What We’re Thankful For in Hockey, 2016: Friends of Puck Daddy

(Ed. Note: It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S., a.k.a. “Real Thanksgiving”, which means it’s once again time to reflect on what we’re thankful for in the world of hockey. Here are some of the most prominent and entertaining voices in the hockey blogosphere and beyond, offering their picks for this year. As always, we give thanks to you, the reader, for supporting this blog. Happy Turkey Day!)

Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. Down Goes Brown

I’m thankful for NHLPA 93 and NHL 94, the two best hockey video games ever made. Every kid who was a hockey fan (and more than a few that weren’t) played the crap out of those games. But in hindsight, we didn’t realize how good we had it. We all just assumed that hockey video games would keep getting better. Instead, they’d peaked. Oh sure, today’s games look better, have more features, and are more realistic, and maybe they’re even fun once you’re done taking a night school course to figure out how to play them. But nothing’s ever come close to those old school EA Sports classics.

Speaking of cranky old men pining for better days, I’m thankful that the NHL has mostly left classic hockey clips on YouTube alone. They’ve occasionally cracked down on some uploaders, but not to the extent that other sports have done. That’s a conscious choice, and it means that fans can find old clips of just about everything. The NHL gets trashed a lot for ignoring what its fans want, and rightly so, but we should give them credit for not screwing this one up. (Yet.)

Finally, I’m thankful for hockey books. For a sport that’s often considered a niche, hockey fans are spoiled with a great variety of titles. If you want something smart, there’s Rob Vollman’s Stat Shot. If you want something different, there’s Howard Shapiro’s “Forever Friends” trilogy of graphic novels. If you want a biography, the shelves are packed with them, for everyone from Tie Domi to Wendel Clark to probably some guys who didn’t play for the Leafs, if that’s your thing. And if you’re looking for some of the best kids’ books around, there’s anything by Mike Leonetti. Mike passed away last week, but he left behind a long list of fantastic titles for any young hockey fan.

Kate Cimini, FanRagSports

I’m so thankful for this tweet (maybe partially because the gif-maker read my mind. Every time Emerance Maschmeyer takes the ice I sing “It’s the Monster Masch!” to myself):

I’m thankful Harrison Browne was comfortable enough to share his name, gender and preferred pronouns with us. It was a big leap of faith on his part, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy. I’m thankful for the way the crowd roared when he was announced, then roared again when he scored his first goal of the season during his first game.

Whether it continues on for seasons more or it shuts its doors before January, I’m thankful the NWHL existed. It has given a lot of players a place to skate who would never have been able to play pro hockey elsewhere, paid players, gave me and many other writers the opportunity to cover a very cool initiative and put on some darn good hockey.

I’m similarly thankful for this moment because it seemed like a minor miracle at the time that it happened (but after practically passing out from sheer happiness I’m slightly frightened as well). Parity! IT’S COMING!!

I’m thankful that Olympic hockey is only 13 months away and that even though the U.S. and Canada are still the big two, games with Finland, Sweden and Russia are getting tighter and tighter all the time.

I’m thankful this dope bit of defensive play was captured in gif form:

I’m thankful for every time someone forgets to shut Marie-Philip Poulin down, even if it also pains me greatly as an American citizen. (Author’s note: If you say “ping” to me I will not be responsible for my actions.)

Rear Admiral, Barstool Sports

@RearAdBsBlog on Twitter; Bruins coverage at barstoolsports.com and WEEI.com; listen to Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.

Patrice Bergeron

As close to a perfect player as you can find on the ice and a model citizen off of it, Bergy is a modern day iteration of Jean Ratelle with his combination of talent and class. He makes you proud to be a Bruins fan. His #37 will no doubt hang from the Garden rafters someday.

John Scott

I’m so glad that goofy bastard stuck to his guns after the NHL tried to bully him via his daughter. He was able to make the league wear a Western omelet on its face after it had him banished to The Rock for not playing their silly reindeer games. In doing so, we got a pure moment of genuine joy when Scott won the All-Star Game MVP and celebrated with his teammates then family.

Bob McKenzie

Uncle Bob is everything a journalist should be: credible, informative, egoless, accurate, and reliable. He doesn’t traffic in bullshit and if he reports something, you can bet the mortgage it’s true. This also goes for many of his Canadian peers but Bob is the best so he gets the thanks.

GIFs and the GIFmakers. Thankfully the NHL isn’t as dumb as MLB and the NFL went it comes to viral marketing. Because you can get up to speed on a game in 3 or 4 quality GIFs (with a hard G). Or you can just zone out and watch one over and over again. Either way, these game-changers have made it much easier to stay on top of the best highlights and the best sport.

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News

Ryan Kennedy is the associate senior writer at The Hockey News. Follow him on Twitter @THNRyanKennedy or on snap chat at rkthn

The Young Guns

I do a lot of prospect work for The Hockey News, so it’s probably not surprising that I am stoked about this year’s crop of NHL youngsters. Connor McDavid, Patrik Laine and all the Leafs kids are making this season incredibly fun after what I believe to have been several boring regular seasons of late. Being in Toronto, I’ve naturally seen a steady dose of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander and man are they all fun. They might actually cost each other the Calder Trophy (Marner would be the front-runner right now, though Matthews has a very tough job as a center), but at least Toronto is fun to watch. McDavid is so real deal in Edmonton that it’s almost unbelievable, while Laine’s good for either a smoking goal or a huge hit every game in Winnipeg. Oh, and Zach Werenski is Columbus’ best skater and one of the most effective defensemen in the NHL right now. So there’s that.

Road Trips

There is so much I love about hitting the road. I don’t do it as much as a beat writer, but I get out a few times per season and it’s very fun. I seek out awesome-yet-affordable restaurants like Slow’s BBQ in Detroit or Oohhs & Aahhs in Washington D.C., I always go to Primanti Bros. on Pittsburgh trips or Chef’s when I’m in Buffalo and for big events, I see a bunch of my media friends. Which is when you find yourself leaving a gathering and walking through downtown Pittsburgh at 2:30 in the morning, knowing that you should have gone home two hours ago because you have to get up early, but for now you’re going to cross that bridge in the moonlight, just after watching a drunk guy pee on the sidewalk while he simultaneously walks backwards into the night.

Las Vegas

This is the first expansion team to come into the NHL during my tenure at THN, but it’s also the first new franchise since the salary cap. I find it all fascinating and really envy the scouts and management minds who get to create an entire depth chart from scratch. How cool is that? And I like Sunbelt expansion. You don’t get Auston Matthews or Shayne Gostisbehere without it and it does grow the game overall (Arizona State has a Division 1 men’s team now, that’s really cool!). And yeah, Las Vegas sounds like a fun road trip.

Sean Gentille, The Sporting News

The Vegas nickname debacle

We all love hockey. And we all love laughing at the things we love. The endless, insane saga that led to the Vegas Golden Knights is a perfect example of that. It had pointless delays, misdirections and mistakes down to the last second, and the endgame was, at best, mediocre. We waited months for this. Of course, this is the way it went down.

Joe Thornton

Everyone loves Jumbo. That goes without saying. For now, let’s focus on how completely gassed and zoned-out he looks at the end of his shifts. Shots of him on the bench are one of this game’s true delights. God bless him, and may we experience five more years of his reign.

Jokes about advanced stats darlings and data visualization

Now, this isn’t to say that it all isn’t important, helpful work — it’s just that some of us who aren’t on the bleeding edge need to have fun with it all to keep our sanity. So, yes, it helps to snicker on Twitter when, say, an apparently perpetually unappreciated player gets waived for the 15th time and sets off another round of apoplexy. Ludditism can be fun.

You

I am grateful for you, personally. Yes, you. Please retweet my jokes, consume my content and tell me how special I am. DM me for my address, if you’d like to send gifts. Thanks.

Laura Astorian, St. Louis Game Time (@hildymac)

The 2017 NHL Winter Classic.

Sure, outdoor games have been overdone. Heck, the NHL has the Centennial Classic between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs scheduled the day before the Winter Classic between the Blues and Blackhawks. I’ll put aside my annual griping about overexposure of outdoor games and too-warm for the season temperatures and forced spectacle this season. If the Winter Classic is going to give us gifts like the Blues’ Winter Classic jersey, the picturesque setting of Busch Stadium and the skyline, and Ken Hitchcock unplugged on EPIX’s Road to the Outdoor Classics, then I shall take it. I’ll also take any chance I can to show off my hometown, especially on a national stage. Find me on January 2nd and I’ll introduce you to toasted ravioli and beer that isn’t Budweiser.

The Blues’ penalty kill.

They weren’t super sharp against the Bruins, but the Blues’ PK this year is, as of this writing, second in the NHL. Why am I thankful for the PK? Because the Blues have been taking undisciplined, sloppy penalties all season that have limited their scoring chances, so why not be thankful for something limiting the number of goals scored on them? This is a team that’s allergic to scoring more than three goals in a game. They don’t need to make offense any harder for themselves than they already have.

Blues/Hockey Twitter

I say something about this every time that I’ve been asked to write one of these pieces, and that’s because I’m genuinely thankful for following and knowing some of the best people in the hockey blogosphere (is that a word that we use still? I am an old; I have to check on the slang). The sardonic, dry wit of much of Blues Twitter is always welcome, as is the deeply entrenched fatalism that you can only cultivate if you’re a fan of our team. Thanks to Twitter, I have friends representing every hockey fandom, and believe it or not, yes, you can have a civil conversation between Blues, Red Wings, and Blackhawks fans. Thanks for keeping me distracted from reality with banter, analysis, and a love of something that we all share – grown men getting paid millions of dollars to break our hearts on an annual basis.

Or is that last one just for Blues fans?

J.P., Japers’ Rink

We’re thankful for “Hart Then” – the likes of Jaromir Jagr, still going strong, and Joe Thornton, still the epitome of quiet consistency.

We’re thankful for “Hart Now” – Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin still doing what they do as the best of their generation.

And we’re thankful for “Hart to Be” – Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and others showing why they’re going to duke it out for Hart, Richard, and Ross Trophies (and maybe a Conn Smythe or two) in their futures, ensuring that the game’s near-future is in good hands (or “silky mitts,” as the kids say).

Paul Kukla, Kukla’s Korner

– The ping sound when the puck hits the post.

– The community of people involved in our game, most get it.

– Diving/embellishment calls.

– The ref cam.

– Being able to watch all of the NHL games in HD, while some providers of Center Ice are still showing games in standard definition.

– The last year at Joe Louis Arena. Many wonderful memories.

– After Hours with Scott Oake.

– To name a few, the tweets from Bob McKenzie, Elliotte Friedman and many others.

– Wayne Gretzky being involved with the NHL again.

– Alex Ovechkin saying he is going to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics hopefully others have the same attitude.

– Pavel Datsyuk who looks like he is enjoying the game again.

– The NHL players, without them, where would we be?

– Searching YouTube for ‘Legends of Hockey’.

– The Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. On a side note, Go Blue!

Scotty Wazz (@scottywazz): Face Off Hockey Show, TheSinBin.net

Minor League Hockey

Whether it’s markets jumping to and from leagues, teams changing identities to cater to their parent club, or just wacky promotions, minor league hockey provides plenty of entertainment value at an affordable cost for those outside of the NHL area or price point. Not only is it a place to develop young talent, but it provides plenty of community growth with the teams and their fanbase through many community appearances, as well as up-close interactions after games in forms of autograph sessions or post-game skates. Those teams create civic pride amongst the fanbase, which is often felt by the players both during and after their playing careers. On the personal side, it has allowed me to expand my writing chops with TheSinBin.net when the NHL hot takery was too much for me to bear. The more I’ve learned about the leagues and location, the more appreciation I have for those underappreciated hockey markets.

The Not-So-Lost-Art of Back-Up Goalies

As the era of goaltending platooning dwindles and long-term contracts for starters happen, the art of being a back-up goalie becomes more and more crucial. It’s not just knowing when to open the door and which new locker room hat to wear; it’s about staying conditioned enough to be ready every sixth or seventh game while also taking one for the team when need be– right, Al Montoya? I’ve always had an affinity for goalies who had a bit of moments in the spotlight, but never got the credit they deserved. While there are some who may want to shed that back-up label to pursue starting positions elsewhere, there are some guys who get their value on the team on and off the ice, as well as knowing it could be a lot worse, as Andrei Vasilevskiy mentioned during the summer.

Hockey Authors

There’s been times in the recent past where I’ve thought about writing a hockey tome, but lack of time in my real life and access to subject matter have put that on hold. Luckily, there are many out there who have that kind of time and access which leads to them putting out great books on the subject of hockey. This is far beyond the biographical content that’s out there, but the books with different insight to the game (“The Art of Scouting”, “Hockey Night in Dixie”, “Take Your Eye Off the Puck”) and gimmicks (“The History of the NHL Hockey Jersey”, “He Shoots, He Saves”, “Hockey Card Stories”) make me appreciate the game a bit more in different light. Sure, there are some scribes who push their products like Jay Sherman did, but considering the time they took to do it– they have every right to do that and then some.

Fantasy Hockey

While not only a fun game amongst friends or coworkers, fantasy hockey for me works two-fold. First, it allows me to keep up with players on teams I wouldn’t normally follow unless I had guys on my team from that team. Second, it shows that I couldn’t be a general manager in any league with all their structure and rules. I mean, I have no salary cap and can draft established players, but I’m in playoff position in only one of the three leagues. Such garbage.

Alexis Boucher, Managing Editor/Senior writer @LightningShout

Steve Yzerman’s Wizardry

Humans haven’t invented words to truly describe the incredible work Yzerman has done as GM of the Lightning. Stamkos, Hedman and Kucherov are just a few of his accomplishments. How does he do it? We have no idea but it’s amazing to watch.

The Stabley Cap

Their webcomics and memes never fail to make me laugh hysterically. Whether through its spot on depictions of Henrik Lundqvist and Phil Kessel to its take on NHL current events the Stabley Cap is true art.

Victor Hedman

It’s been an absolute pleasure watching Hedman develop into one of the league’s best defensemen. His speed, his vision, his skating, his scoring ability. He does so much so well and it’s going to pay off in spades for the Lightning. Yes, I do have heart eyes when writing this.

The Vegas Hockey Name Reveal Celebration

This may be a late entry but watching the stream of this filled me with tremendous joy. Bettman being booed, the video package that wouldn’t play. It was golden in its imperfection. Seriously though. Congratulations to the puckheads in Vegas. You’ve got your team and that’s something to celebrate.

Sarah Sprague, Yardbarker

As always, I’m grateful for another year of Jagr in the league not just for his skills, storytelling and all-around fun of it all, but as long as he’s around I don’t have to worry about my own mortality knowing there is player older than I am still in the league. On the other end, I am thrilled watching the next wave of superstars, and yes, Jake Guentzel scoring on his first shift.

I’m thankful for this Ryan Miller save, because it every time I watch it, I expect the puck to slip by him, but nope. He has it every single time. Take that everyone who says just put a sumo wrestler in the goal (and yes, this is a thinly-veiled reference to a terrible Sorkianism).

And it’s weird to say, but I’m thankful for the league itself – mistakes and all. We don’t know what’s going to happen in Las Vegas, but after 99 years of the NHL and the sometimes unfair complaints the league isn’t where it should be in the grand sports scheme of things, they are first in a market that has been begging for a professional team for years. Sure the announcement was buggy and sort of a mess, it wouldn’t be the NHL without it. The slick, overbearingness of the NFL is too much; the NHL still gives us at least a feeling that hey, “we’re just out here having a game,” even when they’re trying to big-time it.

The Royal Half, Los Angeles Kings blog

MAKE EDMONTON OILERS FANS GREAT AGAIN

Now that the Edmonton Oilers have won more than 10 games by American Thanksgiving, their fans have become even more insufferable to listen to on social media. There are countless Tweets each game night about how the referees hate Connor McDavid, how Kris Russell is a warrior and how the Milan Lucic signing and Taylor Hall trade were awful. (Whoops, that last bit is mainly what non-Oilers fans are saying each night on Twitter, my bad!)

So welcome back to the NHL conversation, Edmonton Oilers fans. When you whine about a non-call on one of your players on Twitter, it’s no longer received with an LOL but rather a slight chuckle. Respectability is just around the corner! (Once your team actually gets a #1 defenseman and a decent goalie!)

FOX SPORTS GO APP

There can be nothing more frustrating than being a sports fan these days and just simply wanting to watch your local team on your computer, phone or tablet. So for hockey fans in the United States that follow a team that is broadcast on the Fox Sports Regional Networks (sorry you losers at Root Sports or Altitude TV), the FoxSportsGo App is a Thanksgiving miracle.

Sure, you need to have a cable subscription log-in to be able to access it, but let’s be honest… who here doesn’t have a parent or an in-law that still subscribes to cable?!? (Ok, maybe Bloggers don’t have in-laws, but you get my point.)

The delay on FoxSportsGo is much less than the one on NHL Gamecenter, and the quality is amazing. But the fact that I can sit at work in Los Angeles and watch the Los Angeles Kings on my laptop without having to find some foreign country VPN work-around because of some archaic blackout rules is the greatest invention since the holiday of Thanksgiving.

SECOND CHANCES

Life, and especially sports, are filled with Second Chances. And in Los Angeles this season, us LA Kings fans have been witness to a couple of great redemption stories.

Dustin Brown’s career has been rejuvenated by skating with Nic Dowd (a 26 year-old extremely skilled center who should be in the Calder Trophy conversation but isn’t because he’s being punished for finishing all 4 years at St. Cloud State University.)

Now that the sting of losing the Captaincy has worn off, Brown could be looking at a second act to his career on par with other famous players that have been stripped of the C, such as Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. The only difference is that Dustin Brown actually has a chance to win another Stanley Cup.

Devin Setoguchi’s personal struggles coming into this season has been well documented. And if the NHL and NHLPA don’t do a World Cup cash grab at the start of this season, Marian Gaborik is a healthy LA King… and who knows where Setoguchi would be. But for the time being, he’s still a NHL Player and contributing to the success of his team. And it’s been great seeing him get a Second Chance.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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