Around the NHL's team websites, Part 3

The following is a list of some of the more amusing things I've found while exploring each of the NHL club's websites (and reading the mascot biographies.)

Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are one of the few teams that actually have "History" as one of their main website features, the section found here features a comprehensive look back at the club's 80+ year history decade for decade, as well as records, stats, player bios, and even the history of the octupus. Plus much more. WingsCast the team's official podcast has player interviews and game highlights. Fans can submit questions to their favorite players, the answers to which are here. Including Zetterberg responding to what music is on his iPod...If that's not enough, Red Wings World offers Wings fans probably more than they could ever need. Sign up is required but it's free. No mascot per se, unless we count the octopi.

Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers all-time roster list is here (no numbers...). Both audio and video blogs featuring pre-game and post-game analysis as well as highlights and interview are found here. Edmonton also has a very cool photo blog. For reasons unknown the Oilers have no history section (that I could find)...and no mascot. Not actually on the site, but affiliated with the team is Oilers Heritage, which is amazing to say the least. Needless to say you can spend 2 hours just looking at the images in their archives (over 10,000 of them). How about Gretzky playing baseball in an Oilers baseball jersey?

Florida Panthers
The Panthers have amassed somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 get well wishes for Richard Zednik since the skate incident, the latest of which are here. You can add yours as well. What you hear at a Florida game.. YES, Stanley C. Panther!. What a name...

Los Angeles Kings
Lots of and lots of Kings history found here including a timeline, alumni, all-time roster (with sweater numbers) and much more. KingsVision (video) section here. Plenty of podcasts as well. And, lest I forget, the most serious mascot section in the NHL for the Kings beloved Bailey.

Minnesota Wild
Wild All Access is the team's official blog site and features among other things live game commentary. All time roster sans sweater numbers. Wild PONDcast available here.. You can order the Wild Anthem and see the lyrics and video on this page. I love when teams do this: Wild goal horn, it almost makes up for the lack of a mascot...

Next up Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, and the Islanders and Rangers.

NHL Hockey Archive Footage

When people are producing historical documentaries about the NHL they go to a place called the NHL Hockey Archive. It contains the largest collection of footage from the league, and is the official video archives. Footage is delivered physically in Betacam SP format and restrictions apply to their use. They have literally thousands of hours available to film makers. And yes, there is a cost for gaining access to the archives based on which footage you request.

For those of us who aren't planning on making a documentary and just interested in seeing some footage from the archives you can view sample videos from 6 decades here. Including Maurice Richard receiving the Cup in 1956, the Leafs captain Armstrong hoisting the cup in 1967, Bobby Orr in slow-mo beating the Blues, my personal favorite - the Flyers first Stanley Cup victory and Guy Lafleur's last game in Montreal, as well as about a dozen more clips. The quality is better than YouTube and is in WMV format, so you'll need Flip4Mac to see it on a Mac.

They also have a 90-second demo reel that showcases some of the classic moments from the last 70 years and introduces the archives. Worth watching despite the painful voice over...

Around the NHL's team websites, Part 2

The following is a list of some of the more amusing things I've found while exploring each of the NHL club's websites (and reading the mascot biographies.)

Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have not forgotten their roots in Hartford and feature an in-depth timeline of the franchise's history here, as well as an all-time roster that includes the Whalers. Unfortunately it doesn't indicate who played where (or give you sweater numbers). Kaiton's Corner is now available as a podcast and features the Hurricanes play-by-play announcer Chuck Kaiton answering fan's questions as well as interviews with the team. And yes, lots of Stormy the pig information is available...

Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews talking about his first NHL goal....while eating dinner at a French restaurant. You know you want to see that. More info than you could ever need regarding the history of the team can be found hidden here, including team photos going back to the late 60's. In addition to the HawksCast audio the Blackhawks have some "Audio Classics" files which can be downloaded including goal horns and the song "Here Come the Hawks". And, lest we forget Tommy Hawk, the Blackhawks seldom seen Hawk mascot.

Colorado Avalanche
Maybe I missed something entirely, but the Avalanche seem to be lacking in features on their site. No history, no blogs, no podcasts, not even a mascot. Not even a mention of the Stanley Cup teams. Sorry Avalanche fans, but besides the Forum you're not getting a lot from your team website.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Lots of podcast audio available here, as well as game highlights. You can also download the Blue Jackets goal horn - in WAV format. It's Stinger!

Dallas Stars
The Stars have a great history section that includes not just the team but hockey in general in Dallas. They also have an all-time roster with sweater numbers! There is an iMix section on the site which features iTunes playlists selected by players like Modano and Ribeiro, as well as the Ice Girls and even Dave Tippet. Ribeiro is quite the rap fan...and go Modano for admitting to being a Cure fan. Alas...no mascot.s

Next up Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles and Minnesota

Around the NHL's team websites, Part 1

The following is a list of some of the more amusing things I've found while exploring each of the NHL club's websites (and reading the mascot biographies.)

Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks, despite their relatively short existence in the NHL, have a rather comprehensive history section. Including a description of past logos and jerseys found here. They also have an all-time player roster - alas without sweater numbers. Adam Brady writes the official Ducks blog, the official Ducks podcast is here. The customary mascot page featuring the likes, hobbys and skills of Wild Wing explains how that name happened. And, if you need them, the lyrics to "Bro Hymn" by Pennywise (the Ducks goal song) are located here. I had no idea they had an official "goal song" let alone one by Pennywise...

Atlanta Thrashers
The comprehensive Blueland blog, they are quite the tightly knit community down there in Atlanta, can be found here. The Thrashers have a franchise history section which includes rosters, stats and a team timeline. But the most interesting feature on the page has to be the list of NHL alumni that currently reside in the state of Georgia (includes biographies for each player.) I always wondered what happened to Uwe Krupp...oh and needed to know much much more about Thrash.

Boston Bruins
You can subsribe to BruinsCast - the aptly named Bruins podcast - as well as audio game recaps here. Team history, including PDF's, video and 80+ years of team rosters can be found here. And, perhaps it has escaped your attention but the Bruins have a mascot named Blades. No doubt you want to read the rather prosy story as to how this came about and "How Blades Became a Bruin". If that isn't enough, John Bishop covers the team in his Bear Essentials column daily.

Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have a section that lists all the music played at their home games. Each game has a playlist with links to iTunes with player selections highlighted. (Each game features a different player.) Most recently it was Andrew Peters, but if you want to know what Ryan Miller listens to you can now find out...Bon Jovi? They also have a lot of members only stuff, it's free to register, and well worth it if you want to be able to access things like Jason Pominville's blog and the team's podcasts - of which there are many. Hmm...the Sabres have a mascot called Sabretooth who is not a buffalo or a slug...nor a combination of both.

Calgary Flames
Yes, the Flames actually have an all-time roster by numbers, every team should have this. FlamesCast, the team's podcast, features player interviews and a Coaches Corner. No doubt you were unaware of Harvey, unless you live in Alberta, the NHL's very first mascot. A picture can be found on the "Songs of the 'Dome" page.

Next up...Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus and Dallas...

NHL Connect...hockey fans unite.

Last year the NHL introduced NHL Connect, although it was invite only and was in a Beta stage for the latter part of the season and through the summer (if I remember correctly). This year however the service, which one could call a "hockey dedicated social networking community site", has been unleashed upon the masses and is close to reaching 20,000 members...including the Stanley Cup.

The premise of NHL Connect is pretty simple, it's a place for hockey fans to connect with other hockey fans and share pictures, videos, as well as create groups and blogs. Consider it Facebook without all the clutter and distractions....and as one big group under the name of "Fans of Hockey and the NHL." But, what on earth goes on there? Good question...

I had passively looked into signing up since the Beta stages, I'm not sure exactly what first got me interested, but it was a hockey community set up by NHL.com so it was obviously intriguing. So, the other day I finally decided to sign up and find out just what the whole thing was about. (You can't really find out till you become a member.)

So, what is it? Hard to say really. I'm not even sure if it knows what it is, or what it wants to be. You sign up, fill out some basic information about yourself, ie. favorite books, favorite movies, favorite sports teams, hockey players, NHL team, how long you've been a hockey fan (are there people who can actually pinpoint this?) etc etc. Then you go about recruiting friends, which is surprisingly simple since unlike Facebook there is nothing in the back of your mind telling you that you can't just be friends with anyone who asks you. Because, this isn't YOU, this is the hockey you...or something similar to that effect. Within an hour I had 4 people asking me to accept them as my friend, which was amusing since I hadn't filled out any of the profile information at this point. One can assume that being listed on the "newest members" list will get you at least 4 friends.

So, what's there? Well, besides a basic area for people to write messages to you/about you (or rate you), they can also send private messages, you can post pictures (decidedly hockey related ones obviously), post videos (decidedly hockey related ones obviously), start a blog (haven't done this yet, I have enough trouble with this one), you can join groups (for specific teams, Lovers of Don Cherry, Bring Back the Whalers and even the Brian Boucher Fan Club -4 members) or start your own (People Who Make Little Digital Sweaters). All in the spirit of hockey. It is a strange underground lair of hockeyness...and it's kind of bizarre.

What have I learned? People are friendly. Hockey people tend to be friendly, and these people seem to genuinely reflect that real world quality even on the net - which is not a common thing. Granted there will always be some types out there who enjoy ruining people's good time by being snidely and inconsiderate, but for the most part NHL Connect seems free from most of this. (Now imagine if something like YouTube was...) I've also learned that content is what you make it on this site. Unlike Facebook with it's near disease like craving of you to take this test and install this and do that and send this crap to so and so, NHL Connect is content to just let it's members add their opinions, videos and pictures. That's it. And frankly, that's enough. If anyone started sending me "Which Boston Bruins Player Are You?" quizzes I'd already be off that site. Likewise it they'd try to use the word "net" in social networking in some fun way...

Face it, Facebook is about to go supernova and it will soon collapse under it's own weight and implode back in upon itself. Which means the masses will go scurrying about looking for a new place to avoid work and it's a good bet that any self admitting hockey fan will find their way to NHL Connect at some point. You've got nothing to lose, not even your integrity and personal privacy!

Seriously, if you're a hockey fan it's at least worth a look see...you're guaranteed at least 4 friends...and you can find out what the Stanley Cup's favorite movies are.

You can sign up at: fans.nhl.com.

If you're already a member the HockeyWidgets (read:my) profile can be found at fans.nhl.com/HockeyWidgets. Ignore my taste in music, just hit the Add to Friends button.

Pond Hockey Championships

Probably the greatest athletic endeavour on the planet. Pond hockey has taken on a whole new meaning in the last couple of years as international, national and state tournaments seem to be ever increasing in popularity. Next week marks the start of this year's World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick where you can "be the world champion of your childhood dreams".

The tournament, moving into it's 6th year, features more than a 100 teams from every province in Canada, 35 states and 15 different countries. Over 8000 people are expected to make the trek to Plaster Rock (pop. 1,150) this year to see the event.

Besides the World Championships there is the US Pond Hockey Championships held each year in Minnesota. This year's tournament took place just a couple of weeks ago with 160 teams vying for the coveted Golden Shovel. (Some great footage from the event is found below.)

There is also the Canadian Pond Hockey Championships currently being held in Muskoka, Ontario. Nearly 150 teams are competing in this years event trying to bring home the Maple Cup. (Wooden trophies in the likeness of the Stanley and Grey Cups made of maple.)

If you can't make it to the big events then there are more than enough other tournaments in places like Lake Placid, Maine, Wisconsin, Colorado, the UP, pretty much every province in Canada, and well...the list is long since new competitions seems to spring up every year. Their popularity as such has even prompted a documentary film simply entitled Pond Hockey. The film, which will be released later this year, is described so: "More than just a celebration of a beloved game, Pond Hockey searches the open ice for the true meaning of sport." The trailer is up on their site via the link above.

The NHL, in conjunction with the Winter Classic, also wrote a nice piece on the growing trend of pond hockey tournaments here and how they are thriving. As did Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, ESPN...

Why have they become so popular? Why not? Heated beer tents, hockey in a friendly competitive way, like minded people, small trophies that look like the Stanley Cup....how the heck could that not be popular. Did I mention rinkside heated beer tents? I don't think I could imagine a better weekend.

Below is some footage from the US Championships which have now concluded for the year. It includes the greatest description of what a hockey player is that I have ever heard....and Phil Housley.

NHL interview sites and podcasts

Hockey players are a different breed and listening to them talk about the game, their hometown and their lives is always entertaining. There are a number of sites on-line that feature these audio files (and in some cases video) and I'd recommend checking them out if you have an interest in getting beyond just the name and stats of player's past and present.

The Hockey Hall of Fame have a huge media library that is usually overlooked by visitors to their site. Found in their Audio/Video Vault here, they have short biography clips with a lot of seldom seen footage for nearly 50 members. They also have files from player inductions, interviews with members, and even the locker room footage following Anaheim's win of the Cup last year. You could spend easily an hour watching the footage in the Legend Spotlight section - don't miss the Bobby Orr video.

Another site, far less known than the HHOF, is a place called TheHockey.Net (great name), where they have about 3-4 dozen interviews from about 5-10 years ago as well as some video. Found here and divided into sections for Playoffs, Regular Season, Classics, and Olympics it's a trove. The site was last updated in 2003 by the looks of it, but all of the files still work. Great interviews with the likes of Mike Ricci, Al MacInnis, Alexander Mogilny, and (not to be missed) Slava Fetisov.

The NHL Radio has three podcasts (links will open in iTunes) that focus on player interviews as well as historical perspectives of the league. One on One with Sam Rosen is a weekly clip with interviews of players past and present as well as other notable figures (like Gary Bettman...). Most recently the show featured Mike Babcock, in the last month you get a two part interview with Teemu Selanne and the energetic Darren Pang.

Interviews and Features another NHL Radio segment, has almost 90 audio files from this season available to listen to. A lot of interviews with coaches around the league as well current players. Most of the content focuses on the this season and the upcoming playoffs. Highly entertaining interviews with Ovechkin among others...especially the one involving a discussion around whether or not he's old enough to drink beer.

And, finally, Doc's Classic NHL looks like it is finally back after a long hiatus. Every week the Devil's Mike Emrick narrates a 5 minute look back at a particular team, player or incident from NHL history. These are actually really entertaining as they feature audio clips from different sources as well as brief interviews. This week's subject was the 1967 Leafs team, and some highlights of the past have included the zamboni, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, the California Seals, Patrick Roy, and a very modest Phil Housley....

If you've got any tips on other sites feel free to share them.

Puck Podcast

The most popular hockey podcast on earth? The best? Probably.

If you have been elusively searching for that one definitive hockey podcast, as I have, that covers everything in the NHL...then look no further. Puck Podcast does it all, and is an absolute joy to listen to. News, transactions, injuries, trades, rumors, standings, stats, highlights...it's all here.

The show is recorded every Saturday and times come in at anywhere between an hour and 2 hours. Each podcast is divided up in to "three periods" which keeps things focused and on track. It's a concept that many could learn from. The hosts, Eddie Garcia and Doug Stolhand, have great insight into the game and stick to the topic with little diversion. It's obvious that a great deal of research goes into each "episode" and besides giving their opinions they are actually incredibly informative with facts and fan impressions.

For those that don't get to follow the NHL as closely as you'd like this is very much the source to turn to every weekend, or Monday morning, to fill you in on everything you may have missed from the past week's action around the league. The show also has a great website where you can listen to previous podcasts, as well as make comments and read Eddie and Doug's individual blogs. Located at PuckPodcast.com it's a nice accompaniment and place to offer your feedback.

I could probably go on a bit more about the show, since it really is exactly the thing I've been looking for, but you needn't just take my word for it. The show has a 4 1/2 star rating on iTunes out of 46 reviews.

You can subscribe to the feed and download episodes directly in iTunes here.

The BlueLine : Hockey Talk Radio

I listen to a lot of podcasts/radio shows at work, partly because it actually makes it easier to concentrate on what I'm doing and partly because it makes the day go quicker. This ranges from Kevin Smith's Smodcast (surreal if you haven't heard it) to stuff from the History Channel. I had to draw the line at MIT's lectures on-line since I couldn't even understand the descriptions. Nonetheless one can find an abundance of free media via iTunes (and elsewhere) to listen to...even hockey.

Besides the NHL podcasts - most notably the NHL hour - there are a number of hockey related programs to download. However, and I will openly admit this, I have never found one that was remotely interesting or engaging. (Well, GrapeLine is, but it is only 3 minutes long.) If someone starts off a show about the sport by spending 20 minutes talking about what they did over the weekend they've already lost me. So, I've been scouring the jumbled world of these things trying to find something suitably worth listening to.

No doubt many people have been aware of it for some time now, but I stumbled upon it just today. (Such is the way the interweb works...it's been available for like 18 months.) The BlueLine: Hockey Talk Radio, features host Millian - straight out of Las Vegas of all places - giving his takes on, and ideas about, the state of the NHL and everything else hockey related. And he does it well. The guy knows his hockey, he's a fan of the sport, and he can talk for 90 minutes without saying, "...ummm....ummm...oh yeah...ummm...so what was I saying." I can't agree with everything he says, but I certainly can relate to most of it. All in all, this is one of the better hockey themed podcasts currently available.

The last episode posted, from the 4th of January, deals entirely with the Winter Classic and was insightful and thought out. Including a lengthy fan perspective of the game from someone who was at the event - which NBC couldn't be bothered to do. As well as much speculation about where and when we may see another game - The Bay Area? That was news to me.

It looks like shows are posted sporadically ranging from every week, to every other week (on Fridays) and are between 60-90 minutes long. Highly recommended for those of you that want some hockey related talk to listen to at work or during the commute. The show also has occasional interviews which in the past have included Brian McKenna the commissioner of the CHL, Michael McKinley the author of Hockey: A People's Perspective, and Howard Shapiro author of Hockey Days.

You can subscribe to the XML feel directly in iTunes by clicking here. You can visit the website for more info, downloads, news and more at
www.bluelinetalkradio.com.

Joe Pelletier's Hockey Legends Blog

If you are unaware of this treasure trove of hockey history, trivia, facts, book reviews and more. I highly recommend a visit. In fact I'd recommend book marking it since it is a constant source of interesting information that is ever growing.

Joe Pelletier has profiled over 600 hockey legends and has them sorted into categories by years, teams, goalies, etc. There are a lot of well known names and quite a few players that have become lost in the annuls of time. The descriptions are concise and truly enjoyable to read since they aren't cluttered with numbers, but are instead biographies painted with quotes and information you won't find on stat sheets.

Besides the long list of former NHL stars to sort through there are also daily posts with tidbits of hockey's past (recently one on the Gordie Howe hat trick including leaders in the category). As mentioned, there are also a number of book reviews for hockey related books including Scott Morrison's upcoming By the Numbers. (Which I'll be buying whenever Amazon decides to start shipping it...)

Very cool stuff, and an easy way to spend a few hours when you should probably be working...

GreatestHockeyLegends.com

In addition Joe Pelletier also runs the site 1972SummitSeries.com which focuses on the history and players of Team Canada through the years.

How insane was the WHA?

This insane...

I don't think I've ever seen footage that more accurately portrays just how insane the WHA was. From blue pucks to all glass boards, to Bill Goldthorpe (aka Ogie Ogilthorpe...) and fights that make the current NHL look like the Olympics. The following comes from MyHockeyTV.com a site dedicated to WHA videos. It's actually focused on only one team - the aptly named Minnesota Fighting Saints - but it makes you realize just how untame the world of professional hockey was in the mid-seventies.

If you're looking for even more WHA game footage check out Mark Willand's WHA Blog. If you have an interest in the ludicrous uniforms then just as there is an NHL Uniforms website detailing every NHL jersey, there is one by the same creator called WHA Uniforms detailing all 7 years of the league's colorful existance.

And you thought Slapshot was far fetched and exagerated...

Halloween and Goalie Masks

Hockey and Halloween are two things that go together about as well as cotton and a walrus, there just isn't any real connection...unless of course you consider Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies and want to make the leap.

The iconic goalie mask actually has an interesting story behind it, and how it ended up in the film.

From Wikipedia:

The script for Part 3 called for Jason to wear a mask; what no one knew at the time, was the mask chosen would become a trademark for the character, and one instantly recognizable in popular culture in the years to come. Steve Miner called for a lighting check, but none of the effects crew wanted to apply any make-up for the light check, so they decided to just throw a mask on him. Martin Jay Sadoff kept a bag with him full of hockey gear, as he was a hockey fan, and he pulled out a [1950's] Detroit Red Wings goalie mask for the test.

How it is that Jason found this mask and why he started wearing it doesn't seem to ever be explained. But, one does know where the original mask idea came from and how it revolutionized the sport of hockey. (If we don't consider the leather masks of the 20's and 30's.) Jacques Plante started it, exactly 48 years ago tomorrow (Nov 1st 1959), after getting a puck in the face he brought out a mask he'd made himself, and hitherto has been wearing in practices, against the Rangers. And, like Jason, it became his legacy. Asked by a fan if wearing the mask proved that he was scared Plante replied:

"If you jumped out of an airplane without a parachute would that prove that you were brave?"
The Offical Illustrated NHL History

With the slapshot coming more and more into play, and the likes of *Bobby Hull coming into the league, the mask would become a standard. Andy Brown, then on the Penguins, would be the last NHL goalie to stand between the pipes without one in 1974. (That year Plante permanently retired from the sport after a year with the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA.)

Since then the mask has undergone dramatic changes and become a more advanced piece of equipment since the hard fiberglass shields of the 70's and 80's. Current kevlar models go for upwards and exceeding $1000 (and that doesn't include the custom paint job).

For more images and more information check out the following sites:

Legends of Hockey Mask Collection - great images spanning four decades

Painted Warriors Mask Galleries - hundreds of images of masks past and present

Masks From the Past Catalog - replicas of some of the most recognized masks in hockey history

In the Crease, the Locker Room Images - lots of images of masks from the NHL and around the world

* Bobby Hull perfected a shot which he called "the waster" which was aimed for a goalie's head with the purpose of intimidation and getting them to move out of the way of the next shot he took. He passed this little trick onto his son Brett...

Happy Halloween!