Indefinite Hiatus

After much thought, consideration, and soul-searching-- I think it's time for me to give this whole thing a break. So, like many of my favorite bands, I've decided to put this blog on an "indefinite hiatus" and see how long it takes in order to get my feeling for this whole blogging thing back.

Part of the reasoning for it has to be just the ideal that this has become more of a chore for me to do rather than an outlet to get my thoughts and stuff out. Due to personal and "professional" frustrations in my life-- it's better to actually let go of this for a while rather than beat myself up over not posting on a normal basis and not putting up stuff that I actually believe is good. Granted, none of the stuff I deem "good" ever gets the credit I think it should-- but that's probably me being too hard on myself through all of this.

Thanks to the people who did read, link, and gave feedback on the stuff that I have written. It's always nice to get some kind of recognition for a hobby like this. Plus, the people I have met and interacted with because of this blog has been pretty cool, too. Not to mention the opportunities it has afforded me, it's been a crazy ride.

I won't be completely gone, as my Twitter will live on in its randomness, as will Face Off Hockey Show every Wednesday (and on Facebook and YouTube). It's also not to say I won't create a new project and go on from there, but as it seems right now-- The Strangest One of All blog will lay dormant until something I feel is worthy enough to post here comes about.

Take care of yourself and someone else.

FOHS's Decade Under the Influence

(Yes, I ripped this off from a Taking Back Sunday song, deal with it)

It's kind of crazy that Face Off Hockey Show has been "on the air" for ten years. It's even weirder that we still keep going and don't get sick of it. Okay, not weird because we all like hanging out and talking with each other; but the point is this-- it's been a long crazy road we've been on.

All starting at the original studio in the two-car garage in Lanham, Maryland, where we used very old soundboards and an unusual set-up of things, but it felt like home. With only a few computers to surf and stream other things on the network-- the Face Off Hockey Show began.

It was a rough first couple of years, with myself being in Aston, Pennsylvania for the first year-- eventually traveling 90 minutes each way to do things in studio on Wednesdays; then the second year having Marc "with a 'C'" pledging for a fraternity, as well as he and I play on what is now known as the adult league team-- Deadeye, but we made it through.

Then the show moved to the Crofton studios-- more space, more freedom, fancy set-up and equipment and good times. That's probably one of the closest things we'll have to a radio station set-up without actually being on a radio station. That was heyday of BCM, with shows coming and going and a lot of things happening. However, while still in Crofton, I decided to move off to Calgary-- which put the future a bit in doubt after that third year. Though we've had issues with the sound quality-- the Calgary move hasn't been too shabby for the past seven years since that move.

Then the last move for the studio, which was into Sean's House in Perry Hall. It's got a more homey feel, with a bit less space; but still a space to ourselves. The network is just us doing our live show, which is a bit of an end of an era for the empire; but it shows that we can still get off our asses to do something new each and every Wednesday (521 and counting) and hopefully entertain and inform you.

Through these ten years, we've made plenty of friends-- both in the industry of hockey and fans who stumbled upon us. For each of those people; we're appreciative of what you've provided us-- whether it's content, suggestions, or even just a kind word or two (or even just lending an ear or two to listen)-- we can't thank you all enough for listening to us ramble on and on and on and still come back for more.

At the end of the day, we're still going strong and-- as far as I know-- have no plans to stop it from going. We've got a good thing and we like going on yearly trips to wherever the Draft is and meeting new people and reconnecting with our old friends who we may see only once a year. We appreciate people more than their status or what contacts they may have-- because if we didn't like them as friends; we won't associate with them-- simple as that.

And, because you're my friends and I like you (for the most part)-- if you listen to FaceOffHockeyShow.com at 7:30 PM ET on Wednesday....we'll have clips of our FIRST EVER SHOW on August 8th, 2001 and making fun of how squeaky we sound and just how green we were. Plus, to show that the randomness isn't because we have nothing else to talk about-- but because it's who we are.

I can't stress it enough how appreciative I am to the people who have stuck with us for the majority of the decade we've been on, which has jumped since the lockout and thanks to social media like Facebook or Twitter (and mine). Thank you again and hope to see you through to the next ten years of Face Off Hockey Show.

Failed R&D Attempts

The Research and Development Camp for the NHL is coming up in mid-August. The NHL brings out some of the top junior players to test out some of the crazy schemes that the NHL has to offer. We remember last year's R&D camp that provided bigger blue lines, hybrid icings, and a giant Cyclops face-off circle in the attacking zone.

As this is a giant gimmick blog, I have wondered what attempts could have been made for this year's R&D camp that didn't quite make the cut. There is some truth to the rumor that most of these ideas are from the Face Off Hockey Show tirades over the past decade.

The Doubler Puck: Popularized by the old MTV Rock N' Jock series of games, the Doubler Puck would be used by a team that's down late in the game and need to take a risk for these games. Of course, the adverse effect would be the team who wanted the Doubler Puck would be down in the hole if they get scored on-- but it's a risk you have to take. The NHL denied it because it would inflate some of the statistics, even though the ratings for the games would spike during those times.

Behind-the-Net Ramps: Another bit taken from TV, the Pro Beach Hockey on ESPN had ramps behind the net to create new plays and to keep the players from stopping and stalling behind the net. While the NHL liked the continuous playing idea, the brass didn't enjoy the idea of constant stoppages from the net being off their moorings because of players not having the momentum to make it around the ramp behind the net. Plus, ice makers have said they'd go on strike and owners wouldn't want to kill the behind-the-net seating since those are primo dollars.

The Three-Way Dance: To keep some costs down for the lower level teams, the idea of having three-teams played at once was pitched. This was immediately shutdown due to the rink being not only overly cluttered, but other owners claiming they would be getting shutout of revenue by missing a home game because of it. However, it would provide more bang for the buck for those there.

The Run-In Rule: While this would only be instituted during the playoff race late in the year, the run-in rule would allow rival teams who are battling for those valuable playoff spots to come out onto the ice late into a crucial period of the game to switch the momentum of the game and reek havoc on their opponents. For example-- if the Flyers were playing the Rangers late in the season and the game was tied; both battling for a playoff spot-- you could see two member of the Hurricanes come running onto the ice and create havoc for both teams, possibly costing them valuable points in the end. Somewhere, Vince McMahon is reading this and smiling.

Speaking of McMahon, he could use these all for his XHL that he'll get started when he realizes there's a market for something like this to rival the NHL and create the extreme side of things. Yes, these are silly-- but it's oddly not out of place for the R&D side of things, so it's not too far fetched in the end.

Testing the Sean-O Rookie Theorem

The theory that no matter how good a rookie is at the start of the season; there will be a darkhorse rookie to tear it up in the second half to win the Calder Trophy. In addition, Jason Spezza is always in the running.

That's how the savant of the Face Off Hockey Show believes the Calder race always turns out. Last year was true, as many thought it could be John Tavares or Matt Duchene-- but Tyler Myers walked away in a runaway over Duchene and Jimmy Howard. Steve Mason caught fire in 2009, while Andrew Raycroft in 2004 over Michael Ryder and Barret Jackman in 2003 over Rick Nash and Henrik Zetterberg.

At the start of the year, many thought it would be one of the Edmonton trio of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, or Magnus Paajarvi (Svensson). When they got off to a slow start, Logan Couture of San Jose kind of took the reigns over. Even with that, Jeff Skinner of Carolina has caught fire as of late, but even now-- Michael Grabner on Long Island has come on as of late, although he could be frowned upon because he's up for the Cy Young Award for more goals than assists.

The big thing with the theorem, and it's genius from Sean, is that for the most part-- most rookie usually can't keep up a torrid pace for a long season; especially when they're still getting their feet wet with the pace from the jump up in ranks. At the same time, you can really tell the elite guys that can actually maintain their pace throughout the season-- though a few have had a sophomore hiccup; then regaining their composure mid-way through the season or the season after. Then again, there's guys like Raycroft who fall off the map after one good season or Jackman, who has been proned to injuries through his career.

We still have time to see if the theorem holds true, but by the looks of it-- Sean-O could have another notch in his belt with this moral victory. If he could only get that Washington/Vancouver Stanley Cup final-- he'll be gold.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Marc Pitonzo

It's very rare that we do an AGM on a goalie still playing and even rarer that we do one with an adult league goaltender. However, with this being coinciding with Face Off Hockey Show's birthday (DOB: August 8th, 2001) and none of the rest of us being goalies-- we'll pay tribute to this fine fellow and hopefully he can build off of that. This week, we'll take a look at Marc "With a 'C'" Pitonzo.

Pitonzo, born and bred in Severna Park, Maryland, never played organized hockey growing up. In fact, he only got into the goaltending role because of his brother Jonny strapping the pads on him and firing tennis balls and the like at him. In fact, Pitonzo first ventured onto the broadcasting side of things with FOHS and decided to start playing at the beginning of the 2002-03, after he bought his pads from eBay.

Pitonzo joined the Blue Badgers of the Laurel Adult League in 2002-03, however he missed the first part of the season due to commitments with school (read: Fraternity rushing), but was able to join the Badgers with the second half of the season and take over for Brad Kirchner. In his rookie season, Pitonzo went 12-2-0 in his first season with three shutouts and help backstop the Badgers to the C-3 Championships in the LAHL, letting in only one goal in the two-game Championship series. With his rookie year under his belt, Pitonzo went into the second season with a big win under his belt and a new name. In 2003-04, the Badgers turned into D's Nutz and Pitonzo move forward playing 18 of the 24 games in the season going 13-4-1, but after making it to the C-2 Championship, the Nutz lost in a three-game set, two games to one.

For the 2004-05 season, D's Nutz had a huge turnover in their system with a couple of players moving away, but had more talent coming in-- as per usual with adult hockey. It was a bit of a shaky season for Pitzono, playing only 16 games and winning only ten, but shined in the playoffs-- helping to backstop another championship team for the Nutz, his second in three years. Continuing with the shakiness, Pitonzo's 2005-06 campaign may be his most forgettable, with 20 games in and only 10 wins to his name. The Nutz didn't fair better, with them going out in the first round of the LAHL playoffs.

Yet, it was the 2006-07 season where Pitonzo shook out the cobwebs and got back onto his winning ways. In 19 starts, Pitonzo put up 14 wins and five of which by shutout-- the most in his career thus far. However, the Nutz fell short in the playoffs, losing in the second round. However, with a new found confidence with his team, Pitonzo got back to work in the 2007-08 season. While his regular season wasn't the best (12 wins in 21 games with four shutouts), the playoffs showed Pitonzo's worth; backstopping the Nutz to the Bronze II Tier II Championship; his third in only six seasons of play.

Yet, in the off-season of 2008, due to a freak beach injury during a figure-four leg-lock (don't ask, though he picked up the win with the Sharpshooter) Pitonzo was only able to play in six games, winning four of them, before getting surgery on his knee; putting him out for the bulk of the 2008-09 season. The Nutz had plenty of injuries to coincide with Pitonzo's, which is why they were eliminated in the first round. Once Pitonzo was healthy for the 2009-10 season, the competition around the Nutz stepped up and really got them off their game. Pitonzo played 15 games in the 2009-10 season, going 2-11-2 with the Nutz only having five wins in the season and losing in the second round of the playoffs.

There's a lot of hope in the future for Pitonzo, who's career is just starting to take off. Who knows where it could lead.....probably still in adult league, but still. It worked out well with the FOHS anniversary and gave me a reason to give a rundown of a friend's career and a former teammate of mine.

Quick Draft Check-In

Just checking in from the Media Risers in the NHL Draft. The best bet is to check my Twitter page for insight, TwitVids, and random silliness that is...well...me. Check it out:

Twitter.com/ScottyWazz

There you go. A lot of buzz for a lot of nothing, aside from Keith Ballard going to Vancouver, mostly because he couldn't take Tomas Vokoun off the books by decapitating him.

An Ode to Stan

Next to me in that picture is Stan.

Stan is a guy who is always there for a laugh. He's always there for an intriguing thought. He always has an antidote for something and god knows he'll let you know about it, even if you don't want to hear it. He always made his opinion known and because he was hard of hearing (legit) for most of my life; that's probably why I'm the loud, boisterous person that I am when in conversation. Stan is a friend to everyone and really easy to get along with-- a trait I inhabited from him. He also saved me from being Stanley Junior.

Stan exposed me to hockey when he was able to get numerous tickets to Washington Capitals games because he did work around the Capital Centre and was able to make friends and score some tickets every now and again. That exposure got me to love the game. Since we were 45 minutes from Landover, Stan and I had some father/son time while driving too and from; drives that to this day we remember.

Most importantly, Stan was my motivation when playing hockey. He always got up for the early games, drove me to the 6am practices playing pee-wee, always up for the early road trips up and down I-95 during my travel year. Never a discouraging word for me, mostly because he picked up the game through me play and watching games with me on TV. He always made little points hear and there when up in the stands, but most importantly told me that regardless of what happened on the ice, as long as I had fun out there-- nothing else matter. Sure, he loved when we won-- but at the same time; the one season we had a rough year-- he always said one thing to get my mind off the loss and made me realize it was just a game. I briefly ramble on about my life in hockey over at the old Cycle Like the Sedins site.

Even to this day, even with his surgeries on his back when his life got down in the dregs-- when we talked and got through the current events-- it went right back to hockey; though he doesn't keep up with it because I'm not back in Glen Burnie to hog the remote. He listens to the show from time to time and encourages me to do what I need to do in order to succeed in what I want in life. He said that while life is a bitch, things in the universe happen to balance themselves out and happen for a reason. He always tells me to enjoy myself and to not sweat the small stuff-- because if you do; you'll never get anywhere and be a bitter, bitter person.

While Stan was a stern man, he's a fair man. He'll also tell you why not to wear sandals in Key West. Most importantly, Stan is a helluva father and really what I try to mold my fatherhood with little Kaity. I owe a lot to Stan, more than he knows or more than I'll share-- but thanks to him, I'm the person I am today. Which is either good or bad, all depends on how you view.

Happy Father's Day, Stan.

Making a Case for Future Winter Classics

While I know that it's April Fool's (which is something that used to be funny, but is now annoying with the internets), this is a completely serious craptastic piece used to be humorous, but will be a big flop. We had mentioned on FOHS, which will be up in six months, I'm sure-- about whether or not the Winter Classic will lose it's appeal, especially if it's match-ups people don't want to see, like the Penguins being in it twice in four editions.

Yet, while thinking about ideas-- there's definitely two I'd like to see. Granted-- these two ideas are very out there and would have to take a lot of work to sell, but if they could be able to pull it off, it could be fantastic for exposure. These ideas are all about gimmicks upon gimmicks. The NHL is keen on gimmicks, like it's the WWE-- which is why we have the Winter Classic. So, you take one gimmick and add another-- ratings gold.

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To start it off, the idea that we had on the show as a nightcap to the Winter Classic-- the Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes at Bronco Stadium, on the Smurf Turf, in Boise, Idaho. What could be better, two teams that really need the exposure, playing in the cold January of Boise on top of the already gimmicky blue turf.

Of course, with the Humanitarian Bowl they have there, the game couldn't be part of the Winter Classic, but part of a second Winter Classic-- thus killing the nightcap idea, but still. The Oilers organization has already been in it and has a lot of young talent to show off to the American viewing public, since the Oilers haven't been nationally seen in the US since the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. Think about Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall/Tyler Seguin on a give-and-go against Ilya Bryzgalov while dealing the harsh Boise windstorm. It'd help the NHL to expose the Coyotes to the viewing public, as well, if they haven't gotten sold by then.

The worry for the NHL will probably be attendance and how to get people out there. The student body of Boise State would be in Winter break, so they won't get that pull, but I think there's enough interest from Eastern Washington and Oregon for people to come out from that far away. Plus, the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL (where they get "Noisy in Boise"-- get it??) could parlay this into an outdoor game for themselves, which would be nice to get them some exposure since the AHL Outdoor Classic was a success in Syracuse.

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The second idea was brought to me by The Girl who brought the idea of the Florida Panthers taking on the St. Louis Blues under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. To have a game of this magnitude under one of America's well-known landmarks would bring about a lot of buzz from everyone involved.

The good points about this are also downsides as well. Of course, you won't have to worry about getting a football team out of their stadium since there's nothing played there, but the thought of building make-shift stands to house people would be the main concern. Even still-- this way, the NHL can actually make the rules that way on how many people can come into the game, thus making the tickets a hot commodity in that respect. If that doesn't work, you can have the game at Busch Stadium III, where there's a panoramic view of the city and the Arch in the background-- which will give the appeal of the Arch, but not really wreck the landmark and risk fan safety by make-shift stands.

And while the Panthers can be replaced by whomever, the Blues are a solid franchise with a great appeal of the young players and a franchise that has a decent history about them. The fact John Davidson has turned the team around in a short time and really turned them around, they deserve the chance to be exposed to the nationwide audience and maybe get some fans to support and embrace this latest Youth Movement team.

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These are very out there and outlandish ideas, but it's something that the NHL needs to look at. With other teams, especially in the South and West, wanting to get into the exposure this game can bring-- you may have to go with unpopular choices as the teams and go into neutral territories for a game to work for teams in non-traditional markets. Plus, while some people may not like it-- it'll expose the public to other teams outside of the 6 to 8 teams the NHL likes to put onto display on the national stage.

For the Winter Classic to have longevity, the NHL will have to think outside the box to get more teams into the whole festiveness of it, as well as doing it in order to stop the repetition of areas it's going to be played in; which will eventually happen. Thankfully, Minnesota having two new outdoor stadiums being built; that adds another location to put it in and give the Wild some exposure they hoped to get when first getting the expansion team.

Deadline Expectations

With the Trade Deadline about 24 hours away, you can bet teams will be hustling and bustling trying to get their teams set for the last part of the season and into the playoff run. Of course, some teams will be doing more than others; then the hindsight will set-in minutes after the deadline lapses. Here's some of the things I think may or may not happen as planned, as some are serious and some not. You can pick out which is which.

-Edmonton has already started to blow up their team with dealing Denis Grebeshkov to the Nashville Predators. While the Oilers have a lot to give up, the asking price may be a little too much for some teams. Plus, with all the injuries they've had, who knows how many teams will be chomping at the bit to deal with Edmonton and then realize they were sold a lemon.

-There's a lot of talk around the Toronto Maple Leafs and some of their players. While they shed some dead-weight in Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake, many wonder what Brian Burke did to con the Anaheim Ducks into that. Because of it, the GMs are unsure about dealing with Burke due to his Jedi mind-tricks or blackmailing photos he may possess.

-While there's not much to improve, the Washington Capitals could look for more help in the blueline, maybe a Steve Staios type player; mostly to help along the young guys. Some grit wouldn't hurt, but odds are they won't be able to get their dream acquisition, 1984 Rod Langway, mostly due to time travel and cloning not being readily available.

-Realizing they really don't have much after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins loaded up on another defenseman in getting Jordan Leopold from the Florida Panthers. This way, they'll be able to dress 18 defensemen and hope the two forwards can come up big for them.

-The Florida Panthers started their fire sale with the Leopold move and you can almost assume that other big names will be moving before 3 PM Wednesday. With all the names being throwing out in terms of who's being moved out, it seems to be the first time the Panthers have been really relevant since the Jay Bouwmeester sweepstakes and before then-- the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

-Figuring that they're okay with what they've got-- the Carolina Hurricanes will stand pat and not move anyone. Even though many players are begging to get out of Carolina, GM Jim Rutherford made his decision on whether to trade a player using Jo Dee Messina's "Heads Carolina, Tails California" and a two-headed coin.

The one thing that will be agreed upon is that there will probably be a lot of moves of role players and minor league deals-- and maybe some few bigger names thrown into the mix-- but it will be active with a lot of speculation of the sort. Also, plenty of mis-announce trades that are said to be done, but never happen.

As for me, we'll be doing a wrap-up on Face Off Hockey Show Wednesday night and I'll be on the panel of Hockey Independent's trade deadline live chat/blog going on over there. Be sure to check both out, because they'll be fantastic.

2010 Battle of the Cheesesteaks Review

For all the FOHS Live Blog excitement, check out the replay of it with all the fun and randomness below. There was plenty of drunkenness, Ellen Page drops, Chara-bombs, Julie Gaffney drops, and just a regular FOHS gig, but in type form. Plenty of cursing, so if you're sensitive-- yeah.



As far as the game itself, the first period was a tease. There was a great pace to the first 20 minutes and it looked like the ice was the best it had ever been in the Winter Classic priors, even with the fire extinguishers for the quick re-freeze. Yet, it was not to be.

The next 37 minutes was a really slow paced affair. There seemed to be very sloppy play, many turnovers and not much flow to the entire game. However, the last three minutes and then the overtime kind of made up for the whole fact the prior 57 minutes were somewhat "meh." The old guard of Mark Recchi scoring the first goal for the Bruins to tie it up was fitting and the Marco Sturm game-winner make the Joe Thornton trade somewhat tolerable....for four minutes.

The presentation was pretty alright. The unneeded Denis Leary/Lenny Clarke "Sweet Caroline" petered out quick and was a bit unnecessary. The Dropkick Murphys were alright, but I'm tired of "Shipping Up To Boston" being used all the damn time. Makes me puke a bit every time I hear it. CBC's coverage was great, with great angles, great sound, and great coverage on the sidelines throughout Fenway Park with Elliotte Friedman. As a whole, it was another great production by the NHL and showed this thing could work.

Now, onto the future......

First of all, I don't think that a second game is needed or wanted by the NHL. This is a special thing, two teams get the pass, one venue is focused on and the story continues. If you add a second game to it all, I don't think you'll have the same allure to the game that you do now. The hype would be a little killed off and you would want to cut it back to just one in the end. The NHL has to be careful when it comes to how to deal with this in the future.

Second, the teams need to be picked properly. While there are plenty of Capitals fans who though their team would be better suited and create more scoring-- is that always the best answer?? Who's to say they would be the run-and-gun team out in the elements?? I think the fact they would be not used to outdoors would be a hinderance to it all. If the Capitals are going to be in a Winter Classic, the odds are the game will be with a Western Conference team, like Minnesota or Colorado to get the fans to venture out there and give the Western teams (West of the Mississippi, that is) more exposure to this whole ordeal.

I would say the Winter Classic is a success again, but not in a landslide as it has been. There was something to this game that wasn't right after the first 20 minutes and maybe the conditions were in effect, but it seemed to slow down when the second period started. We'll have to see what the NHL does with this event next year and then talk about how the teams should be different and venue should have been somewhere else.

Testing Out The Sean-O Rookie Theorem

If you listen to the Face Off Hockey Show like I do, you are fully aware of the Sean-O Rookie Theorem. If you're just a mooch-- what's wrong with you?? In any case, the SRT works as such:

No matter how good a rookie is at the start of the season; there will be a darkhorse rookie to tear it up in the second half to win the Calder Trophy. In addition, Jason Spezza is always in the running.

So, with that in mind-- we look at the early goings of the rookie season, with John Tavares and James van Riemsdyk leading the points for rookies, with Ryan O'Reilly and Michael Del Zotto close behind. However, the hot rookie to start the season, Matt Duchene, has slumped and even demoted to the fourth line for the Avalanche.

Yet, according the theorem, we have to look for a darkhorse rookie who will rise through the ranks and take over the Calder. Going up and down the list, who can we pick out as a possible candidate for the SRT??

There's a lot of defensemen out there who can be considered for the Calder. The hype with big Tyler Myers is certainly worth buying into. Myers plays a tight checking game and has been a welcome surprise for the Sabres into the line-up. Also, Cody Fransen in Nashville could create some buzz if he can continue his solid play in Music City, USA-- though he would get lost in the defense corp with Shea Weber and Ryan Suter in the mix. Also, Davis Drewskie of LA should get some consideration for this award, as well as Olympic consideration as well. Drewskie has been a welcome surprise to the young LA Kings' squad, and is at the top of the chart of ice time. Plus, how could you forget Victor Hedman, who leads all rookie's in ice time and is a vital part on the rebuilding Bolts blueline.

At the same time, we all know defensive defensemen don't get that much consideration if they don't put up points along with it. That's why a player like Del Zotto will get more consideration over the likes of the names above.

Also, you can't look past two Dallas Stars as candidates for this award, with Jamie Benn and Tom Wandell really making some quiet noise. Wandell is a definite darkhorse, but his role playing is fairly unseen; yet Benn could make some noise if given the chance. Benn right now has 13 points in 24 games, which puts him sixth in rookie scoring and seventh on the team. The downside to Benn is maybe getting his time overshadowed by other forwards and getting lost in fold of all of this.

Even with all of that, Evander Kane goes under the radar in terms of consideration. He's second in rookie goal-scoring, he's tied for second in rookie +/-, and eight in rookie points. While he's in a market like Atlanta which often goes unnoticed beyond Ilya Kovalchuk; Kane should be one to keep an eye on should John Anderson give him an increased role with the Thrashers as the season moves forward.

Let's not forget goalie, too. Seymon Varlamov in Washington has played solid with the big club and is 9-1-2 on the season. The trap for Varlamov is not being the clear-cut start, mostly splitting time with Jose Theodore when Theodore is actually rostered for the Caps. Even so, many think Varlamov is the #1, even with coach Bruce Boudreau being coy with it. Jonas Gustavsson has a lot of hype with him, but could be a victim of being on a horrific team, which will inflate his GAA and wins for the season. Even with that, Gustavsson has keep his save percentage at a decent .900. Though, sneaking in-- Tuukka Rask could be a darkhorse, depending on how long Tim Thomas is out for the Bruins. Rask is 7-2-2 for the season and has been a shot in the arm for the B's.

In the end, however, it looks like it could be John Tavares' to lose in all of this. He's playing magnificently and really doesn't seem to be letting the hype or pressure get to him. In fact, he seems to be taking it to heart with all the eyes on him and leading the Isles to an early-season surprising start. He's leading in rookie points and goals and will probably increase those throughout his run. While van Riemsdyk is a surprise, I doubt he'll get the chance to really catch up to Tavares, even though the team around JVR is solid and may get a chance to get more time should his pace continue.

We're a quarter of the way in the season, which gave us a nice look at who's-who in the NHL rookie race and only time will tell in the new calendar year if the SRT will be put into play this season....and if Jason Spezza and finally pull this one out.

Entry Draft Site Fight

As I mentioned on last night's FOHS, the NHL Media site showed that the NHL has yet to pick the site of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which is a hinderance to the media people and some fans who want to plan their summer vacations in tune with the Entry Draft, since it really is a big event for fans to congress.

Of course, the delay could be due to the whole Phoenix fiasco and since they don't know where the team will be from week-to-week, you can't really make the commitment to having something there in June. There's been other rumors abound with the location such as Chicago, Minnesota, Anaheim, and Philadelphia. Yet, while they are places many would like to go to-- I'd want to throw out my idea for places for the NHL Draft for 2010 or future years.

1. Las Vegas, Nevada: While it's a hackney concept, Vegas makes sense in this instance. This is due to the Awards show being held there (date TBA, of course) and it'll cut down on the trips that are needed to be made from Vegas to one of these out places that are not Vegas. Granted, the Draft should be right after the Awards or else you'll have plenty of players, GMs, and executives losing their salaries and cap space on the craps table.

2. The NHL Store, New York: What a better way to mix commerce and new ideals than to hold it in the NHL's own store and introduce the kids to a big swarm of people in the media capital of the USA. Plus, in addition to that-- you bring about a new concept to the player, where as they are picked by their team; they go on a shopping spree with their family to get the merchandise of their new team. Fantastic idea, if I say so myself.

3. Kansas City, Missouri: They have a big, beautiful arena that's probably not going to have anything else there in June, and it'll expose fans from other places to the allure of the Kansas City. Some people may not think it's a hockeytown, but when the Draft comes around, it'll show people why there is such a buzz when it comes to relocating a franchise there over a Canadian city.

4. Jim Balsillie's Backyard: We mentioned this on FOHS, where Jim Balsillie has enough cash to hold this big NHL event in his literal backyard, because god knows his compound is probably big enough to hold 20,000 people, including prospects and their family. And be honest, your Blackberry reception is probably the best it'll ever be in your life time.

5. Washington, DC: If nothing else-- I'd like to go back home and use a vacation week to make a big deal out of this.

While this is all just me, something has to be done in order for people to get their flight information, hotel information, and bar-crawl maps set-up-- we need to know where to be in order to get all prepared for it. Since it's a big deal with people coming from all over North America (and some cases Europe), needing to know this information is vital, especially with putting in for days off....and then making up excuses for why you're just trashed come that Monday.

Regardless of what's going to happen with this, god knows that the FOHS crew will have a story. Whether it be random, psycho hotels or telling someone to play in traffic or making reservations 12 hours before arriving to the location or even blacking out on the shore of the Ottawa River-- there's always a story to tell.....even if we have to piece it together.

FOHS 8th Year Extrava-Danza

(L to R: Scotty Wazz, Marc "With a 'C'", Sean-O, and Jonny P)

With all due respect to Mr. Quentin Tarantino, I have to use this, with my own twist....for some reason:

"Four guys, sittin' in a garage, in Lanham. All wondering how the eff they got there. What should we do, what shouldn't we do, who's fault it'll be, is it my fault, your fault, his fault, all that bullcrap. Then one of them says, hey. Wait a minute. When we were planning this show, all we did was sit around tellin' effin' jokes!! Get the message?? Boys, I don't mean to holler at ya. When this show's going on-- and I'm sure it'll be a successful one-- we'll get down to the Hawaiian Islands, hell, I'll roll and laugh with all of ya. You'll find me a different character down there. Right now, it's a matter of business."

That's what kind of happened in August 8th, 2001. The day the Face Off Hockey Show was born.

To start off, it was quite the task we had to come up from. Sean-O and Jonny P had a hockey show prior to this gig, but it fell upon trouble times and broke apart. Enter myself and Marc "with a 'C'" to fill those third and fourth mics. We all gelled well together after having time spent with each other prior and know how each other ticked, we learned timing from each other and to this day, it works pretty well.

Of course, to start off a hockey show in August is absolute death and I think the actual show was going to be a variety show with hockey being the main focus once the season started. So, for the first couple of months, it was variety for the longest time until the hockey news started going about, but then it morphed into what you hear today-- hockey news with randomness added in. That first year also saw me go away from the studio setting for the first time, as I went to lovely Aston, Pennsylvania to attend my year at Neumann College. However, once we started to get phone interviews, I made the 90-minute drive back and forth to make the sound quality better. The end of the year was capped off by the start of the NHL Draft trips, many of which have grown with folklore year after year

As we started to catch our groove as a hockey show, we got more and more people on our air and started to establish ourselves. We were able to bring on now "lifer" Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey and occasional guest John Buccigross of ESPN, when ESPN was the hot-spot for hockey. We started to do weekly team segments with a bevvy of fan sites, some of which still linger around today, but we don't use it as often. We started having great times together, had plenty of enjoyable outings, and started to gain a following. We had moved to a new studio in Crofton with a nice bigger set-up with a better sound, we expanded from one hour to two hours, and the feel we could make this work on the bigger scale of things.

Then 2004 hit, which brought about some drastic changes for all of us involved. First off, I moved to Calgary.........Alberta, Canada, which is where I stay today. Also, the NHL was heading for labor hell, which ultimately resulted in the NHL Lockout to kill the '04-'05 season. The move was whatever, as we've done stuff via the phone before, but the Lockout really killed us. There were some irons in the fire which were killed by the Lockout, but that's in the past now and what's done is done. However, the Lockout made us wonder what to do-- do we stay or do we take hiatuses to keep fresh?? We soldiered on, found our spots and did what we needed to do in order to make an entertainment show with hockey involved. We made it work perfectly and kept sane somehow.

Once the Lockout was over, we got onto iTunes to establish ourselves as a podcast. We had been doing archived shows for people to go back and listen to, but they couldn't download it like the could in iTunes or Yahoo Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. We were ahead of the curve in some aspect and were able to get on the wave at the brink of hockey podcasts and were able to get a strong following from people outside of our immediate friends and those who plug from their websites.

To that end, here we are today; still rolling around and bringing about our randomness on a weekly basis. We've gone to another studio in both ends, we've gotten more and more listeners, while not really going back on our original slogan for the show: "A Show About Life, With a 30% Chance of Hockey." We've gotten quite the following with the likes of Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports joining us for debaucherous exposes like our Draft Show, along with good gal pal Princess Curl-- who's able to put up with our craziness and still want to come back for more. It boggles the mind. With the advent of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter-- our show has been able to get an international following, one I don't think any of us could have thought of getting when we started this ordeal.

It's be a crazy seven years. We've gone from humble beginnings in a garage in Lanham to an entire house. We've dealt with moves, life changes, and just general craziness-- but we're still here. We haven't gotten to the point where we have sold out...because I don't think the opportunity has shown itself. We've stuck to our guns because we've held onto our own credo-- we're doing this for ourselves. If you don't like what we do, we're not going to force you to listen. Either you like it or you don't like it and we're not going to drastically change the format we have (that is known to work, mind you) in order to appease one or two people.

Through the years, there's have been plenty of players involved with FOHS and here's a little love to them:

-JonnyP, Marc "with a 'C'", and Sean-O: You are my brothers-in-arms and I don't think I could be doing a show with a better bunch of guys or have as much fun as I do with anyone else. The fact we can still flow without hesitation either over the phone or when I make a live showing, it just shows we are made for each other. We've gone this far and let's hope we can get ourselves a little further.

-Laura D-F: You were more behind the scenes player, but you have also contributed to some of the best radio we've done, like the Valentine's Day show and the lost tapes of the Draft. You also were a part of Team Media Riser, the greatest team on the Draft Media Risers ever.

-The Guests: There's far too many to list, but thanks to you guys for coming on the show and adding to the 30% we go for in terms of hockey talk. It also allowed us to see if you were down with our randomness....and more often than not-- yes, yes you were.

-The Fans: A lot of yous (to be all Jersey about it) interact with us on a deeper plane than just listener/presenter kind of role and we love you for it. You give us a lot of material, you give us a lot of laughs, and we feel great that you guys "get it" and actually enjoy it to the extent we do.

As we enter our 8th year (9th season if you're nasty), we can only see how far we've gone and how much we haven't given up on this thing. Here's hoping for eight more years and maybe even more success, hopefully in the near future.

Face Off Hockey Show 2009 Draft Show-- Portion Two

This is the second part of the update of the FOHS Draft show with Lyle Richardson, Greg Wyshynski, and Princess Curl. Of course, Montreal will bring out the best in everyone, which is why you can tell we’re getting a little wild, which is when the fans came in because they knew the game was on.

Like I said in the first part, caution due to some language-- if you’re opposed to that.

In this first part, we continue to talk about blogging, but this time when it comes to the perception given off from the mainstream media types. The second video in this cluster has to do with what’s going to happen in the off-season when it comes to topical ideas and how to keep the creative juices flowing.





This third part is a little dated, but it’s a hardy debate. When the topic of the Sedin twins came up and the length of the contract, it sparked the question about how long is too long (wocka) and whether spending that amount of money on two players is rational at all in a salary cap world.

Face Off Hockey Show 2009 Draft Show-- Portion One

So, we at the Face Off Hockey Show went to Montreal for the Draft, Jonny P and I got credentialed, and we did a show. For the show, we got long-time colleague Lyle Richardson, Puck Daddy czar Greg Wyshynski, and lady-of-all-trades Princess Curl to come in and do the show.

Here's a portion of the insanity where we talked about this draft being the "Twitter Draft", as well as bloggers being put into play when it comes to being credentialed. This portion is about 30 minutes long in four segments because YouTube doesn't like anything over ten minutes-- which most guys would love.

Also, caution because some language is a little bit gritty at times.

From left to right: Greg Wyshynski, Marc "with a 'C'", Lyle Richardson, myself, Princess Curl (off-cam most the time and raspy voiced) and Jonny P as the rover.

Enjoy.

Dildo Throwing 101

If you haven't heard about the AIK Dildo Throwing Incident, check out Shynner for details about it and the follow-up to it. On FOHS, we talked for about 20 minutes about the incident at the end of the show and different methods that could be used in throwing a dildo onto the ice. You can pick up the show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

What you're about to see is why we love our fans so much. One anonyomus fan of the show decided to take to the test to the streets (literally) and test out which method could be the best when throwing a dildo.

First, the Football Method:


Second, the Axe Throw Method


Third, the Frisbee Method


Finally, the "Javelin" Method, which turns into the hybrid of discus and frisbee


For more on this whole thing, you can take part in our FOHS Dildo Throwing Poll on our message board and use this scientific method when you have to throw a dildo onto the ice....which really won't happen unless you're in Sweden.