Category Archives: One-Timer

AHL Outdoor Classic Review

February 01, 2012   BigMan

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the AHL Outdoor Classic in my hometown of Hamilton. The weekend consisted of a Leafs-Habs alumni game on Friday night, and the main event on Saturday, with the Bulldogs hosting the Marlies.

My outdoor experience actually began on Thursday. After class on Thursday, I went down to Ivor Wynne Stadium to watch the Marlies practice, with hopes of interviewing some of the players after. I got there just as practice was ending, and walked right up to the ice surface. I spoke to someone behind the Marlies bench, and he directed me to the media relations guy. He was gracious, and allowed me to talk to anyone that I wanted.

After interviewing Jesse Blacker, Joe Colborne and Will Acton, I got the chance to talk to Ben Scrivens, the Marlies’ starting goaltender. When asking him how he would stay warm, he mentioned that he didn’t bring a Thermos.

On Friday, I tried it again. However, because of the alumni game that night, security had become ridiculous. After getting my request for a media pass denied, I decided that I was just going to be a fan that day. I waited with a few other fans beside the Marlies bus until the players finally came out. I got my Leafs shirt signed by the entire Marlies team. Remembering back to the day before, I brought a Thermos of tea to give to Ben Scrivens. He laughed and thanked me, giving me an “air toast” as the bus pulled away.

 

I went home, extremely excited for the alumni game that night. It would give me a chance to see the players that I grew up watching on TV, live for the first time. We had three tickets to the game, with my brother and another friend going with me.

The game was started at 7:30, so at 6:30 we started to get ready. It was -10 degrees outside, so I dressed warmly. Winter boots, two pairs of socks, jeans, snowpants, two long-sleeve shirts, a hoodie, a scarf, my winter coat, two pairs of gloves, my Leafs jersey and my super thick Leafs toque. I looked like I weighed 300lbs, but man, I was warm.

At 7:30, it was game time. From the minute I stepped into the open air and saw the rink, I was in awe. It was freezing cold, but the atmosphere was amazing. Steve Thomas, Curtis Joseph, Wendel Clark, and Doug Gilmour were all there, large as life. Suddenly, it was just like I was eight years old again, sitting in front of the TV watching Hockey Night in Canada–just a lot colder. The highlight of the game was former NHLer Kraig Neinhuis leaving the game to go up on stage to sing “Sweet Caroline.” 14,000 people and players singing along in the freezing cold with huge snowflakes falling made for memories that will never be forgotten.

The Leafs alumni defeated the Canadiens alumni 6-5 in a thrilling game, with Curtis Joseph turning back the clock with a series of great saves in the final minute to preserve the victory for the Leafs. I was impressed by the number of Leafs fans there. Even though the Leafs are the “hometown team,” the Canadiens have a large following in Hamilton. We headed home after the game happy that “the good guys” won. A hour later, after two mugs of hot chocolate and a blanket, I could finally feel my toes again.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. Temperature at game time was about -5, but the sun made it feel comfortably warmer. Something about the AHL game being played in the daylight made it feel that much more like an outdoor game. Kudos to the game crew for placing microphones on the rink, and piping the sounds from the ice through the PA system, making it sound like you were much closer than you actually were.

The game started with a bang, with a goal and a fight in the first minute. The Bulldogs opened the scoring, but the Marlies came back and never looked back, scoring three goals in the third to win 7-2. Neinhuis once again sang “Sweet Caroline,” this time with 20,000 people singing along. The Bulldogs set a goal of having 20,000 people there, and they succeeded, with 20,565 people in attendance.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and one that I’d do again in a heartbeat. Ivor Wynne Stadium, where the game was held, will be torn down at the end of next year, and will be replaced by a new stadium. Hopefully, the Bulldogs will remember the success that they had and christen the new stadium with a similar outdoor game. For just $15 per ticket for each game, it was money that was well spent.

From freezing cold temperatures and memories of yesteryear to beautiful sunshine and great hockey, the AHL Outdoor Classic delivered big time on its expectations. I had a great time, and will never forget the memories that I made that weekend.

I’m BigMan, and that was my AHL Outdoor Classic experience.

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Fire The Coach!

November 28, 2011   kevkev   No comments

So you all know the deal.
The teams lost maybe 2 or 3 games in a row, one of them was a pretty bad loss but the other two were one goal jobs where a small mistake by a player led to the other team capitalizing the mistake. Jump on to any major hockey forum (official forums are a good choice here), and you will find at least one comment or thread saying that the teams coach, or teams GM should be fired.
Three losses is a little melodramatic. However continuous problems, losses, a sudden plummet in the standings or just all out destruction could well be a more reasonable cause for fans to question whether the coaching staff is cut out for the team anymore.
After years of success, or following a pattern that has worked until now it is quite reasonable to expect things to require change after so long and a coaching adjustment is one option that can be considered – however it is both a controversial and drastic change; whereas often a simple change of team tactics could be considered.

Just this weekend for example, The Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was fired. Boudreau is considered by many to have been responsible for the “rebirth” so to speak of the Capitals and notably in the season before his arrival, the Capitals were not playoff contenders however ever season after his arrival the team finished 1st in the East and made the playoffs falling in the semi finals or quarterfinals. Given this track record, you would have thought that he could be allowed to make a few slip ups and would remain relatively unscathed. However currently, the Capitals are under performing this season. They have some real talent on the team and as of the time of me writing this sit at 8th in the Eastern division. A playoff spot we can agree, however given the teams setup; some of the games this season and statistics, it was found that he was no longer working for the organization. A bold move to fire him was made by management after a pretty brutal 5-1 loss to Buffalo and former London Knights coach Hunter was brought in to shake things up in the team.

So, thats a good example this season of a coach who by all means was very successful in what he did and achieved being fired after what some teams would consider an “average” season start but wasn’t considered good enough for the team. If that doesn’t send chills down the spines of coaches around the NHL, what will?

This weekend wasn’t all about the Capitals however as in a slightly more unprecedented move Carolina fired their coach. Paul Maurice was, for the 2nd time relieved of his coaching duties for the Hurricanes after a far less successful stint as Head Coach however the reasons for his dismissal were virtually the same. The first time round, he was fired after the team missed the playoffs and started the season 8-12, the second time round for starting the season 8-13-4. Notably the team only once made the playoffs under his second time as coach and that their cup win came whilst Maurice was the coach of Toronto; who also then fired him for not getting them to the playoffs. Will his replacement help improve Carolina? Time will have to tell here, however this a good example of a coach who had been less than successful with a team that got the boot early on in the season when people started to say enough is enough.

Another example of a recent coach being fired came on the 6th of November when St Louis said goodbye to their interim coach Davis Payne.
Davis Payne picked up from Andy Murray and pretty much carried on with the track record of not making the playoffs. Whilst it is agreeable that the team improved under his reign, they did not improve enough for him to remain. Notably at the time of him being fired the team was 6-7-0 and 13th, whilst at the time of writing now the team is 13-8-2 and 4th in the West. This improvement is of considerable notice and many fans do feel the performance boost from the team came from this firing and with the team being 7-1-0 off the back of a new coach its pretty clear why they feel this way – granted it is still to early in the season to see how well this change will work out for the team in the rest of the season.

Montreal were also quick off the mark firing of a coach this season when they dismissed long time assistant coach Perry Pearn in late October following a  1-5-2 start this season; the worst for the team since 1941. Whilst this firing was only of an Assistant Coach, it was deemed as an organizational structure change for the team and its worth noting that the Canadiens are now 10-10-4 just one month later; and sure it isnt high enough to say they are out of the woods just yet it does say that since firing Pearn they are 9-4-2 which is not a bad record to say the least; so for all the people who want their teams Head Coach fired, perhaps a few smaller shakeups are all you need for your team to get a kick start.

The off season is arguably a good time to fire your teams Head Coach as it does allow for a whole off season of preparing and anticipation for a new coach which can help the organization greatly; teams such as Dallas, Florida and New Jersey all made big changes to their coaching staff this off season and particularly in Florida’s case this has been seen to have helped greatly. Dallas whom many people wrote off early on this summer are currently 13-9-1 and whilst the whole team deserves a credit for this record so far their new coach Glen Gulutzan has done a great job working with the issues faced by the Stars recent years of poor investment.

So, what coach is in line next for the chopping block? Its a hard answer to question and does contain a lot of if’s and but’s, as the bottom teams often aren’t always the ones who will / need to fire their coach and are in the position they are through being in a process of rebuilding or just an unlucky slump; however there are exceptions to that argument as always.

Possible contenders in my own opinion include Randy Carlyle Head Coach of the Anaheim Ducks and Joe Sacco of the Colorado Avalanche; though I would possibly argue that Brent Sutter, head coach of The Calgary Flames may appear on that list at somepoint this season.

In the Ducks case, the team is currently 6-13-4; one point off of being the worst team in the NHL and loaded with good talent that just doesn’t seem to be clicking right now. A change of coaching could be a welcome breath of fresh air for the team; working the talent to its full potential and pulling them out of the current rut they are stuck in. Granted Carlyle is the coach who gave the Anaheim Ducks their first cup and for three out of four seasons since then has been responsible for getting them close to the cup. However, their victory in the Stanley Cup gets further and further back in time each year and it is certainly arguable that you cannot hold on to the past for ever. In the case of The Washington Capitals, Bruce Boudreau up until this season had been successful – yet he went when the team failed.
For the Avalanche, the team has been less successful than the Ducks for example in recent history and under Joe Sacco made the playoffs once but have degraded since then and can hardly be argued to be playing at their full potential either.

To conclude, its easy to sit behind a computer screen and go “well that teams playing lousy, fire their coach”; but its a lot harder to actually read between the lines and weigh up whether booting the Head Coach mid season would work out for the team in the long run or would it be a huge mistake later on regretted by all. The players of course also share some responsibility towards the team loosing as well, and its not unfair to place some of the blame with the teams owners who should sometimes take a little more control in what their “investment” is getting up to.

When times get tough, we must ride it out and stick with our team. You might not be having the best of time now but its impossible to tell what sits around the corner. Let the management, players, coaches do their thing and in the end everything will hopefully work out for the best.

I’m KevKev and I hope you enjoyed reading this article. If you did, how about following us on twitter? Just add @PowerPlayGoal to your feed.

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The Guardian Project: Where did it go?

November 07, 2011   wildwing64   No comments

Just over a year ago, the NHL and Stan Lee’s POW! entertainment group announced that they had teamed up to create the Guardian Project: an ambitious multi-media franchise that would span comic books, social networks, videogames, maybe even a TV series and a feature film, in hopes of drawing more younger fans to the game. For those of you not in the know – and I’d be shocked if any hockey fan wasn’t even vaguely aware of it considering the build up of hype towards the 2011 All Star Game – they basically created a league of thirty superheroes, each one representing and based on an NHL team, with elements being borrowed from the teams identities, histories and their home cities to develop both the character designs and their superpowers; for example, the Colorado Avalanche has the ability to manipulate rock and ice, while the New York Ranger is a futuristic crime fighter who never sleeps. We previously gave our initial thoughts (click here to see), but now it’s time to take a look at the current state of the Guardian Project.

Starting from January 1st, the Guardians were unveiled one by one, day by day, through a series of rigged poll matchups on Facebook. The team with the most votes won and got their Guardian revealed, while the loser would face another losing team later on. With each reveal we got a piece of artwork for the character and a 30 second video giving us a better look at them. As each one got revealed the Guardians received mixed reactions from the fans: some loved the character designs while others were embarrassed or outright offended. The Anaheim Duck was a notorious example: as a fan of the team, I personally enjoyed him for feeling like a throwback to the Mighty Ducks cartoon with an additional tie-in to So Cal’s surfing culture (not actually being from So Cal myself, I still liked this addition anyway), it was his description of “Rebel with a Trust Fund” that received a near-universal “WHAT THE F***?!?” However there were some who pointed out that this made him very much like Batman or Iron Man – probably more like Iron Man with his high IQ and weapons development for the rest of the Guardians.

Then at last, during the second intermission at the NHL All Star Game the Guardian Project finally got its big reveal as fans both in the arena and at home were treated to a short animation which features all of the Guardians arriving at the RBC Center to save the fans who are being held hostage by the main villain, the imaginatively named Devin Dark: however they all get captured except for the Carolina Hurricane who saves the day. The Guardian Project website was also updated, with a short seven page comic available for each character as well as a bio, and also the Guardian Vault, which brings us to where the whole thing stands now…

The Guardian Vault is basically a Flash application that allows us to look at the unlocked Guardians in more detail – or more specifically, their superpowers – and also provides downloadable wallpapers and posters for each character. By default the only Guardian available to view was the Carolina Hurricane, but then he was followed by the Los Angeles King a week later, and then the Boston Bruin, and then we saw nothing new for a little while. We eventually got to see the Calgary Flame, Washington Capital, San Jose Shark and Tampa Bay Lightning after some lengthy hiatuses between each one, and to this day we’ve not seen anything new for quite some time. The people behind the Guardian Project went silent. And nobody knows why.

Maybe it’s to do with various teams rebranding this past offseason, and of course one team relocating? Maybe they want to quietly develop the stuff they’re developing behind the scenes and reveal a nice big surprise later on? Whatever the reasons may be, the questions from fans on Facebook have kept on coming, but without official answers. There was so much hype built up for this Project and now there was nothing. Fans have become increasingly impatient, and more and more questions have been posted to this day, with most of the recent ones being “Where is the Winnipeg Jet?” Some have gone under the assumption that the Guardian Project is dead; however, considering the fact that the NHL and GME (Guardian Media Entertainment) have kept both the Guardian Project’s website and its Facebook pages alive, and considering the length of time they spent developing this franchise as a whole that seems highly unlikely (and with that sentence alone I may have crushed the hopes of those who despise this thing. You’ll live). The videogame industry is very similar in this sense, as some games will get a teaser trailer, and then we’ll hear absolutely nothing for a few months until another teaser trailer gets released later on.

What we did get however were a couple of very similar articles from news sites, however the articles in question didn’t have much to do with when we were going to see any announcements, but they were more to do with how the animations were being developed. They certainly made for interesting reads, but didn’t really provide the answers that fans were looking for. Also during the times of Guardian Vault hiatus I happened to stumble across a Facebook page for the main protagonist of the series, Mike Mason. Something seemed odd as the page only ever had 10 or 11 followers, but I’ll get back to this account shortly.

A big piece of news relating to the Guardian Project eventually came in June: with the NHL and the NBC having already signed a new TV broadcasting deal lasting 10 years, it was now announced that NBC Universal entered into a venture with GME, which is mainly to do with NBC Universal putting a multi-million dollar stake into the Guardian Project. Hilariously, the guy behind the Mike Mason Facebook page (which by this stage was quite obviously a dupe account) had no idea of this news and then posted something very similar to the following sentence on his wall:

“Devin Dark has won, and most of the activated Guardians have been captured or killed. Thank you for your interest, but the Guardian Project is over.”

“Ouch. Better not tell NBC,” I commented on the wall post.

“Why is that, Steven?” replied the dupe Mike Mason.

Then I posted a link to one of the news articles as a not-so-subtle way of saying “DUH! They just spent millions on it!” I never got a response, and eventually the account got deleted. In hindsight, I really wish I’d taken a screencap of the wall post, but alas the guy got owned and his trolling attempt was foiled by my own. Lololololol.

Going back to the various articles all mentioning NBC’s multi-million dollar deal, another key piece of information was revealed which seems to have been largely ignored or forgotten about:

“The Guardian Project brand will be extended through social and mobile gaming platforms in the first quarter of 2012.”

So there we have it folks, there’s your answer. Or at least, what I’m guessing could be the answer to the endless questions we’ve all wanted to ask GME anyway. Yeah, we have been waiting a while for more new stuff to come out and were all hoping for a launch coinciding with the start of the 2011-12 NHL regular season, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer. This in itself should be seen as good news, as a product like this being delayed  usually means that it will not be horribly rushed and will be better than expected when it’s officially launched (again, see the videogame industry. Unless the game’s name happens to be Duke Nukem Forever). And yes, by that I mean it wasn’t really officially launched at the All Star Game. That short animation and the comics? The Guardian Vault? Those are just teasers for what’s to come.

I could be completely misinterpreting the above quote from those articles, maybe they’ll release something a bit earlier, maybe the official launch date has since changed, but who knows. Either way, I look forward to seeing how GME handles the product when we finally get to see it for real.

I’m Wildwing64, and this has been another One Timer At PowerPlayGoal.com.

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