DAMN, it's Good to be a Red Wings Fan

The Toast of Hockeytown - Part I

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Black dress – $80
Cute shoes – $40
Ticket to the Toast of Hockeytown - $200
Meeting my hockey heroes in person – PRICELESS

Okay, okay. So the whole “priceless” ad being personalized has been done. Incessantly. But it just worked so well in this instance that I had to use it because the experience I am about to tell you about was indeed PRICELESS.

For those of you who are not familiar with the “Toast of Hockeytown” – it is a wine-tasting gala that benefits the Detroit Red Wings Foundation which funds numerous charities. Once inside the Joe Louis Arena, you head down to the ice surface (which is covered, of course) where you have the opportunity to meet the Red Wings players and management, tour the locker room, fawn over the Stanley Cup, and bid on live and silent auction items.

For a week before the event, I was thinking about what I wanted to ask the players and talk to them about. I came up with a few decent questions and decided my strategy for the night was to NOT make an ass of myself and hopefully make them laugh a bit. And if I did make a fool of myself that it may at least be spectacular enough for them to laugh at. Laughing was key.

Day of the event and I am a nervous wreck. As I am pulling up to the Joe, a paralyzing thought occurs to me… these are my hockey heroes. Men that are more than just mere mortals. Men that I have built up in my mind so much that there is no way that they could possibly meet my expectations… could they?

I walk in with trepidation and am greeted by the Joe Louis usher staff. Seriously – could they be any nicer? They instantly put me at ease. I walk through the bowels of the Joe to yet another wonderfully nice usher who hands me a flute of champagne. We’re off to a good start.

As any good party-goer will tell you, your first mission when entering a social gathering such as this is to scope out the entire area. So my scoping commences. There were many large clusters of people on the bench side of the rink - which I quickly determine is where all of the players are chatting with guests. Dotted around the boards are buffet stations and wine tasting tables. On the far blue line area, there are silent auction tables set up with various goodies to spend your discretionary income on – assuming that you have discretionary income to spend. I did not so I didn’t spend much time browsing there. On the far boards there was a stage with the band ‘Persuasion’ crooning tunes. And the piece de resistance – THE STANLEY CUP - sitting center ice with spotlights gleaming off of its polished surface.

Ohhhh, Stanley. How I love thee. Let me count the ways…. Let’s start with the 11 times you have visited Hockeytown and end with you coming back to us at the end of this season for number 12. I could go on and on… but I won’t. ☺

First stop – Marian Hossa. I’m not going to lie… in my fantasy of this moment, the wind was blowing my hair back as white glowing light surrounded both of us and a slight fog was swirling about our feet. Our eyes meet and lock. I look at him coyly and innocently (at the same time) as he moves toward me with the strides of a jungle cat - or the stride of the finely tuned body of a hockey player – and as he closes in on me his arms curl around me securely while he lays a fevered kiss on my lips. Then he drops to one knee, produces a huge diamond from his breast pocket, declares that it was love at first sight and he must have me forever, and then proposes marriage.

Reality was a bit different. Shocking, I know! Our eyes did meet. He smiled at me. He seemed gentle and a bit shy. I mentally banged my head against a wall trying to remember the intelligent questions I had so carefully chosen ahead of time. They never did come to me. I should have written them on my arm.

I opened things up by telling him that I was happy he came to the Red Wings – he said he was too. I asked him what his favorite part of being a Wing was and he answered that it was having a chance to win every night and being on such a great team with great people. When asked if he prefers the East or the West conference he said that he is really enjoying the West. I tilted my head as an urging for him to explain and he went on to say that he has enjoyed getting to see more of the country and traveling to different places.

No fireworks. No proclamations of undying love. No fat rock. Just the pressing eyes of the people behind me willing me to move on so they could have their turn and the gentle blue eyes of a man with spectacular talent. As we part I tell him that I truly hope he stays a Red Wing and he smiles and says that he does too.

As I tear my eyes off Hossa, I happen to step right into the line of people waiting to talk to Osgood. After just a few moments, I am standing with Ozzie and the only thing I can think of as I look at this fairly small man whose career has been scrutinized and minimalized at every turn is that I want him to know how much he is loved by the fans. Sure Wings fans are nervous about our starting goaltender not looking as good as we know he can be. And we have very high expectations for the team. It’s Stanley Cup or bust this year and every year. The media has been focusing on Osgood’s struggles but I think that has more to do with the fact that there are very few other facets of the Wings’ game to point at and see much fault with. But I think most Wings fans believe in Ozzie. And I wanted him to know that.

After Ozzie and I have our picture taken together I turn to him and ask how he is doing. He takes a sip of water and says he’s feeling good. He isn’t looking me in the eye and I sense his unease about having to answer the fans questions about his play this season. He is tense and slightly resentful. I stay quiet and wait for him to meet my eyes. He does and I say to him quietly and with as much sincerity as I can project with my eyes and voice, “We believe in you Ozzie.” He breaks eye contact and looks down. Takes a sip of water. I wait patiently. I know this game. When someone says something to you that touches something inside of you, it can be hard to meet that moment head on. Eventually, he lifts his eyes back to mine and sees that I am being genuine with him and that I truly mean it. There are a few moments of just that eye contact connection as his face and body soften a bit. A trainer walks up to him and starts talking to him but he maintains eye contact with me and says that he appreciates that I said that. I am now feeling vulnerable myself so I am backing away as he repeats again that he appreciates that I said that as he watches me walk away.

I know that sounds dramatic and probably corny for me to say that I made a connection with him. But I did. And it obviously meant a lot to him.

Next stop – Zetterberg! And his line was pretty long. I made small talk with the other people in line until I finally had my turn to meet Z. The Man. One of my 2 faves on the team. (the other being Lidstrom) I must say that I was a little put off by the fact that he was sitting on a tall stool waiting for people to come to him and I made a joke of that to him. His response to my teasing, “Gonna make everyone come to you, huh?!” was met with a level “yep.” My impression of him was that he would rather not be there. He wasn’t stand-offish, but he wasn’t really open either. I did make him laugh a few times though (not that I remember what I said – I generally make people laugh just by saying something sarcastic or laughing at something silly) and I counted that as quite an accomplishment given his aloof behavior.

I told him how thrilled I am that he will be a Red Wing for his entire career and then asked him what his favorite part of being a Wing is. He said pretty much exactly what Hossa did – always have a chance to win and thinks it’s a great team. I then asked him something that I have wondered about for quite some time. “I’ve heard of the theory of the crowd being the 6th man on the ice… As a player, do you notice if the crowd is loud or not? Do you care if we are loud or not? Does it have any effect on your game?” He said that the crowd absolutely DOES have an effect on the team. That they can feed off of our energy. His answer was surprising to me. Maybe it shouldn’t have been. But because I truly didn’t think they noticed us much, I didn’t ask the obvious follow up question. I would remedy that with my next chat…

As I turned away from Zetterberg, I happened to see Ty Conklin when he didn’t have a line. Before relaying my conversation with him, I would be remiss not to comment on how open and welcoming he was. The moment he made eye contact with me he was smiling. Both hands were loosely planted in his pockets. Feet spread wide. He looked completely at ease and legitimately excited to talk to the fans. His dark blue eyes were full of mischief and good humor.

I got right down to the business of asking him about this 6th man revelation. After confirming with him that crowd noise is important, I asked him if we were loud enough. He asked what I meant. I swirled my arm above my head to gesture to the stands and said, “Are the fans here at the Joe loud enough?” He looked a little uncomfortable and rocked on his feet trying to answer. “Yeah. You are.” I remain unconvinced and he can tell. “You are really loud in the playoffs! You made it really hard for the opposing team to play here last year.” And at this I get a beaming smile… since he would know. I smile and nod at this. “Yes. We are spoiled. We know we are going to get to the playoffs so we don’t feel like it’s the ‘real’ season until then.” He smiles broadly and says something about how amazing the Red Wings are that they are in it every year. We chat a bit longer and I conclude by asking if he’ll be a Red Wing next year. A cloud came over his face as he said that he doesn’t necessarily get to make that decision. I nodded understandingly and asked if he would if he could make that decision for himself. He would like to stay. I leaned in and confided that I hoped he would stay too. And with a wink I was off to see the MULE.

Johan Franzen. I’m not sure what I expected him to be like. You hear the stories… his nicknames are ‘Mule’ and ‘Grumpy’. ‘Mule’ for his work ethic and stubbornness on the ice and ‘Grumpy’ for his moodiness when he doesn’t score. I saw him at training camp but only for a few hurried moments so I wasn’t able to get a good impression of him. Whatever I expected, it was not the tall, confident, composed and FRIENDLY man that I met. Upon getting to the front of Franzen’s line, I had passed my rather large and complicated-looking camera to the man behind me with specific instruction on how to release the shutter. I introduce myself to Franzen and we make small talk as we get in position for a picture together. My arm around his solid waist and his arm around my shoulders. As we stand there (and I enjoy this closeness thoroughly) we watch the gentleman fumble with my camera. I must admit, I waited a bit longer to go help the guy than I really needed to. Hey – can you blame a girl?! I eventually go help the guy and then resume my comfortable position at the side of the Mule. We share a laugh. Then we chat a little about the season and I acquiesce to the stares of the people in line and move along after telling Franzen that I hope he stays a Red Wing for a long time.

A shock of red hair suggested that Kris Draper was ahead. He is a very nice guy. Open. Down to earth. Just… normal. I asked him if he was upset about being a healthy scratch against the Wild a couple of games before. He thought about what he wanted to say and responded with, “Nobody likes to be a healthy scratch, but what are you going to do? It wasn’t my call.” I told him that I thought he could have been a difference maker in that loss and he shrugged with a smile on his face. At that point some other people stepped in and my time with Mr. Draper was over. I was disappointed later that I forgot to thank him for the puck that he tossed me at the Winter Classic.

I happened to notice that Andreas Lilja was alone a short distance ahead of me. This struck me as sad since most of the other players all had groups of people waiting to speak with them. Lilja’s play in the 2 seasons previous to the current one were marred by some egregious errors. Errors for which some Wings fans have still not forgiven him. However, this year Lilja has been very solid and I think we are finally seeing what Coach and the Wings management team have been seeing in him for years. The fact that no fans were clamoring to speak with him was not surprising necessarily, but it did make me profoundly sad and apologetic.

Since Lilja’s body language suggested that he was a bit down, I sidled up to him and put on my best happy face. I exclaimed that I couldn’t believe he didn’t have a line and that he must be really good at escaping his fans. He smiled at the effort and introduced himself as ‘Andreas’. Now, I have heard and said his whole name and never found his first name to be particularly nice (I love names – I’m a name person). However, when 6 foot 3 (or so) of pure sexuality silkenly says his name… it sounds incredibly nice. I, of course, assured him that I knew exactly who he was.

We had a decent amount of time alone, so I had the opportunity to really get a good sense of who he is and ask him a lot of questions. Who he is is a guy with a sense of humor that bubbles to the surface. Unpretentious. Interesting. Fun to be around. And intelligent. We chatted a bit about how the season is going and how close they are to the playoffs again. This subject naturally brought up the competition and I asked him if he felt that the loss of Todd McClellan to the Sharks hurt his team and if he felt it made a big difference to the Sharks. He instantly responded with “Yeah, it absolutely helped the Sharks. I don’t think it hurt us at all.” I cocked my head and queried, “Really? You don’t think it hurt at the beginning of the year when you guys weren’t as solid defensively?” His eyes flashed at that. “No. Coach makes all the decisions. Todd didn’t have much to do with it.”

This led me naturally to asking about the coach. I wanted to know if Coach Babcock is as intense as the media portrays him to be. Lilja said that he is and he isn’t. He knows when to turn it off and on. In practice and in games, Coach is really intense and has high expectations. But away from the game, Coach is a really good guy.

Back to the competition, “Are you guys at all nervous about playing the Sharks in the playoffs?” to which Lilja responded with a broad smile and a very confident set of his jaw “Absolutely not.” Now, I feel like I can read people pretty well and false bravado is a specialty. There wasn’t an ounce of false bravado in Lilja when he said this. He was just matter-of-fact and even amused at the question. I take this as a good sign. A very good sign. And given their domination just a couple of nights after the Toast, I think that Lilja's point was proven.

As a fan, I find the idea of West coast trips untenable. Not because I care about staying up late to watch those games, but because I feel that my team is at a significant disadvantage when they are playing at midnight their time. The West coast teams are never at this disadvantage when they come East because they are playing earlier in the day which isn’t as much of a hardship as playing in the middle of the night. I asked Lilja what he thought about West coast trips and his answer was pretty definitive. He hates them too. He talked about how they don’t get in sometimes until 5 a.m. and that they have to play very late at night. He agreed that it is a disadvantage for those teams in the Eastern portion of United States to play on the West coast. When asked if he would rather play in the Eastern conference there was slight hesitation. I revised my question to – “if there was no difference in the style of play and the strength of the teams in each conference – which would you chose to be in?” and he immediately answered “East.” Then he supplied that it would be so much less wearing to have a season where you are only a few hours plane ride to see every team in your conference and that it would be especially beneficial during the playoffs.

The whole time Lilja - I mean Andreas – and I were talking, we were laughing and I was trying not to become hypnotized by his steely hazel eyes. I was comfortable enough to touch his arm when we laughed (yes, I was flirting) and I was thoroughly enjoying the gorgeous man standing in front of me. I just HAD to throw in a stupid questions just to see what he would say. With a twinkle in my eye, I asked him what he thought of Sidney Crosby. Yes, I did. His reaction was classic. He lifted his gaze to the rafters and squinched his face up a bit in an obvious attempt to decide what to say. My eyes were already laughing at him when he bent back down to answer me. He said with a slight hitch in his voice, “He’s a good hockey player.” It was hard for him to be so PC and I couldn’t help but laugh. His eyes were dancing with humor when he asked me what I was laughing at. Now… the rest of that conversation could have been great but 2 young women who bore a strong resemblance to Cinderella’s step sisters flounced up and demanded a “better” picture with Lilja. I was the lucky picture taker and then the girls had him in their clutches. With an apologetic look, I left him.

I was laughing to myself at Lilja’s misfortune when I almost ran smack dab into Brian Rafalski. His light blue eyes are just stunning. And like I have mentioned before, this is the kind of guy you would find at a hardware store like Lowe’s. Just a down to earth, normal guy. Of course, he’s a Michigan boy and lives in Wisconsin now so what else would you expect?

I asked Rafalski if he loved playing in the Winter Classic and of course he did. I told him that he had tossed his hat to my friend, Juice, and he was like “Really? She was just above the dugout?” to which I told him we both were. He then said that a good friend of his was just above the dugout and wanted to know if I noticed him… he was wearing a bunch of Rafalski’s gear. I started laughing and confirmed that I knew exactly who he was talking about and that we had taken pictures of him. Rafalski made a joke about him being a stalker and then laughed and said that he was actually a close friend and a youth pastor who is on Rafalski’s softball team. Then he backtracked and said, “Well, not really MY softball team. But the team I play on.” I could not help but quip, “Of course it’s YOUR team! You’re B-Raf!” Then he shared with me that a Chicago Bear joined their team last season and we talked a little about that.

He also mentioned that he was given 2 Winter Classic stocking caps and gave away both. He was kind of wishing that he had kept one. I thought it was really nice that he was so unselfish to give both to his fans.

Sadly, I did not get a picture with Rafalski.

I did briefly meet Darren Helm and Ville Leino. I told Leino how great he has looked on the team and that I was glad they were both up with the Wings. They both seemed very uncomfortable with the whole situation and the younger players kind of clumped into packs for protection. Haha!

Okay… that’s all for tonight. Part II to come soon… A little preview – I’ll be dishing on Kenny Holland, Coach Babcock, Steve Yzerman, Jim Nill, Kronwall, Hudler, and Datsyuk.

*Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not a reporter and I did not bring a tape recorder with me to capture the players exact words. I paraphrased from memory so the answers given may not be exactly what the player said. However, I am confident about the intent and which player gave which answer.

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Red Wings Training Camp Parts 1 & 2

Thursday, February 26, 2009

*Originally Posted on September 26 and October 8, 2008 on NHL Connect

Having spent all 4 days of Red Wings Training Camp 2008 in Traverse City I can now say:

I went.

I saw.

I was impressed!

I have so much to say…

My expectations going into camp were:
• to meet my favorite players and actually get to talk with them
• to get a feel for how the team is jelling with the new guys (Hossa and Conklin)
• to check out the new lines
• to get some autographs
• to get some great pictures
• to finally see some freaking hockey again!!!
• to have a really excellent time meeting some fabulous Wings fans

ALL of my expectations were met!

First Impressions Are Everything

My first impression of Center Ice Arena:
• Awesome joint! Clean and pretty and easy to navigate. The staff really had the camp logistics down to a science.
• There were a billion volunteers and “security” personnel and all of them were friendly and warm and wonderful.
• The food was incredibly reasonably priced and really pretty decent.
• The rumors were true – the chili that was sold there was Cheli’s Chili! (and yes, it was ‘really good chili’.) haha!

My first impression of the team(s):
• The players were split into 3 teams.
• They looked extremely happy to be together again. You could see some reaching out and bonding happening.
• Those players that were trying to make the “big team” were really working hard to make an impression. There were two Griffins who were getting pretty chippy – Ryan Oulahen and Jamie Tardif. McCarty reprimanded them by tapping them on the shin pads and telling them to settle down. Imagine that – McCarty keeping the peace! (okay – I guess it makes sense at this point in his career being the smart veteran, but I would not have imagined a 1997 McCarty doing the settling.)
• The Datsyuk – Hossa – Holmstrom line was… wait for it… A-MA-ZING! Really… they were jelling so well already! I kind of felt bad for Zetterberg that his “twin” was getting along so well with another man. It's okay though - they had a little chat and worked it out...

"Don't worry, Sasha. No one will ever replace you."

• The Zetterberg – Hudler – Franzen line was pretty good. I mean, Z is incredible – always. Franzen was in fine form and has a ton of confidence. Hudler looks great but looked a bit…. well, a bit like the new guy playing with 2 stars. I think this line will need a little time to develop.

Examples of the bonding:

"Hey - does my butt look big in these pants?"

"No, seriously... Does my butt look big??"

"Your butt looks great, man. Relax."

"OH I KNOW! His butt looks HUGE in those pants!"

(Yes, I do amuse myself.)

Lessons Learned:

So, I’m not sure how exactly I expected the autographs and meeting of players to be done, but I certainly didn’t expect the way it happened.

It’s hockey camp, right? So one would think you would be there to watch hockey and then be able to get autographs before/after practice. Right? Well, this ONE thought that and she was wrong.

We arrived at the arena a couple of hours early on day one to get autographs, but didn’t get any in the morning. No biggie. So when practice was getting close to starting, Smarti Jo and I went inside.

I reveled in the smells of the ice and the equipment. I thrilled at the “shoosh” of skates on ice and the solid “thwack” of pucks hitting blades. The off-season was much too long, but I was in pre-season hockey heaven.

**A note for the ladies – stretching time is a thing of great beauty which simply cannot be beat. I highly recommend indulging in some gazing at practices.**

We watched Team 1’s drills (I didn’t write down who was on Team Delvecchio, Team Sawchuk, and Team Abel so I’m going to resort to calling them Teams 1, 2 & 3) and I had a great time seeing how they practice, the drills they do and who takes the leadership roles during that time. Then Team 2 practiced. Then a scrimmage between teams 2 and 3. Then team 3 practiced.

Mind you – I am inside the arena the whole time. I am enjoying my hockey-loving heart out. Taking pictures. Talking hockey with strangers who are friends because of a shared love of the Wings. Observing who has made strides during the summer… You know, the stuff you would expect to be doing at a hockey training camp.

Little did I know that just outside where the red barricades are, people are meeting MY favorite stars and getting their autographs. I wanted to meet Zetterberg and Lidstrom so bad I could hardly stand it. While I was inside sizing up the lines and the newbies – Zetterberg, Ozzie, Helm and others were outside signing autographs. Lots of them. And I was blissfully unaware. I wasn’t so blissful when I walked out of the arena and found out.

On to the player breakdown:

As I mentioned above, there are two very different parts of training camp. The first part is the obvious part – the practicing and scrimmaging. (very, very cool to see the hot Wings on Wings action I must say. I mean really – IMAGINE what two amazing puck possession, fast moving, graceful, skilled teams like the Wings would look like against each other?! That’s what we got to see every day. It was incredible.)

Part 2 of training camp is that there are barricades set up outside the arena where the Wings generally came out to be dropped off or picked up and transported back to the hotel or golf course or wherever it is they were headed. At those barricades, many fans hang out all day in anticipation of getting their favorite players to autograph memorabilia. No fans went beyond those barricades, which were set up about 100 feet from the building. So the barricades were at the Wings main entrance area, but there are at least 3 other ways to enter or leave the arena and some of the Wings took those entrances/exits to avoid the crowds. I totally understand why – I mention this because it comes up again later.

Because there are two main attractions to training camp, I will comment as much as possible on both dynamics for each player. And non-players. Well, you’ll see if you read on…

Coach Babcock

On ice: Coach Babs has earned a reputation for being intense, and I can tell you that he has earned it. He had a billion drills and, boy, if you don’t catch the explanation of what he wants the first time he is not going back. Hopefully one of your teammates next to you caught it because he bang-bangs right through what he wants and then WHISTLE – go do it! You know what I think about that? I LOVE IT! You whip ‘em into shape, Coach! As a side note – he watched instead of coached the scrimmages and you know who his constant sounding board and discussion partner was?… Ken Daniels. Interesting, huh? I’ll be listening more intently to what Mr. Daniels has to say in the future because clearly he’s got the scoop.

Off the ice: Every bit as intense! Coach came out to sign almost every day for at least a few minutes. The first day, he went straight to the area of the barricade set aside only for kids 15 and under. The next day – signed for a while for everyone after hitting the kids’ area. Day 3 signed for any kid that he could see in the crowd. Day 4 – he signed for quite a while again as long as you were out there early. Classy guy. Really classy. He signed a jersey that I had with Scotty Bowman’s autograph already on it and he commented that it was cool I had Scotty on there. I said how happy I was that I was about to have him right there next to Scotty – where he belongs. He smiled and said, “Did you know he just got out of the hospital?” I was shocked. I hadn’t heard anything about that. I asked if Scotty is okay and he said that he is now… don’t know what that’s about but I didn’t ask him to expound on Scotty’s medical condition. Frankly, he looked surprised at himself for saying anything at all.

Nicklas Lidstrom (The Perfect Human)

On ice: This man is amazing. A rock. His eyes could burn holes through you. He is so focused even in practice that it is unreal. But I was pleasantly surprised by his easy sense of humor. He was undoubtedly the leader on the ice (of course) but he was open and easy with the team. I have to say that I got a lot of joy in seeing how the young players watched his every move in an effort to pick up on some of his greatness. Also looked like some of the youngins were intimidated by him. Heck, I sure would be! He is definitely the alpha dog on that team. Our Perfect Captain.

Off the ice: Very humble and respectful. He didn’t spend a ton of time signing autographs, but he would never turn away from anyone. I was lucky enough to see him in the morning of Day 3 when not many people were there. He was in a rush, but he signed my Stanley Cup Team pic and then signed a pic of him with the Cup raised over his head and personalized it to me. My name is Jessica and when he got to the “c” he looked at me perplexed and said “with a ‘c’ or a ‘k’?” which I thought was really cute. So Svede. Haha! So after signing those 2 things I asked him to take a picture with me. He smiled like “wow, you want a lot” and I said, “I know I’m asking a lot of you, but I am just SO EXCITED to actually meet you!” He chuckled and took a pic with me. Very, very sweet man.
  

Henrik Zetterberg (Our future captain)

On ice: He is so ready for the season to start. The man oozes hockey. It’s in his veins. His work ethic reminds me of THE Captain. He practiced and played so hard every moment. Every drill could have been a play to win the Stanley Cup – that’s how serious he was taking it. Stanley Cup hangover fears – you need not have them. This man is on a mission. And his mission is to bring Stanley back to Hockeytown. His new line – well, I thought the Zetterberg, Hudler, Franzen line wasn’t jelling quite as well as the Datsyuk, Hossa, Holmstrom line. But I have no doubt that they will do fabulous. Z could be a one-man show – but he is the consummate team player. More on Huds and Franzen later. This is going to be one heck of a line though.

Off the ice: Well, I don’t know. I heard that he was outside for a long time signing autographs on Day 1. Like he spent an hour or so signing. But I was inside watching hockey (imagine that) so I missed it. And he never came out to sign again. Kept eluding the crowds by going in other doors. I heard he was nice when he came out… Zetterberg and Lidstrom are my two favorite current players, so I am incredibly bummed that I didn’t get to meet Z.

Pavel Datsyuk (The Magician)

On ice: Well, he’s Datsyuk. That’s short for saying he’s incredible! He was practicing his dangling skills for a while to the delight of the crowd. I don’t think he was doing it for us - he was just keeping his skills up. It was amazing. He kept picking the pockets of the other Wings in the scrimmages which seemed to frustrate them for a moment and then make them laugh thinking of what he is going to do to their opponents very soon.

Off the ice: Nice guy. Humble. Down to earth. Quiet. The first day he signed he literally did the front row only. (I was in the second row.) The next time I saw him I just happened to be walking in front of Centre Ice on my way back from stalking Ozzie (more later) when his car pulled up with 3 other players and he was the only one who stopped to sign autographs. I got his signature on my team pic. YAY! He signed again the last night as the bus was waiting for him. He made them wait so long that the bus had to start honking at him. He obviously didn’t want to stop signing for the fans, but he was summoned to the bus. Whattayagonnado?
  

Kris Draper (Mr. Face-Off)

On the ice: He and Malts are like 2 peas in a pod. I don’t know why Maltby is always left out of the best friends Draper, Mac, Ozzie conversation. He and Drapes are always together and play off each other perfectly – which they should after all this time. Drapes was having fun at camp and was mentoring some of the young guys.

Off the ice: He signed quite a bit. He took quite a bit of time signing for the fans and even signed out of his car window for some kids. He seemed a bit “over” giving autographs, but I think I understand why… after signing for 15 minutes or so he turned away to go inside for practice and a woman called out something like “thanks a lot” and he heard her. He turned said “look, I can’t sign for everyone.” I understand that. That lady upset me because everyone else would yell sincere thanks to the players even if they hadn’t gotten their items signed just because they were thrilled that other fans got autographs. But some people just don’t have class… I’m sorry on her behalf, Drapes. On the last day, he was walking in with Lids and Cleary when a lady yelled, “Come on guys – just sign for the kids?” Drapes stopped and signaled for the kids to come to him. It was really sweet.
  

Kirk Maltby (Still Grinding after all these years…)

On the ice: I have 2 words to describe Kirk Maltby: Relentless and Funny. Relentlessly funny. He was really fighting to do his job on the ice and he was having a BLAST doing it! It really warmed my heart to see how much he still loves the game after all these years and 4 Stanley Cups. People that call for him to resign underestimate the effect his presence has on this team. He’s not as skilled as Z or Lids, but the man is darn good at his job and at keeping his teammates laughing. It’s all about the chemistry and loyalty people. Remember that.

Off the ice: I have another 2 words to describe Kirk Maltby: Gorgeous and Patient. Gorgeously patient. He is without a doubt one of the best looking guys on the team, in my opinion. He was amazingly patient with the fans – relaxed and open. He stayed outside after practice one day until literally every single person that wanted an autograph got one. Those people who had a picture taken with him earlier and their eyes were half closed even got retakes. Seriously –EVERY SINGLE PERSON was satisfied. At one point he got a phone call and instead of walking away, he turned his back and took a couple of steps. Talked to his friend about their plans for later. Got directions from the security staff and locals. Then hung up and went right back to signing. Impressive. He even came outside the barricade and was walking around and no one bothered him because he had done it all. People asked about his kids and his time with the Cup and he just chatted and was cool. I want to know this guy. I want to hang out with him and race him on quads. Seriously, he is so easy-going and down-to-earth.
  

Darren McCarty (The come-back kid)

On the ice: Look, you can say what you want about Mac but every single time he hit the ice you knew it immediately. There was something electric about him. Honestly. I consulted fans around me (instant friends – after all, we are RED WING NATION) and they all pondered and then completely agreed. He just adds something. He scored the first goal of the 1st scrimmage at training camp. He was sacrificing his body. He was creating opportunities. In short, Mac has not lost it. He is leaner and has obviously spent all summer working out like a madman. And, very importantly in my mind, he was not there going overboard to impress. He was relaxed and doing his thing. And his thing was good.

Off the ice: I could have killed some well-meaning but clueless fans. He must have been asked a zillion times if he was doing anything with Grinder. Seriously people – READ. Mac looked good. He looked healthy. He came out to sign a ton of autographs every single day. He definitely took time out for the fans on purpose. He wasn’t much of a chatter, but he was very nice. When he was getting close to me I breathed an enthusiastic “D-MAC!” and he got a satisfied little smile. I told him that I was thrilled he signed again and that he has always been and will always be a Red Wing – even when he wasn’t. He didn’t say anything, but he looked touched.
  

Chris Osgood (Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie!)

On the ice: He looked okay. I’m not gonna lie. He didn’t look like he was trying all that hard. He’s probably pretty thrilled that Z, Franzen, and Hossa are on his team because they ravaged him. But don’t worry – Ozzie is the real deal and he will be excellent again this season. I have complete faith in him.

Off the ice: He was elusive. I think he signed the first day while I was inside, but he didn’t come out to the barricades again. I did, however, manage to get his autograph. A friend of mine recognized his vehicle as he was pulling up on the other side of the building and I booked it over there. I was somewhat out of breath, but I got his autograph!!! He was nice – but he was hurried. I don’t blame him – he probably felt hunted by the 20 of us who ran over there.

Marian Hossa (Hooray – Hossa is ours!)

On the ice: HOSSA IS A WING! I never get tired of that thought. In my opinion, the Penguins’ best player in the Finals. He looked good on the ice. Really good. It appears that he has developed a genuine friendship with his new line mates – Datsyuk and Holmstrom. That line really tore it up. They were everywhere and they were having fun. It was fascinating to watch. Damn it’s good to be a Wings fan!

Off the ice: Word has it that he isn’t comfortable signing autographs. I kind of picked that up when he did come sign autographs. He looked shy and was forcing himself to do it. But he did it. He was great with the kids and was sweet to the fans too. Didn’t sign an absolute ton – but he did quite a few. He seems like a genuinely nice guy. I really don’t think he’ll have any problem fitting in the Wings locker room. Welcome to the team, Hossa!

  

Andreas Lilja (Shot blocker extraordinaire)
  
On the ice: Looked fine. He’s got a big body which he uses brilliantly to block pucks. If he could just make sure that he ONLY passes to his own teammates this season that would be great.

Off the ice: Really nice guy. He was talking to the fans a bit and signed a ton which I thought was very classy because surely he’s heard that he’s one of the most complained about (in terms of mistakes he’s made… not as a person) players on the team. I was impressed by him. I hope he does really well this year.

Aaron Downey (Hello, I’m Aaron. Let me introduce you to my fists…)

On the ice: The man was fighting for his life as a Wing and he looked it. He was trying SO HARD. It’s no wonder he accidentally hurt Fils – he was just going overboard. I love the guy. Truly. How can you not love a man with that much heart? He’s just not as skilled as he would like to be. He’s not a fab skater and I felt like he was being reactive to the plays instead of anticipating them. But he gets an A+ for effort and heart.

Off the ice: Have I mentioned the guy’s heart? He loves the fans. He’s very charismatic and a lot of fun. Who has 2 thumbs and really loves to use ‘em? Aaron Downey! He really loves to give the ‘thumb-up’ sign. Did it a ton. Haha. He did his fair share of signing. One lady thanked him for coming over to sign and he thanked her for wanting him to and for being there to support the team –he appreciated it. To which she responded that she was glad someone on the team felt that way. Which is unfair, but in some cases I felt the same a bit. But we don’t know what’s going on in their lives. They are human too.
  

Dan Cleary (Where is this guy from again?)

On the ice: I’m not gonna lie – I didn’t notice him a ton. I don’t take this as a bad sign. I just don’t have much to report.

Off the ice: Way elusive. He signed one day for about 15 minutes and he wasn’t super friendly. He was focused on the Sharpie, I guess. I said to him “What do you think, Dan… gonna repeat?” His answer was a monotone “sure” without looking up. Perhaps he was having a bad day? Perhaps I was only disappointed because I wanted to see the fun-loving guy I got to see in interviews on TV. By the way – is there any person on the planet that doesn’t know he’s the first person from Newfoundland to win the Cup? No? That’s what I thought.
  

Brad Stuart (Soft spoken – hard hitter)

On the ice: Looked solid. Looked comfortable.

Off the ice: Never saw him. I don’t know if he came out on Day 1 when I was inside. It’s been reported that he is the softest-spoken man on the team. Maybe he was shy?
  

Brett Lebda (Where’s Lebda? The newer, less fun version of ‘Where’s Waldo’)

On the ice: Looked really good. Solid. Responsible. Quick.

Off the ice: Totally elusive. I actually did happen to see him once at the side door where he was running out to hop in Cheli’s hummer. Some fans called out to him but he said he had to go or Cheli would ground him. At least he’s funny!

Chris Chelios (Maker of Really Good Chili)

On the ice: He looked like Cheli. Made some mistakes, but it’s only training camp. Got to see his killer shots from the blue line a ton and some of them resulted in beautiful goals. However, his most memorable on-ice moment was when he came out before the rest of the team for the Gold Game and did a trick for us. He raced around the rink once and then while skating backwards and with great momentum he threw himself into a killer backbend until his helmet hit the ice and he slid down the length of the ice at which point he stood back up and smiled for the crowd. Impressive!

Off the ice: He signed a ton at least one day. Signed and signed and signed. Seemed nice but I was not close enough to talk to him which sucked because I was unable to redeem myself from my earlier gaff. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read my blog about meeting Chris Chelios.)
  

Jiri Hudler (Known as “Happy”)

On the ice: Looked quick and agile and confident. I didn’t feel that he was necessarily up to speed with Z and Franzen, but I think that was to be expected.

Off the ice: Signed a ton but I was disappointed that he wasn’t more “happy” and talkative. But then, I didn’t get very close to him so I wasn’t able to say anything other than “thanks!” when he signed for me.
  

Brian Rafalski (An upgrade from M. Schneider and he’s a hometown boy)

On the ice: Looked stellar. I don’t think he’s given enough credit for the work he does on this team. He’s the perfect partner for Lids.

Off the ice: Very kind. Easy. The kind of guy you’d see in Lowe’s looking for home improvement materials. He actually came back to the barricade to sign for me and get a picture of the 2 of us. Sweetheart.
  

Mikael Samuelsson (Streaky McPleasehitthenet-VonSuchaniceguy)

On the ice: Was missing the net too much for my taste… very similar to the regular season last year. He’s a big, strong guy but I wish he’d get his shot on net a bit more.

Off the ice: I only saw him come out once but he was a friendly guy. Maybe a bit shy which was endearing. His off-ice demeanor will make me like him a lot more this season.
  
Darren Helm (He could be Greased Lightning!)

On the ice: This kid is as fast as lightning. He is unreal. He has gained a ton of confidence and he was slaying the rest of the team with his breakaways. This kid is going to be an incredible talent for many years to come. I am so excited about him. The fact that he isn’t a lock to make the “big team” speaks to the incredible depth in this organization. It’s bloody amazing.

Off the ice: Never saw him so I have no idea. He came out on Day 1 when I was inside.

Valtteri Filppula (Flies through the air with the greatest of ease)

On the ice: Well, I think he was only on the ice for a day so I don’t have much to say… I liked what I saw. He was quick and nimble.

Off the ice: This kid was signing autographs like it was going out of style. I don’t think he was a glory hound at all, I think he just couldn’t bring himself to say no. The first time I saw him was day 1 when I was headed out to my own car and he stopped when I called him Fils and asked if he would sign. He was really sweet and kind of shy. When he finished I said “Thanks, Flip!” and he looked a little taken aback that I would use that nickname. Too familiar? I feel like I know my team so I addressed him very informally. The next time I saw him he was walking in from the parking lot and was signing for everyone who was there that early. Friendly, but not talkative. Possibly nervous about the language barrier? I had him sign the picture of him mid-air for that amazing goal he scored (in game 2 of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on May 26, 2008) – and he personalized it for me. I had time and space with him, so I said, “You know, your goal was better than Bobby Orr’s.” (OKAY – do not rake me over the coals yet – listen to the next part!) He looked at me surprised and said, “Oh, I don’t think so.” So I said, “In terms of timing and importance – Orr’s was by far better. But in terms of being mid-air…. You scored that goal while you were in the air. Orr jumped in celebration AFTER he scored the goal. So your goal in flight was better.” He was surprised so I told him to YouTube it. (You should too if you don’t believe me.) So the next day I saw him again and this time he recognized me. I said hi and we had our picture taken with 2 of my friends. Then saw him one last time and he signed a Wings book for me. Such a doll. Love him.
  

Niklas Kronwall (Keep your heads up, boys!)
  
On the ice: It was awesome watching him dial back his Kronwallian hits and still rocking the boards. Kronwall Light. The fans ate it up.

Off the ice: I got his autograph on the last night as the bus was waiting so I couldn’t gauge anything. Bummer.
  

Johan Franzen (The Mule)

On the ice: Franzen looks like he is going to pick up right where he left off. The man was on fire at training camp. His confidence has sky-rocketed from this time last year. I expect big things from him.

Off the ice: Like Kronwall, I saw him on the last day with the bus waiting so I can’t say anything. I was just thankful I managed to get his autograph!
  

Tomas Holmstrom (Owner of the best known rear-end in the League.)
  
On the ice: This guy is a rock. Homer is Homer. He plays that crease line. It’s his job and he is the best in the business. He just looked like Homer always looks: Solid. He played the scrimmages like they were real games including a nice little glove into Quincey’s face. Oh, Homer. I love ya.
  
Off the ice: He came outside one day and signed an absolute ton. He just happened to stop 10 feet away from me. I was wrecked I was so disappointed. But he did a ton. One lady tried to get fresh and plant a big, juicy kiss on him. He bent back fast enough to avoid her – it was hilarious. Speaking of hilarious – I really wanted to ask him if he was aware of the Knob Hockey sketch comedy video about him… it’s so incredibly funny and I think he’d love it.
  

Kyle Quincey (Bat those baby blues!)
  
On the ice: Didn’t look completely comfortable. Maybe nervous. I wasn’t overly impressed.
  
Off the ice: Seemed nice. Very cute. That’s all I’ve got.
  

Tomas Kopecky (Bringing the big guns!)
  
On the ice: He is a big body and he was pushing his weight around which was awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing him out there this year.
  
Off the ice: This guy’s arms are HUGE. Really, it was disconcerting (in a good way). I wouldn’t pick a fight with him, boys. He’s been eating his spinach AND drinking his milk! Quiet, but I wondered if there was any language barrier? Dunno. But he came out to sign a few times.
  
SOME OF THE ‘KIDS’ I GOT AUTOGRAPHS FROM

Justin Abdelkader
  
On the ice: Looked very good. Hard worker. He was fitting right in. Of course, he’ll be in Grand Rapids this coming year but he’ll be ready very soon.
  
Off the ice: Came out and signed and was very approachable.
  
Derek Meech
  
On the ice: Worked his tail off.
  
Off the ice: Never saw him.
  

Jimmy Howard
  
On the ice: Looked very good. He was trying hard to get that back-up spot. Unfortunately for him, unless Ty Conklin falters it’s not likely.
  
Off the ice: Very friendly and open and interacted with the fans while signing which he did a couple of times. Nice guy. I’m pulling for him.
  
Mattias Ritola
  
On the ice: Didn’t really notice him. Sorry.
  
Off the ice: Mattias – I owe you an apology. I did not recognize you! Poor guy – no one in my area of the barricade knew who he was. I didn’t get his autograph because I didn’t want to work hard to get it for someone I didn’t recognize. Darn my hide.
  

Tom McCollum
  
On the ice: The kid was a rock star. He was shrugging off shots from Dats and Hossa like they were high school kids. Okay – slight exaggeration – but he was SO GOOD! If you read his blog on Connect, he discussed how excited he was to get the shot to go against the BIG BAD WINGS. And man did he bring his ‘A’ game.
  
Off the ice: I have nothing but glowing things to say about this guy. More than any other person he was chatting and joking with the fans which I thought showed a tremendous amount of poise for an 18 year old. He was looking everyone in the eye and smiling and really having a great time with the fans. He came out every day. The first day no one but me (at least in my vicinity) knew who he was so no one was vying for his autograph like they were for so many other players. So I was able to talk to him a bit and told him that I was thrilled to have him in the Wings system and I couldn’t wait to see him develop into a Wing on the big team. I was rewarded with a big, cheesy grin and said he hopes he gets there SOON. I saw him a few other times so we talked about his blog on Connect. He said he was glad I enjoyed it – he was riding a stationary bike when “they” told him he was going to be writing a blog. He said he had a good time doing it. He’s got such an awesome personality. He had made some sick saves and one spectacular shoot-out save on Hossa so I told him one day what a great save that was and he gave me that goofy grin and kind of ducked his head sheepishly as he said “Yeah, I liked that one too.” Then he talked about how fun it was to play with the Wings. On the last day there, T-Mac (as I have dubbed him – if others haven’t already) brought out 5 or 6 of his goalie sticks already signed and gave them to the kids. Then he signed for everyone else too. Seriously – that was touching. This guy is a class act and he will make the perfect Wing some day. I don’t usually follow our prospects – but I am going to follow this one.
  

Jason Jozsa
  
On the ice: Looked good. Looked young.
  
Off the ice: This guy is a sweetheart. Here’s the deal - after my Ritola gaff, I decided to buck up and ask those people I didn’t know who they were. Jozsa was the first guy I questioned. He actually seemed relieved that I asked because there was a lot of whispering of “who is that? I don’t know who that is? Do you know who that is?” That can’t have made them feel good. So I chatted with them a bit while they were near me.

Ville Leino
  
On the ice: This guy was impressive. Great hands. Able to hang onto the puck in traffic. Good passing ability. Very Wing-like in his puck-handling skills. However, I felt like he got a little confused when he got near the net like he wasn’t sure what to do – which ultimately left him tied up in the corners a bit too much. This guy is the real deal though and once he gets used to the NHL he is going to be a real asset.
  
Off the ice: Never saw him. He’s new to the States – so I totally understand.
  
RETIRED PLAYERS
  

Steve Yzerman
  
I MET STEVIE Y! He was walking through the hall and one teen with his family had gotten him to sign autographs. Stevie gave the kid back his pen and turned away. I was the only other person around (happened to walk out at exactly the right time!) so I said “Mr. Yzerman?” to which he turned around with a surprised look on his face (was it the MISTER part?) and I asked if I could just shake his hand. He seemed taken aback (which I have trouble imagining since I would say MOST people are likely humbled and honored to meet him) but he put out his hand – which I promptly placed my hand in – and he looked me straight in the eye and asked me, “How are you doing today?” I responded with a beaming smile and answered that I was doing really great. His hand was the perfect man hand. Strong and hard and not at all smooth or slimy. His handshake was confident. I wondered if he recognized me from fan fest… but I didn’t ask.

Dallas Drake

On the ice: Believe it or not, there actually was an on-ice moment for the retired Wing. He was the ceremonial puck dropper for the Red and White Game. Z and Dats “took” the pretend faceoff. It was a cool moment. Wings Nations loves us some Drake!

Off the ice: Apparently, he signed a few autographs on his way out. That was pretty cool of him. He also threw a party for the Wings on Saturday night. I cannot imagine why he didn’t invite me…. Hmph…

  
Pat Verbeek
  
Got his autograph. There was a woman there that was having the players sign a Red Wings bowling ball. He was perplexed by it so I asked him if he’d ever signed a bowling ball before and he said in all the years he’s been signing autographs he has NEVER signed a bowling ball before. He was very accommodating and patient.
  
Mark Howe
  
Yep – I met Mark Howe and got his autograph. That was pretty cool. Didn’t get to talk to him.
  
Training Camp was an incredible experience and I am absolutely going to go again next year!

GO RED WINGS!!!!

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In Defense of Hockeytown

Thursday, February 26, 2009

*Originally posted November 2, 2008 on NHL Connect

This blog is in response to claims that the moniker of “HOCKEYTOWN, USA” should be taken from Detroit, Michigan and its NHL franchise, the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings and handed to another “worthy” city and franchise.

Sports Illustrated declared St. Paul, MN ‘the new hockeytown’ a couple years back. I have only one thing to say about this… Does ANYONE think that SI knows ANYTHING about hockey???? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Actually, I believe the fact that SI thinks that the nickname should be stripped from Detroit is actually a big point in Detroit’s favor.

There are few things that genuinely tick me off when it comes to hockey (let’s face it, as a Wings fan I don’t have a lot to complain about) but this constant whining over who “deserves” the title of “Hockeytown, USA” is one of the things that grinds me. Hard.

There are 3 caveats to the argument I am about to make:

1. Warroad, Minnesota has been called Hockeytown, USA over four decades prior to the Red Wings use of the name. It is rightfully theirs. However, since they do not have an NHL team and they are located 420 miles from the nearest NHL team of the Minnesota Wild, I feel comfortable proceeding with this argument. (Sorry, Warroad.)

2. I am only interested in arguing Detroit’s claim to the title Hockeytown in terms of United States cities because I have no interest whatsoever in trying to usurp Canada’s claim to hockey in general. They invented the game. For the most part they are knowledgeable and passionate about the game. And really – who can argue against the powerhouse of a team like Montreal? Really – 24 Cups. TWENTY-FOUR. My beef is with fans in the United States trying to claim the title of Hockeytown for their own.

Further – when I think of “Hockeytown”, I think of it in the sense that it is not really the city itself necessarily that is “Hockeytown.” Hockeytown is the team, its history, the city, the region, and ALL of its fans – whatever their geographic location may be.

3. I mean absolutely no disrespect to other teams. I respect all (but one) of the other NHL teams and their fans. My assertions as to Detroit’s claim on this title is not meant to “put down” other teams but to illustrate the point that Detroit has a right to keep its self-imposed title and that it cannot be taken by any magazine or fan base just because they think it belongs elsewhere.

How did Detroit get the nickname Hockeytown, USA?

Detroit adopted the nickname in 1996, the season after the Red Wings entered the playoffs as the NHL’s top team but was devastatingly swept by the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals. (Ironic, I know) The Wings went on to win BACK-TO-BACK Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998 and the nickname stuck.

I am going to present a few thoughts on why Detroit and the Red Wings truly deserve this moniker. The first thing I had to decide on was the criteria that should be used to qualify any city as “Hockeytown.” After all, that’s a lofty title which comes with responsibility. I have decided on the factors of history, the fans, the hockey quotient in the area, and success in the League.

History and Lore

• The Detroit Red Wings are one of the Original Six teams along with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks.
• Terry Sawchuk staged one of the greatest performances in Stanley Cup Playoff history when Detroit captured the 1950 Stanley Cup. He only allowed five goals in eight games as the Red Wings swept both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montréal Canadiens in four games. Even more incredibly, Sawchuk didn’t give up a single goal in any of the four games played at Olympia Stadium. (quoted from the Detroit Red Wings website)
• Another significant event came during the first round of the 1952 playoffs. After Lindsay and Howe had received death threats if they played in Game 4 in Toronto, both played and the Wings’ won to end the series. After the game, Lindsay playfully chided the Toronto fans when he skated to center ice and held his stick like a machine gun and pretended to shoot the crowd. Gotta love good ole’ Terrible Ted! (quoted from the Detroit Red Wings website)
• Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey) was a Red Wing for 25 years and retired from the team in 1971 as the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer. When he returned to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, he added 15 more goals, giving him 801, a mark topped only by Wayne Gretzky. Howe’s unique skill set led to the term “a Gordie Howe hat trick,” referring to a game in which a player scores a goal, an assist and has a fight. He led the league in scoring six times, was MVP six times, won four Stanley Cups, played in 22 all-star games and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. His son, Mark, played three seasons for the Wings in the mid-90’s, and his No. 9 sweater was worn by Ferris’ best friend, Cameron, in the movie Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. (quoted from Bob Kowalski of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram – May 7, 2008)
• The Norris family sold the Red Wings in 1982 to Mike and Marian Ilitch, who owned Little Caesars Pizza. One of their first hires was Jimmy Devellano as the team’s general manager and he selected a shy, 18-year-old center named Steve Yzerman with the fourth overall pick of the 1983 NHL Draft. (quoted from Detroit Red Wings website)
• Coffey became the first defenseman to collect 1,000 assists, Yzerman scored the 500th goal of his career during the 1995-96 season and Bowman broke the record for the most NHL games coached. Yzerman discovered how Red Wing fans felt about him once and for all this year too. With rumors of a trade swirling, he received a tremendous and deafening ovation when he was introduced at the home opener at Joe Louis Arena. Fans shouted, “Stevie!” “Stevie!” “Stevie!” That moment made it clear that Yzerman would remain a Red Wing for life. (quoted from Detroit Red Wings website)
• Because I am giving you more history than you really need, I do not want to leave out the important (but awful) “Dead Things” era. Between 1967 and 1983, Detroit only made the playoffs twice, winning one series. During this dark era in franchise history, the team was derisively known as the “Dead Wings” or “Dead Things”. But the fans stayed faithful and look where we are now.
• The Octopus -it’s immediately recognizable, and it signals the postseason in Detroit as much as the calendar does. The legend of the octopus even has its own page of the Red Wings’ web site. The tradition began in 1952 when two brothers, who were storeowners in the city’s Eastern Market, tossed the critter on the ice at Olympia Stadium to symbolize the eight wins needed to capture the Stanley Cup, which the Red Wings did that season. Trying to stem the frenzy inspired when the Zamboni driver at Joe Louis Arena (Shout out to Al Sobotka! – is your team’s Zamboni driver famous? Hmm?) swings an octopus over his head, the NHL this spring issued a warning that any time a driver touched an octopus, he would be subject to a $10,000 fine by the League. (This is by far the most ridiculous, anti-Red Wing rule ever. And I will be forever disappointed that Mr. Ilitch didn’t just tell the League to stick it by having Al twirl that baby for all he’s worth and pay the effing fine!!!)

Quality/Quantity of Fans: (Red Wing Nation!)

Love of the team

No fan can ever claim that their team is the most loved. Not possible. Anyone who knows me knows the absolute LOVE I have for the Red Wings Organization, the coaches, the team, and the players themselves. But for as much as I love them, I would never claim to love the Wings more than another fan loves their team. And anyone who tries to claim that they have the “best” fans is just flat-out wrong. Sorry. This comes from someone who is really very proud of my fellow Wings fans, but who would never be so arrogant to think that other fans aren’t every bit as passionate.

How many fans do you have?

The fact that the Red Wings have fans around the nation and around the world is undisputed. It’s been reported by the team and by fans that in almost every arena there is a significant number of Wings fans. Also, every major hockey site on the web is swarming with Wings fans. Wings jerseys are even seen in TV shows and movies (at least more than I’ve ever seen of any other team’s jerseys.)

Bandwagon?

The idea that the Wings have more bandwagon fans than other teams is something I hear (from haters) on a fairly regular basis. I just don’t find that to be true. I can understand that point of view though. I mean, when you have an EXCELLENT team for 11+ years, people are bound to be interested in you. However, one could also argue that you have no idea if people are bandwagon or not because fans haven’t been able to prove themselves (and likely won’t for some time) because the Wings are consistently good. Fans can only really be tested during the bad times.

Fan Hockey Knowledge:

One thing that I notice on a regular basis is how knowledgeable the fans in any given arena are. You can really tell by what the fans believe is a penalty. For instance, if you watch a Leafs game you will notice that the fans aren’t freaking out if one of their players hits the ice unless there was an actual penalty that should have been called. And then they’re all signaling the appropriate call. On the other hand, if you watch a Predators game the fans go nuts wanting a call if one of their players loses an edge and falls with the nearest opposing player 20 feet away. On the sliding scale of fan knowledge, Wings fans are definitely at the top of the spectrum with other hockey knowledgeable markets. Obviously – I am not speaking of every individual fan but of the fans as a whole with knowledge averaging out. Using my example above, I am certain there are plenty of Preds fans who know their hockey inside and out – but I would argue that a large portion of the fan base doesn’t have as deep a knowledge as the Leafs fan base. That’s all. (Sorry, Preds fans – not trying to pick on you especially since I have a lot of respect for your passion for keeping your team in Nashville.)

Another example of Wing fan knowledge as reported by Larry Wigge of the Sporting News on January 7, 2002: “People kept coming up to me to tell me how to shoot against Patrick Roy,” says Robitaille, 35, who is in his first year with the Red Wings. “I’m having my salad and a guy from one end of the restaurant tells me to shoot high against Patrick. Then I get to the main course and another guy comes up to our table and says he’ll give you the five-hole but you have to shoot it quick. By the time I got to dessert, the waiter recommended that I go stick side. It’s funny, but I’ve never gotten a lesson in shooting at a restaurant before.”

See what I mean? Passion and knowledge.

Expectations:

There is no doubt that Wings fans expect the utmost effort and success from our team. We are incredibly hard on the team and especially our goalies. I would agree that we are, to a point, spoiled. Lucky for us, the Red Wing organization is 1000% committed to winning. Knowing that they care every bit as much as we do about winning is an amazing thing. The fact that they do it in a classy manner is even better.

Again, as reported by Larry Wigge of the Sporting News on January 7, 2002: “There’s a price you have to pay as players, and there’s a price the fans have to pay to be the best, and while I’ve been here, at least, both sides have made that commitment to winning,” Yzerman says. "The playoffs are a long and arduous road. You need to get a pat on the back or kick in the pants once in a while. And our fans have always been there for us in either case.

“They are honest, fair and passionate. It’s like having a man advantage when you are on the ice, and you’ve got them in the stands on your side.”

With a glowing recommendation like that by THE CAPTAIN, the universally loved and respected, Steve Yzerman – how can anyone doubt Wings fans?

Pride in the organization:

Wings fans have so much to be proud of and it doesn’t even necessarily have to center around winning.

Here is a quote by Jim Nill, Vice President/Assistant General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings as said to the young players at the Red Wings Prospect Camp this last September:

“You are a Red Wing now. Hold your head up high, take care of yourself, and treat others with respect.”

I think that sums up the Wings organization as a whole. They are proud of their status as Red Wings and represent the Wings to the community in a positive way. They take care of themselves and strive to make sure that each individual is the best that they can be including their health and conditioning. (Chelios’ training is legendary.) And they do treat others with respect. In my opinion, that is one of the central things that every human being should hold themselves accountable to. The fact that the organization actively promotes that… incredible.

Also, the Wings organization may very well be the most devoted to their players. They don’t put older players out to pasture just because they’ve gone past their prime. They utilize the experience of those players on the bench and in the locker room. They treat those players with dignity and respect and I would imagine that the loyalty that is shown to the players is in large part returned by the players. This is most easily proven in the fact that players take less money to stay in Detroit. While others scoff at the Wings’ reclamation efforts (like McCarty) – Wings fans know that we can trust our organization and they won’t let us down. Say what you want about our team being “old”, but the proof is in the pudding, kiddies. And Wings’ pudding is GOOD STUFF. Good enough to win us a big, shiny trophy…

Attendance:

Ahh… now here’s the ONE sticking point for the nay-sayers. It is the one consistent reason those that propose that the title of Hockeytown should be stripped from Detroit point to. It goes something like this: “How can you call Detroit ‘Hockeytown’ if you can’t sell out the Joe?”

Yes, let’s talk about that…

The Joe Louis Arena experienced an 11 YEAR SELL-OUT STREAK which ended on April 12, 2007. Know what has happened that changed?? – our economy went down the toilet! You know what else? Tickets that normally cost $44 jumped to around $200 in the playoffs. Nice, huh?

Check out the last eight years of average attendance throughout the NHL. You’ll see that the woes are only as of late in Detroit. Here’s our ranking for average attendance numbers:
2001 – Detroit #2 behind Montreal
2002 – Detroit #1
2003 – Detroit #2 behind Montreal
2004 – Detroit # 2 behind – you guessed it! – Montreal
2005 – lockout
2006 – Detroit #3 behind Montreal and Tampa Bay
2007 – Detroit #2 behind Montreal
2008 – Detroit #7

Michigan’s unemployment rate is the highest of any state. At 7.7 percent it is a full 1.6 percent higher than the next closest state of Alaska!

For every person without a job there are countless more who are living in fear that they too may lose pensions and jobs – which causes people to SAVE money rather than using their discretionary income. It’s hard to purchase hockey tickets when you are just trying to keep a roof over your head and food in your kids’ mouths.

As reported in Sept 2008 by the Muskegon Chronicle: “A new report says Michigan has lost 315,200 manufacturing jobs during the last eight years — a 35.5 percent reduction that represents the biggest percentage decline in the nation.

“The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition report released Friday says Michigan’s total job loss of 489,900 during the same time period is more than three times worse than during the oil-induced Rust Belt downturn of 1974-82.

“Flint, Ann Arbor, Saginaw and the Detroit-Livonia metropolitan area suffered the biggest percentage declines in manufacturing job losses. The worst total job losses have occurred in Detroit-Livonia, Flint, Jackson and Saginaw.”

And let’s not forget about the great Wings fans in Windsor, Ontario which is just a short drive over the bridge from the Joe Louis Arena. Until recently, it was easy to get across the border. Now it’s a hassle that requires passports and documentation. Don’t think that hasn’t affected the number of Canadian Wings fans that attend games.

But don’t worry. We’ll fill up your arena. Michiganders have moved out of the state for various reasons - mostly because they needed to search for meaningful employment elsewhere or in search of more desirable weather. (I actually love our weather. But I like snow so I guess I’m in the minority.) But they show up in droves at their nearest NHL arenas to support their Wings.

Area Hockey Participation:

Michigan has more registered USA Hockey players than any other state. In fact USA hockey is divided into multi-state districts, except Michigan which has so many players that they have their own district.

Adult hockey is on the rise in Michigan, according to USA Hockey, with over 14,000 players registered with the sport’s national governing body in 2001-02. With almost 77,000 adult players in the country, Michigan accounts for nearly 20 percent of registered players.

Michigan has more than 62,000 registered hockey players, coaches and officials with close to 3,800 teams registered with USA Hockey, which is the most of any state in the nation.

In addition, Michigan State and the University of Michigan hockey clubs are nothing to sneeze at. (Big love for my alma mater of Lake Superior State University and their former hockey glory.) Traverse City (where the Wings hold their annual training camp) has so much love for hockey that it calls itself ‘Hockeytown North’.

Fun fact: The first U.S.-born player to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft was Michigan Tech right-winger Herb Boxer. Boxer, a native of Hancock, Michigan, was picked 17th overall in 1968 by the Detroit Red Wings.

Continued SUCCESS (a.k.a. SCOREBOARD!!!)

The Red Wings have been in the playoffs for 17 consecutive seasons, the longest active streak among the major American sports. During that stretch, Detroit has won FOUR Stanley Cups, reached the conference finals six times, won six President’s Trophies and won its division 11 times. And that includes the salary cap era.

Detroit is far ahead of its Original Six counterparts in recent success. Of the foundling franchises (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York Rangers, and Toronto), only Montreal (’93) and New York (’94) have won the Cup since the Red Wings started their postseason streak, and Chicago is the only other team to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Detroit has ELEVEN Stanley Cups, third among NHL teams behind Montreal (23) and Toronto (13) and has 58 Hall of Famers. The Rangers went 54 years between Cups, Chicago has not won since 1961, Boston’s been dry since 1972 and Toronto since 1967. (Sorry guys – not trying to rub it in…)

The Wings are second only to the Montreal Canadiens in most Finals appearances. FIVE of the top 10 all-time goal scorers played for Detroit. (Shanahan is Number 11 – just FYI.) Just to put it another way – 50% of the ALL-TIME goal scorers since the NHL’s inception have been Red Wings. Impressive, huh?! THREE of the top 10 all-time leaders of assists played for Detroit. TWO of the top 10 all-time points leaders played for Detroit.

Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Red_Wings_records for a complete listing of all the records that the Wings hold on a League basis and feel free to compare them with your team’s records.

The 2007-2008 season: The Red Wings captured eight individual and team trophies throughout the 2007-08 season. The team brought home the Stanley Cup, the Presidents’ Trophy, and the Clarence Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champions. Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe. Pavel Datsyuk won the Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) and Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship), Lidstrom captured his SIXTH Norris Trophy (top defenseman), and Osgood and Dominik Hasek shared the Jennings Trophy (team goals against). Detroit legend Gordie Howe was also honored with the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award.

As for how the Wings stack up against the other teams in the League on the MOST important factor – the reason every team and every player laces up the skates: STANLEY CUP WINS. I am presenting this information to show how successful the Wings have been in recent years compared with every other team in the NHL.

Team – Number of Cups won – the last time they won the Cup
• Montreal Canadiens: 24 (!!!) – last win: 1993
• Toronto Maple Leafs: 13 – last win: 1967
• DETROIT RED WINGS: 11 – last win: 2008 (4 total wins in the last 11 years: 97, 98, 02, and 08 – very obviously the most successful team for the last 2 decades)
• Edmonton Oilers: 5 – last win: 1990 (but what a run they had with wins in 84, 85, 87, 88, and 90 – the glory years for them)
• Boston Bruins: 5 – last win: 1972 
• New York Islanders: 4 – last win: 1983 (they won 4 in a row! 1980-83)
• New York Rangers: 4 – last win: 1994
• New Jersey Devils: 3 – last win: 2003
• Chicago Blackhawks: 3 – last win: 1961
• Colorado Avalanche: 2 – last win: 2001
• Philadelphia Flyers: 2 – last win: 1975 (it is noteworthy though that their 2 Stanley Cup were back-to-back. 1974 and 1975)
• Pittsburgh Penguins: 2 – last win: 1992 (again – the Penguins were another back-to-backer for their only 2 Cups winning 1991 and 1992)
• Tampa Bay Lightning: 1 – last win: 2004
• Anaheim (dirty, dirty) Ducks: 1 – last win: 2007 (booo! Hisssss!!!)
• Calgary Flames: 1 – last win: 1989
• Carolina Hurricanes: 1 – last win: 2006
• Dallas Stars: 1 – last win: 1999 (no arguing about this one, kiddies. It’s in the books.)
• Atlanta Thrashers: 0
• Buffalo Sabres: 0 (one of the cities who would like to claim the title of Hockeytown. This franchise joined the NHL in 1970.)
• Columbus Blue Jackets: 0
• Florida Panthers: 0
• Los Angeles Kings: 0
• Washington Capitals: 0
• Minnesota Wild: 0 (one of the cities that would like to claim the title of Hockeytown even though they lost their original NHL team to Texas)
• Nashville Predators: 0
• Ottawa Senators: 0 (at least, not with the latest version of this team. The team that played until 1934 and then moved to St. Louis won 11 times. The new Senators were founded in 1993)
• Phoenix Coyotes: 0
• San Jose Sharks: 0
• St. Louis Blues: 0
• Vancouver Canucks: 0

And how about if we take it a step further:

No Finals Appearances…
1. Atlanta Thrashers
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Minnesota Wild
4. Nashville Predators
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. San Jose Sharks

No Conference Finals…
1. Atlanta Thrashers
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Nashville Predators
4. Phoenix Coyotes

In conclusion

I don’t know how any other US city/franchise can even try to claim the title of Hockeytown. I hope that I have presented the facts in a way that was (mostly) respectful, but I could never claim to be unbiased.

No matter what the ultimate outcome is at the end of this season for the Red Wings, the nickname “Hockeytown” will remain as appropriate as ever.

One last little item of note: the “HOCKEYTOWN” nickname is a registered trademark of Ilitch Holdings Inc., the parent company of the Red Wings. No matter how many arguments are made by another team, city, or magazine - DETROIT will remain HOCKEYTOWN. Period. End of story.

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The Much Anticipated Wings Fan Fest Blog

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

*Originally posted on September 11, 2008 on NHL Connect

Last Sunday, I had the absolute pleasure of going to the Joe (the Joe Louis Arena) for Red Wings Fan Fest. It took some finagling and shift-swapping and begging and bribing, but I made it there. And, boy, was it worth it.
 
I got there a bit late (totally par for the course with me) so I missed the first session with Stevie Y and Jim Nill. However, I did arrive in time to grab an excellent seat to see Ken Daniels interview Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman. Unfortunately, the audio equipment was terrible. So I could only hear about half of what was being said.

What I did get was that Gordie had a LOT to say, and Stevie kind of sat back and watched the show until Gordie was done. I’m not complaining about that -just an observation. I was hanging on every word I could make out.  I mean, Gordie-FREAKING-Howe and Steve-THE CAPTAIN-Yzerman were 40 feet away from me!

Some basics that they talked about (Please keep in mind that every quote and paraphrase by people referred to in this blog is just that – a paraphrase. I did not carry a tape recorder with me so that’s as good as I can do.): Being a Red Wings is an amazing thing. They got a strong sense of pride every time they pulled on the Winged Wheel. They are proud of the organization as a whole and of the players as people.  (yes – warm fuzzies all around)

Then came time for the fans to ask questions. So I took this once-in-a-lifetime chance to ask a question of one or both of these LEGENDS. What to ask, what to ask???? I mean… I wanted an hour of time all to myself to ask questions. I decided to ask what has been weighing most heavily on my mind…

“Steve, recently Ken Holland gave an interview and he said that you were ready to be a GM. That statement has struck fear in the hearts of those of us that analyze every word out of that genius’ mouth. Obviously, Ken Holland will be around for quite a while and he does an amazing job, which doesn’t give you the opportunity for quite some time. Would you consider going to another team or do you plan to be a Red Wing for your ENTIRE career?” (yeah, I’m wordy.)
 
That question probably didn’t make him too happy (since he’s in front of a bunch of dedicated Wings fans), but I give him a ton of credit for answering honestly… even if his answer made me sad. Basically, the legend said that he thinks incredibly highly of the Wings organization. And he spent some time praising all the people in the front office. He said that he signed a contract with the Wings with the understanding that he would learn how things worked on the executive level of the business so that he could go further up the chain. Then he said that he has a lot of goals left to fulfill in his career and he may have to go to another team to fulfill them.

Saaaaddddd Jessica. I mean – it hasn’t happened yet – but it could. And that just seems surreal. Not that I blame him… Please, Stevie, don’t leave us!

Anyways, then I got to do some cool things like sit on the Wings bench. Met Ken Daniels and got his autograph. Took a look at all the hardware that they won this season (minus Stanley). Wandered the Joe and met new people - including a guy who is totally going to hook me up at training camp. He apparently goes every year and knows all the inside scoop on where to be for autographs etc. Good guy to know! I met and got autographs from Brent Fedyk, John Ogrodnick, and Johnny Wilson. We even got to go into the press box and the usher was really cool and gave me a guided tour. I got to see where Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels do their thing and where Bud Lynch sits.

So then, Kris Draper took the stage (they had fixed the audio issue by now) and he told us that the reason that the Stanley Cup wasn’t at the event is because Tomas Holmstrom took it home with him from the day before. Darn, Homer! (whether or not this was true is unclear – Draper may have just been stirring the pot, which would be hilarious)

So Drapes talked for a bit about how amazing it was to win the Cup this year and about how he spent his time with it (yes, even mentioned baby Kamryn Rose’s little ‘hazing’ of the Cup) and how special it was to share it with his kids. Then time for the fans to ask questions. So, of course, I had questions for him.
     
“Hi Kris, I was wondering if you believe that Homer is a marked man and what you thought about the officiating during the playoffs.”  
 
Drapes: “Well, I certainly think Homer is a marked man now for all of you! After all, you wanted to see the Cup too!” haha!

“I do think Homer is a marked man. He does an amazing job at his position and the opposing teams and the refs know that. He pushes the line and so teams are always complaining about him. The refs watch him really close and they don’t give him the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think that’s fair.”

“As far as the officiating goes, I think the refs did a great job… and I don’t think that just because we won the Cup.” He grins. “Hockey is a really hard game to ref because it’s so fast. I think they did the best they could. They don’t have the benefit of seeing things over and over again like fans do. They have a split second to make a decision and they do the best they can.”
   
Classy. Verrry classy. Red Wings classy. I am not so classy. I think the league was doing its absolute best to make that series go to 7 games. But that’s one fan’s opinion.

Drapes was asked who his all-time favorite player is and he said Steve Yzerman. Loved that. ALL TIME FAVE is a guy he got to play with and who he still works with. I think that says a lot.

He was asked when he may retire (!!!) and he said he didn’t plan to do that for a looonngg time. (to which I say – GOOD! I love my Grinders.) 

Draper was also asked about how Hudler was treated after having the last penalty in Games 5 and 6 of the Finals. He laughed. He said that no one cared in Game 6 – not even Osgood who joked to the media that he would kill Hudler when he found him. Drapes said that he started celebrating 2 seconds before the clock ran out and that he was very thankful that Osgood played the whole 60 minutes.

As for Game 5 – he said that they were really downtrodden in the locker room after that game. Lidstrom walked in and looked around the locker room and smiled. He said, “Don’t worry about it, guys. We WILL win the Stanley Cup this year. We didn’t win it this game. We’ll win it in Game 6.” Then went about his business like he didn’t have a care in the world. How great is that? For your Captain, a guy as respected as Lidstrom, to proclaim that you will win that Cup…. you can’t do anything but believe him. That is awesome. I freaking LOVE this team…

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The Toast of Hockeytown - Part I

Red Wings Training Camp Parts 1 & 2

In Defense of Hockeytown

The Much Anticipated Wings Fan Fest Blog

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