Thrashers Fan Appreciation Video

That's me and Steve (with Joel and DeTag too!). I'm borrowing Mr. Jesse Brown's bucket.

Moose, out of the crease again...

Okay, so if you watch Moose Hedberg, you'll notice he likes to come out of the crease and poke check. A lot. Normally, he's pretty good about it.

But here, something goes pretty wrong.

I love the way the clip starts because you don't know what everyone is laughing about. Soon, it becomes very apparent and hilarious!



Way to go Moose! Find your way back to the crease! I laughed so hard at this clip.

Message From the Atlanta Thrashers Organization

The 2009-10 season had many high points and some thrilling games, but ultimately we fell short of our playoff objective. As we begin the next steps towards achieving our ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup championship, we have elected to restructure our hockey operations staff, including the promotion of Don Waddell to President and Rick Dudley to General Manager. Collectively, we decided that we would not retain Head Coach John Anderson and Assistant Coaches Randy Cunneyworth, Todd Nelson and Steve Weeks, all of whom we thank for their dedication and contributions to the organization.

After a year of contributing to the hockey operations staff, and assessing the team and organization, we are excited to have Rick assume control of hockey-related activities. We are extremely confident that he will do an outstanding job of guiding us to the next level. Don has been an important part of this organization since its inception and in shifting his focus to concentrate primarily on all business aspects of the organization, will continue to play a vital role for our franchise.

Rick Dudley has been pivotal in building highly successful hockey teams, including most recently the Chicago Blackhawks. He has nearly 40 years of experience and is very well-respected in the hockey community for his expertise in evaluating and developing talent. He will immediately begin the search for a new head coach and will oversee all preparations for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Although we all are disappointed at not participating in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we are excited about our future and will continue to build on the team’s strong core of young players with the goal of creating a competitive and successful squad that will make our fans proud.

On behalf of the entire organization, I’d like to thank you for your continued support as we enter a new era of Thrashers hockey.



Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon


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My opinion:

I'm not sure about this. It will all depend on who they get to be the new head coach. Someone that knows how to get a team to pass stick-to-stick. Someone who knows not to dump the puck every single time its gets pass the center line. Someone who will plant someone in the slot. Someone who will require a higher shots on goal total. Someone who will help obtain a starting goaltender and not a pair of backups. I love ya Moose, but I want a starter too.

Anyway, let's see how it goes. I don't like changing the team like a rotating door, but I'm okay with this change in the office.

Take a page out of the Hawks playbook. When the Atlanta Spirit took over, the Hawks were about the worst team in the NBA. They got a good group of prospects and kept them season after season. And they gradually improved. Now, they area one of the best teams in the NBA. Playoff bound for quite a while. And poised to make it at least to the conference game. Maybe. The Celtics in Boston and the Orlando Magic are the only teams to worry about. The Braves did the same thing and they have the record for most division wins in a row in any sport at 14.

Thrashers: Quit aquiring new talent until you've given the current batch time to meld as a unit. Then, look a the overall weaknesses and fill in the holes.

TTFN

Thrashers Win Season Opener against Tampa Bay

The Atlanta Thrashers opened the new season last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a scary 6-3 win.

I didn't see a moment of the game live, but listened to Thrashers Radio live on the internet. Due to work, I couldn't hear anything from the first period.

I joined the game with a score of 2-0. Zach Booger-Snot added a goal while Evander Kane later assisted for his first NHL point in his first NHL game. Well done. Kovalchuk scored the first, appropriate for the Captain.

Then, it got a little scary. A goal by the Lightning. Then another to end the second. 4-2. An early third period goal let me think that the old "can't stop 'em defense" was back. And maybe so. But an insurance power play goal coupled with a back up insurance goal later in the game sealed the deal for the boys in blue.

Now, I've looked at some of the numbers and this is what I see.

Way to many shots allowed on goal. 39 allowed by the Lightning. 30 is my magic number. Less than that is beautiful. Pavelec is a talented goal tender, especially looking at some of the highlights from that game; however a tender is only so good no matter who minds the net. You've got to have some blockage and breakups in front of him. The Thrashers only had 28 shots on goal. The most important thing is not the shots, but the goals HOWEVER I am a big believer that you need to take more shots to insure the puck ends up in the net. Not wild shots, but don't always look for the golden opportunity because it may never materialize.

From what I heard, it does sound like the Thrashers aren't needlessly putting around with the biscuit out there and acutally (GASP!) taking the shots. Four of the shots were wristers, one tip in, and one slap shot by Kovy. This indicates to me that players are actually taking the initiative themselves instead of relying on the Captain K for everything. The tip-in was a beauty of a backhand which came as a result of a juicy rebound by Tampa's tender, Smith. How long have I been yelling at the Atlanta bench to follow the shot and plant someone by the goalie?

See? It works!

As far as penalties, they took too many for me. Then again, I think almost ANY penalty is unnecessary.

Except for fighting. That really can inspire a team as Thorburn and Bolton proved last night (especially Eric B.)





The Thrashers took only a few stupid penalties, but commited less than the Lightning. Good deal. However, on that note the Powerplay is a little lacking. I would say the same about the penalty kill, but the second Tampa Bay goal (a PP goal) was scored by amazingly fast Martin St. Louis in a 4 on 3 situation. With that much open ice for St. Louis, he was going to score against a tired and depleated Thrasher defense.

Still, I hate Martin St. Louis. All four feet of him.

I really wish I could have watched this game. It's hard to comment on a game simply listening to play-by-play and looking at the stats and box scores. I will say that the Thrashers Radio is very entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of the broadcast but I wanted to see it!

A surprise was Peverley coming up with a duo of goals to match Kovy's pair. Salmela and the previously mentioned Booger-Snot (Bogosian) notched the other ones. Assists came from a rogues gallery of players (9 total) which is a great thing. Teamwork with a few weapons, especially Little and Lil' Toby both having a pair of assists.

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But you don't come the HOCKEY COP website looking for hockey information do you? Of course not! You come looking for Disney pictures and information!

Well, let me sum up all of my light duty jobs I've done since my new assignment.

I worked as a Food / Wine Greeter, a Turnstile Host, a Character Attendant, and a Bus Information Person. The first and last were horrible. One was telling cast members not to walk into the park as a guest from backstage and the Bus Info was telling people who were already lost accurate information they didn't want to hear. Like their bus was going to be really late.

The Turnstile host was surprisingly nice. I waved to everyone that left the Epcot park while opening gates for strollers or wheelchairs while looking out for rented strollers, wheelchairs and alcohol. None of those things leave the park. I got to wear the big Mickey hand! And I was recognized by management for doing a good job by way of a Fantastic Service Recognition.

The best was the Character Attendent. I worked with a pletheria (is that spelled right?), oh well, a pletheria of characters. This included the Character Spot (home of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy), Donald in his Three Cabeneros outfit in Mexico, Snow White in Germany, Stitch, Daisy Duck (S-D-Bs!), and most recently in France with Belle, the Beast and sorta worked with Princess Aurora also known as Sleeping Beauty.

I can't really say a whole lot about my experiences with these folks except it was awesome! I loved seeing the looks on people's faces when they got to see their favorite character. My favorite is by far Belle. She knows the 501st and is a fan! She has even hung out with Princess Leia during the Star Wars Weekends for a few years.

Like I said, I can't say a whole lot about all of my interactions with the characters for obvious reasons. But know it's quite surreal watching Sleeping Beauty sitting next to Briar Rose herself.

On a sad note, all of my associates are gone now. No more Stephanie. No more family. No more ghost friends. They did leave me with some additional pictures taken by Gina of the evening. They are below. Some are similar to my pictures, but feel free to ignore them.

Big thanks to Gina, Madog, DeTag, Steve, Liz, and Jesse for letting me hand out with you guys. It was great. And, this just in, Stephanie will be here October 12-14. Yay!

OH! I almost forgot! My new job is Bus Greeter. I work with probably the most juvenile folks around, but I won't see them that long. Serious. I'm not sure if their maturity was collected and liquified it would fill a test tube. But that's okay. Considering the nature of the job, that may be a benefit.

See, my new job is to go to a different resort everyday and stay at the bus stop. I interact with the guests waiting and mark each and every bus that comes into the station. If a bus takes more than 20 minutes, maybe 25, I call and get another one. It helps keep the buses accountable by relieving the stress of the drivers and the guests.

Also, we can work at Fantastmic, the spectacular show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. That will be fun.

That will be fun. Plus, the hours are desirable. 6:45 until 2:00 am.

If you've ever visited a Disney Resort, you should appreciate the fact that there will be someone looking out for your Disney Transportation needs.

Enough of that. On to the photos!

Many of them are similar, but some are new and non-ghost-ish. Some are a bigger view of the preparation process. Also, note that I had some trouble uploading the photos for some reason, so they appear out of chronological order. That c-word is suppose to be, you know, that word that means the order in which things appear in real time. I can't spell. Plus, there are some more picture of me since they are from a different photographer.

Enjoy!



Thanks Gina for the photos!

One last parting story. I met Steve and Liz recently at Animal Kingdom. We rode Dinosaur a few times during the day. They were fun romps through time!



The funny story comes from the beginning of the day.

I was there early, early enough for rope drop (gate opening). I was the first person in line for the Dinosaur ride. Now, other people were in line behind me, but the family directly behind me got really slow and held everyone up. Perhaps they were remembering the warning outside.

So, they asked me how many in my party.

One. And the ride had to keep moving apparently.

I rode the ride by myself, as in no one else in the vehicle. I'm used to going to parks solo without friends or anything, but NEVER have I rode in ANY ride by my lonesome.

And here are the results...



Let me say the ride is scary, but it's terrifying if there's NOBODY else in the car with you. It looks like I'm riding in a car full of Stephanie's since she's terrified of dinosaurs and would hide on the floor if forced to ride this attraction.

Liz and Steve were much better riding partners. And perfect for taking photos. All I have is the one freak out pose. The Vitale's have an assortment of photogenic emotions in their grab bag.

TTFN

Ten Things I'll Miss from Atlanta

Well, this will be the last post until I get to Disney World. I've been reflecting on all of the great opportunities that await. There's some things I'm nervous about, mainly having a roommate.

I have also been thinking about the things here in Atlanta I'm going to miss. So, I present the ten things I'm going to miss from the Atlanta area.

There are two obvious things missing from the list: family and Stephanie. Considering Stephanie and I are in a long distance relationship, I don't really consider her a part of Atlanta. A major part of my life for sure, but just not Atlanta based. In case you don't know how important Stephanie is to me, scroll down to the bottom of the previous post. She is my everything and I'll continue missing her, just from a different zip code.

As far as family, it is impossible to measure the love and how much I will miss them. Mom, dad, Abbey, Kevin, my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. I don't think I appreciate them as much as I should. I didn't really realize that until after our lunch yesterday when it was too late. The good thing is I'm going to be back in January (plenty of time for the annual Super Bowl party) and enough time to perhaps spend some time with my cousin Ben as well as the rest of the family that I just don't spend enough time with. Ben is starting at Georgia State. Best of luck to him.

Katy: When you read this, let Ben know the best place on campus to buy sodas and snacks is Cinefest. It's the cheapest. Also, he has to go to some of the FREE sporting events. Volleyball and basketball will start soon.

Going back to the nuclear family, I know it's tough on them. That's why they're not on the list because it's immeasurable the amount of love and support they've given me. I don't always appreciate it enough nor do I show it as much as I should. The good news, again, is that I'll be back soon.

So, on to other things.

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10. My Bed

It's trivial, I know. But I will really miss having my own space and the opportunity to just relax whenever I want to without having to worry about a roommate. I am very much a people person, but I do love my me time.

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9. My DVD's

Speaking of me time, I like to watch DVD's. I haven't watched television (excluding sporting events) since 2008. I will watch it if someone else is, but I have not turned it on for myself. It used to control my life. I would turn on TBS or Peachtree TV and watch reruns over and over. I will have my favorite DVD's in Disney World and I'll watch them on my computer. Still, I'll miss the variety I have.

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8. The Varsity



Two chili dogs, fries and a coke. Need I say more?

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7. The 501st




They are pretty low on the list because I'm going to be surrounded by characters. Now, in case you didn't know, the 501st is a costuming group that portray Star Wars villians. Even though I've been to several events and actually costumed with them, it's still a surreal experience. Seeing your favorite movie characters come to life is still amazing.

The Georgia Garrison website here

Here's Legion's website.



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6. The Weather

Florida is hot. I do like having fall, my favorite season. My understanding is that Florida will not have a nice cool season, so I'm a little bummed about that. I can handle the heat. I just don't want to.

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5. Kitten, Nemo, and MJ





The pets. I would say always loving, but the cats have a tendency to scratch. Still, I will certainly miss them.

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4. Georgia State University



There is a lot to miss about Georgia State. The Athletics Department has been a pretty big part of my life for the last year or so. Bobby, Carlos, Olivett and everyone in the Sports Arena are some really great people. Where else will you get a group of people to clap along (if not more) that the wait-staff in a restaurant for some strangers birthday? Their humor is great and I will miss working with them during the begining of the basketball season.

Be sure to check out Georgia State Sports here for updates on the Athletics Department, especially on September 2. Big news, including the two semi-finalists on Big Brother. It's that or a new look for Georgia State Athletics. One or the other.

I'll also miss some of the great people I've met at Georgia State, including professors and students. I will NOT miss the parking situation nor will I miss the commute into Atlanta.

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3. The Thrashers



This has been a big part of my life for a few reasons. The team is the most obvious, but it's the least important. That smirking chicken represents so much more to me than just the game. I'll be checking the Thrashers site regularly.

It reminds me of the tons of great times I've had at Philips Arena. This is my escape from everything. I will never work for the Thrashers. I am too big of a fan and, again, I use it as a way to tune out of "reality" into a world of fun.

There are also so many great people that I associate with the Thrashers. Nicole is one of them. She has always been my hockey buddy. Anytime I wanted to go to a game, she was always the first person I called. Just a great personality. I should perhaps not include her in the list because she has actually moved to North Carolina, but it's my list and I'll do what I please. Best of luck to her. And yes, Stephanie knows about Nicole.



Chuck is the other. Chuck Bell is my own personal hero. He has been there through some really REALLY rough times in my life. You are a better person just from having met Chuck Bell. I am lucky enough to call him a friend. He also has a great family, his wife Kim and two girls.



If you've ever seen the back of my blue Thrashers jersey, the name and number are BELL 8. People put names of players they want to see, and I always hope to have some interaction with Chuck. Plus, he has the best eight seats in the arena. In case you didn't know it, Chuck is the organist with a box located center ice on the second level.




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2. Turner Field



Again, this is not about the Braves. Of course, I want them to do well but again, it's about the great people and outstanding experiences I've had there. From the front office people, to my managers, to the our staff, to other staffs, I will miss Turner Field.

On my last day (Saturday), they presented me with a signed Chipper Jones picture and a massive cookie cake. I was honestly touched by these gestures and all the kind words from everyone that pulled me aside. I don't want to brag, but I never knew that many people appreciated my hard work and effort.

Since I don't get the Braves Radio Network in Disney, I'll be at the Braves website alot.



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1. The Black Bunny Crew



Most are members or affiliated with the 501st, but I consider this a seperate group. This new gaggle of friends are some pretty special people. Captain, Madog, Blow-Up Stuff Brownie, Stowaway, Vitale 1 & 2, Powder Monkey, Dr. Who, DeTag, everyone.

I'll miss the trivia nights, the armor parties, the random get-togethers, all of it. It's just so nice to be yourself and be completely accepted for it.

The interesting thing about the Crew is about half are in the art or performance business (SFX, animation, puppetry). I always thought I was a pretty good at some of that stuff, but they are amazing professionals at their crafts. If you've never seen their work, check this out. These are clips from adultswim's "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law". Hilarious show. It basically is about a old cartoon character finding a second profession as a litigator. Awesome. The first clip is very appropriately Disney-esque. The second is more typical Birdman humor. One of my all time favorite shows. It is not currently in production. Sadness.

(Note: If the clips don't play, it's probably my fault. I'm still working on successfully posting videos and slideshows. There are links below. Definately check them out.)

Click here for Birdman Singing or here for the hilarious Jetsons Meeting Birdman. Be aware the website will automatically start playing the next clip after the one you're watching is done.

Also, look at all the fun, fluffy things at Puppatoons.

The other half of the Crew is in law enforcement agencies and sciency type stuff. It's an interesting mix of folks that I've grown to love.

I am truly going to miss hanging out with them. Luckily, many of them will be going to Disney World so I will only have to wait a short time till I see them again.




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I'll talk to you again from the "Happiest Place on Earth"!

Thrashers Off-Season Wrap Up and the Winter Classic

Well, the season is quickly approaching. I was asked about my thoughts on some of the off season activities. I believe very strongly that this is a make or break year for the Thrashers. They must MUST have a playoff season.

The team played their first game in 1999 making this the 9th season. (Just a reminder, there was no 2004-2005 season due to the lock out.)

And they've only been to the playoffs once. And they haven't won a playoff game yet after being swept by the damn Rangers. (I hate them.)

Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com agrees. Right now, the NHL is doing a 30 day round up of the 30 teams. Here's their very detailed article about the Thrashers and all of their off season activities.

Read the article here.

Here's some wrap up information about the Thrashers this off-season:

Arrivals:
Nik Antropov, F, New York Rangers;
Pavel Kubina, D, Toronto;
Tim Stapleton, F, Toronto;
Jason Krog, F, Vancouver;
Drew MacIntyre, G, Vancouver;
Peter Mannino, G, New York Islanders;
Noah Welch, D, Tampa Bay;
Anthony Stewart, F, Florida

Departures:
Garnet Exelby, D, Toronto;
Colin Stuart, F, Toronto;
Clay Wilson, D, Florida;
Brett Skinner, D, Colorado

Remaining Free Agents:
Mike Hoffman,
Joe Motzko,
Eric Perrin,
Grant Stevenson,
Jordan LaVallee


Obviously, the 6'6" Antropov is the highlight thus far. His numbers are decent, but don't tell the whole story. One of the Thrashers biggest problems isn't necessarily scoring but playing defense. Though he's a foward position skater, his presence on the ice will add a needed defensive yin to Kovalchuk's scoring yang. Antropov played most of his games for the Maple Leafs, though played for the (hurl) Rangers last season. As you can see by the photo below, the man is huge.



I expect to see a few 80 Thrashers jerseys at Philips this season.

The Exelby / Stuart for Kubina / Stapleton is another huge one, adding some new defensive.

Perrin is the biggest name still on the free agent list. I think he'll stick around, but I'm not positive.

Another point that NHL.com made was about the draft pick Kane. Here it is in their words:

Evander Kane -- There's no question Kane, signed to a multi-year contract July 20, is out to prove he belongs in the NHL. The Vancouver native has an incredible work ethic and certainly made an impression on the coaches during prospect developmental camp in July. In addition to joining the Thrashers, Kane is also excited about the possibility of playing with former Vancouver Giants teammate and fellow prospect Spencer Machacek.

NHL.com also looked at what they feel will be the five "must-see" games of the season based on everything so far.

Their list (and their reasons) are as follows:

Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Tampa Bay -- The season opener could very well feature Atlanta captain Ilya Kovalchuk bearing down on Tampa's second-overall draft choice last June -- 6-foot-6 Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman.

Oct. 22, 2009 vs. Washington -- If the Thrashers want to be considered contenders in the Southeast Division, they'll need to prove it against the two-time defending divisional champion Capitals.

Dec. 7, 2009 at Toronto -- Atlanta forwards Tim Stapleton and Nik Antropov and defenseman Pavel Kubina return to the city where they played in 2008-09.

Feb. 13, 2009 at Chicago -- Thrashers associate general manager Rick Dudley, who served the last five seasons with the Blackhawks, faces his former team as a member of the Atlanta front office.

April 10, 2009 vs. Pittsburgh -- The regular-season schedule closes with the second of two meetings against the defending Stanley Cup champion in the month of April.

I agree with their reasonings for the most part. I'm not so sure how important that Feb 13th game will be with the front office connection.



I would add the following things to keep in mind for the season:

...

Sept. 25 and 27 at Carolina and vs. Tampa Bay (Pre-Season):

I know, I know. These are only preseason games, but hockey is such a sport of complements. The make up of lines is just as important and the players on the team.

The final score isn't necessarily the thing I'll be looking for in these games, but rather if the lines seem to be working well together. I hope that the practices and four previous game will take care of the jitters and cobwebs, and the right line combo's will rise to the surface. I don't want to see missed opportunities because of bad communication or misunderstandings. I want passes stick to stick.

I'm not expecting perfection in these games, or even set lines but a foundation being built. We don't really have time to figure it out when the season starts because after Opening Night at home, the next two and a half weeks have all games on the road. It will be a little bit tougher to find those lines while traveling and doing battle in enemy territory.

...

Oct. 24 vs. San Jose

This is a team the Thrashers aren't used to seeing. First of all, they are a Western Conference team (the first Atlanta will face this season) and they play in the hard hitting Pacific Division. Plus, the Sharks one hell of a good hockey team. The best of the regular season last year with a 53-18-11 record (Wins-losses-ties) for a total of 117 points.

The Thrashers finished 27th out of 30. 35-41-6 record for 76 points. Ouch. But that was last year.

Considering the every-team schedule the NHL pushed out, this will be a somewhat important game for the team as they get a look at the "other side".

...

Oct. 29 and 31 vs. Washington and at Ottawa

These two games come within three days and will help show how the season might go. Why? It will be the second time the Thrashers play the Capitals and the Senators and the second meeting can show if the Thrashers can adjust mistakes and repeat good tactics against opponents.

In years past, this would have been a much more important factor. But, given the fact that the schedule includes every team as compared to last year, it won't be as big of a deal.

...

November / December

The Thrashers have a night and day schedule for the months of November and December in terms of home and away games.

November: In 14 games, 9 at home and 5 on the road.
December: In 15 games, 5 at home and 10 on the road (plus the first 3 in January are also on the road).

The Thrashers MUST have a great November. Period. December is going to be a little bit of a rough month (hoping for .500), but November is the essential.

The real season will have being going on for about a month through October, so the team should have all the bugs worked out by then and be playing like the team they are, be it good or bad. A bad showing in November will not only be hard to make up, but also sets the mood for the team throughout the entire season.

Again, winning 7 or 8 games in December will be a big, important accomplishment as well.

...

March 2 vs. Florida

It's not Florida that's important (at least at this point). It's the recently completed Olympics in Vancouver.

This is a fairly important game simply because the team will need to rebuild their connections that were broken during the break. Because of the nature of the Olympics, there's the possibility that some players may even be more hostile, even against NHL teammates.

...

Obviously, some games will become a lot more important as the season develops, but that's my take on things at this moment.


In general, I want to see these three things happen this season:

1. No dump and run. Stop shooting the puck down the other end of the ice and racing the opponents to it. Figure out how to get through the neutral zone with puck in hand like all of the great teams do.

2. Leash Lethonen in the crease. For whatever reason, he thinks he can still play the puck behind the net, even with the other team's fowards back there. He can't do it with enough consistancy to make me comfortable. Every time he scoots around, I get nervous and half the time I'm right as the other team gets a great scoring opportunity and the occassional goal.

3. Defense. Stop the puck. Control the neutral zone. Don't allow as many golden scoring opportunities.

Finally, let's take a look at how last year's Thrashers match up in some key catagories.

The Thrashers can score. They were 9th overall with 250 goals. Detroit led with 289 and only Washington had more in the Southeast with 268 (3rd).

The Thrashers suck at not allowing goals. In the entire NHL, only Toronto was worse allowing 286 compared to Atlanta's 279.

As far as their powerplay, Thrashers are pretty much middle of the road. They had 69 (13th ranking) which is a 19.33% success rate (11th best). In the devisionWashington was consistantly better scoring once every four powerplays (25.
22%). Carolina was almost identical to Atlanta with 70 goals and 18.72% success rate.

The penalty kill unit was horrible. Tampa Bay allowed one more goal (89 compared to Atlanta's 88) with a man disadvantage. Anaheim comes in a distant third allowing 78. Percentage-wise, Toronto was worse only killing off 74.68% of their penalties while Atlanta killed just 75.96%.



By the way, the 2010 NHL Winter Classic will be played at Boston's Fenway Park.



I love the Winter Classic. I've watched the first two (both with Stephanie). It's a great game. I'll do a blog on the Classic later. I'm going to bed right now.

Thrashers Release Schedule

So, the 2009-2010 Atlanta Thrashers season will soon be here.



The schedule was released by the NHL yesterday. The Thrashers break down as follows:

There will only be 6 games (3 home, 3 away) against division opponents.

4 games (2 and 2) against conference opponents.

There doesn't appear to be a lot of rhyme or reason to the Western Conference opponents.

Here they are:

Avalanche: @ Colorado
Blackhawks: @ Chicago
Blue Jackers: Home & Home
Blues: H & H
Canucks: @ Vancouver
Coyotes: @ Phoenix
Ducks: in Atlanta
Flames: @ Calgary
Kings: in Atlanta
Oilers: in Atlanta
Predators: H & H
Red Wings: @ Detroit
Sharks: in Atlanta
Stars: in Atlanta
Wild: @ Minnesota

There are some similarities when compared to some of the other teams in the conference, but nothing to get excited about.

Here's the complete break down.




I generally like the schedule more, though it does have some problems. For one thing, I like the idea of concentrating games on division opponents, not trying to get every single team in the rotation. I think that distracts and takes away. It's better to only play Detroit or Dallas, Minnesota or San Jose once every couple of years. Adds a little bit of excitement.

I do like how the games are more stretches than years passed. A few home games strung together with a few road games for a trip away. Not this home, away, home, home, away, home, away, away thing they've done SO many times before. It's cheaper for the teams and also creates a nice little break or homestand.

There is, of course, no Thrashers games in the area of my birthday. Generally, it's because the circus takes over Philips Arena but this year it's the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

I looked at Tampa Bay's schedule too, but only for their home games. Since I'll be at Disney, I can probably catch a few games at the St. Pete Times' Forum now and again. The only time the Thrashers will be there is the day after Christmas (at least while I'm in Florida.)

Here's Tampa Bay's schedule for home games (while I'm there).



One thing I'll be sure to check out is the Lightning Girls. And why not?



They still don't compare to my Blue Crew (featured here wearing their CODE RED uniforms).



Let's have another look at those uniforms.



If you think that's offensive, you have to look at some more of the Lightning Girls. Here's just one of their photo galleries available online of the Tampa Bay Lightning Girls.

Oh, and Martin St. Louis. The midget of hockey plays for Tampa Bay. Hilarious.