Well, the highly anticipated 1st round of the NHL draft took its time - it's sweet, sweet time - but 4 hours later it has come to a close.
First of all, I was excited as anything to spend the evening watching the draft, as any hockey fan would be. And I got my takeout =), sat down, and enjoyed myself for...the first hour and a half. I'm not going to lie though. It was very, very long. I am not the only one to mention it.
Last year, it seemed quicker, for one, and that they asked the interviewees more than a single question. I remember being so impressed with Stamkos and Schenn - =) - and all the newly minted draftees.
This year, I feel you hardly got a chance to hear much from them, with the exception of the chosen 3.
And the length of this draft. Even I lost interest towards the end. Too long. And not enough substance.
Perhaps we were all spoiled with the intense feelings of drama heading in, what with not knowing, for sure, the #1 pick, and the potential Heatley maneuvers, and any big trades.
After the Pronger bombshell, there just wasn't much else, it seemed.
Still, I'm never disappointed to spend an evening watching hockey coverage of any kind. Thrilled to be a hockey fan. Tonight is no different.
A few quick and random thoughts from Draft '09:
*Of the chosen three, mind you, Colorado's #3 pick, Matt Duchene is awesome! He designs hockey sweaters, sings, and can apparently beat anyone at a game of "Name what player uses what stick." Awesome! What a great personality. And again, always love the kids going to their favorite teams. It's a nice story.
*You know how I love when hockey people speak French? Yeah. Well Gary Bettman speaking French just doesn't do if for me. And, Gary, it's JOFFrey Lupul not JEFFrey Lupul. Please.
*On the Gary note, I have to admit something. I watched the NBA Draft yesterday. The difference between the fans reactions to David Stern and the fans reactions to Gary Bettman are so amazingly different. Stern is respected. Gary is loathed. Do you think he ever gets used to the boo-ing? Think he's jealous of David Stern?
*The Pronger trade disappoints me on many levels. One practical - Pronger is known for some cheap, dirty crap, and thusly I really don't like him as a player. I will not be thrilled to see him playing in our division. It will however potentially be fun to see the Flyers play the Penguins, Devils, and Islanders. One silly - Joffrey Lupul has such pretty eyes; it's a shame I won't get to see those six times a year.
*Evander Kane going to Atlanta is a great thing. The hockey is for everyone mantra...it's legit. And hopefully Kane will be a good reminder of that fact.
*My moment of the night was seeing Luke Schenn - in a stylish suit - giving one of his trademark grins when his brother, Brayden, got drafted by L.A. He looked so happy for his brother, even though you can imagine he'd have loved him to be a Leaf too. They "keep each other honest." You all know how much I love Luke Schenn - =) - and it's great to have another Saskatoon boy in the NHL.
*Burke's "mic'd" segments left something to be desired, but the idea was great. There just should have been more of it. Burke is just, well, Burke. I loved his talking about how he could have moved up but he would have had to give up Schenn - the future Leafs captain - to get the #2 pick and he wouldn't have gotten Tavares and, thus, would have looked like an idiot. Oh Burke.
*That Magnus-Paajarvi-Svensson kid that got picked by Edmonton has a website TSN touted. Check it out here.
*We now know that Peter Holland (Anaheim/15th) has a mini-zamboni collection. Gotta love TSN.
*This was the year of the Swedes at the draft where 7 went in the 1st round. I love Swedes. They speak English almost flawlessly, but they still have a foreign flair. And, please, we must all as Rangers fans, appreciate the country that gave us Hankie.
*The Rangers took a young'un at their #19th pick, Chris Kreider. I wanted Carter Ashton. But when they said this kid was going to Boston College and even uttered the name Brian Leetch, I was not going to argue. I'll take it. And remember, with the Rangers, it doesn't mean anything until they actually play for the team. So this name, is just a name for 2, 3, maybe 4 years.
On Rangers Report, here's a quote from the newly drafted Ranger:
“I’m just on cloud nine,” Kreider said. “I’ve been told it’s the greatest city in the world. I’ve never been there but I’m looking forward to it. I have a lot of friends who are Rangers fans.”
The official report on NHL.com on him.
As for the embarassing moment bit, thinking his team was down a man when they were really 4-on-4; if that's the case, he'll fit in really well with this team.
I jest, I jest. ;)
*And wouldn't it have been nice to have seen him interviewed, like Del Zotto was last year? Understandably though, the world stopped when the Canadiens picked a French-Canadien player. Priorities people. :)
*Carter Ashton - well-spoken, down-to-earth kid from Saskatoon - dropped to #29 and was scooped up by Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay got some niiicee players today.
*Chicken Parm Ray Ferraro said he'd most certainly cry if his son, Landon, got drafted in the 1st round. Will he cry when his son, presumably, gets drafted tomorrow? And you didn't think there was enough mystery in the draft? Hmmm.
Lastly, I'd just like to take a second to say that I thank all that is wonderful about hockey that we, three years in, are still blessed with having TSN footage of this event.
Now that the Awards show is Americanized and we were tortured (rant coming on one of the dog days of summer) with the American footage of the Stanley Cup Final, it is just nice to enjoy the days like Trade Deadline Day, Draft Day, and Free Agent Frenzy Day when we in the States are given the opportunity to see the excellent coverage that those in Canada enjoy every day.
Hockey = Life.
Night all...
Showing posts with label 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Anxiety and Anticipation on Eve of Draft. . .
Hello all. Before I get to the real focus of this blog, I must apologize for going slightly awol here in the last week. Plenty of rumors and news, but not enough time. And, somewhat shamefully, it seems that it is just - at present time - so much easier to Twitter the little updates as they happen, and save the bigger stuff, or the stuff I need more space to comment upon, for the blog. So as long as I seemingly am so busy in my real life (ie: work), take a peek at NHTProductions for some more current updates.
That being established, a much belated BIG-HUGE-PARAMOUNT Congratulations to Brian Leetch, my all-time favorite hockey player. I couldn't be happier for such an amazing class act as Brian getting such a well deserved honor as to be called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Truly thrilled. In the coming week, I'll try to get a little Brian tribute up here, but for now, just know, this made my day, week, month, perhaps year. #2 Forever.
And now, we move on to thoughts of this year's NHL Entry Draft. For those of you that have followed this blog for a year (goodness help you ;) ), you know that last year was the 1st year I was able to watch the NHL Draft live on TV. For most of you, it was the 2nd year you were able to have such a pleasure in the States, but for me, I was out of state in 2007 and could not. Therefore, Draft Day 2008 became a right of passage and an experience I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thus, I have been looking forward to June 26th, for the opportunity to get to watch this year's draft, with such anticipation. For me, it's fun to get to see the future of young athletes begin, the thrilling drama of unexpected trades, and the overall glory of the event. And in Montreal, it should be extra special.
That being said, unlike last year, I am faced with a sense of extreme anxiety about the events of tomorrow, I won't lie to you.
Usually it is Free Agent Frenzy Day, or my personal term: Tums and Tylenol Day, that makes me anxious and nervous, and popping the medicinals mentioned above.
But this year, with all the utter uncertainty surrounding EVERY-freakin-THING, I've been having mini-heart flips here.
I mean will Montreal be able to pull off super move of the century and get Vincent Lecavalier to play for the Habs? Will Brian Burke meet his goal of moving up in the draft? And who, just who, will be the #1 pick? We know enough to know we don't even know that much!
It's madness, I tell you, madness.
Oh, but if that was all there was to worry about, I wouldn't be worried. I'd be in elated anticipation of all the cool things that may happen, the surprises of the day. And I'd enjoy the heck out of it.
Why can't I?
Perhaps I can. Perhaps.
But instead of that joy-ful carefree anxiety-less day of Draft watching last year, I have spent this week, and will surely spend tomorrow, in fear that Rangers management, namely Glen Sather, will pull off the move of the draft.
The BAD move of the draft, that is.
I am just getting it out there now. There's are my thoughts. Love 'em, hate 'em, believe them or not, but here they are.
I hope - hope, hope, hope, hope, hope - there is a chance that Glen Sather could get rid of one, one of the Rangers super-loaded, super-stupid salaries. You know, the Redden, the Gomez, the Drury. If he could I'd be thrilled.
BUT.
Not at the expense of the few, very, very few, players I enjoy watching on this team.
Let me tell you, if there were no Hank, no Staal, and no Callahan, I'd have been a more miserable person this past year than any of you would have wanted to know. Believe me. So I don't want Glennie baby to think he's getting any brilliant ideas and go using his Fisher Price calculator and his General Managers for Dummies book, and get rid of one of my favorite players to fix one of his colossal mistakes.
If that happens - and come on folks, with the Rangers can you really count anything as beyond the realm of possibility - you will see a Tweet with 140 undefinable characters and you'll know what I'm thinking.
I'd like to be positive. Maybe tomorrow will go off wonderfully. The Rangers will do only smart things, not tip the boat more than necessary, and I can enjoy the event with my take-out dinner like I planned.
But, still, I will keep Tums and Tylenol close at hand - and even closer for next Wednesday - in anxiety and anticipation of things to come.
I mean, come on guys, this is Glen Sather we are talking about.
Yes, that Glen Sather. The "I think Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury are worth that much" Glen Sather.
Honestly, I am really just hoping he doesn't trade away our 1st round Draft pick for a bag of Twizzlers.
Although...maybe we could get the bag of Twizzlers to play for LESS than $7 million and score some goals.
I'm just saying...
**Author's Note: I'll be without ready access to computer tomorrow, so updates might not come til the late afternoon, if any need be posted or reflected upon.
Enjoy Draft everyone!**
That being established, a much belated BIG-HUGE-PARAMOUNT Congratulations to Brian Leetch, my all-time favorite hockey player. I couldn't be happier for such an amazing class act as Brian getting such a well deserved honor as to be called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Truly thrilled. In the coming week, I'll try to get a little Brian tribute up here, but for now, just know, this made my day, week, month, perhaps year. #2 Forever.
And now, we move on to thoughts of this year's NHL Entry Draft. For those of you that have followed this blog for a year (goodness help you ;) ), you know that last year was the 1st year I was able to watch the NHL Draft live on TV. For most of you, it was the 2nd year you were able to have such a pleasure in the States, but for me, I was out of state in 2007 and could not. Therefore, Draft Day 2008 became a right of passage and an experience I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thus, I have been looking forward to June 26th, for the opportunity to get to watch this year's draft, with such anticipation. For me, it's fun to get to see the future of young athletes begin, the thrilling drama of unexpected trades, and the overall glory of the event. And in Montreal, it should be extra special.
That being said, unlike last year, I am faced with a sense of extreme anxiety about the events of tomorrow, I won't lie to you.
Usually it is Free Agent Frenzy Day, or my personal term: Tums and Tylenol Day, that makes me anxious and nervous, and popping the medicinals mentioned above.
But this year, with all the utter uncertainty surrounding EVERY-freakin-THING, I've been having mini-heart flips here.
I mean will Montreal be able to pull off super move of the century and get Vincent Lecavalier to play for the Habs? Will Brian Burke meet his goal of moving up in the draft? And who, just who, will be the #1 pick? We know enough to know we don't even know that much!
It's madness, I tell you, madness.
Oh, but if that was all there was to worry about, I wouldn't be worried. I'd be in elated anticipation of all the cool things that may happen, the surprises of the day. And I'd enjoy the heck out of it.
Why can't I?
Perhaps I can. Perhaps.
But instead of that joy-ful carefree anxiety-less day of Draft watching last year, I have spent this week, and will surely spend tomorrow, in fear that Rangers management, namely Glen Sather, will pull off the move of the draft.
The BAD move of the draft, that is.
I am just getting it out there now. There's are my thoughts. Love 'em, hate 'em, believe them or not, but here they are.
I hope - hope, hope, hope, hope, hope - there is a chance that Glen Sather could get rid of one, one of the Rangers super-loaded, super-stupid salaries. You know, the Redden, the Gomez, the Drury. If he could I'd be thrilled.
BUT.
Not at the expense of the few, very, very few, players I enjoy watching on this team.
Let me tell you, if there were no Hank, no Staal, and no Callahan, I'd have been a more miserable person this past year than any of you would have wanted to know. Believe me. So I don't want Glennie baby to think he's getting any brilliant ideas and go using his Fisher Price calculator and his General Managers for Dummies book, and get rid of one of my favorite players to fix one of his colossal mistakes.
If that happens - and come on folks, with the Rangers can you really count anything as beyond the realm of possibility - you will see a Tweet with 140 undefinable characters and you'll know what I'm thinking.
I'd like to be positive. Maybe tomorrow will go off wonderfully. The Rangers will do only smart things, not tip the boat more than necessary, and I can enjoy the event with my take-out dinner like I planned.
But, still, I will keep Tums and Tylenol close at hand - and even closer for next Wednesday - in anxiety and anticipation of things to come.
I mean, come on guys, this is Glen Sather we are talking about.
Yes, that Glen Sather. The "I think Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury are worth that much" Glen Sather.
Honestly, I am really just hoping he doesn't trade away our 1st round Draft pick for a bag of Twizzlers.
Although...maybe we could get the bag of Twizzlers to play for LESS than $7 million and score some goals.
I'm just saying...
**Author's Note: I'll be without ready access to computer tomorrow, so updates might not come til the late afternoon, if any need be posted or reflected upon.
Enjoy Draft everyone!**
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