Endicott hockey

Over the years I have blogged and posted numerous stories from the hockey world that just prove why hockey is the greatest sport in the world. Then I realized I have never really told my blog followers the stories of the Endicott College hockey team. Every kid that grows up watching hockey always idealizes the pros. Ovechkin, Crosby, Bergeron etc. We are lucky to live in Beverly and Beverly is home to the Endicott College Gulls. Both my kids play youth hockey and we practice and have games at Endicott's home rink the Raymond J Bourque arena. Most nights prior to our mite practice the men's team is on the ice having their own practice. The kids will all line up at the door and fist bump the team as they end their practice. Not a single member of the hockey team walks by without every kid standing there getting a fist bump or high five. Simple enough. Quick interaction and everyone goes about their day. Well that never just ends it for kids. We have been going to the home games for the gulls since last season. This year we have not missed a single home game. My kids have arrived for each game and proudly lined up for pre game fist bumps. They bang on the glass during warmups and will get a smile, head nod, stick tap on the glass from passing players. Most of which are focused on warming up for the upcoming game but still take 3 seconds to make a kid smile. Again small interaction and lets move on to the game. Being a hockey player and knowing there are a few who read my blogs we don't tend to pay attention to the crowd during the game. Its typically all business. Kids don't understand that. Mine included. So each offensive zone faceoff the gulls line up for Dylan and Ryan are both proudly banging on the glass hoping for some acknowledgement. I try to tell them they players need to concentrate on the faceoff but again I am proven wrong and most of them, notably first line wing Jackson Sterrett always skate over see the boys standing and give them a little head nod kind of letting them know "Yeaaaa buddy lets gooo". This happens every game and the boys light up. This season Endicott decided to sell jerseys from the programs history as way to raise money. Dylan and Ryan asked me to get them one and how could I say no? Ryan picked out number 11 for one of his favorite players Zack Mazur. Dylan chose 16 which I thought was an nod to his dad who wore 16 my whole career. Nope I wasn't so lucky. Dylan chose that for his favorite player big 6'2 defenseman AJ Martinelli. They were pumped and excited to wear them to the next game. Off we went. Everyone smiled as the kids walked by in their much to big jerseys. During the game these 2 ladies walked by us and informed us they were the girlfriends of the players on the backs of the jerseys and would the boys like to meet them after the game. Dylan and Ryan jumped with excitement. They would finally get to meet the players instead of just a quick fist bump. That particular game ended in a shootout loss for the Gulls. But after the game the boys waited very patiently until the moment finally came. Out came AJ and Zack and the boys smiles were ear to ear. Now remember these guys just lost a shootout. They could have just said hello and went on their way. But as I said in the opening sentence. Hockey is the greatest sport in the world. AJ and Zack spent easily a half hour with the kids. Asking about their own hockey careers. Thanking them for being at the game and letting them know they do notice them going nuts in the crowd. They took a few pictures, signed their jerseys and said their goodbyes. This all could have ended right there and I think the boys would still be Endicott fans for life. But I wouldn't be so eager to tell this story if it did. The next time the practice schedules aligned the boys were ready for fist bumps and to say hi to their 2 new friends. Well I'm not certain if AJ or Zack said anything about the meeting but more then a few players now knew their names and all came over to say hello after practice. Further helping the dream of 2 young hockey players. 

Now in hockey injuries happen. Its a way of life. AJ ended up suffering I think a lower body injury and he missed a few games. So during the practices he would be off to the side doing leg work or riding the bike trying to get back on the ice. We would show up to the rink and AJ would literally stop his rehab workout to come over and say hello to Dylan and Ryan as well as my wife and I. This is a young man who is battling and injury during his senior year he absolutely does not have to stop what he is doing just to say hello. But he did. More then once. The BYH program had an odd practice one night where myself and one other coach would be the only ones running a practice for 4 teams. So the Endicott head coach RJ Tolan said he would send some players to help out. AJ, Zack, Jackson, Andrew Kurapov among others showed up and helped out that night and it is still the best practice we have had all season. There are a few more stories I can tell from this team but I think I've made my point. You go to any professional game in any sport and there are hundreds of kids and adults yelling and asking for autographs, pucks etc. Most of them walk by. The Kindness, Humbleness, and just overall decent human beings that are currently a part of the Endicott College men's hockey team I think can not be matched. They have taken the lives of 2 kids and made them the stars of the show on their own game nights. The kids always talk about "we know the team, We are friends with them" Like they are just guys in the neighborhood. Honestly that is what they are. They aren't up tight college kids. They aren't egotistical athletes. They are hockey players. They are Gulls and they are the stars of tomorrow in the eyes my kids. 

Dylan's new goal is to get them to a game of his so he can "go top shelf in front the the Gulls"

Ryan wants nothing more then to be the next goalie of the Endicott Gulls because his friends Atticus, Ryan and Krysten can show him how. 

Stick taps from this father to all of the Gulls including coach Tolan for being the greatest people the hockey world has seen. Thank you all for making my kids lives that much better every time they see you guys. 

GO GULLS!!!!!

To Be Young Again

 In my return post I mentioned that I was coaching youth hockey again. I am head coach of my sons mite 2 team. I also said that starting to blog again I would take the occasion to brag about him and his skills and his team as much as I can. So most of this post will be just that. 

His love for hockey easily runs in his DNA. I mean when I have him watching hockey almost 24/7 it's hard for him to love another sport. I'll give you the back story of his start in hockey. 

We got him into learn to skate right before the pandemic. He did a full season so about 22 weeks. He progressed a lot and ended the session with a stick in his hand. Then the world shut down. I could have had him out there but my wife and I just decided not to. So now skip ahead to 2022. He missed one full year of hockey which for his age would be cross ice. (maybe I'll do another post about the money grab that is) and we figured one more year of learn to skate/Learn to play would be beneficial. He took that a ran with it. Within 3 classes he had the stick back and he never looked back. Now here we are. He tried out with our cities youth hockey program. He did well in my eyes but I'm his father so I only saw the best. When I signed up to coach I knew I would see his evaluation scores and I was very surprised to see how high he scored. He was assigned to the mite 2 team. In our city their are 4 mite teams. Being on the 2s was a big deal. This was in March. Why they do tryouts in March for a season that doesn't start until September is beyond me. Now I was thinking what are we gonna do between now and then. I did not want his skills or what he learned to fade. Enter Endicott College. They run a program called Super Gulls. It is an 8 week skills based clinic that is run by the coaches and players from Endicott men and women's hockey. It was the best thing I have ever stumbled upon. Not only was it affordable it ran from late spring until end of august. In 8 week sessions. It kept him on the ice all spring and summer and he got better and better every week. Once our season started in mid September he was more then ready. 

The Valley youth hockey league starts their seasons with a parity schedule to make sure each team is properly placed and wont get killed or wont kill every team each week. Our first 3 games were a bit of a mismatch. We played 2 mite 1 teams who were very skilled and we lost by a lot. But the last game we had was against a comparable mite 2 team. We skated to a 4-4 tie. The best part being Dylan (my son in case I didn't mention that) scored not only his first goal but he netted his first hat-trick! Now, As a coach we tend to try and keep our raw emotions in check. Sure we cheer when our team scores and yell when there's a bad play but outside of that you are there to teach the game. Well, After Dylan's first goal he came off the ice and ran right into my arms and the flood of emotions came out. It got real misty in there real quick. In that moment I was both a proud coach that my player scored a goal but I was also the proudest father that my boy got his very first hockey goal. After the game I took the game puck, taped it up and we took the customary NHL style "My first hat trick" picture. He is now going over every NHL player who he has more goals then. He is proudly telling everyone that he has more goals the Connor McDavid. 

Ryan (my other son incase I never mentioned it) is also playing hockey. Him being younger we tried the pre pandemic learn to skate that Dylan did but it did not take as well. I chalked it up to age. We signed him up for the same learn to skate Dylan did. He took a little bit to catch on but once he did he shed the milk crate and was doing laps. He spent most of the 18 week session on the skating side but no stick. Then the coaches running that approached us and said we think Ryan is ready for a stick. So for the last 2 classes he was on the "stick side". He could not have been happier. We quickly found out we would have a similar problem that we had with Dylan where he would now be off the ice until mid October when he starts cross ice. Once again enter Endicott College. We emailed the coaching staff and asked if they would allow a 2018 birth year to participate in the clinic. They said absolutely and welcomed him with open arms. Ryan wen through the same drills as everyone and he got better and better. The first time he did a "hockey stop" Not that T stop or pizza stop crap but a genuine hockey stop he looked for us in the stands and his smile could have lit the world up for all eternity. He kept getting better and better and we were confident he would have no problems come cross ice time. Well, He decided to throw a wrench into that. He came to us one day and proudly said the words every hockey parent I'm sure prays they never hear. "I wanna be a goalie". we brushed it off and just said yea ok well you have a full year before you even play with a goalie because cross ice doesn't use them. Thinking this would end it and he would forget we went about business as usual. This kid must not have known we did not take him seriously. Every scrimmage during Super gulls camp he would skate right to the net during his shift and proceed to save everything. No goalie equipment needed. This made us have to take a long look as things. The youth organization we play for has a stipulation that if your kid wants to be a full time goalie and they play 60% of their games in net, then they will waive the tuition for the child. So it could be a money saver in one way or another. 

That is just a little insight into my boys hockey careers and one of the main reasons I wanted to start blogging again. If for nothing else, Just to have a place to talk about their hockey careers and to brag about their successes. Oh! and talk Bruins. 

Opening Night

 Finally the time has come. Camp is over. Roster is set. Tonight is the greatest day on the calendar for Bruins fans. It is opening night. This is the Bruins centennial season and there will be a lot going on during the year as well as tonight. My hope is that it doesn't effect the on ice product. Sometimes when teams have these long drawn out pre game ceremonies it takes them awhile to find their legs and that can put them behind early. Lucky for them Chicago played last night and traveled post game to Boston. Maybe that will bode well. Boston has a lot to live up to after last season. No one expects the regular season success from last year but they did return both goalies. They brought in some great role players. You are never gonna replace the grit, presence and leadership that Bergeron provided but I think they have done a good job of identifying those players who can carry the load and lead them into battle. 

Speaking of Chicago. Last night they opened the season against Pittsburgh. Dare I say they look as good as those mid 00s teams? Connor Bedard is 100% the real deal. Kid is fast, smart, aggressive. I thought that given his size he might struggle in the corners or the dirty areas in front of the net. I was very wrong. He did look a little complacent during the second period but he came out in the third as if the coach's saw that and got into him a bit. He definitely is not afraid to shoot the puck. He had something like 7 shots on goal last night. This kid is here, he's ready and he is going to be very fun to watch. 

Last night was also the Vegas banner ceremony. I have said this since they have been in the league. Vegas puts on the best pregame shows. I'm sure everyone has seen the videos online of their pre game shows and last night was no different. They dragged out a huge slot machine and rose the banner out of it. Banner looks great the rings even better. Whatever they are doing in Vegas is working. I don't see another team in the west that is ready to take them down. We will have to see how the season plays out. 

In the past I have given my prediction of how I think the playoffs will shake up. Who is gonna win the cup and all that. Might as well keep this tradition alive. If you agree or disagree let me know. 

East champ: Tampa Bay

West Champ: Vegas 

Cup winner: Vegas again! 

New season new posts

 Hello Everyone. I'm back again. I took a year away to Reevaluate things and come up with an approach to this blog thing that I think will get the most out of me. First I am going to start with not putting so much pressure on my self to always have a post. I will post when I can or when I think of it. Second I am not going to put so much emphasis on followers and readers. This was started as a way for me to just put out my hockey/sports thoughts but I became so encompassed in having people follow or like each post that when I  didn't get the numbers I wanted I would get turned off to posting anything. My goal now is to just get back to what I love doing. Talking sports. If people read, share, like, comment then great. If not well at least I have a platform to complain about things that is not just a Facebook post or a Tweet. After all that Id like to share some thoughts on my beloved Boston Bruins. 

PATRICE BERGERON. I wrote it in all caps because that is what he deserves. For almost 20 years he gave his everything to being a Bruin. Winning a cup in 2011. Playing with a punctured lung in 2013. Becoming Captain. Every time he pulled on the spoked B he represented exactly what the fans want in a Bruin. I was more then lucky enough to meet him twice and he was just as advertised. Humbled, Down to Earth and amazing. I am well aware he will never see this post or blog but I wanted to say Thank you for being the best example of what a professional athlete should be. I can not wait for the night when number 37 hangs in its rightful place among the best to have every donned the black and gold. 

Last season, the expectations were extremely high. Huge regular season and the hype was there for another cup. Most of us know what happened. I have been watching this team my whole life and I was shocked that they plummeted that bad. However I am ready for this new season. Blank slate. Old faces have come back. New faces have made the roster. The 2023-24 Bruins might very well shock us all again but with a far more positive outcome. 

The Patriots. What can I say about them that hasn't already been angrily said by the collective fan base over the last 2 weeks. All the comparisons. Was it Bill? Was it Brady? Is this a winning system? I think the last 2 weeks have shown that unfortunately the golden years we have all come to enjoy in Foxboro are over. This is beyond even dysfunction. Mac Jones is not completely at fault. When you come into the league and have a different coordinator every year, I'd imagine its hard to accomplish anything. I posted about this on Facebook yesterday. Is this was it feels like to be a Jets fan? Or is this what the elder fans tell us the team was like pre Brady? I could understand if they seemed even slightly competitive. But I honestly can not see them winning 2 more games this season. Rebuild happen all the time in every pro sports league and I accept that. But this is not a rebuild. This is a Hall of Fame coach not wanting to move on because he still has something to prove. It is beyond time for ownership to step in and make a change. If its not to fire the coach then fine, take away his GM duties and hire a small team to do that for him. Let him focus on football. If the Kraft family is not willing to do this then we as fans are in for a repeat of the 80s/90s brand of football. 

One final note. I have started coaching again. My son is now a Mite. He plays for the Mite 2 team. He has already surpassed any expectation I had for him as a hockey player. Watching him play the sport which I love has given me more happiness then I have had in a long time. My youngest son will start in a few weeks and he has been saying for months now that all he wants to do is be a goalie. I don't know how much my wallet will enjoy that but he is 100% in for it. Part of these new posts will be updates on them and their games. Which is why as I said at the beginning I am not going to stress about readers and followers and comments. Because at the end of the day, I just get to brag about my kids. 

 

Crickets on Causeway

 NHL free agency started last week. Even before the start date teams were franticly making moves to free up some money and cap space. Other teams have decided to just throw caution to the wind and spend money like Scrooge Mcduck. The Penguins were rumored to be losing the core 3 of their team or at least some of them. But in some late night dealing they came to terms with Kris Letang to keep him a penguin for life. That led a lot of people to think well, Malkin is leaving now. Surly they cant afford him also. Nope wrong again! The day after it was reported that Malkin was going to test free agency and that he felt Pittsburgh didn't think he was good anymore he turns right back around and signs a 4 year 24 million dollar deal to stay in Pittsburgh. This deal will in theory keep the core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang as penguins for the remainder of their careers and push back the inevitable rebuild there for a few more years. 

Some other big names that will have new homes this season and for the next few years actually would include goaltender Cam Talbot. After being relegated to the bench in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury, Talbot said he did not wish to spilt time with the 3 time Stanley cup champ. GM Bill Guerin heard this plea and did the right thing by moving Talbot. It just so happened that the team he went to, The Ottawa Senators have decided they don't like watching hockey in June anymore. Not only did they bring in Talbot, They shipped out Matt Murray and brought in Claude Giroux and on draft night they traded for Alex Debrincat. Of all the teams in the Bruins division Ottawa seems to have made the most moves in order to improve. 

Like him or not everyone had their eye on Evander Kane during last season and especially during that playoff run by Edmonton. Kane had 13 goals and 17 points in the Oilers playoff run this season. Playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl he found his way back in to the light. The Oilers were going to let him test his worth in free agency but decided to lock him up instead with a 4 year 20 million dollar deal. Again, Like him or not he makes that team just that much better. 

A few other things of note have happened in the very short time of the off season. 3 time Stanley Cup champ Duncan Keith has decided to call it a career. One of the best shut down defensemen and the backbone of those 3 cup winning black hawk teams he will be missed by everyone in the league and probably thanked by some goal scorers who no longer have to go into a corner with him and attempt to come out with the puck. 

One last big story to shake up the NHL this off season already. Johnny Hockey! People have known for a while that he is not happy with how things have gone in Calgary. He was essentially passed over for the captaincy and there has been rumors he did not get along with GM Brad Treliving. Even still a player of his caliber should be kept. The Flames knew this and offered him an 8 year deal worth somewhere in the range of 90 million dollars. Gaudreau turned it down saying this was far beyond money. He shocked everyone by signing with Columbus. In his introductory press conference a reporter asked him if he was happy with his decision, The response was "I'm not in Calgary anymore so yea I'm happy." I don't think this makes the Blue Jackets and instant contender but it definitely ups their chances.

After all of this now i can get to all the moves the Bruins have made. Oh right! THEY HAVE NOT MADE ANY MOVES!!!!!! They traded Eric Haula and got Pavel Zacha. But other then that its been cricket on causeway. I've said all along they need to have a plan in place in case Bergeron decides not to come back. So far they have zero plans. With all the reports of Krejci possibly re signing there is hope but also, What if he doesn't? You have no plan in place should these 2 things not happen. You fired the coach. Brought in a coach with more DUI's then wins in the NHL and you think not having a back up plan is a great idea! I am so sick of this management just sweeping everything under the rug. If you are going to rebuild then do it. Trade everyone, Re sign Pastrnak and then build around him. But stop feeding the fans this "we are still competitive" Bull shit. The Leafs are competitive but they still don't win. Is that what we are becoming? The Toronto Maple Leafs? First round exits while the fan base is lied to about "making moves". I will say it now, The Bruins will be a 500 team this year. Maybe worse. The issue is that still wont be bad enough to get a high draft pick. So we will be stuck in this boat again next season until management gets their heads out of their asses and either admits to and starts a rebuild or we get some new management in there to shake things up. But i for one think it is dark days ahead for the black and gold faithful. 

Dark days ahead

 My last post was a hopeful entry about the playoffs and how i thought the Bruins would make a deep run and things would be good. Clearly i was very wrong. Not only did they get completely embarrassed in 7 games by Carolina, They decided to make things worse by scapegoating Bruce Cassidy. Sweeney, Who by the way doesn't have a contract after next week decided the coach was the reason they lost in the first round. Yea. It was definitely the coach. Not the missed drafts you have had. Not the fact you've blown the trade deadline the last 4 years. Not the fact you never replaced Krejci. No No its definitely the guy who won coach of the year 2 years ago and had made the playoffs every year he was here. Yea definitely his fault. Now I'm 33 years old. I grew up at the tail end of the Harry Sinden Era. I suffered through the gap years of Mike O'Connell. Don Sweeney for all the good he did as a player in Boston is by far the worst GM the bruins have had in the last 33 years. To add to that point, Cam Neely should share some of the blame. He is above Sweeney. if Sweeney has failed this much then Neely should be blamed for letting it happen for so long. The title of this post is Dark Days Ahead. That statement could not be more true. Just on a very basic level of the information that is known as of now. 2 out of your top 5 guys are going to be out until at least mid November. Marchand and McAvoy both had off season surgery. Bergeron still has not decided if he will hang up the skates or not. DeBrusk still wants to be traded, Although now with Cassidy gone he may change that tune. Add to that they will end up with a new coach and a new system. None of those things equal fast success. When i say dark days ahead I very well maybe understating that. 

Which brings me to my next rant. The Bruins fired Cassidy and have zero desire to go out and hire a big name. The list i saw of the guys getting interviews was an abomination. One has prior NHL head coaching experience. David Quinn. This leads me to believe that management has decided that the next few years are going to be down years. The list of available coaches this off season has never been better. Sure there are a lot of personalities on that list and Barry Trotz turning down 7 million was laughable but your telling me and the fans that the 5 names you put out were the best you could do? If that is the case then fire everyone, Tell Bergeron to retire and lets blow everything up start fresh. At least then we would know that's the plan. What really pisses me off though is that even if the Bruins wanted to try and tank the season and try to get a top pick to go out and draft Connor Bedard, They couldn't. With the way the roster is built now as is. They couldn't lose that many games even if they tried. We have a better roster then the bottom half of the league and would not lose the amount of games required to put them in the lottery. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe they stay strong and competitive this season but if my hockey experience has taught me anything its that all these signs point to a very dark time for the Boston Bruins.

 

Playoff Preview

 Last week I promised a more in depth preview of the NHL playoffs. Well, It starts tonight so the following is how I think the first round will go. 

Boston-Carolina

This series is going to be much better then people realize. Yes, the Hurricanes destroyed the season series with the Bruins. Yes, They out scored them 16-1. But this is the playoffs. Things change. Carolina is going into this series with their 2 back up goalies. Both of which have never played in the playoffs. Raanta has not faced the bruins since 2016. Not that that matters for much but its something. In terms of the games inside the game, things like powerplays, faceoffs, last change. I think both teams have ups and downs in these areas. It is widely known the struggles of the Boston powerplay but i think the in game coaching of Cassidy will be a bigger factor then some think. Patrice Bergeron is the best faceoff man in the league once again and that will come in handy for those late game wins in the defensive zone. 

Could this be Bergeron's last hoorah for the black and gold? My personal thoughts are that it will depend on how this post season goes. If Boston makes a deep run and either wins the cup or losses in the ECF or even the cup final then I say he comes back. If they get handled in the first round or even a short series second round I think he hangs them up. Sadly, as much as I love the Bruins. I think their window has closed and it may be a while before the cup is back on Causeway St. 

Toronto-Tampa Bay

Everyone who watches hockey as much as I do is foaming at the mouth for this series. The 2 time defending champion Lightning against the on fire during the regular season Maple Leafs. Toronto fans are in full playoff mode again. "This is our year" "Matthews is a god". There is a reason Tampa has won the last 2 years. It has been 18 years since the Leafs have won a series. 2004! Toronto may be the higher seed but it will take a lot for them to beat the Lightning. Tampa Bay is entering this post season actually having a healthy core of Stamkos, Kucherov and company and if you think that they are just gonna let the hopes and dreams of a city starved for success dictate when their summer starts well then fans are in for a rude awakening. 

Florida-Washington

I have said in conversations that I didn't want the bruins to play Florida in the first round. President trophy winners. First trip to the post season as the favorites since 1996. So many years of missing the playoffs. They have finally put it all together it seems. I think they are gonna steam roll the first round. Shock everyone with their skill, speed and hockey sense. But then that's it. They will explode in the first round and not have anything left for a deep run. That's ok. They have built this team for success for future years and that is what they will have. This year however I see them going one and done. Which when you think about it is more sad then normal as this has got to be the last shot at a winner for Jumbo Joe Thornton. He is the new Ray Bourque. Guy plays close to 20 years and has come close a couple times. He deserves a winner. 

New York Rangers- Pittsburgh

For years the Rangers have been an after thought in the league. Good but not great. This year could be different. Between the scoring explosion from Kreider or the rough veteran leadership of Reeves the Rangers seem to have put together what could be a solid playoff run. Pittsburgh on the other hand is i think on the downward slide. You cant take away the talent and skills of the core 3. Letang, Malkin and Crosby but are they enough to keep the Penguins in the cup conversation? I don't think so. Those 3 have maybe at most 2-4 years left and for the team to commit to building around those guys for that short of a window doesn't seem like a good plan. This could be the last we see of the Penguins dynasty of the 2010s.

Colorado-Nashville

Colorado is the odds on favorite to win the cup. They have almost the complete package of things needed to win. They have grit. Youth. Goaltending. Pests. Coaching. All of it. I have them picked to win the west and play for the cup. Unfortunately  Nashville just doesn't have what is needed to stop them. This one could be a very quick and ugly series. 

Minnesota-St. Louis

Marc-Andre Fleury has missed the playoffs only once in his entire career.  Prior to the trade deadline it looked as though that streak would be stopped. But the hockey gods understood their job and come deadline time the flower was sent to Minnesota. Add his solid net minding to an already potent and fast offense and you have the set up for what could be a long playoff run. On the other side of the puck. St. Louis is no push over. They have a tough hard nose team who always find ways to dig down deep for a win. In all the first round match ups in both the east and west this series is probably the most evenly matched and the hardest to pick a winner.

Calgary-Dallas

The Flames have flown under the radar this season to the point of being first in their division. They have an odd mix of talent. Definitely enough to get them deep into the playoffs. Dallas on the other hand has had an amazing season from Joe Pavelski. They signed him for cheap money and he has more then earned his pay. But is he enough to get the Stars over the hump? Sadly i don't think so. The flames are to talented and have much more star power no pun intended. 

Edmonton-LA

I will bet Wayne Gretzky is praying TNT doesn't pick up one of these games. This one is shaping up to be a great series. Will this be the year Connor McDavid finally wins a round? Will Dustin Brown have one last moment in the sun before calling it a career? This series has so many intriguing story lines. It's hard to pin point just one of them. This will be a fast moving high scoring series that will no doubt have a lot of pushing, shoving and general dislike for one another. I do however think that Edmonton is the far superior team but if recent history has taught us anything it's that anything can happen in the playoffs. 

That's it. That's all i got. I hope some people agree but i hope more people disagree. If you disagree please make that known. I would love a good back and forth. With the success of the regular season could this finally the year that the cup goes back to Canada? The 3 Canadian teams in the playoffs are all high seeds and have what it takes to win. But of the 3, Calgary is the only one not snake bitten over the last few seasons. Toronto as everyone has seen cant get out of their own way in the first round. Edmonton has the best player in the NHL and still cant win a round. Could that change this year? Lets find out. IT'S PLAYOFF TIME!!!!