Teenage Drama

With the NHL season reduced to a sprint instead of a marathon, teams are trying to figure out if they are going to keep their 18-years on the roster or send them back to junior hockey. Here is a great breakdown by the New York Times of what teams face when they have to make that choice: Teenagers Pose Hard Choices.

A key reason why the US won the WJC

In the past the idea of USA Hockey winning the World Junior Championship seemed likes a pipe dream. But the influx of Americans into the Canadian Hockey League has changed that. Just look at this tweet from the OHL. It sums it up.

My World Junior Championship All Tournament Team

The Hockey Woodstock know as the World Junior Championship is over and the United States took home the biggest prize of them all: the gold medal. This marks the second time in four years that the red, white and blue took home the gold.

Here is the OTWT All Tournament Team:
Goalie: John Gibson, USA
Defense man: Jacob Trouba, USA
Defense man: Jake McCabe, USA
Forward: Mikhail Grigorenko, Russia
Forward: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canada
Forward: John Gaudreau, USA

Top draft eligible player: Seth Jones, D, USA
Most impressive player, that I had not heard about before the tournament: Leon Draisaitl, Forward, Germany.

Live Blogging WJC Final

The only winner in the NHL Lockout could be Hockey Canada

While the NHL and the NHLPA are fighting about a collective bargaining agreement, Hockey Canada is licking their chops. If  the lockout continues Canada would be set to send another Dream Team to the World Junior Championships in Russia. Bob McKenzie of TSN breaks down what Team Canada could look like at World Junior Championship if the lockout drags on.

The last time the NHL had a labor issue in 2005, Hockey Canada benefited. During that years World Juniors in Grand Forks, South Dakota Team Canada was loaded. That team featured:  Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Dion Phaneuf and Shea Weber. Not bad for an NHL team let alone a WJC team. 

The infusion of the locked out players could not potentially come at a better time for Hockey Canada. Canada has not won the WJC since 2009 and that is simply not good enough for the hockey crazy country. 

I guess I need a new shirt

With JVR being traded to Toronto it's time for me to get a new shirt

The Cover Story: Sending the Penguins home

The Flyers have ended the Penguins season in six games. The Philly Daily News had a classic front and back pages to honor the win this morning They have had great front and back pages all during the series.

A post Wrestlemania back page

Wrestlemania was last night, I don't know if that played into this wrestling themed back page of the Philly Daily News but it was cool.

The Flyers should just stand pat

For the last couple of days Philly has been abuzz over the idea of the flyers trading for Rick Nash. While most are in favor of it I'm totally against it. The price that has been rumored includes a package that includes: JVR, Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn, Sergi Bobrovsky, and a first rounder. That is a huge price to pay for a 27-year old that had never played in a big time playoff series.

Who is to say that the Flyers would be trading away two player that could be better and cheaper than Nash. JVR, Coutrier, and Schenn are the next generation and need to stay in orange and black.

Oilers = the New Blackhawks

For the last five years the Edmonton Oilers have struggled on the ice, but that appears to be changing. Over the last couple of years the Oilers have struck it rich in the draft and are ready to break out. Could the Oilers be set to rival the Blackhawks. The Oilers rebuilding plan seems to mirror the Blackhawks, according to the Edmonton Journal..

Professional Tailgating: Starting the New Year

The OTWT Tailgating Crew kicked of the year by attending a different kind of event. The group headed to the AHL Outdoor Classic game between the Adirondack Phantoms and Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Ballpark. The attendance at the game was a league record 46,653 people. So it was nice to be part of history. 

Citizens Bank Ballpark looks a little different then it did the last time I was there

 My baseball seats are some where out there 

The Phantoms and the Bears take the ice 

Our seats in section 417 where not that bad for an outdoor hockey game

World Junior Championships continue to grow

On Monday the eyes of the hockey world will be on Western Canada for the World Junior Hockey Championships. Over the years the tournament has grown from scouting show to must see TV. The growth of the event has also led to it becoming a big money-maker for the host.

He will be missed

I never thought that Chris Pronger would ever stop playing but yesterdays news that he will not play again this season because of concussion issues, leaves his future in doubt. Pronger was one of the nastiest and best players ever to play his position.

In 1993, the Ottawa Senators select Alexandre Daigle with the first pick, while Pronger was selected second overall by the Hartford Whalers. You think the Senators want a redo on that. If this is the end for Pronger, its been a great trip and career for him.

The front pages sum it up

The front pages of the today's Winnipeg Free Press and the Atlanta Journal Constitution sum up the plight of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise. In Winnipeg, news of the franchise coming to the Canadian city was the whole front page. While in Atlanta, the story of the franchise leaving was a front page story below the fold and seemed unimportant. That sums up the whole situation in a nut shell, no one in Atlanta cares about hockey.

Winnipeg Free Press

AJC

Please be nice to your trophies

As the European soccer season winds to a close, people are collecting trophies all over the place and some players are having a hard time handling the trophies.

Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenberg drops Dutch title trophy


Sergio Ramos drops the Copa del Rey


While its not a soccer trophy, the Spokane Chiefs break the Memorial Cup in 2008, classic, one of my favorites

Professional Tailgating: Flyers vs. Islanders

As part of my birthday gift my wife sent me to the Flyers Islanders game on Thursday night and here are some of the sites and sounds from the game.

The old Spectrum is no more, so sad

The flyers hat trick wall

This seat could be yours for next season

Former United States World Junior Championship hero Al Montoya in goal in goal for the Islanders. Montoya was named top goalie during the 2004 event.

Fomrer Shore Conference hockey player JVR interviewed between the second and third periods

Professional Tailgating: Minor League Hockey

Never been to a minor league hockey game, went on Friday night and boy was it bad. The OTWT Tailgating Crew took in the Phantoms (on their return to Philly) take on the Penguins. Was not the greatest show.

Both teams take the ice

 Ice Girls maybe one of the more entertaining aspects of the game

 The weird camera man that sat infront of us

These guys were the best skating guys of the night

Beadle Loves them Russian Boys

The recently completed World Junior Championship attracted a record number of fans, but one person caught World Junior Championship Fever big time during the dramatic final between Russia and Canada. ESPN SportsNation host Michelle Beadle lost her mind on her twitter as the Russian team erased a 3-0 Canada lead and won  the game 5-3.

The following post are from Beadle's twitter account during the final on Wednesday night:

• They will break us. RT @Siwicki4: wow Russia going to pull this insane comeback off....
• Do svidaniya homies! Russians crush Canada...#WJC
• Dear Lord...Russian boys are screaming at me in my living room....I thought it was the wine...but it's happening! Make. It. Stop.

Just when I thought she was done with the World Junior Championship love, she addressed the issue the next day on the show. Somewhere in Russia, a member of the team is reading her messages think that he has a shot with America's favorite female sports host.

Ask him! I'm fighting for hockey...#WJC RT @leemorreale: @ESPN_Michelle Any chance you can get @BizNasty2point0 on sportsnation?

The Front Page Story: A National Humbled Agained

Last year, Canada was humbled by the Americans in the World Junior Championship finals, this year the Canadians were rolling up 3-0  nothing on the Russians, then it all fell apart as the Russians scored 5 unanswered goals to win the gold medal game 5-3. Back to back terrible loss in the finals now for Canada. No matter the language of the newspaper, Canadians are taking the loss hard.

The Front Page Story: Canada gets their Payback

 Last year the United State beat Canada in the World Junior Championship Final and for the last year a nation has waited for its revenge as last night they got it as Canada beat United States in the semi-finals in Buffalo. In Canada the game was on the front page of all newspapers.