explorator — necesse condita unfathomable vitualamen in vestri alio vita — quoniam vos usus in inexhaustable incendia pro vita in glacies, is told mihi. Is didnt’ mereo refero meus questions in uber retineo tamen partum compositio per meus lector’ sentio curator primoris in mens. Is asked mei tantum ut EGO reservo suus anonymity quod ut of suus NHL utor. EGO grate adstringo.

Sit substructio in U.S. Is occulto a major domus tellus of rus ruris — suus contraho quod prominent altus schola progressio. Sit responsible pro totus of teams quod ludio ludius una of contraho hockeys’ vox placitum. Quod interdum sit quoque negotium per explorator junior hockey quod aliquando professio venatus.

pucksandbooks: Plurimus hockey fans have an infigo ut vita of an NHL explorator has futurus pulchellus ultum proximus res ut Olympus in Terra tenus tutela vado. EGO vilis, quis could exsisto melior quam questus pensus ut vigilo magnificabiliter hockey! Jet plagiarius, oriens skates, quod hotels per picturatus bathrobes. Primoris, quam sagaciter es nostrum imperator impressions illae tutela, quod would vos identify pro OFB lector utriusque vestri ventus quod minimus ventus vultus of is?

NHLScout: EGO diligo ut populus for glamour illae officium. Permissum mihi planto is videlicet ex satus ut EGO diligo meus officium. Illic est philologus nusquam EGO would quinymo exsisto effectus obvius universitas. Ut vos said, EGO adepto pensus ut vigilo hockey — quis could exsisto melior? Im’ certus populus mos skip is disclaimer quod lego quis insisto ut mihi queribundus, tamen ut’ non meus intention. EGO iustus volo spolio “glamour” informatio ex officium. Explorator est a frendo. glamour est pro athletes, GMs, quod nonnullus cogo. explorator es faceless drones quisnam operor grunt opus vacuus medium agnitio.

Im’ unus of iunior explorator, quod singulus. In a “ domus” week mihi, Peius’ prodigo Tuesday per Sunday coegi ut venatus, vigilo venatus, quod sitting domi filing venatus opinio. EGO saepius coegi 5 hora video vidi visum a venatus, tunc coegi 5 tergum ( per snow, pluvia, glacies, quisquis alius) ut venatus ends. Ut opes Peius’ licentia meus domus inter noon in Friday, quod adepto domus inter 3 a.m. imbuo EGO havent’ had a Friday vel Imbuo nox noctis off utpote permaneo weekend in Ales. Ut Im’ in via, suus’ porro agitet, vegrandis civis, quod hotel cella. Umquam been ut Rememdium Hat, Alberta? Vel Sioux Urbs, Iowa? Vel nonnullus random urbs EGO cant’ alica in Latvia? NHL explorator have.

Quod is isnt’ NHL hockey nos adepto ut vigilo sulum nox noctis. Ive’ seen altus schola venatus qua unus ludio ludius est a borderline 7th rotundus pick, quod 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)

Here’s hockey plasma for you: as a freshman at the University of Minnesota in the late 1980s, Ross Bernstein attempted to walk on to the Golden Gopher hockey team, and failing, channeled his puck passion into serving as the team mascot, Goldy the Gopher. The experience formed the basis of his 1992 book Gopher Hockey by the Hockey Gopher. Later he would author a keepsake not just for Minnesota hockey fans but really for all American hockey lovers: the exhaustive and richly illustrated Frozen Memories: Celebrating a Century of Minnesota Hockey. If you possess a scintilla of curiosity about how Minnesota became the State of Hockey, it belongs on your coffee table. The scope of research conducted in Frozen Memories is astounding, and that’s become a staple of Bernstein’s sportswriting career.

His latest effort is the culmination of two years of interviews with more than 100 NHL enforcers, active and retired, coaches, and managers, on and off the record, titled The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL. It’s an unprecedented insider’s chronicle of the history of fighting in hockey, with Bernstein gaining access to insights into the super-shrouded, most often unspoken world of hockey’s honor and intimidation system.

When we chatted last week Bernstein informed me that he was working on an update of Frozen Memories, to be completed perhaps by year’s end, as so much has happened in Minnesota hockey since its publication. I mentioned my interest in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships and the novelty of schoolboy games being contested outdoors on ponds and lakes in the land of 10,000 lakes, and Bernstein confirmed that those events were among the targets of his updated book. But after that, we got to talking about brawling — big time, bare-knuckled brawling — and an hour went by before I’d asked him half of the questions I wanted to. Passionate puckheads are a warm meal on a winter’s night delight to talk to; passionate puckhead authors, I learned, are tiramisu.

pucksandbooks: Hockey’s rules, styles and strategems, even its source cultures have evolved so dramatically over the past 25 years. How do you explain fighting’s enduring role at both the minor and big-league levels of the sport?

Ross Bernstein: In doing the book, I tracked the history — 150 years — of violence in hockey. Violence has been a part of hockey since day one; it’s always just been part of the culture. Actually, it was way worse once upon a time. You had stick fighting. Toe Blake. In the last 25 years it’s evolved a lot, and I point to the Broad Street Bullies as the turning point. 1987 was the last year we had a bench-clearing brawl in the NHL — the penalty became too steep. My book chronicles this evolution. Fighting’s down 37 percent post-lockout. You notice Tie Domi retiring as quietly as he did. The goons are gone. Guys today gotta be able to skate, to take a shift. Having said that, hockey remains a game of fear and intimidation. You have to carry your head on a swivel. It’s not like football where guys are wearing a mask — it’s a totally different game. Fighting has always been a part of it.

Expansion also played a key part in perpetuating fighting’s legacy. Fighting was made more prevalent to sell the game. I’m talking about regions where the kids don’t play the game; fighting became a selling point there. What if NASCAR said, ‘We’re eliminating crashing?’ But the way I’d put it is, fighting isn’t as gratuitous in the new NHL.

pucksandbooks: My father and I have had a 25-year disagreement about fighting in hockey. He hates it, thinks it’s a nuissance that harms the sport’s overall appeal. He’d outlaw it yesterday if he were made commissioner tomorrow. I on the other hand see it as altogether organic or indigenous — an extension of the sport’s rugged checking, and a byproduct of the novelty that is racing a round a playing surface at upwards of 30 mph while wielding a weapon. Which one of us is right? (Continued)

If you’re attempting to identify Capitals’ players, past and present, who rank as all-time fan favorites, you have to include Churchbridge, Saskatchewan’s, Kevin Kaminski, a.k.a. Killer! A Cap from 1993 to 1997, his Wikipedia biography includes this career summary:

“During his four seasons with the Capitals, his hard-nosed, gritty style of play would make him a fan favorite, as he would not hesitate fighting players who were much bigger than him… on January 26, 1997, Kaminski, then playing for Washington, goaded Edmonton Oiler enforcer Louis Debrusk into taking 27 penalty minutes just three minutes into the game, and goaded another Edmonton player into taking a roughing penalty before leaving the game with about 5 minutes to go in the first period with a concussion.”

Be still my Old Time Hockey heart.

Between 1993 and 1998 Kaminski played in 113 games with the Portland Pirates, then the Caps’ American Hockey League affiliate, and played a key role in their 1994 Calder Cup title, amassing 9 points and a league-high 91 penalty minutes in 16 playoff games. In 2000 he was inducted into the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame. Kaminski retired from pro hockey in 1999 and began his transition to coaching in 2000, when he served as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Cincinnati Mighty Ducks under then Head Coach Mike Babcock.

Today Killer is in his first season as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Youngstown Steelhounds of the Central Hockey League. OFB caught up with him under some remarkable circumstances: in the middle of a 21-day roadtrip across virtually the entirety of the American Southwest, the Steelhounds raced home for 48 hours to reconnect with family before embarking on yet another 20-hour bus ride to a faraway rink. It was a road-weary respite with which the coach was home trimming the Kaminski Christmas tree, a helping daughter in his arms. But far from feeling imposed upon by the interview request, the Coach was eager to talk hockey and especially hear about his hockey friends in D.C.

There are those forging lifetime careers in hockey as players, coaches, and perhaps one day executives predicated on an inexhaustible passion for the game, guys who wake up every day and can’t wait to get to the rink. Kevin Kaminski is one of these puck-breathers. He remembers “the honor of playing in Washington,” and I assured him that he was very well remembered by Washington’s hockey community nearly 10 years since he last played here.

I conducted this interview from my office in Northwest Washington, and as I listened to Killer relate his expectations of his Steelhounds — “When things get rough out there, I tell my guys, ‘We gotta win, but we gotta take a number . . . we gotta pay that guy a visit‘; or, when discussing what life for him would be like were he playing in today’s NHL: “I have visions of crushing guys” — I swear he had me so fired up I wanted to race outside onto K Street in my navy blue blazer and khakis and lay a savage and unsuspecting shoulder blow on the first person I laid eyes on.

(Continued)

Part of what we want to do at OFB is remind people that there is a rich legacy to the Capitals’ organization and a sizable spirit for hockey in this region, and if you want to chronicle this you have to reach out to the people who laid the groundwork for it and ask them to share their stories. And today we begin our chronicle by sitting down with the Dean of D.C. Hockey, Ron Weber, a Washington Hall of Fame broadcast talent who for many veteran Caps’ fans was no less than their access point to pro hockey in D.C.

OFB was granted a great privilege this past Monday evening when, an hour before the Caps-Senators’ game at Verizon Center, we were invited to sit down with Mr. Weber and address any and all questions about his remarkable radio career and his general thoughts on pucks in D.C.

Today Mr. Weber and his wife, Mary Jane, reside in Montgomery County, Maryland, and attend every Caps’ home game. In the course of this memorable visit it became clear to us that while Mr. Weber is removed from a career in hockey by nearly 10 years, his love affair with both the Caps and hockey is as vibrant as ever. It’s virtually certain that we won’t again see the likes of his run behind a microphone at any rink or home field for a Washington professional sports team. (Continued)