July 1st

Tomorrow is July 1 and I'm freaking out. I wonder if either of my teams are going to be making any acquisitions (Caps/Oilers). I also wonder how the Flames will make out with JBo (that used to be he name at the height of the JLo craze).
It's going to be interesting. It's always hard to get used to the changes because really, we don't see new guys in their new colours until October, and by then, I've forgotten half of them.

This photo is at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., at the Caps store. That Ovechkin bag on my arm - I bought it.
I took it to the beach with me today, and a guy commented 'I like your bag'. I turned around and he had on a Capitals t-shirt with Ovechkin on the back. I felt 'the best'...

2009 NHL Entry Draft (from Montreal)

Well, the 2009 edition of the NHL Entry Draft is in the books. I've literally been waiting for a couple of years to see who would be the first overall pick - John Tavares or Victor Hedman. To no one's surprise, Tavares went to the Isles, and my guy, Swedish hulk of a dman, Hedman, who plays for Modo in the Swedish Elite League, went second overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
I've been following Hedman for a while now, having first watched him two seasons ago on the World Junior Championship edition of Tre Kronor. I keep in contact with a guy who lives in Orskoldsvik Sweden where Modo play out of, and he's given me pretty regular updates about Hedman. Hedman is an amazing player - really fun to watch. Although it is a men's league, the SEL is so much different from the NHL. They play on the big ice, and although there is more time and space and a few extra miliseconds to think, the game is a couple of steps slower. I can't wait to watch him as he adjusts to the NHL game. It's too bad he was drafted to a team that's about as far away from Calgary as one can get. Here's hoping he lives up to the hype...and earns a spot on the 2010 Tre Kronor OS!

In other news, there were a total of 7 Swedes drafted in the first round.
That's huge!!
2. Victor Hedman - Tampa Bay - Modo - d
6. Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Phoenix - Leksand -d
10. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - Edmonton - Timra - lw
17. David Rundbland - St. Louis - Skelleftea - d
20. Jacob Josefson - New Jersey - Djurgarden - c
23. Tim Erixon - Calgary - Skelleftea - d
24. Marcus Johansson - Washington - Farjestad - c

For me, the most exciting thing is that there is another Swede on the Oilers!! I first saw Magnus at the World Juniors and he impressed me with his skating, number one, but his sort of 'Canadian style' of play. I think he will fit right in - he plays Oiler hockey from what I've seen...well, the Oiler hockey from maybe three seasons ago.

It's always fun waiting to see how many of the first rounders are going to play in the NHL next season. I'm not sure who's ready yet. There was talk of Tim Erixon having to leave Sweden to play major junior, because Sutter will want him to play in the WHL and adjust to the NA style of play...smaller ice, more physical, etc, etc, etc.

Now I'm waiting for July 1st...

eBay rocks - won a couple of items

I bid on a hockey card with Nicklas Bäckström and Peter Forsberg on it, and I won it. Maybe someday, it'll be signed by both of them. It is realistic to think that I can get Bäckis to sign it, given that I plan on another trip to Washington next season. The Forsberg signature might take some doing, although I do plan on visiting his home town when I travel to Sweden. Veckefjärden (his golf course) is on my list of places to see, so maybe I'll bump into him there. Weirder things have happened, like the time I saw Georges Laraque walking in downtown Calgary on game day (I have photographic evidence); or the time I bumped into Vinnie Lecavelier at the movie theatre the day before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final here in Calgary (again, I have the photographic evidence); or the time Dany Heatley was playing a game right beside us at the Stampede a few years ago (you guessed it...photographic evidence!!)
The other thing I won on eBay today is a road Ovechkin authentic jersey (white) - the one with the A on the front and the fight straps in the back. It matches my home (red) one - same size even - minus the Ovechkin signature I got when I went to watch practice in Arlington, VA in March 2009. I hope to get it signed in the aforementioned trip to Washington next season.
eBay is great....

I don't watch a whole lot of Much Music anymore. I dunno if I've outgrown it, or if it's that I find myself getting easily annoyed with the over-enthusiastic, seemingly uneducated hosts (ASIDE: if I was wavering any, the turning point was when the VJ search ended with the flamboyantly cool (gay) guy coming in second, when the whole country knows he would have been the best for the job).
But, I just saw that Alexander Ovechkin will be on the awards today! So that means I have to sit through hours of low entertainment value, mindless tv, just to catch the crowd's reaction (rather, Ovi's reaction to the crowd - I know he'll be in his element!!).
Stay tuned for a post-awards report...kanske. (maybe, in Swedish). I don't know if I have the energy....

This is Ovi in Vegas, the night before the Awards. He played in a poker tourney...

That's the look of a guy who's having fun.

NHL Awards

Well, another edition of the NHL Awards is in the books. It was broadcast from Vegas this year and I'm not even going to comment on the lack of excitement at the venue, the famed Palms casino and resort. Oh sure, there were a few big names there, but come on, Chaka Kahn as the entertainment??! OMG. And the NHL Awards without Ron McLean hosting was definitely lacking. I missed him. I remember that year that the Hip performed. That was a good show.

On to the Awards.
No surprises for me. My big three were: the Hart (League MVP), the Norris (Dman of the year), Calder (Rookie of the Year). Oh, and the Pearson is right up there too (MVP as voted by NHL players).
My guy Ovi won both that he was up for, the Pearson and the Hart. He also earned the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals on the year. I was very proud of him. I missed him, actually. As expected, his charisma shone through. When he was presented with the miniature Hart trophy, he pretended it was too hot...lol...he's just too funny sometimes...
As far as the Norris goes, my hockey brain said Zdeno Chara would win it, but my heart wanted Mike Green to win. With him being a Capital, I'm biased. He rocked the fauxhawk with a tux. I think he was the only guy wearing a tux, actually. Ovi wore a nice greyish suit, not like last year's tux with Russian red accessories.
The Calder was presented by Luc Robitaille and Patrick Kane. Jackets goalie Steve Mason earned it, and he actually had a speech prepared and written down. I cannot stand that! It's like saying, 'I knew I was going to win.' and that bugs me.
I should say that both Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeny Malkin had stuff written down, but they're both ESL, so that's not cocky, that's thinking ahead, given the obvious language barrier. I know after all, that it is difficult speaking in another language when you're put on the spot. You're afraid to make mistakes. (Malkin's was for the Art Ross, though. It wasn't a trophy that he won; he earned the most points this season)
Other than that, Claude Julien won the Adams (over Sask boy Todd McClelland), Tim Thomas won the Vezina (for goaltender of the year), the Selke went to Datsyuk, as did the Lady Byng. It just dawned on me that he could have won 4 trophies in total, like Ovi did last year. A completely different set (Ovi was not nominated for either the Lady Byng or Selke), but nonetheless, that's impressive.
My Sergei presented the Hart with Michael Buble (who should have sang instead of whatshername). It was good to see him. I missed him too. (Aside: there was talk of him signing with the KHL for next season, but I don't believe it. He's too important to the Caps younger Russian players, and Backis ocksa. I've noticed a significant change in Backis' game since Sergei came along at the trade deadline last season)
Oh, and Iginla won the Mark Messier Award (for Leadership).

All in all, it was a great night for me as a fan. But the production of the show was lame. Completely lame. It was definitely the wrong venue, and for that matter the wrong city. I'll take it one step further and say the wrong country!
Here's hoping it's back in Canada where it belongs. They should rotate it between Canadian NHL cities, like the Juno Awards. But I fully understand trying to make the players/game more visible in the US.
One last note - the NHL Entry Draft will take place next weekend from Montreal. It will finally be decided who goes first overall - Swede Victor Hedman or Canadian John Tavares. We'll also see what happens with the Brian Burke show. He's gone on record as saying that he will do pretty much anything to get John Tavares to Toronto. That means working some magic, like he did back in 1999 to get both Sedins, 2nd and 3rd overall. I have no doubt in his influence and ability. He's one of the few guys I actually pay attention to when he talks. He's outspoken and intelligent.

For now, AJ's out.
I miss Ovi already...