It's super effective!

Walking on Sunshine

Who are these guys?

Trade Deadline Day has come and gone, and the exodus of roster players signed in the dark PreBurkian era continued. Our roster compared to the beginning of the season:

OCT 2009		NOW
Goaltenders
Vesa Toskala Jonas Gustavsson		Jean-Sebastian Giguere Jonas Gustavsson
Defensemen
Tomas Kaberle Mike Komisarek Francois Beauchemin Luke Schenn Ian White Jeff Finger Garnett Exelby Carl Gunnarsson		Dion Phaneuf Tomas Kaberle Francois Beauchemin Luke Schenn Carl Gunnarsson Jeff Finger Garnett Exelby
Forwards
Matt Stajan Alexei Ponikarovsky Niklas Hagman Mikael Grabovski Nikolai Kulemin Jason Blake Wayne Primeau Jay Rosehill Colton Orr Rikard Wallin John Mitchell Lee Stempniak Jiri Tlusty Viktor Stalberg		Tyler Bozak Phil Kessel Nikolai Kulemin Luca Caputi Fredrik Sjostrom Viktor Stalberg Christian Hanson John Mitchell Colton Orr Wayne Primeau Jamie Lundmark Rikard Wallin
Injured
Mike Van Ryn Phil Kessel		Mike Van Ryn Mike Komisarek Mikael Grabovski
Marlies	Acquired	Traded	Injured

Armchair Coach: Canada's Roster

The Canadian Olympic Men's Hockey Roster was unveiled this afternoon in Saskatoon. Following the disastrous outing in Turin in 2006, Steve Yzerman put a greater emphasis on team cohesion, youth and versatility, overlooking some veterans by picking players with known chemistry together (see San Jose's top line). Going into the selection process there were some indubitable locks to make the team, but the rest of the roster was up in the air.

Canada's Olympic Men's Hockey Roster in my projected, but rather obvious line combinations:

GOALTENDERS
Martin Brodeur	Marc-Andre Fleury	Roberto Luongo
The schedule is not as tightly packed as last Olympics', so there is a good chance that one goaltender gets a majority of the workload. Brodeur will likely get the nod as #1 for the tournament barring injury or a demoralizing loss. Fleury will likely get the call against one of the lesser teams to see how he performs on the international stage. Luongo, who has never been past the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has plenty of international experience, but not as much as Fleury in the pressure-cooker games of the finals.

DEFENSEMEN
Scott Niedermayer	Chris Pronger
Anchoring the top spot are Canada's defensive stalwarts, and top pair from the 2007 Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks, Niedermayer and Pronger, epitomizing the desired mix of intelligent playmaking defense with a bruising physical presence.
Dan Boyle	Shea Weber
Boyle is a smart, and gritty puck mover who can put pucks to the net while Weber is as solid as they come in the defensive end.
Duncan Keith	Brent Seabrook
Keith and Seabrook are a young pair that anchor the Chicago Blackhawks defense corps together.
Drew Doughty
Drew Doughty, at only 20 years of age, brings a complete game to the ice and will be ready to fill any role required of him.

FORWARDS
Patrice Bergeron	Sidney Crosby	Rick Nash
Crosby and Nash found some intriguing chemistry on the ice during the orientation camp held in Calgary earlier this year. Patrice Bergeron was Crosby's set-up man back in his last World Juniors appearance on arguably the strongest team ever iced in that tournament. Bergeron was a sleeper pick whose solid two-way play, ability to play all three forward positions and familiarity with Crosby gave him the leg up on other contenders. I am hoping Bergeron changes his name to "Stills".
Dany Heatley	Joe Thornton	Patrick Marleau
These three are San Jose's top line. This line pairs Thornton's big-body playmaking with a pair of shooters in Heatley and Marleau. They are a consistent scoring threat that will add even more depth and balance to Canada's attack.
Mike Richards	Eric Staal	Jerome Iginla
Eric Staal and Jerome Iginla will be looking to prove themselves as they are having sub-par seasons. They are both very gifted scorers who've had some trouble finding the net recently. Mike Richards, a defensive-minded power forward and captain of the Philadelphia Flyers and captain of the 2005 World Juniors squad that featured the likes of Crosby, Bergeron, Seabrook, Weber, Getzlaf and Perry, adding a defensive presence to an otherwise offensively oriented line.
Brenden Morrow	Ryan Getzlaf	Corey Perry
Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf have played together since junior, both reaching mainstream recognition with their stellar campaign in the aforementioned 2005 World Juniors when they took home gold. This line will be relied upon to tire out the other team as they are big, fast and can hold the puck down in the opposing zone for a long period of time.
Jonathan Toews
As one of the youngest members of the roster, but also one of the most dynamic scorers in Canada's arsenal, Jonathan Toews and his hard to read name is an indicator of the direct Steve Yzerman wants to take this team: young, fast, responsible, and oh so very talented. He is on this very deep squad to fill in for any injury. He is a game-breaking clutch performer, as evidenced in the 2007 World Juniors when he scored 3 times in the 7-round shootout to seal the victory for Canada over the US.

The team Steve Yzerman has put together is characterized by size, skill and skating. Learning from the Turin debacle in which a team chock-full of talent and experience had their collective butts handed to them by border-line NHLers, Yzerman aimed for putting together a team with existing chemistry. The Olympic teams have about 2 weeks to gel together as a unit under a different coaching system, the pressure of the national stage and teammates that were, just a week before, the enemy. This year we also see a changing of the guard. Gone are the likes of Ryan Smyth, Shane Doan, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Adam Foote, etc. In their stead is the successful core of younger players from the World Juniors of 2005 led by Sidney Crosby and other standout players who've developed their game to take on new roles.

Epic Celebration: Henrik Andersen

Armchair Coach: Opening Day 2009

My projected lineup for this season's edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Forwards:
Jason Blake - Matt Stajan - Niklas Hagman Viktor Stalberg
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Mikael Grabovski - Viktor Stalberg Niklas Hagman
John Mitchell - Rikard Wallin - Lee Stempniak
Jay Rosehill - Wayne Primeau - Colton Orr

Defensemen:
Tomas Kaberle - Mike Komisarek
Francois Beauchemin - Luke Schenn
Ian White - Garnet Exelby

Goaltenders:
Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

Extras:
Nikolai Kulemin
Tyler Bozak Jiri Tlusty
Carl Gunnarsson

Injured Reserve:
Phil Kessel (Shoulder)
Jamal Mayers (Concussion)
Jeff Finger (Oblique)
Mike Van Ryn (Knee)

Armchair Coach: "It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs."

UPDATE: Kessel signs with the Leafs for $27 million over 5 years. Boston receives the 1st and 2nd round pick for 2010, and the 1st round pick for 2011.

---

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear set to make a solid run at acquiring Phil Kessel, the 21 year old right winger who recorded 36 goals in 70 games last season with the Boston Bruins, two years after a form of testicular cancer sidelined him. He is currently recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and will not be able to play until mid-November.

Burke is reportedly offering the Bruins an opportunity to trade Kessel before he becomes a restricted free agent to the tune of 2 first round draft picks, a 2nd round pick and a current roster player or prospect. There was a 2009 Draft day deal that was reportedly on the verge of consummation that broke down due to a miscommunication. Toronto's version of the deal: Tomas Kaberle for Phil Kessel and Boston's 1st round pick; Boston's version of the deal: Phil Kessel for Tomas Kaberle and Toronto's 1st round pick. Now that Kaberle's no-movement clause has kicked in, he is off the table.

Kessel's camp has turned down Boston's pitiful offer (well under the projected $5.5 million), and he is set to become a free agent by the end of this week, so the time is ripe for a deal to be made. But wait, aren't the Leafs rebuilding (presumably through the draft)? Doesn't losing two 1st rounders, additional picks, $5.5 million per year and a roster player seem like an extremely heavy price to pay for a currently injured player with a fairly one-dimensional game?

Let's break it down. Hypothetically, if the deal goes through, this is what the Leafs would receive.

Official scouting summary:

ASSETS: Owns electric skating ability and a howitzer of a shot. Can line up at all three forward positions. Is an exceptional dangler.
FLAWS: Needs to work on his play without the puck. May not have enough face-off or defensive ability to line up at center in the NHL. Lacks ideal size.
CAREER POTENTIAL: First line forward.

If you've read hockey scouting reports before, you'll know the pattern. Skills and potential are addressed, things to improve are brought to light and a projected role is assigned. Very rarely though, will you see a report that contains adjectives like electric, or nouns like howitzer or dangler. These are words normally confined to the realm of play-by-play commentators, not official assessments.

This report tells us that Phil Kessel is a player that scouts get very excited about. His talent and ability are far and above anything the current Leafs roster has to offer in terms of pure offense. Kessel has superstar-caliber stuff, and at the age of 21, still has a lot of time to develop and mature his defensive game to become better rounded.

For the Leafs, Kessel is nearly a perfect fit. He can provide the 1st line with a surefire scoring option the likes which we haven't seen in Toronto since Alexander Mogilny. Though he is small, he has ridiculous speed and skating ability. The Leaf roster bulked up considerably this past summer with big, bruising defensemen, and hulking, fearless pluggers that will make the 2009-2010 team a really painful team to play against. The Burke-model of big, mean players means there will be more room for smaller, skilled players.

The Leafs team is also in the middle of a culture change, putting defense well above all other aspects of the game. This is something that Kessel would benefit greatly from learning. Coach Ron Wilson is not above shelving a player who is not following the game plan to shake things up. Pairing Kessel with a defensively responsible pivot like Matt Stajan would also give him some room to be creative. He would also be a great outlet for breakout passers like Kaberle or Ian White.

If we get Phil Kessel:

Jason Blake - Matt Stajan - Phil Kessel
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Mikael Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Jiri Tlusty - John Mitchell - Niklas Hagman
Wayne Primeau - Rickard Wallin - Colton Orr/Lee Stempniak/Ian White

Tomas Kaberle - Mike Komisarek
Francois Beauchemin - Luke Schenn
Ian White/Mike Van Ryn/Jeff Finger/Garnet Exelby

In terms of our re-build, Phil Kessel is obviously a shortcut back to the playoffs. Should he remain healthy, a player of his caliber can push a team like the Leafs in the weakened Northeast division up the standings. Because the draft is arranged according to the previous season's standings, our draft position will likely be low (15-18th). In essence, the Leafs would acquire a proven commodity for two or three long-term maybes. Not all high picks pan out either, as countless players have whithered under the expectations that come with being a top ten pick.

This only happens once in awhile

So I'm marking it here for posterity.

In other news, Brian Burke declared that the Maple Leafs have two top-six forwards heading into this season: Mikael Grabovski and Matt Stajan (!).

I am pleased, but at the same time a little bit puzzled.

Outside of this blog and probably his family members and his hometown of Mississauga, Matt Stajan does not receive much praise.

Last year, prior to the season's start, then-Interim General Manager Cliff Fletcher lowered fan expectations and singled out Nik Antropov as the only top-six forward on the team. He was promptly dealt to Atlanta at the trade deadline after racking up career numbers on a team in a tailspin.

Burke is a master at making deals, and a good portion of that mastery is a result of how well he can sell a player. Publicly declaring the viability of these two forwards serves more than one purpose. Higher expectations will likely produce better results in players who've been given the confidence of upper management. Better results mean those players will show up on the radars of other teams.

I believe the praise is deserved. Stajan's on-ice poise, hockey smarts and defensive play make him one of the most reliable forwards we have. He has shown improvement in each of his 4 seasons, though not quite reaching the initial expectations. He has spent the last 4 years honing his defense and centerman duties (face-offs, puck distribution). Now out of the shadow of Sundin, and backed by a larger, more physically imposing team, I think this will be another breakout year for Stajan.

Armchair Coach: Free Agency 2009

Every July 1st, free agency begins for the NHL, allowing teams to upgrade talent, or offload bad contracts. This season, the Leafs made many changes before and during the season, most notably in their front office. They finally landed a big time General Manager whose penchant for big moves was the talk of the town for several weeks even before he was even hired.

The NHL Draft and beginning of free agency are Brian Burke's biggest opportunities to start making his mark on a team that has lacked identity, competitiveness and skill for a very long time. During his inauguration speech last November, Burke promised that "[the Leafs will] require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence."


Burke promised to make a run at securing the number one pick at the draft this year, but other general managers were wary of Burke's draft-day dealings. He has orchestrated some of the biggest signings on th draft floor in modern hockey, securing the first overall pick to land Chris Pronger for Hartford and making a complicated set of swaps to land the top 2 and 3 picks to snag Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Needless to say, the Leaf draft was more subdued and no large deals were made.

Today's first day of free agency showed that Burke was serious about his promise.

Additions:
Colton Orr: 6'3" 222 lbs | RW
Garnet Exelby: 6'1" 215 lbs | D
Mike Komisarek: 6'4" 245 lbs | D

They're big, mean and hit hard.

July 6, 2009:
Burke continues to stock up on Defensemen, signing Francois Beauchemin to a 3 year $10 Million deal. Beauchemin is coming off an injury-plagued off-season with Brian Burke's former team, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. For those keeping track at home, the Leafs' current defense looks like this:
Tomas Kaberle, Ian White, Luke Schenn, Jeff Finger, Mike Van Ryn, Garnet Exelby, Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin

Marlie call-ups: Jonas Frogren, Anton Stralman, Jay Harrison, Jaime Sifers, Phil Oreskovic

It is an impressive stack of defensive presence that will hopefully quell the number of goals against this upcoming season, and maybe boost Vesa Toskala's confidence and statistics (so we can trade him for greater value at the deadline). The Leafs gave up 293 goals in 2008-09, an average of nearly 4 goals per game.

That being said, there should be no delusions of grandeur about this upcoming season. The Leafs are still going to be hard to watch. We will have trouble scoring goals (unless Patrick Lalime is the opposing goaltender)and we will rack up at least 17 penalty minutes a night. We will not make the playoffs by any stretch of the imagination. But we will be hard to play against. Anyone moving into the slot for a shot will be punished. Our younger players will get every opportunity to play and learn on the job.

July 7, 2009:
The news just keeps on rolling. Highly coveted Swedish netminder, Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson, has signed a one-year entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs. Gustavsson is widely regarded as "the best goalie not playing in the NHL" and was between the pipes for the Swedish national team. He will play backup to Toskala, but has a good shot at taking over the number 1 spot if Toskala puts up numbers like last season's, where he played through hip and groin injuries.

I'd hit that

So the softball bat that I was looking into getting, the Mizuno 2008 Frenzy 98, has been gotten. Not by me, though, but by the team! And on a pretty decent sale to boot.

Technically, I was looking for its sibling, the 2008 Mizuno Rusty Bumgardner Frenzy 98, but that one is not available in Canada at this time.

Now I get swing it =D Sweet.

Approach at the Plate

When stepping up to the plate for an at bat, many things go through a hitter's mind; for the most part, the hitter will be thinking of what kind of pitch to look for and where to try to place the hit.

Successful hitters will not go up to the plate aiming for a home run every time. When a hitter starts to think home run, things fall apart. He will swing harder and more often, becoming very susceptible to deceptive pitches.

Instead, successful hitters focus on simply making good contact, and not try to force the ball into any particular direction. Strikeouts and bad pop-flies happen when hitters overthink at the plate, and try to swing for the fences. It takes a lot of patience and maturity to hold back that eagerness to go for one glorious swing. It is all about making the right swing at the right time.

I've been looking for a softball bat for next season. Knowing very little about bats, and having little opportunity to try different ones out makes it very difficult to find the right one. I've been researching and reading reviews to try to determine the best choice at my price range. Initially, I searched only with my eyes, focusing on things like the design, the colour scheme and how cool the name was -- shallow things.

There is more to a bat than that though. The reputation of the maker, the feel of the grip, the balance of the weight, the flex of the barrel and the durability of the construction are all important factors -- factors that must be tested through experience. The reviews only tell you as much as the reviewers know to tell, and even then, it is only their opinion. All the discernment and wisdom in the world cannot tell you how the bat will fare until you take the risk, pay the price and live with it.

On Tuesday, I found the one that I had been eying. It's not a very well recognized model, but those that know it recommend it highly. I gave it a good hefting, but decided to put it back on the rack in the end. It felt very nice, and the price was reasonable (20% off), but the timing wasn't right.

The softball season just finished, and every year, a new class of bats are forbidden. How silly would I feel if I ponied up the cash for something I thought was right, only to be told I cannot use it come game time? Not only that, I would have spent this year babying it, playing with it and growing attached to it, only to have it taken away from me in the end.

So I will continue to wait. Summer will come around again; by that time, the signs will be very clear about which bats are allowed. If it is still on the market, that bat might go up in price as more people discover how good it is. I'm not worried; I will likely have more income down the road.

Armchair Coach: State of the Roster

the last time i wrote about the Leafs was back at the Trade Deadline. a few things have changed since then: they met expectations by not making the playoffs by a rather narrow margin, thus ensuring that they would have a mediocre draft pick at the end of their mediocre season.

for those who are out of the loop, here is where things stand.
subtractions:

Andrew Raycroft - signed by Colorado Avalanche

Darcy Tucker - signed by Colorado Avalanche

Scott Clemmensen - signed by New Jersey Devils

Kyle Wellwood - signed by Vancouver Canucks

Andy Wozniewski - signed by St. Louis Blues

Simon Gamache - signed with SC Bern

Paul Maurice, Head Coach

still up for grabs:

Mats Sundin

Jay Harrison

John Pohl

miscellaneous Marlies

additions:

Ryan Hollweg - traded from New York Rangers

Jamal Mayers - traded from St. Louis Blues

Mikhail Grabovski - traded from Montreal Canadiens

Curtis Joseph - free agent

Jeff Finger - free agent

Niklas Hagman - free agent

Luke Schenn - 5th overall pick

Ron Wilson, Head Coach - signed from San Jose

i said a few months ago that the Leafs would need to start thinking ahead by rebuilding from a small core of players already in the system. thankfully, my list remains intact. i said that we would need to build from the back end a corps of defensemen who are committed to actually playing defense. the Leafs traded up for the 5th overall pick to land Luke "the Human Eraser" Schenn, the last of the top-tier defensemen in this year's draft, and signed Jeff Finger on the opening day of Free Agency -- a defenseman purported to be 'stay-at-home' and 'tough to play against'. i said we needed forwards who could finish plays, and we've kept Jason Blake and will be adding the services of Nikolai Kulemin and seeing more of Jiri Tlusty.

will things be better this year? probably worse, but sadly not bad enough to hit 30th in the league for a good shot at landing John Tavares at the next draft. at the very least, our core people will develop into stronger, more dependable players. Ron Wilson is a coach that is reknown for rebuilding successes, instilling responsible, two-way play and getting the most out of young players. it's a small step in the right direction.

next task:

Ascertain Sundin's future

Shed heavy contracts: McCabe primarily

Land a permanent General Manager

14 for C pls

what have i been saying all along?
now someone else, who is more famous and actually paid for it, and others are starting to say it too.

a long shot to make the playoffs

the rink is 200 ft long and the goal lines are 11 ft away from the end boards. Davison took the shot about 3-4 ft from his goal line. distance travelled by the puck: 174-5 ft. official distance: 174 ft.

Sundinless: will Leafs wilt down the stretch?

one period into Wednesday night's tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Leafs' captain, leader in all offensive-output categories, was felled after 8 shifts by a muscle strain and pulled himself out of a must-win game. this was probably the best news ever because a) if we lose two games, the season will be done and we can work our way down to a higher draft pick; b) if we win without the captain, we'll develop the character and grit required for high-stakes games; c) younger players have a chance to step up and build up some NHL experience. win-win-win.

i posted earlier about who i felt which players should be considered the core of the team to build around in the upcoming off-season. my sentiments were echoed a few days later by Damien Cox, a prominent sports columnist for the Toronto Star.

with Sundin out of the lineup, we were given an excellent opportunity to see which players would step their games up. lo and behold, the ones who gave us the win were the ones i listed. click for box score of the game.

note Matt Stajan's stats for the night. with the captain down, who shouldered the heavy lifting? he led the forwards in ice time (21:34), played in every situation (powerplay, short-handed, 5-on-3 shorthanded) and was called upon to take the key faceoffs that Sundin (NHL leader in faceoffs taken) would have, going 17-12 on the night. the previous night, back in Toronto, Stajan went 12-3 in the faceoff circle. when he first cracked the NHL lineup, the faceoff was his weakness. he may not have registered a point in this game, but he was instrumental in the game-winning power play goal by Kubina early in the third period. after winning the draw and gaining the zone, he cycled the puck to the point and went to the net, screening Biron on Kubina's slapshot from the left circle. all Biron could see was ass.

to the eventual GM of the Leafs: if you know what's good for you, keep Stajan.

Armchair Coach: Trade Deadline and Free Agency '08

so the Leafs, already a fairly non-physical team in the past 2-3 seasons, just shed the contracts of enforcer Wade Belak, checking-leader-and-hardest-slapshot Chad Kilger (both to Florida) and largest-defenseman-in-the-East-after-Chara Hal Gill (to Pittsburgh). what we gave up in size, we gained in draft picks (a 2nd, 3rd and two 5th rounders). for a team that hasn't had a 1st round pick in 3 seasons, i guess that's a good thing. come the start of free agency season on July 1, the Leafs have promised to clean house a little bit more, using the extra time to get a bit more creative about moving contracts. Kubina's no-trade clause, for instance, no longer applies if the Leafs do not make the playoffs this season.

of course, this means next season's squad will be vastly different. the following is a list of players i want to see returning to be the core group of players to rebuild from:

Vesa Toskala: has clearly proven himself to be No. 1 goalie material and can handle himself in the Toronto media storm. we need Pogge to develop in the AHL for one more year to see if he can handle the workload of a full season.

Mats Sundin: he didn't want to be traded. we now have a chance to actually build a team around him, instead of saddling him with over-the-hill ex-marquee players. give him someone who can score and a couple of veterans with character and class to form the core leadership of the team.

Nik Antropov: after 8 seasons of inconsistency and injury, Antropov is finally showing the naysayers just how wrong they have been all these years. he is healthy and at home in Toronto. he is a rare breed of hockey player: huge in size with a very deft touch and great shot.

Matt Stajan: he's not the flashiest, nor does he put up the best numbers, but i think Matt Stajan brings a lot more to the ice than can be quantified in stat sheets. his game has improved very steadily over the years; thanks to the influences of Nieuwendyk and Peca, his faceoff and defensive game means any line he anchors is a stablizing force almost every night. though he doesn't score much himself, he has shown offensive capability once in awhile and has the gift of being able to elevate the play of his wingers. case in point, Blake and Tucker, who were practically deadbeats on the ice earlier in the season, have found new life on the ice with Stajan. he is not the fastest skater, but is very strong on the puck for someone his size and has a nose for finding loose pucks, resulting in his line being able to cycle down low for extensive preiods of time. he is always available to the media after every game or practice (having grown up in the GTA watching and idolizing the Leafs) and has shown leadership potential and initiative as the NHLPA representative for the team. when Sundin retires, i think Stajan, the kid who scored a goal on his first shot in his first game in the NHL, should be the next captain.

Alex Steen: brings a very similar game to the team as Stajan, but less of a playmaker and more of a digger. has some offensive potential to go with his speed and sound defense, which will hopefully blossom in the next year or two.

Tomas Kaberle: slowly but surely becoming one of the premiere defensemen in the league. skates beautifully and has a very patient and slick approach to puck control. passes like no other player and can log a mountain of minutes in every situation. shoots very accurately, but is loathe to do so, for whatever philosophical reason, so he will need to be paired with someone who can launch the biscuit.

Carlo Colaiacovo: brilliant offensive defenseman that plays fairly responsibly and throws his weight around with almost reckless abandon. has been in the NHL for 5 years but has barely played a full season's worth of games due to freak injuries. if he can stay healthy and play consistently, we'll see a renaissance in his game, like Antropov.

Anton Stralman: anchored the Swedish junior team's defense. similar to Colaiacovo in that he is a very smooth skating defenseman who can carry the puck very well.

see how the list is short?

what we'll need to rebuild:

Defensemen that play defense. after years of Potvin, Joseph and Belfour, Leafs defense has been notoriously porous and lackadaisal because they've always relied on gamestealing goaltending. Toskala can provide that now, but there are some nights the defense needs to steal a game for the goaltender. we need large bodies that can clear the blue paint with little fuss and make it tough for screens to set up shop. we've got puck movers, so the other half ought to be puck stoppers.

Forwards that can finish. this was the general idea in bringing in Blake, but he hasn't regained the 40 goal scoring touch that he had in his contract year with the Islanders (like *ahem Jeff O'Neill). we need trigger men who can put the puck into the net given our wealth of playmakers (Sundin, Antropov, Stajan, Kaberle). this doesn't mean we need flashy Alexander Mogilny style snipers, but more like Gary Robertses or Ryan Smyths or Dave Andreychuks, who put away the garbage in and around the blue paint.

Maybe Tomorrow

it's been awhile since something i've watched made me tear up (i think it was a rerun of the Littlest Hobo back in the early 90s). today, i wasn't the only one.

today's sermon was about asking (Matthew 7:7-11). this video was shown to illustrate the point.

the story of Rick and Dick Hoyt is about 8 different pieces of amazing.

the quadriplegic son asked his dad one day to enter into a 5 mile marathon to raise funds for other disabled people. the dad ran it, pushing his son along the entire way. Rick said that when his dad pushed his wheelchair, he didn't feel handicapped anymore. Dick resolved to chase that feeling for his son, and together they've run 942 events (including 25 Boston Marathons).

Day 14 at St. Florence: Can I Borrow a Feeling?

a lot has happened since the school day ended, so i cannot rightly remember much about the day itself.

it was just one of those normal days, slogging through the schedule, doing menial tasks, eating lunch and listening to them talk about the season finales for Grey's Anatomy and ER. no one brought up the finale of The Office (which was SOO many flavours of emotional that i need to watch it again to parse through it all) so i didn't get to gush and natter like i wanted to. last hour of the day was spent supervising a boatload of children on the playground. we had like 3 classes out there, with classes from the neighbouring school rotating on and off. i didn't even know which kids belonged to which school. extended playground time, unfortunately, causes latent emotions to boil over, and we had lots of crying and yelling because of hurt feelings. i think i might be too sarcastic to take a child's emotional pain seriously. i remember what it was like back then; you feel everything three-fold, be it pain or happiness. i think it's a proportion thing; the smaller body of a child does not dilute and diffuse the physiological responses brought on by emotions quite as much as an adult-sized person would.

i think i just coasted through today. i didn't really have the mental or emotional energy to really put myself out there. i am now sick so i think i'm being told to refuel and slow down.

shinny hockey helped to clear my mind a bit, and allowed me to try out the new senior stick i bought. less back pain now that i have something longer; less rattly hands now that i have something stronger. it is with a bit of sadness that i retire my trusty Jofa. i take this to be a metaphor for myself. there are still certain mental/emotional tools or reactions that i've relied on since i was young, but they are no longer adequate. i need to spend at least as much time and care on upgrading those aspects of myself as i did on choosing this new stick.

it just occurred to me that i've been serving (churchwise) since Fall 2000. i think it is nigh time for a Sabbatical. i've done a lot of growing in those years, but not really in the departments where it counts (spiritual walk, devotions, God-centric worship). i also conveniently have some soul-searching i'd like to get started on.

Day 11 at St. Florence: Simple Pleasures

this post comes from my mom's computer, via Opera Portable. if you have a usb drive, i highly recommend finding a portable version of a web browser just in case your computer blows a tire (like mine seems to have) and requires a reformat. this one has all the features of a full Opera install, but doesn't leave any trace on the computer you use, has options for multiple profiles and is packed with all the speed inherent to the Opera browsing experience. i don't like browsing on the configurations of other people's browsers (it is usually the standard set up or overtweaked); it's like using their toilets.

anyways, about today. today was much better than yesterday, due to slighty more sleep and slightly less allergies and a few adventures to speak of.

i stuck around in teh staff room at lunchtime today because i was feeling better; as a result i am now privy to some really neurotic moments in the lives of the teachers i work with. it's like watching friends, and every character is a meld of Rachel and Monica. someone woke up last week to a mouse falling from her ceiling onto her shoulder, so she is mildly traumatized, traumatizing other mouse-haters by extension. mouse stories evolved to rat, raccoon, rabbit, cat, fox, coyote stories. i like animals.

i worked witht he special ed kids this afternoon so i missed out on some excellent excitement while the grade 1s went out to play while my teacher did more shotput tryouts. Fancy Dancer tried out and swept away the competition with a trial distance of over 12 m with a 4 kg shot. my teacher thinks he's on steroids; i think he's a robot. the other fun time i missed was pyro-boy deciding on a whim that he needed to pee, so he let it fly off the top of the slide and it hit the nerdiest, most legalistic girl in the class on the foot. she tattled. the girl who is absolutely in love with pyro-boy told off nerd girl for getting her beau into trouble, so nerd girl got really upset and threw a fit. my teacher whapped me with her clipboard later for laughing at her and abandoning her at such a crucial juncture.

while all this was going down, i made a paper airplane and helped some kids with their homework on interplanetary objects while finishing the day's crossword.

throughout the day i tried to make note of the simple things that i appreciate and enjoy (much like Amelie). i've taken a shine to watering the little plants we jiffy potted on Friday; watching the soil soak up water is rather sublime. one has already sprouted and i stared at it for a good 2 minutes just amazed at life. i potted some extra jiffy pots with soil but they have no seeds and receive no water. they are my control group. they are also there just in case God wants to pull off a flashier miracle.

Day 10 at St. Florence: Taking a Dip in Post Quality

this morning was the pits. i woke up rather sore. allergies were acting up in class. the window was open and the weather was cold. i could have fallen asleep on my feet due to last night's late dinner and Boggle-fest. walking down the hall i actually thought to myself, "someone is having a case of the mondays," before i mentally slapped myself for quoting someone annoying from Office Space.

i zombied through the first half of the day before taking a cat nap in the corner of the room after eating lunch to get me past 3:30. the last half hour of the day was spent doing shotput tryouts, which was decent fun. hefting the 4kg shot around the school woke me up a bit.