It’s been about 11 months since hockey fans have seen the NHL’s best player Sidney Crosby play. With his return to the Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup tonight versus the New York Islanders. I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the changes, if any, the NHL has made to protect players since the beginning of January.
On January 1, 2011 Sidney Crosby was blindsided by a hit from the Washington Capital’s forward, David Steckel and was followed by a nasty crosscheck into the boards by Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen, Victor Hedman. Sidney has not played since. I asked a long time NHL official who officiated the Winter Classic, Paul Devorski about what he saw in regards to the hit on Crosby. He said, “I saw it at a glance from the other side of the rink. In between periods we talked about plays and hits and we all thought that the Crosby hit was a collision, where the two players ran into each other. I was surprised to learn that Sidney was as hurt as he was.”
A good friend of mine, who asked not to be named, suggested a remedy to help the NHL officials on the ice by having a ...
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couple of weeks ago I started to write a piece about the offseason passing of three NHL players: Rick Rypien, Wade Belak, and Derek Boogaard. I waited to finish it because I felt I needed something to put everything into perspective. During a recent episode of “Coach’s Corner” Don Cherry referred to Stu Grimson, Chris Nilan, and Jim Thomson as a “Bunch of Pukes” for allegedly publicly suggesting those who fight in the NHL are more likely to turn to substance. I want to thank Don for his remarks, as well as Stu Grimson’s law firm Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert, P.L.L.C. for providing me personally with a copy of the official statement from Stu Grimson, Chris Nilan, and Jim Thomson towards Don Cherry’s comments.
Here is the Statement:
STATEMENT OF STU GRIMSON, CHRIS NILAN & JIM THOMSON
October 11, 2011 – The law firm Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert today issued the
following statement on behalf of Messrs. Grimson, Nilan and Thomson:
“During CBC’s broadcast of Coach’s Corner on October 6, 2011, Don Cherry
inserted himself into a prominent debate involving the recent tragic deaths of
three (3) NHL players, drug addiction, alcohol abuse and mental illness. In
doing so, Mr. Cherry targeted the above-named individuals, some of whom
have suffered from such diseases, as a result of views they previously
expressed. Mr. Cherry’s comments were more than inappropriate; they were
baseless and slanderous. Furthermore, Mr. Cherry’s subsequent attempt to ...
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Last week I had the privilege of talking with current assistant coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets Dan Hinote. During Dan’s professional careeer he played for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and finished his career in Sweden playing for Moodo. When Dan played he was known for his defensive play and efficient penalty killing. That style of play helped the Dan and the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup 2001. Dan still makes his home in Denver in the off season. Dan and I talked about winning the Stanley Cup, the rivalry between the Avalanche and the Red Wings, and of all things a promising career in the FBI.
1. Art- Dan you won the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. What did you do with the Stanley Cup for your day?
Dan- I took it to my home town of Elk River Minnestota to share it with everyone that had a hand in helping me get to that point. I also took it to the hockey arena for fans to come get their pictures taken with it. I finished by taking the Stanley Cup to a local bar for the rest of the evening.
2. Art-Dan, you were on track to a promising career with the United States’ government with going to West Point, then a career possibly with the FBI. You left after the Colorado Avalanche drafted you in 1996. Was the desicion hard to make? What were your parent’s thoughts?
Dan-I sat down with my parents and they believed I could make it in the NHL. We talked about how I could always go back to finish school. It was better to look back on something, then wonder about what the future could of been.
3.Art-What kind of memories do you have from playing the Pittsburgh Penguins?
Dan-We did not play them very much. My rookie year I did not play a whole lot. I remember Coach Craig Hartsburg coming to talk to my line before the game. He told us if you are on the ice against Mario Lemieux ...
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With the conclussion of the Stanley Cup Finals this past week. PenguinPoop readers turn their attention to the NHL hockey draft followed by free agency on July 1st. I was extremely fortunate to be able to talk to Jay Grossman Presdient of the Puck Agency LLC. Some of the http://www.puckagency.com/ clients are Ilya Kovalchuk, Vezina trophy candidate Pekka Rinne, and former Pittsburgh Penguins Johan Hedberg, Alexei Morozov, and Sergei Zubov.
Some of the things Jay and I talked about:
Art: According to your website http://www.puckagency.com/ your sister was born at Madison Square Garden during a Rangers playoff game. Were you there? If so, what do you remember of what happend?
Jay: No, I wasn’t actually at the game, but I was listening on the radio (at that time home games were not televised) and heard the announcement in the background. I was immediately able to figure it out. The game was against Buffalo and Don Murdoch scored the winning goal.
Art: What was it like working with Herb Brooks?
Jay: Herb was a tremendous mentor to me any many others. At the time I met Herb, it was ...
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I recently had the luck of catching up with ex-Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman Chris Tamer. Some of the Pittsburgh fans who started following the Penguins after Sidney Crosby was drafted may not be familiar with him, but Chris was drafted 68th overall by the Penguins the same year the Penguins drafted Jaromir Jagr. Amazingly, he was able to crack the super talented Pittsburgh roster full time just his second year in the NHL.
Chris ended up playing parts of his first 6 seasons in the NHL with the Pens then was part of the trade that brought Alexei Kovalev here for Kovi’s first round as a Penguin.
Chris and I talked about his time with the Penguins,training & work outs, fighting, and what he’s up to now.
Coffee Talk with Art Vandelay
Art: My weekly post is called “Coffee Talk”. Do you drink coffee? If so what kind do you prefer?
Chris: Yes, any kind.
Art: Chris your professional career spanned over 12 years in the NHL. What are you most proud of?
Chris: I am most proud of playing in all 82 games during one of the seasons in Atl.
Art: What memories do you have about playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins? The city, the team, and the Civic Arena.
Chris: One of the memories was of driving to and from the Igloo. You could see how ...
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Jason Woolley had a front row seat to two of the weirder things that went on in the 90′s and sandwiched right in between he spent part of a season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jason came to Pittsburgh along with Stu Barnes in a trade that sent Chris Wells to the Florida Panthers one year after Jason helped eliminate the Penguins from the playoffs in the year of the “rat”.
A few years after leaving Pittsburgh he was playing for the Buffalo Sabres when Brett Hull scored a Cup clinching goal for Dallas. A goal that ESPN said is the fifth worst call in sports history. That year in the playoffs Jason was tied for most overall points by a defenseman and also tied for most points on the entire Buffalo roster.
Jason and I talked about his time with the Penguins, Mellanby’s “Rat Trick”, the Olympics and more.
Coffee Talk with Art Vandelay
Art: What was it like playing with Mario Lemieux? What was the locker room atmosphere like? What memories do you have of the Civic Arena?
Jason: The Civic Arena reminded me of a ...
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I recently caught up with Phil Pritchard and he was telling me what the first thing Sidney Crosby wanted to do with the Stanley Cup on his day with the Cup. You may know Phil from the credit card commercial where he is stuck in the airport with the Stanley Cup. You may have seen him polishing the Stanley Cup with his famous white gloves right before they present the Cup to the Stanley Cup Champion, you may have even met Phil in person while he was traveling with the Cup or met him at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Phil and I talked about salmon fishing with Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, Phil’s official job at the Hall of Fame, whether or not the real Stanley Cup is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame, his white gloves, the commercials he does and of course Sidney and the Stanley Cup.
Coffee Talk with Art Vandelay
Art Vandelay: Coffee do you drink? What kind?
Phil Pritchard: “I am of English decent and did not grow up in a environment of it. Growing up I always heard how it becomes so addicting. So I have stayed away. I will say that it smells awesome!”
Art Vandelay: Most people think of you as just being the guy that travels with the cup. Tell our readers what else you do.
Phil Pritchard: “I am also a curator at the Hall. My job consists of looking after all the artifacts, displaying them, collecting hockey history, as well as preserving it.”
Art Vandelay: Challenges your job presents?
Phil Pritchard: “My work is great. I will say with hockey being played in 65 countries all over the world, it is hard staying on top of hockey history.”
Art Vandelay: What is the best part of your job?
Phil Pritchard: “Dealing in hockey, and the especially the people. They are so passionate.”
Art Vandelay: The Penguins won the cup in 09. Are there any stories you can share with us?
Phil Pritchard: “Coach Dan Byslma is a big outdoorsman. Dan and myself went salmon fishing on Lake Michigan with the Stanley Cup and the Prince of Wales trophy. Needless to say we caught 600 pounds of salmon.” AV- Did Dan let you take some salmon? PP-”Yes!” PP- “A lot do not know this but the first thing Sidney Crosby wanted to do with the cup was ...
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