Why Torts will be awesome for Vancouver

Last week, the Vancouver Canucks announced former Rangers' head coach John Tortorella is to be the new head coach.  I should have made a blog post about this the day after we got swept out of the first round; I told my husband, "How awesome would it be - if AV gets canned - if they hire Torts as the new head coach?  I would never be happier to see a post game wrap up!"

Those of you who are avid hockey fans know of Tortorella's, um, tenuous relationship with reporters... or fans... or his players (see here, or here, or here, or here).  He's not known for subscribing to Thumper's mother's philosophy of, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." and this leads me to the three reasons why I think he'll be great for the Vancouver organization.  Despite these reasons being numbered, they are listed in no particular order.

#1.  He's going to keep the Vancouver sports reporters in line.

For years now, I think our local reports have received some special treatment (or think they're entitled to special treatment) by the players, the coaching staff, and the franchise as a whole.  Recently, the hubs came up with a phrase: "Can you get this knife out of my back?  I need it for something else." This seems to sum up the relationship the Vancouver organization has with the reporters here.  As a fan, it seems as though the franchise gives the reporters far more access than any other franchise gives their local reporters.  Now, I don't think this entitles the franchise to receive rose-coloured reporting, but Botchford and the like often seem to forget that they have it pretty easy with the Vancouver Canucks organization.  I imagine it wouldn't be that way in any other market.
Tortorella will probably have a lot of fun reminding our reporters what it's like in most other markets, and I will have a lot more fun watching this happen.  He'll have them whipped in shape in no time.

#2. He's going to keep the Vancouver fans in line.

Vancouver NHL fans are known for being band wagon fans. If you google "vancouver bandwagoners" you'll see blog entry after blog entry, and news article after news article detailing just how notorious we are for hopping on and off the bandwagon.  Remember that phrase the hubs came up with? Yeah, that applies to Vancouver Canucks and their relationship with us fans.  When we're winning, all we can holler about is how this year is our year (2013/14 season is TOTALLY our year.  I can feel it!).  The minutes we lose a game... scratch that, the second we miss a shot, we all scream from the mountain tops (and we have a lot here) about how we knew that was a bogus trade deal; how he's not won a face off in 10 games; how, if we'd kept the last guy with the softest hands in the league, that puck most definitely would have found the back of the net.
Torts won't put up with that mess.  He will call us out on that, and have fun doing it. He'll have us whipped into shape in no time.

#3.  He's going to keep the Vancouver players in line.

As with every franchise, we have some prima donnas on our team. We have The Twins who can only pass to each other (amazing passes though they sometimes are), Kesler who seems to be made of glass, and Bieska who talks too much (I adore him, but seriously, the man jaws himself into the sin bin far too many time) to name a few players who have probably been treated with kid gloves (especially The Twins, I bet).  Bieska stating that they don't need someone to crack the whip tells me that that's exactly what the team needs.  GM Mike Gillis probably recognized this as well I bet is the very reason he courted Torts. 
Vancouver players are treated well.  They have some ground breaking fitness and training philosophies; they really get down to the science of fitness and nutrition with the players, and tailor a regimen to suit each individual players needs.  They have a support staff that I doubt can be rivaled by any other team in the league (save perhaps some of the Original Six teams... but even then, I'm not too sure).  They live in the most beautiful city in the world.  Life is good, if you're in the NHL and you're playing for Vancouver.  Sure, you'll get swept out of the playoffs one season, and then get frustratingly close to the Cup in subsequent seasons, but you're living the good life here. With that, however, comes complacency.  This is where Torts comes in. He's going to make some players very non-complacent.  He'll have them whipped into shape in no time.

I know there are a number of sport journalists, fans, and players who aren't too comfortable with this new development, but I know one player and one fan who can't wait.   

 
 









This is going to be an awesome season.

Stanley Cup 2011 Playoffs - Round 1 Predictions

No preamble, just predictions.
Eastern Conference:

Washington vs. New York – Washington in 5 April 23rd, Washington wins series in 5

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo – Philadelphia in 6 April 24th, Philadelphia forces game 7

Boston vs. Montreal – Boston in 6

Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay in 7

Western Conference:

Vancouver vs. Chicago – Vancouver in 6 April 24th, Chicago forces game 7

San Jose vs. LA – San Jose in 7

Detroit vs. Phoenix – Detroit sweep April 20th, Detroit wins series in 4

Anaheim vs. Nashville – Anaheim in 7 April 24th, Nashville wins series in 6

My partner's predictions are here: http://cowmanx.blog.friendster.com/2011/04/2011-playoff-predictions/

Headshots in the NHL

I love this sport (Editor’s note: If you’re not a hockey fan, stop reading now)

For almost as long as I have been able to understand and speak the English language, I have been a fan of hockey. I clearly remember being in grade 3 in the fall of 1991, walking from PE back to the classroom and hearing my peers talking about this new Russian player burst onto the ice the previous night against something called the Winnipeg Jets. This would be my first introduction to the sport. Not knowing anything about hockey, hockey players, or the NHL, I did what any self-respecting 8 year old would do. I totally bulls---ed my way through the conversation. As soon as I got my next allowance in my hot little hands though, I hightailed it our local 7-11 and picked up some hockey cards and thus planting the seed for my love of the game.

In 1994, I watched the Vancouver Canucks make it all the way to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals with my parents. Even my mom - who has never claimed to be a fan of the sport - got wrapped up in all the excitement and it formed quite fond memory of the three of us all sitting around this tiny TV set, praying for a miracle. My mom and I were gripping each others' hands as Pat Quinn made the decision to pull "Captain" Kirk McLean and I would soon fight off tears as the ticker tape wound down and the Rangers, led by Mark Messier (don't even get me started on him), would take the game and the Stanley Cup.

I love the sport so much, that I played it for a few years as a (damn good) net minder in high school with some incredibly talented players (one of my teammates was even an Olympic prospect for a bit!). I had an amazing coach who adored the game, and showed us the integrity, art and beauty of the sport. We learned to become responsible citizens, and respected and took great pride in the fact that when we donned our Joker jerseys, we were representing our school and our schoolmates. We took that job very seriously, but we also had a lot of fun with one another. Many of my teammates were as quick with a smile as they were with the puck.

I’m a mother now, and my fiancé and I watched the sport all through my pregnancy with our son, and I have often joked that I’m raising a future Canucks net minder. In fact, during the very late stages of my pregnancy, we watched as the Canucks faced the Dallas Stars on Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals which led to the sixth longest game in NHL history, going to 4OT when Henrik Sedin was able to convert a pass from his brother Daniel, and end the game with less than two minutes left. I was in labour at the time, and really wanted to make sure I was able to watch the whole game from start to finish. I was hoping against hope that our baby would just hold off for another day (apparently I wished too hard, because he wouldn’t show his face for almost another 3 weeks).

I can’t imagine not being a fan of hockey. I can’t picture my family and I not sitting together around a TV watching with baited breath as our team finds themselves on the brink of winning the Stanley Cup (it will happen. I believe in Blue). I can’t see myself not getting crazy excited at our local junior team, the Vancouver Giants, takes another Memorial Cup Championship. If someone ever gets a jersey for me, I will likely cry.

Having said all that, these head shots have. Got. To. Stop.

Sidney Crosby - via his team - has announced this week that he will not be playing at the 2011 All-Star Game. Granted, all this game amounts to is a bunch of glad handing for the sponsors. It doesn’t add to the players’ stats, and a lot of players, in fact, really don’t like playing the All-Star games. Players have been known to get seriously injured, or penalized in regulation games for hits made at All-Star games. Nevertheless, with Sidney Crosby being largely considered the face of the NHL these days, it certainly has the all important (insert sarcasm here) sponsors wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth a bit.

Some players seem to have lost respect for the game, by making the hits that they do and frankly they are making things difficult for the fans. There are so many groups out there who cry foul every time any player takes any type of check, clean or otherwise and many fans spend almost as much time defending the sport to these groups as they do watching the sport itself. How can I defend hockey as a non-violent sport, when players are suffering severe concussions, broken limbs and in one case, losing an eye as a result of some of these hits? Heck, I enjoy watching some of these hits; when they’re clean, and when the checked player isn’t terribly injured. I’m not at all calling for the end of full-body contact. That is a major aspect of the game and it entertains the fans. Okay, so maybe hockey is violent, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad sport, or that the rules need to be completely rewritten. The newly formed Rule 48 though needs to be made stricter; hits to the head can’t be allowed (intentional or otherwise), and the league needs to bring down the hammer every time one occurs. There simply can’t be a “clean” hit to the head. To paraphrase Pens GM, Ray Shero: if you are going to penalize a player two minutes for clearing a puck out of his zone and it accidentally goes into the stands, you should at least dole out an equal punishment to a player who accidentally drops his shoulder and hits his check in the head. If that player does so intentionally, then said player should receive no less than a 1 to 2 game suspension and pay a fine. If the player is a repeat offender, then the league needs to come down harshly and swiftly on him.

Yes, when you put your skates to the ice, you have to be aware that there are many risks associated with doing so, but you shouldn’t have to worry about having someone rip your head off. Sidney Crosby is just 23 years old. He has, so far, missed 9 consecutive games because of a “mild” concussion. The next one he receives could likely end his story book career. And that would be the best case scenario, if hit.

No sport, no matter how violent and dangerous we all acknowledge, expect and accept it to be, should cause an athlete to risk his or her life. A hockey mom shouldn’t have to face similar fears as a mother of a police officer or soldier.