Fan Psychology and the NHL's Central Divsion (2 0f 4)

First, an odd thing happened this weekend. Somewhere, somehow this blog went a little bit viral. I went from my usual 20-30 views a day to approximately 2000 in one day. I feel something akin as to how Florida must have felt back in 1996, the Year of The Rat when they surprised everyone by not only making the playoffs, but also making it all the way to the Finals before anyone in Florida noticed that not only did they have an NHL team, they also only had to beat some team called the Colorado Avalanche to win some giant trophy that would make millions of Canadians extremely pissed off. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

My usual viewing audience before September 28th

I know 2000 people reading what i wrote isn't NHL worthy (maybe Tier 2 junior) but still it was a pleasant surprise to log into.

Sept 28th; can you feel the tension in the air?

Yet, with the views came the inevitable critiques. A lot were negative but in saying that, in comparison to views it was less than 1%. Which is fine, everyone has their own opinions and they are fine to never check out this blog again. Then this epiphany came along that really put in perspective and gave me a better appreciation of what it takes to be a pro athlete.

You Can't Listen to the Haters.

Frickin' simple. Pro athletes get hate in spades, from opposing players to their fans to their own local media (hello, Vancouver Province). They got to where they are through practice, taking the losses and trying again. If they quit every any time someone called them out for poor skating, play-making or improper use of the apostrophe, then there would be nobody to play hockey or write blogs about it.

Everybody is willing to tell you what you are doing wrong, even if you are not (case in point, I have 3 kids and my father, hearing me use the microwave this morning, told me that I shouldn't be using it to heat up the baby's milk because it kills the nutrients. Never mind that I wasn't heating up the baby's milk, he assumed I was doing something wrong and felt it his duty to inform me, despite having no evidence of any wrong-doing).

If you actually listen to those people, most of them anonymous commenters that offer no proof of their own abilities be it in hockey, writing, or basically anything they critique then you are going to have a hard time enjoying what you enjoy, especially when it comes to doing something you love. Hopefully hockey players love what they do, as a select few of them are paid huge amounts of money to continue doing it. This doesn't come from just being in the right spot at the right time; it comes from putting in a lot of personal time and effort, from continually practicing and practicing despite the willingness of some people to tell you that, despite all contrary evidence, you suck.

I write this blog because I like doing it. It's my 'me-time', my personal ice rink to speak where i can go out there and try new things. I'm not a professional writer, I have never been paid to write. Each blog takes roughly 3-5 hours in writing, linking, finding images, proof-reading. I don't mind it, as I said, it's enjoyable and if 20-30 other people enjoy it as well, great.

Much like playing professional hockey was once a dream of mine, so too is to get paid to write. I may have started too late in life but the enjoyment is still there. After all, I can still remember the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup and I have Don Cherry's Rock'm Sock'm 1-10 on VHS, so yeah. I'm old. Claude Lemieux old. But when the enjoyment ends, I'll retire from writing. Until then, do what you love, no matter what the haters say.

And if you don't like my views on the new NHL then by all means, you are free to link me to your blog and I just might read your opinion, even if they don't agree with mine.

Okay, getting off my soapbox now and back into the Show.

THE NEW(er) CENTRAL DIVISION

Unofficial old Norris Division motto of the 80's

The new Central Division, which evolved from the old Norris Divsion pre-Bettman era is a mixture of scoring talent, great defense and grit. Too bad that most of it is on the Chicago Blackhawks now that the Detroit Red Wings have been forced out into the Atlantic Division (see earlier post re; American Geography), the division is wide open, as long as by wide open you are not shooting for first place, which should stay at the United Center in Chicago. Ken Hitchcock's St. Louis Blues might give them a run for the money but any true rivalries that start up will most likely be in the bottom half of the division.  

Chicago Blackhawks - the reigning Stanley Cup champions, they return with most of the same roster, including a now quite more wealthy Brian Bickell, this blogger's pick for Conn Smythe. Dave Bolland is gone, with the memory of scoring the Cup-winning goal in that karmic 30 second meltdown by the Bruins.Thankfully, he went to the Maple Leafs so he doesn't have to worry about repeating that feat. Instead he can quickly become a fan favourite once they find out his feelings about the Canucks.

Player to Watch; Patrick Kane. He's that guy in high school you want to hate but all the girls like him and when you finally do meet the guy, he's pretty awesome. He's a goal scorer, pure and simple and thanks to the Canadian work ethic of fellow all-star Jonathon Toews, they are the 1-2 punch that so many teams covet. And again, he has newly millionaire'd good ol' Canadian boy Brian Bickell watching over him now and a stellar D led by the occasionally unpredictable Duncan Keith. 

St. Louis Blues - This is a great team if you are the type of guy who likes low-scoring defensive-minded games where one team rarely scores over two goals. The only thing guaranteed with the Blues is close 2-1 wins, a low GAA and snooze(s). Their tight defensive play will give the Blackhawks a run for first, but once Chelsea Dagger starts playing at the United Center, nobody's falling asleep. 

Player to Watch; This team is full of players that have bought into coach Ken Hitchcock's system which as mentioned is Defense first but you have to pick somebody. So go with David Backes, a decent player who can get you some extra penalty minutes on occasion. A secondary pick would be large defenseman Jay Boumeester who is continually mentioned as one of the better defensemen in the league despite having a resume that is basically only the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. 


Nashville Predators - Barry Trotz is not only the longest-serving coach in the league, he is also the only coach this team has ever had, so put that in perspective. Working from goaltender Pekka Rinne out, the Preds are sure to dazzle their fans with their parity with the Minnesota Wild in chasing the Blues and Blackhawks. A good young team, which has been relatively unchanged in team philosophy since they started, thanks to Trotz. They continue to dazzle with their mustard ugly uniforms and continual cameos by Carrie Underwood.

Player to Watch; Defenseman Shea Weber. If you are in a hockey pool that requires some defensemen, then Weber is as good a pick as any. His impossibly high salary (thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers) means that the Preds will be trying to get their money's worth out of him in ice-time. Look for Weber to be working the power play, even strength, short-handed, empty net, back-up goalie and zamboni.  Secondary pick would be Carrie Underwood.

Minnesota Wild, The Minnesota Wild signed free agents Ryan Suter and buddy Zach Parise to insane multi-million long term contracts, right before the great Lock Out of last year. Ironically enough the #1 complaint of the owners was players accepting too much money for long-term contracts from owners. 
Fans everywhere (outside of the Parise and Suter families) were shouting not 'my god, they are going to be insane!' but more 'my god, are they insane?'.  Well, look for the Wild to continue to reap the rewards of that signing, which last year was none.

Player to Watch; Just for the giggles, go for Ryan Suter, the Shea Weber of the Wild. Plenty of ice time requested and seriously, there's some name recognition in Dany Heatly or Mikko Koivu but you're going to need defencemen, so Suter is the guy. Josh Harding had an interesting last year on a personal note so with goalie Niclas Backstrom's continual injuries, look for a feel-good story here. 

Colorado Avalanche - The Avalanche have become this decade's version of the Edmonton Oilers. In an effort to rekindle the superteam that was, they have brought Joe Sakic into management and now Patrick Roy as their new head coach, something like the Kevin Lowe/Craig McTavish experiment which as we all know is now in it's second decade. And following the Oilers lead, this team will be amazing, but sadly every current player will be on different teams when it happens. 

Player to watch, You won't get any choice but to actually watch a lot of Patrick Roy highlights when his team plays. Look for his reaction whenever a line brawl breaks out, as Pat was well-known for his competitive spirit, coaching ability and being able to instill it in his young proteges, as evident with his son here.  Paul Statsny dazzled in his first couple years in the league, bringing back memories of his dad, Peter. Recently however he has been bringing back memories of his uncles, Marion and Anton.  

Dallas Stars - Dallas somehow missed the playoffs last year, despite being apparently loaded with a good mixture of young talent, old veterans and a goalie that looks suspiciously like the winning contestant of a Dallas radio contest entitled 'be the 3rd caller in to play goalie for the Stars!' Their biggest off-season move was to trade perrenial point-getter Loui Erikson to Boston for perrenial 21 year old, Tyler Seguin, better known as 'what Boston got for Phil Kessel'.

Player to Watch; Ray Whitney is guaranteed to do 1 of 2 things; have a heart attack on ice due to his 41 years of actual playing time or lead the team in assists and general father-son talks. Tyler Seguin could be fun if you see him at a bar, the older lady beside him most likely his mom.

Winnipeg Jets - Probably the only Canadian team that everyone wants to win the Stanley Cup, however the only team way that would happen is if every other team's star players died in a freak gasoline fight accident at the Winter Olympics. The Jets logo is guaranteed to win respect among Canadians in any part of the world, as opposed to a polarizing team like the Leafs or the Canucks where chances are 50-50 you will get spit on.

Player to Watch; Evander Kane. With a name like Evander, how can you lose? Plus his last name is Kane so that should have some trickle-down effect, right? Right? Plus he's young and shown some ability to have no idea how money works or paying for parking, which I admire.