The Best Game You Can Name

Holy Mackinaw!: A Little Respite from the Gloom

2012-09-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

The end of August and the beginning of September are an interesting transition period. Some are going back to school after the summer break, and others back to work after the long weekend. But unlike many years in the past, no one has the certainty of the hockey season to look forward to. As of right now that means no training camp, no preseason, and no home opener (upside: no drawn out ceremony at the ACC). For reasons discussed ad nauseam, September 15th is growing rapidly closer as the date when hockey fans can the kiss regular scheduled start of this NHL season goodbye. Some will look to other sports to fill the void. Others to video games like the new NHL 13, or to recreational hockey such as shinny or men's league (both of which I greatly encourage). For me, it will be a mix of all of these things, but for now, it seems best to try not to get caught up in the drama of it all. And this brings me to the main topic of this blog. The other day, amongst satiating my need to watch hockey in some form, I stumbled across these videos (Part 1 & 2) and spent 20 minutes or so reliving some great Leaf memories, specifically from the 2001-2002 season. This will be best appreciated by Leaf fans, but enjoy regardless; my thoughts/commentary are below.

(Videos from YouTube channel RobViper3)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Thoughts:

Not for the first time I've found the rosters of Leaf teams in the early 2000s quite enviable for their mix of talent and grit. 2001-2002 saw coach Pat Quinn run four lines consistently, each with their own clear purpose. With scoring punch provided by the legendary Mats Sundin (who finished 4th in league scoring that year with 80 points), in addition to a somewhat mix and match compliment of players including Mikael Renberg and Robert Reichel, and of course Alexander Mogilny. In an NHL still arguably built on 'enforcer-enforced' accountability, the Leafs possessed a few 'tough customers' with the likes of Shayne Corson, Tie Domi, and Gary Roberts, all of whom had the skill to pot a few goals here and there (Roberts obviously more than the other two). This combination allowed the '01-'02 team to finish one point behind Boston at the end of the regular season and beat the Islanders and the Senators in two legendary 7-game series'. Despite the heartbreak of running into a red-hot Artūrs Irbe in the conference finals, the Leafs would go as far as we, the fans, have seen so far in the 21st century.

While watching only the highlights of any team or player can cast them in a greatly positive light, both clips brought to memory the chemistry in some of the line combinations and pairings put together by Pat Quinn. For example, its astounding to see the number of time any combination of Mogilny, Roberts, and Sundin connect for beautiful goals, in an NHL where the amount of physical impediment made passing a very valuable asset.

On the topic of Alexander Mogilny, a favorite of mine on Leafs of old, I was amazed to rediscover that he scored 76 goals in 77 games in the '92-'93 season, but remember clearly his speed and soft hands (paid nice tribute to here). He was yet another great player plagued by injury throughout his career, but one of the few who saw success coming to Toronto later in his career (see Owen Nolan, Eric Lindros etc.).

Finally, Gary Roberts remains a name hallowed throughout Leafs Nation, especially for his heroics in the playoffs of this season. With 19 points in 19 games, Roberts proved to not only be an embodiment of the word 'clutch', but also a physical force to be reckoned with, likely causing some Sens fans nightmares to this day. Playing to the ripe old age of 43, Roberts' incredible conditioning allowed him to continue to be effective long after the average age of retirement for an NHLer. Now he provides hope once again for Leafs Nation, in his off-season training of Nazem Kadri, leaving all of us hoping for another Stamkos-esque success story.

Final note: If you want a great drinking game, take a shot every time Joe Bowen says "Holy Makinaw" in the two videos. If you make it through the first video, you're not human.

Victory Over a Familiar Foe - A Look Back at the Canada-Russia Challenge

2012-08-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

Just over a week ago, a jubilant Ryan Strome could barely contain his excitement during his post game interview. "It means a lot to us; we really took it serious and I don't think we realized how big it was until we actually got involved..." The 19 year-old Senators' draft pick helped narrowly avoid what would be the latest of several recent international defeats for Canadian teams with his overtime/series winner. Two straight years of disappointment at both the World Juniors and World Championship, have left Canadian hockey fans hungry for international success at any level. While extremely satisfying, the win and the series' as a whole provided a glimpse into the increasingly interesting situation of Russian, and international players in general, being developed in Canada.

In watching most of the four game series played in commemoration of the '72 Summit Series, it was astonishing to see the similarity between the two rivals' styles of play. Before and including the Summit Series (play involving Russia has always had no end of memorable moments such as the infamous Bobby Clarke slash in '72 and Bob Cole's call in '76), Canadian hockey has been marked by its physical play, highly touted by the ever-provocative Canadian icon, Don Cherry. Throughout the years watching international play, it was not uncommon to see a Canadian team out muscling or outworking a faster or more highly skilled European team. While this has likely contributed to the often overblown stereotype regarding European players' work ethic and style of play, it has become a characteristic that we as fans have come to expect. One particular instance of this which comes readily to mind is Canada's success in the 2006 World Juniors. Coached by Brent Sutter, the underdog Canadian team, led by future NHL role players Steve Downie, Dustin Boyd and David Bolland, defeated highly touted Russian and Swedish teams who had future stars including Evgeny Malkin and Alexander Radulov, simply by virtue of hard work and punishing physical play. This, in addition to being the second of five consecutive gold medals at the World Juniors for Canada, solidified Canadian pride in 'our' style of play.

However, this recent mini-series has marked a shift from our traditionally unique playing styles to a similar one. Watching these games, it was just as likely to see a Russian player clear their crease or take the body as a Canadian, and Russia took advantage of an undisciplined and defensively weak Canadian team for their game 2 and 3 wins. Now while only 6 players from the Russian team have been playing in the Canadian hockey system, the argument can be made that the effect of this on those players and the team as a whole is immeasurable. This stems from the 'top', as Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko (the number 1 and twelve picks overall respectively in this past year's draft) both had phenomenal seasons, Yakupov in the OHL and Grigorenko in the QMJHL. Now while a lack of work ethic in certain Russian players such as Alex Semin (recently confirmed by Michael Neuvirth) still exists, it is unfair to say this is unique to players of any nationality. As the number of young Russian and international players who, like Yakupov, realize the value of playing and developing in Canada, our countries' playing styles will grow increasingly similar, each countries players picking up on aspects that make the others successful.

Finally, we may see this create such parity that in competitions such as this past mini-series (with players still in the early stages of development) that we are virtually playing ourselves, the biggest difference coming in the birthplace of our teams' players.

The Rise and Fall of Optimus Reim: Will James Reimer Return as a True #1 Goalie?

2012-08-16T15:59:00.001-04:00

It's a memory that remains all too vivid for many of Leafs Nation.

We remember watching the repeating replays of Brian Gionta's supposedly unintentional clip of James Reimer, our hopes for the season hanging in the balance. Wondering if this was the end to a young promising season, we watched as the trainer rushed out toward the Leaf goal and had insult added to injury as oft-obtuse colour commentator Glenn Healy suggested that Reimer was "putting on a show".

He 'sold it' so well that he would miss over 2 months in rehab and never be the same for the rest of the '11, '12 season. The slow fall of the Leafs season from the heights of screenshots of first place overall to second last in the east was marked by reoccurring instances of suspect goaltending from Jonas Gustavsson and an injury plagued James Reimer. While the Monster was able to provide some solid, even spectacular goaltending at times, his performances were all too often marred by one, or multiple weak goals. Arguably the worst of these came in overtime on a shot wide, which caused a minor explosion amongst Leaf fans on Twitter. Not enough can be said about how much these goals can demoralize teams, and on more than one occasion it seemed to suck the life out of the team as a whole. With the youth of the Leafs last season, the effect the play of the starting tandem had on the team seemed to have been amplified, and vice versa. An all-too -familiar catch-22 for long suffering Leaf fans appeared yet again as the team, lacking confidence in their goalies, were choked for offence, putting more pressure on the net minders and reducing the margin for error. With save percentages habitually dipping below the .900 mark, the future in the crease looked considerably dimmer at the conclusion of last season.

Now if you’re a Leafs fan reading this, you're probably depressed. I was too. But nothing was ever gained from dwelling on the negatives, and with that mindset I want to explore the possibility of James Reimer having success between the pipes for the Leafs next season. While rumours swirl regarding the imminently former Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo, Brian Burke has, to this point, stood his ground on the trade front and affirmed his previous statements of believing in Reimer as the Leafs #1 guy. Despite the brief emergence of Ben Scrivens, whose play toward the end of last season was likely good enough to secure a backup spot this coming year, Burke's lack of action places immense pressure on Reimer.

With injuries plaguing both J.S. Gigure and Jonas Gustavsson throughout the 2010-11 season, the door was opened in mid-December for Reimer to make his NHL debut. He faired quite well in his rookie season posting 20 wins in 37 games and .920 SV% including 4 shutouts. His play instantly endeared him to Leafs Nation who, never lacking in creativity, donned upon him several nicknames including Optimus Reim, Reim Time and The Reim Minister of Defense. This popularity even led to him being honoured in song by Barilkosphere legend Bloge Salming with the hit "Reimer".

With the offseason departure of J.S. Gigure, Reimer got the vote of confidence from both G.M. Brian Burke and coach at the time Ron Wilson and slid into the starter position for the beginning of this past season. In a season whose beginning seemed too good to be true, Reimer seemed to be avoiding the sophomore slump considered common for skaters and goaltenders alike, managing 4 wins in the first 5 games. However that was as good as things would get for twenty-four year old Manitoba native, who would miss eighteen games through October and November and be in and out of the lineup throughout the rest of the season, finishing well short of his rookie season stats at a .900 SV%. Now since Reimer has never had a significantly long stretch of success, you may wonder why I think there is cause for optimism. First and foremost, his full recovery from last year's 'upper body injury' in addition to Ben Scrivens' lack of experience should allow Reimer extended periods of starting time. While a goaltending tandem where both goalies are constantly vying for the starting job can occasionally work, Ron Wilson's seemingly incessant switching between the Monster and Reimer seemed to allow neither to get in a confident rhythm last year. Symptom free since early June, Reimer has been training in Kelowna B.C, and is looking to drop a few pounds according to his interview with David Alter. In addition to his regular strength training Reimer has been specifically targeting his neck muscles in an effort to prevent the injury suffered against the Habs early in the year, initially thought to be a concussion, from happening again. Further reason for hopefulness can be found in the attention devoted by the mainstream media (MSM) to Reimer's great character and positive presence in the locker room. Noticed and mentioned by GM, coaches, and teammates alike, his ever-present wide easy grin portray a laidback personality that, combined with elite level competitiveness, could be exactly what a young goalie needs to thrive as a #1 goaltender in the biggest hockey market in the league. Finally, on a team that struggled to maintain any sort of positive consistency last year, Reimer seemed to bounce back well. For example, 6 out of 7 times he posted a SV% less than .850 in a game last season, he followed it in the next game with a SV% over .900. While nothing about that stat is particularly spectacular, it could be argued that in doing so Reimer provided his team with a chance to win every game following an especially poor outing.

So the question remains. Which James Reimer will we see come training camp in September? Call it the hopeful optimism of a fan, but I think it'll be one ready to succeed in the #1 role for the Leafs.

The Beginning...

2012-08-07T15:11:00.002-04:00

For as long as I can remember hockey has been a part of my life.

Brought up to love the game, I can remember anxiously awaiting Saturday night when we as a family could watch Hockey Night in Canada on our cable-less T.V. In the farther reaches of my hockey related memory is Corey Cross's OT winner in '01 versus the eternally hated Senators, and Mario Lemieux letting the puck go between his legs to tie the '02 Olympic Gold medal game. As I grew to better understand and love the game (aided by Don Cherry Rock'em Sock'em VHS tapes and long hours playing pond hockey in the winter) I found myself spending more and more time thinking about the game and discussing it with my brothers who continually nurtured my love for hockey and particularly the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were to be the only NHL team I ever would cheer for and support. The purchase of cable in '07 provided the opportunity to watch 82 games a year plus preseason and playoffs (which I had already learned were going to be rare if not completely nonexistent for a suffering fan of the Blue and White). In this time I became an self-proclaimed expert on all things Leafs, but preferred to keep my opinions on most matters contained, choosing to read those of others online, or listen to callers on longtime AM640 radio mainstay show "Leaf Talk" with Andy Frost. This has continued to the present with, despite the likely end to the aforementioned Leaf Talk, myself maintaining a high level of current knowledge of the "buzz" surrounding the Leafs and the NHL in general.

And so after many years of observation, I have decided to begin to write about it all. Well, not all. Whatever comes to me as an interesting topic to explore, whenever that happens. I can't promise it will always be particularly riveting or intellectual. But I promise that I never will pretend to have sources or spread a rumor with an (eWhatever) rating, and that everything posted here will be my own opinion and research or something I found of interest.

So please enjoy!

Regardless of any criticisms of the broadcast or certain commentators on it, HNIC will always have a special place in my heart.