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Written by FRE
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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 19:52 |
Vancouver, BC (HO). When Dany Heatley met with Team Canada Olympic officials in August for their first mini-camp prior to the selection of the men's hockey roster for the upcoming Olympic games in Vancouver in February 2010, his roster spot was not assured. Team Canada was of course, reluctant to put Dany on any team, until he had aired his grievances with his current NHL team, the Ottawa Senators and they did not want the distraction of a disgruntled Heatley playing for his country, in a year where Canadian's vowed to "Own the Podium".
Said Team Canada hockey executive, Steve Yzerman; "We wanted Heatley to be honest with his Canadian brethren so we as a team could focus on what is important, and that is winning the gold."
Heatley was less than genuine, but it turns out that Team Canada had alternate plans for Mr. Heatley so that his skills could still be utilized in a year when Canada has stated that it will win 35 medals in the upcoming games.
"Heatley was approached to captain one of our bobsled teams; " stated CEO Don Wilson of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. "We recognized that Heatley was skilled at other disciplines than just hockey and we felt that if he was too much of a distraction on the hockey ice, that he would be perfect for the bobsled run."
Hockeyoutsiders has since learned that Heatley has been stripped of his captaincy and will not be on the bobsled team when it competes in February.
Canadian officials examine bobsled wreck
"If Dany wants to do his runs, we've recommended he take up the Luge - that way he can only hurt himself." added Mr. Wilson.
Team Canada consultant Wayne Gretzky would not confirm Heatley's spot on the Canadian Olympic team, only indicating that scouting personnel were currently attending NHL games in hopes to finalize the roster, which will be announced on December 31.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 December 2009 20:00 )
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Written by FRE and PB9617
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Friday, 30 October 2009 16:47 |
Los Angeles, LA (HO). Anze Kopitar has long been heralded as a future NHL superstar. Prior to his selection by the Los Angeles Kings 11th overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft, scouts raved about his limitless potential and his knack for scoring goals. However, it would be an understatement to say his first two seasons with the Kings have been largely underwhelming, for a player who was drafted with the expectations of building a team around.
This season is markedly different though. Kopitar has started out on a blistering pace. He has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in his first 14 games which puts him second only to Washington Capital superstar Alexander Ovechkin. The reason for his sudden torrid scoring pace; the Triglav flower that originates from his native Eastern European birthplace.
Kopitar's secret ingredient
Said renowned Slovakian scientist Dr. Valvasor; “The healing and regenerative capacity of the Triglav Flower is quite well known amongst the Slovenian people.”
Kopitar swears by them; he has the flowers dried and then imported to his LA residence where they become part of his all natural diet. He reportedly hired famed nutritionist Christine Avanti in the off-season who has banned him from eating any meat that was farm raised, as well as any food that contains artificial substances. The Triglav has become the key ingredient in all his meals.
Ms. Avanti has operated her nutrition counseling office in the Los Angeles area for the past eight years and through TV and media she has inspired millions. She has worked with some of Hollywood's brightest talents. Christine is a holistic nutritionist who believes in sustainability in terms of your health, the food you eat, our environment and all the businesses we support.
“Mr. Kopitar is a rare talent and when he came to me about his disappointing hockey seasons, I immediately knew that I could help him out.” said Ms. Avanti to Hockeyoutsiders. “His diet is simple, yet effective and I think we can all agree from his point totals that it works.”
"My teammates keep teasing me about eating weeds for lunch and I just ask them if they've scored ten goals yet." boasted Kopitar.
Kopitar isn’t complaining about his diet. On pace to record a career best 123 point season, the Los Angeles Kings certainly aren’t either.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 October 2009 17:00 )
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Written by FRE
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Monday, 12 October 2009 21:22 |
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Anaheim, CA (HO). Peter Pocklington shocked the hockey world this weekend with a startling revelation in his new book "I'd Trade Him Again" that in the mid-80's he had agreed to in principal a swap of the NHL teams, Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. In a recent development, Hockeyoutsiders has learned that despite this deal sounding monumental and unheard of, that it is not as strange as one may think. Upon the story breaking, HO was approached by former Vice President/General Manager of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Jack Ferreira who made similar claims about his former employer, The Walt Disney Company. While many of his details are a little sketchy, the similarities between Pocklington's story and Mr. Ferreira's were eerily similar. 
The Mighty Jets or the Anaheim Jets? It all sounded unbelieveable to us and sensing our skepticism, Ferreira continued; " It was the perfect scenario for us. We would give the Jets organization roughly 75 million, which would have solved their emerging financial crisis, they'd swap us teams and their players wouldn't have to compete against the Oilers or Flames, who were in their division, so it was a win-win for all involved. The Jets fans would have been okay with the swap, after all, they would have gotten to watch their native son, Paul Kariya mature into a great hockey player, they could have renovated the old downtown arena and stayed around for a few years. In retrospect, we wouldn't have this whole Phoenix mess, if Eisner would have had his way." Ferreira, could sense he had us intrigued at this point; "Unfortunately, the deal fell through at the last minute. The Jet's couldn't get the right approvals from the City and management, and apparently, star goalie Bob Essensa refused to move to California. He was subsequently traded to the Red Wings as backlash for the deal and Eisner got what he wanted in trading for right winger Teemu Selanne a few seasons later anyway, which essentially sealed the Jets fate because they could never ice a competitive team after that."
Hearing Mr. Ferreira’s story, put a lot of pieces into place, that most NHL fans are blissfully unaware of. Wayne Gretzky and Peter Pocklington were just the tip of the iceberg, but in the world of what if games, you cannot discount the impact they had on the league. Wayne once referred to the NJ Devils as a “Mickey Mouse organization”, perhaps he knew of the inside dealings of Eisner? It leads one to wonder. Gretzky has long been credited as the catalyst of bringing hockey to the Sunbelt, but should we really hail him as the great hockey ambassador? Assume, for a second that Pocklington had made this “team swap” in the early 80’s. Gretzky would have never been traded to LA. Disney would have never had a team. The Jets would have never had to move to Phoenix, a city where hockey wouldn’t have been viable. There would have been no overexpansion and watering down of the NHL player talent level which probably would have led to the trap never being created as a viable bridge of talent between elite players and marginal ones and hockey fans would still be watching the wide open hockey that characterized the 80’s. The Maple Leafs would have probably become a dynasty with multiple cup wins and the long list of criminal owners of non-viable franchises wouldn’t exist. So in conclusion, the next time you blame Gary Bettman for ruining the league, understand, that if Pocklington had been successful in his deal, the NHL would have remained the most beloved game in North America. So don’t blame Bettman, blame Peter for ruining the league. Now as the late great Paul Harvey would say..."now you know the rest of the story."
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 October 2009 16:11 )
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Written by HO Staff
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Thursday, 28 May 2009 16:21 |
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Now that the Conference Finals have come to an end and we look forward expectantly (as expectantly as someone looks forward to going to the dentist) to the Stanley Cup Finals, let's take a look back at some classic HockeyOutsiders stories that dealt with some of this year's players who are headed to the finals, who made HO headlines. The story below was originally published in September 2002. Dallas/ Fort Worth (HO) – In wake of last week’s outburst from Bill Garen, the Stars are implementing new safety measures. Sources close to the Stars camp have stated that several players were shaken and too nervous to skate on the same ice surface with Garen during practice. Reportedly Mike Modano approached both Bob Gainey and Dave Tippett with the players concerns. As of this week, the Stars will have a new practice routine when it comes to Garen. It appears that Garen will only be allowed to skate in a small and enclosed section of ice. Additionally, except on game nights, he will only be allowed to use sticks made out of balsa wood. 
Garen caught on tape The enclosed area it appears was a modification of the practice chamber formerly used by Eddie Belfour. Gainey explained, "It's the old padded 'Eagle' cell. We just made it a little bit bigger." The Stars plan to "herd" Garen from the dressing room to the practice area with local cattleman. One of the cattleman, Larry Ewing, commented "[h]e ain't but about yay big [gesturing to the top of the door]. I can't see's as where we can't get him in that pen." The Stars then plan to have specially made balsa sticks available for Garen once he is secure inside of the the rink. The sticks are not strong enough to use for shooting a puck. They, however, will also break easily and cause little damage if Garen were to get loose from the pen. The Stars feel that the sticks will allow Garen to feel like a hockey player and part of the team without being a menace. They are not concerned that he will not actually be able to use the sticks to work on puck skills. As Wilson put it, "shooting and passing the puck wasn't something Billy did alot at practice anyway." The players are apparently happy with the new practice arrangement. It's yet to be seen whether the Stars have any plans to alter their bench for games. Tippett thinks that once the other team is nearby that Garen is no longer a threat to players on his own team.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 May 2009 16:55 )
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