Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic Breast Cancer Awareness All-Star Game 2019

Carolina All-Star Game Jersey Unveiled

Once again, it's time for me to put on my critic hat and analyze the newest design for the game jerseys that will be worn in the upcoming all-star game in the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC. Most likely, the NHL and Reebok has a lot of money in marketing tied into this new product, it's necessary to look at this from a consumer point of view.

"You've got the ultimate fantasy draft and what's shaping up as an exciting All-Star weekend," he said. "The Winter and Heritage Classic have more of a vintage theme while the All-Star Game is more futuristic. The new uniforms have a futuristic design and look to them.

"Our events are getting bigger in scale. It's like having a 31st team in the NHL, and [sales] do quite well depending on the market."

The fist question that should be answered is "Would I buy it?" or more specifically, "Would I spend the retail price to own one?" That answer for me is no. Right away, it looks like something that would not spark a "gotta have it" response from me. (But then again this is the same first impression that I got from the Penguins Winter Classic jersey and it feels like I am softening from that stance as well.) Perhaps, the fans as a whole would likely buy them up at the sports stores and merchandise kiosks now installed in most hockey arenas. It would be interesting to see the sales figures in the Carolinas as to how many hockey fans there in the triangle would buy one out of civic duty knowing that this all-star game featured their host city festivities and hospitality.

Ascetically, I don't enjoy the Edge cut at all and when I see this jersey, I am surprised that it does not take on the style of the host city like the other all-star host locations have. Minnesota used green, Montreal made sure to use their bleu-blanc-rouge with Stanley Cup years on them, but having this jersey blue strikes me as an odd choice as they ignore the red and black Hurricanes motif. It's not even styled the same horizontally.

The designated home team will wear white jerseys, helmets and socks, with red trim. The opposing team will have dark blue jerseys, helmets and socks with royal blue trim.

So, it will be a new futuristic look for the all-stars as the switch over to a new "fantasy draft" format begins to go in a new direction - something that the other sports leagues have not done yet.

"We think the stripes reflect the new NHL," Keith Leach, Reebok's director of merchandising, said Monday. "The NHL game is faster, speedier, more fluid and in constant motion, and we wanted a more aggressive design."

The swoosh lines are going up the sleeve instead of going around it also suggests that they want the jerseys to look slimmer. Something I don't want. However, I am sure somebody in hockey fandom will purchase them.

[Via: Charlotte News Observer

NHL Promotes Radical Changes for 2011 All Star Game Format

The NHL has adopted a strange new format for the upcoming 2011 All-Star Game. Instead of the traditional East vs West pairings or even the North America vs World format, there will be two team captains dubbed with the responsibility to draft the all-star players on two teams. This would be certainly showing their hand as they are surely going to promote yet again a "Team Crosby" versus "Team Ovechkin". Granted, the hype and talk that this will generate will undoubtedly work in the NHL's favor with the promising rewards of high TV ratings, but at what cost with this anger a fanbase who's support through the lean times was tested like no other?

Under the new format, two captains per team will select the remaining all-stars in any order they choose. Those teams will compete in the all-star game and skills competition.

At the risk of sounding immature, this is a ridiculously idiotic idea cooked up by a fraternity of athletes who's only goal is to promote themselves disregarding the greater good of the league, the team franchises, as well as the century old game that the fans have a deep passion for.

NHL vice-president Brendan Shanahan says the goal is to "make the game more fun for everyone" and to "inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events.

So, if this new format is to help include the interest of hockey's big name stars, who admittedly seek out excuses to not attend all-star games in the past, then where is the true reward for the fans who want to see their favorite athletes play against a combination of the best the league has to offer.

Suppose the teams were dived up where popular players on one team would suit up for the opposing team thus destroying rooting interest. Suppose "Team Ovechkin" decides to draft Geno Malkin onto his all-stars. That would cause fans in Pittsburgh to divide their rooting interests! Pittsburgh fans want to support both Crosby and Malkin - on the same all-star team.

This decision is beyond stupid and I hope that the NHL fan base can rise up and proclaim mutual disgust.

[Via: Rogers Sportsnet]

Crosby Sits Out Second Straight All Star Game

Despite being one of the most popular hockey players in the world and the massive support of hockey fans in North America, Sidney Crosby has again bowed out of playing in the All Star game for the second straight time.

Crosby, who had only one appearance in 2007 in Dallas, did not fair well by barely registering on the box score. Last season, Crosby could not participate because of the ankle injury, but fans held to their hopes that the young star would be featured in many more all star games in the future.

Crosby tried to tough it out playing in the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes games. But it was evident that he was in real pain when local TV broadcasts caught Crosby's grimaced face.

Crosby's status for the Penguins' first game after the break, Wednesday against the New York Rangers at Mellon Arena, won't be determined until after the team resumes practicing Monday.

Could it have been some kind of jinx or voodoo that sent Crosby's misfortunes to take a turn for the worse? Fans in Montreal who were hoping for an all-Montreal starting roster were spoiled by a surge in voting to break up the 100-year-old Montreal club fans.

It could have been real special to see what Crosby would do on the Bell Centre ice. He has made magic happen before and the looming fact that his dad, Troy, was once a part of the Canadians.

Although Crosby won't play in the all-star game, his representatives, along with officials of the team and league, are trying to figure out a way to have him involved in the weekend's festivities.

"We're trying to work that out," general manager Ray Shero said. "He'd certainly like to be part of it."

I haven't seen any Crosby All-Star jerseys around the arena, city, or hockey equipment shops. I guess the NHL shop will discontinue the Crosby all star jersey as well.

[Via: Via: Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

2009 NHL All Star Starters Announced

The 2009 All-Stars were announced today in Montreal by an aging hockey star Jean Béliveau.

“In three weeks, the world’s greatest players will come here, to one of the world’s great hockey cities, to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens,” former Canadiens star Jean Beliveau said in announcing the rosters. “I had the pleasure of playing in 13 All-Star Games and I can tell you it was an absolute honor. I look forward to watching the stars of today.”

In the Eastern Conference, it was no real big surprise. The top two vote getters Sid Crosby and "Geno" Malkin were named starting forwards along with former Penguin Alex Kovalev. Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek will be at the blueline to guard for sophomore sensation Carey Price.

On the Western Conference side, the Ducks and Blackhawks will start on the ice. Fresh off their Winter Classic efforts, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews led the West in fan balloting. On defense, another Hawk, Brian Campbel will support Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

I am going to refrain from giving too much opinion here so that I could see who else gets selected to go to Montreal for the game. It could depend on who goes with what goalie and who has the worst goalie outing considering they each play one period a piece.

[Via: Yahoo! Sports]

Crosby is More Popular Than Jagr

With special thanks to all the Pittsburgh Penguins fans who got out the vote and challenged the ballot stuffing in Quebec, Sid Crosby has now set the All-Star vote record gaining over 1 million 1 hundred thousand votes.

I don't agree with either the Penguins or Canadians who have been furiously voting to put their stars in the starting line-up. Of course, this doesn't bode well for the future of the NHL All-Star games when fans can affect the voting so drastically. The All-Stars are vastly becoming a game that features the popular stars instead of the players who work hard and deserve a position on the roster. Sergei Gonchar, who hasn't played 1 minute in this current season has scored 969655 votes thanks to the encouragement of local sports reporters and broadcasters.

As a show of fairness, maybe the NHL will come up with a compromising solution. Could the NHL have a exhibition game between the 100 Year Montreal Anniversary team against the best of the NHL young stars. That is what Montreal wants to see.

Jagr previously held the All-Star voting record, but opted to play in Russia for his last years as a pro. It would be interesting to see just what this year would result had Jagr stayed in the NHL this season instead. Would he siphon off some of Crosby's popularity?

Anyway, the best and fairest voting would be to get a system of "One-fan, One-ballot". Since the NHL Fans Association (NHLFA) is looking for something to rally around now that the lockout is over, have all fans register with them and they can take care of the ballots.

[Via: Pittsburgh Penguins Official Website]

Montreal All Star Game Improvement Committee

What turned out to be a little disappointment for the NHL during their All-Star game in Atlanta, GA, the NHL has chosen a "think tank" committee to consider drastic improvements into the All-Star NHL celebration. Starting with a sagging interest in the skills competition, something to spice up viewer interest. Certainly, the same old thing just isn't going to work again.

One of the things being thrown around, as reported by TSN's Darren Dreger, is the possibility of the return of former NHL stars going head-to-head in exhibition against the current crop of players. What a dumb idea this will be!!! Ugh! First of all, the former stars available are all in their late 60s. So, going up against the young kids of today, they will only embarrass themselves. Badly. Secondly, if you have to focus on the past, you have no future.

The "trick-shot" was an experiment that only Ovechkin understood last year. The NHL tried to incorporate a sort-of slam dunk exhibition. The all-stars would be given a chance to show off their shootout skills by trick shooting at the goalie one-on-one. I hope they pre-qualify the players before hand so that they don't get too many players like last year.

Just so I don't get to just criticize other ideas, I will offer my own.

• A Crosby vs. Ovechkin one-on-one should be interesting. This way we can put to rest who is better.


• A "blocked shots" competition that has two shooters try to get past a sliding defender blocking shots sliding from side to side

[Via: Going Five Hole]

Hockey Fanatic Podcast No. 5 - Live Edition

I decided as a new addition to the All-Star festivities should include a little live audio blogging stunt as I watch the NHL Skills competition live from the Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic Studios.

I tried to save a few soundbytes from the audio, but it didn't quite work out the way I planned it to. I watched the shootout competition and commented as it was happening. So, if you taped the Versus Network version, then go ahead and play this overtop for a second alternative audio. Tomorrow I will be watching the All-Star game from my "Cheers" in Rivertowne Pub & Grille. Stay tuned as I will be talking about that sometime soon.


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He Got Mad Skillz

For those of you who don't get Versus yet, or weren't able to have access to the CBC broadcast of the NHL All-Star Weekend, I will do my best to give you my perspective of the Young Stars game and subsequent skills competition.

First of all, it was much shorter than the all-day festival it used to mean. Sure, fans could partake in their own parties and games around the continent all day and all evening, but the classic game of the retired vets have been thrown away in favor of promoting the young stars in what I could tell looked like a glorified game of shinny.

There was very little defense and with a running clock, people were just skating around, cherry picking, and waiting for that one open ice play that would probably look great on the highlight reels.

"Not really," said Patrick Eaves, a forward from the Senators. "We were kind of joking around out there."

2 out of the 3 Penguins youngstars looked like they wanted to be there. shooting defenseman Ryan Whitney collected a great goal with a shot out in the faceoff circle. Jordan Staal, brother to Eric, got a goal past Peter Budaj

The Skills competition was a little routine but Sid Crosby didn't disappoint in his All-Star debut. He helped the Eastern Stars find a 15-11 win against the Western Stars. Chara scored the hardest slapshot at 100.4 mph. Luckilly, there was no goaltender to stand in the way of that shot.

Sports Illustrated