Greetings readers! It has been a while since the season ended now and while most Clan Fans have either been speculating over next seasons signings or gearing up for the big barbecue thing at Strathy Park, I have journeyed to the land of the sport we adore, Canada. It wasn't a hockey intentional trip, but rather for my future sister in laws wedding. That's not to say that a fair amount of Playoff action wasn't consumed, but it wasn't the reason for going.
Much like football is in central Scotland, the NHL is inescapable over there. If you thought us Scot's were daft for our game, the Canadians ramp it up for their skates and pucks. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs hadn't made it as far as the 7 game series lottery of the Stanley Cup, but there were 2 Canadian teams who were backed to some degree by the people in the various parts of Ontario we visited.
The Montreal Canadiens, the Leafs' arch rivals, put on some fine showings versus the Boston Bruins, but failed to get past them losing game 7. D-Man, PK Subban, had a decent series for them, scoring some important goals, but also mucked up a line change that cost one of the games. This is the same Subban who a year earlier had faced off against Edinburgh and Belfast at Murrayfield for the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Going from playing in a frozen shed to the Stanley Cup must have been some gear shift and is probably the closest I'll get to seeing an NHLer live. When you have no allegiance to a team in a competition, it can be hard to pick one to follow. After much contemplation during the first round of playoff series, I settled for the Vancouver Canucks. The reasons are thus:
They have a goalie who is a bit dodgy, like myself.
They are the only Canadian team left in the competition.
I had to pick a different team to my in laws to keep up our opposing team rivalries.
They put out the current holders, the Chicago Blackhawks.
That's enough reasons, but they also have a fairly decent squad. As dodgy as Luongo is in goal, he's kept them in the playoffs, the Sedin twins do a good hustle job and Ryan Kesler has hit good form in the series with Tampa.
All in I'd say I've latched on to a decent team. Having beaten both the Blackhawks and Predators, I wouldn't bet against them and Boston having a cracker of a final.
A trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame was on the agenda when we visited Toronto, and despite not knowing a lot about the history of the sport, I got a bit of an education. Seeing Gretzky's 802 goal display with the net he got his record breaking score in and 802 spelled in pucks was a sight to see. Honouring the greatest plyer the sport has seen was done in a fitting and intelligent way, like most of the HoF memorabilia on display. We then went on to have our picture taken with the Stanley Cup itself. It's prettay, prettay big.
The interactive zone was awesome as it was where my training came in to play. I say training, a large amount of playing mini-sticks with Elaine's little cousins James and Connor in their basements is more accurate.
While being outscored on shooting by Elaine, I kept a clean sheet on All Star setting as a video Gretzky fired pucks at me from point blank range.Apparently I looked like I was taking it too seriously, and I suppose I was after being beaten at snapshots by my fiancée. Still, a clean sheet is a clean sheet!
As well as submerging myself in the NHL, I kept my ear to the ground and finger to my phone by keeping up to date with the signings The Clan were making.
Brucie has had a busy off season, resigning Wedderburn, Kyle Bruce, Haywood, Connon and himself, as we as signing 2 up and coming Brits in Hutchison and Zajac. I'm sure there are more to come, and hopefully all the rumours that are flying about will bring some solid signings. There's been much talk of the likes of Voth and Galbraith coming north, which split opinions on how you look at big players being committed or being goons.
Also while I was away, Team GB had a good showing at the Worlds, getting Silver. Belfast's Stephen Murphy gained alot of plaudits from the games, a man whose name has been on the tips of the rumourists since last season ended.
He would be a fantastic signing but has apparently agreed terms with the Giants again for next season. Maybe Brucie boy can work his magic and wangle him out of contract and give me something to rib my Giant in laws over.
The post season has thrown up some good signings so far, and hopefully that will continue, leading to a good amount of momentum for the start of season 2011-12. The loss of Newcastle Vipers from the EIHL has probably deprived the local fans of Elite hockey as well as depriving the travelling fans of a night on the Toon.
It's sad to see any team fall out a league through off-ice reasons but hopefully, if there is a replacement, the EIHL won't suffer for it. With a strong first season behind Braehead, season 2 should be a set to be a cracker...if only the Clan office would give me a job....
Mon The Clan!!!
