Prepping for the Draft

Several news points to cover in this entry.

First: SERGEI FEDEROV HAS SIGNED WITH THE KHL.
That depresses me. I remember Feds back in the glory days of the Red Wings, when Yzerman and Shanahan were still there. I wasn't his biggest fan, but I did like him, and he'll be missed. His agent says that the move is to fulfill his father's lifelong dream of watching both his sons play together (as signing with Metallurg reunites him with his brother.) It's a good reasoning, that's for sure. But he'll be missed.

Second: ALL THE TRADE RUMOURS
I don't know what to believe, and I try not to look at rumours until they become fact. It all just gets too confusing. For instance, TSN has been told by a "reliable source" that Boston may trade Kessel to Toronto for Kaberle and a pick. That'd be one hell of a move if it happens.

Third: FREE AGENCY LOOMING
My relationship with free agency is a complicated one. Most of the time, it's been tragic. But it could be good... maybe. The Sabres have quite a few guys to sign, and of course Regier says he's working towards deals. Well... maybe he should start working HARDER.

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- OMG just saw a super young Marc Crawford (from his Nordiques days) on NHL Network.
- Draft (and draft party) today! I'm excited. Tavares or Hedman? I think they're both great players and wherever they end up, they'll succeed. DRAFT PARTYYYY ftw.

In honor of Draft Day, I'd like to wind back time. 11 years ago tomorrow, the NHL draft of 1998 was held in Buffalo, NY, at what was then called "Marine Midland Arena." I was there. It was amazing. If my scanner worked, I could scan in pictures I have of the event, but it's not working right now. I MET VINCENT LECAVALIER at the pre-draft events. They had the top prospects sitting at tables, signing stuff. I have a pennant from that day with various signatures on it, some of which are not legible. But I also have a signed Lecavalier Team Canada card, which I got signed on that day. *swoon*

NHL Awards

NOTE: SPOILERS LIE AHEAD. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE AWARDS YET AND/OR DON'T KNOW WHO WINS, STOP READING NOW!

I always love watching the Awards; seeing the guys get recognized for their hard work, get all dressed up in suits & ties, walk the red carpet. The whole atmosphere is just amazing.

Calder Trophy: Steve Mason. No shock there... ten shutouts in his rookie season is simply amazing. I really liked Bobby Ryan, and Kris Versteeg had a good year too. But hands down, Mason deserved it.

Lester B. Pearson Trophy: Alex Ovechkin. Mmk. But in my eyes.... Malkin > Ovechkin any day.

Masterton Trophy: Steve Sullivan. I can deal with this. He missed 142 games with a back injury, then made an amazing comeback! I was originally pulling for Zednik (obviously, the incident happened in Buffalo, and I feel a strong connection to him. But then again, he's left the NHL to pursue his Russian interests... so.... no.) Anyone but Chelios. Yes, he's 42 and I give him credit for playing so long... but just... no.

Lady Byng & Selke Trophies: Pavel Datsyuk. That's four Lady Byngs in a row for Datsyuk... which makes it pretty obvious that he MUST be a gentleman. I appreciate and respect that in a player. It's easy to get dirty, but Datsyuk doesn't. The Selke... okay. I can't bring myself to dislike Datsyuk.

King Clancy Trophy: Ethan Moreau. After reading up about all the stuff this guy has done in the community.... definitely well deserved.

Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas. Uh.... I wanted Steve Mason :(

Jack Adams Award: Claude Julien. I wanted McLellan... but then again, almost none of these awards went how I wanted them to.

Norris Trophy: Zdeno Chara. Didn't expect. I really thought (and hoped) that Green was going to get it.

Hart Trophy: Alex Ovechkin. I WANTED MALKIN. DAMN IT.

(But guess what? It's okay, because GENO got the Cup. So while Ovie goes home and cuddles with his mini Hart and Lester Pearson trophies.. Geno can snuggle with the Holy Grail.)

::: Note: I don't hate Ovechkin. I actually sometimes adore him. But Malkin is much higher on the list:::

----- SPOILERS END HERE!

So that's that for another year. Hopefully next year some Sabres will be nominated so I can see them in suits and *swooon* over them. Nice to see Pat Kane (hometowner) presenting the Calder, and Pat Lafontaine (I sat on his lap when I was five!) presenting the Masterton.

Oh... and in other news. Blackhawks GM Rick Dudley has suddenly resigned "to pursue other options." I'm thinking maybe he got offered a coaching job somewhere?

Dan Bylsma received a call from PRESIDENT OBAMA to congratulate the Pens on winning the Cup.

And (based on this week's Sabres Lunch Express), Tim Kennedy is pretty awesome. He played with Justin Abdelkader at Michigan and dressed up like Scooby Doo, he's a hometown boy, and he went on vacation with Chris Butler. Sweettttt.

ps. The All-Star and All-Rookie teams were just announced. Geno (and Mike Green) FTW. Nice to see Steve Mason there too. And I'm pretty much in love with the All-Rookie team. Mason, Schenn, Patrik Berglund (my newest love), Bobby Ryan, Kris Versteeg, and Drew Doughty. Full of awesomeness.

So, unless you've been under a rock, you know that the PITTSBURGH PENGUINS HAVE WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!! I've been busy going absolutely crazy, because although I don't live in Pittsburgh and Buffalo will always be number one, I adore the Penguins. They, and the Hawks, are my 2nd and 3rd favorite teams for sure.

Game 7 was just ridiculous. It was a nerve-racking, nail-biting, exciting, stomach-wrenching, sweating-out-of-nervousness time.

This year's playoffs have also made me realize how much I adore Max Talbot. He is such so HILARIOUS, seriously. From the "shhh" to the 2 goals in Game 7, to him & Jordan Staal running around the streets of Pittsburgh during the parade and slapping high-fives with fans and jumping up and down in the air. Some fan brought a sign (with a picture of him doing the "shhh") and he took it and waved it around in the air!

I've been watching the parade on WPXI.com, and they have really good coverage. I'm glad that I was able to find online coverage of this, because it's such a big deal and it's been so awesome. Geno and Sid letting their parents drink from the Cup on stage. Some of the guys getting off their vehicles and running around. Seeing all the guys in their jerseys and sunglasses (looking gorgeous, I might add. Though they must be sweating like crazy!).

It all makes me realize one thing: I want a Stanley Cup parade in Buffalo. Really really really badly.

So now, the summer begins (though technically, the Sabres have already been gone for 2 months!) NHL Awards this Thursday (June 18.) Draft next Friday and Saturday (yayy draft party at the Albright-Knox.) Free agency starts July 1st. Schedule likely comes out around July 15.

And I'll be relying on my hockey blogs, Youtube videos, all the tapes & hockey DVDs I own, my hockey music, and NHL Network to help get me through this summer.

Just one of the awesome pictures I've found:

Well well well... looks like all that praying I did yesterday paid off! I couldn't stop shaking during that whole game... shaking from nervousness, excitement, hope, anticipation, fear. I didn't want to watch anytime they got near Fleury, ha. But we pulled it out!

Osgood played an amazing game. He really kept Detroit in the game; if they had won the Cup last night, he may have been named MVP. I still think he may be, but of course I'm pulling for Malkin, who leads the series in points. On that note, the goaltending was great at both ends last night. Fleury could've easily collapsed after that 5-0 loss, but it's good to see he was able to get himself together. (Oh, and a kiss from his mama didn't hurt either!)

So here we are. Game 7. Get your VCRs and DVRs ready, because I have a feeling this is going to be one heck of a game. It's a totally different series now. It's anyone's game. In fact, championship goods for both teams (Detroit, Pittsburgh) can be found on Shop.NHL.com (thanks to Puck Daddy for the tip.)

Just one day after I e-mailed the Sabres.com web crew to ask if they have any info about a draft party.... an official announcement about a draft party! YAYYY. This year it's at the Albright-Knox, which is weird but also cool. At first I didn't understand why they would change the location - you know how much I adore HSBC Arena - but then I looked at the arena calendar and found that "Walking with Dinosaurs" is playing at the Arena that night. So that explains that.

3 pm - 10 pm. Autograph signings with current & former Sabres. Street hockey for kids. A Sabres Store Sidewalk Sale (try saying that three times fast! ha!). Food. Plus, of course, the actual draft. I'm so excited! I didn't go last year because it was the same night as my senior prom. Is it bad that I actually considered skipping out on prom to go? If I hadn't paid for the limo...

Anyways, last year I missed Mike Funk. I was so mad, because I have adored him since training camp a few years back and have yet to meet him :( Plus, that was the first draft party I've missed in a while (I went in 05, 06, and 07.)

Oh, and the Awards are next Thursday. I'm excited, but I wish they would've kept them in Toronto. Why move them to Vegas?

I went back down to the Aud site on Monday. There's just one wall left, and lots of debris. It's so sad. They say the last wall will be down within a week. I've been taking pictures at every stage, and will put them all up as soon as I get the chance. In the meantime, check out this awesome tribute to the Aud that CBC did.

Cafepress has so many amazing hockey-themed shirts.. two of which I got today. One says "Wake me when it's hockey season", and the other says "Hockey Fan, 100% Crazy" (SO TRUE! haha.) They can be found here and here, respectively. There are about a billion more shirts I want from there, I've got to restrain myself.

Oh yeah... and watch out once I get a car. I've already started planning it out.. it's going to be crazy. Decked out in Sabres colors, with these huge car magnets I've found, a bunch of bumper stickers I've found online to order, etc. But I've got to start learning to drive first, now that I've got my permit.

Hmm... what gem shall I leave you all with today?

I refuse to give up hope. Until the final buzzer sounds and the Cup is officially awarded to Detroit (once again), we're not out of this. Home ice has been the difference for both teams in this series, and I think Pittsburgh can pull themselves together and win tonight.

Game 7... well, that will be a whole different matter. But let's not think about that right now. We have to focus on tonight. We need a win.

I WILL cry if Detroit wins, either way. I just want Pittsburgh to push through. Fleury has the talent. Crosby, Malkin, and all the others can score. Detroit is defeatable. Let's do this.

Penguins Win; Detroit Leads Series 2-1

We're down, but not out. Game three was just as intense as the first two, but even more exciting as we actually got to see the scoring open up a little. Pittsburgh picked up their physical play, but sometimes it seems like Detroit is positively unbeatable.

They attack from all angles, all sides, always keeping a guy parked in front of the net. It seems like you have no room to skate around them and are thus forced to shoot or pass to try and make a better move. The only way to get through is to play just as hard, just as physical, just as tough, as they do. And that's what Pittsburgh did last night.

As I watch the replay on NHL Network, I have to say: Pittsburgh actually tried in this one. If you want a chance at beating Detroit, you have to play at their level. You can't let them outskate you, you have to stay physical, and you have to take advantage of the opportunities you get, as Pittsburgh did on the power play.

Good to see Talbot and Gonchar step up, and Geno was key with 3 assists.

I think another major factor in the win was the home crowd. They just seem to play so much better at home, with the fan support and all. Maybe Joe Louis Arena is "intimidating" or "difficult" to play in. But I think home ice did the Penguins a lot of good yesterday, and will hopefully do the same tomorrow. Then they'll have that major boost to carry them into Detroit for game 5.

-sigh- I miss Sabres hockey, though.