Were You Watching, Jets?

When the first version of the Winnipeg Jets played at the Winnipeg Arena, Tie Domi was a fan favorite. He fought, he battled, he scored a few goals, and he was generally the kind of blue-collar player that Winnipeggers take pride in as a member of the team. Fast forward to today, and there's another Domi of the same bloodline coming through the junior ranks that looks like he'll make everyone in Winnipeg forget about his dad. That is, if the Jets are lucky enough to draft Max Domi in this year's upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

I have been impressed with Domi's play all season long despite his efforts being overshadowed by teammate Bo Horvat. Horvat is unquestionably the finisher on the London Knights roster, but Domi is the engine that keeps that line running and performing at peak efficiency. Domi goes into the corners, heads to the high-traffic areas, and routinely shows that his nose for physicality neds to be respected thanks to his soft hands and keen vision.

Case in point? How about tonight's magic against the Portland Winterhawks at the Mastercard Memorial Cup? Check this out (sorry about the ads - that's a Sportsnet thing).

Holy dynamite! I hope Kevin Cheveldayoff was watching that sequence because Max Domi just pulled off some magic unseen in the NHL, AHL, or CHL playoffs currently going on. I'm not saying that he's going to be able to recreate that creativity in the NHL, but the kid can play. Chevy better be penciling his name into the Jets' #13 slot at the draft. Letting him get away would be criminal!

Max Domi may have the best assist of the year in any league. Looks like he, like his dad, will play in the NHL for a long time based on his skill set.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

In My Thoughts Tonight

The above skyline is that of Oklahoma City. If you hadn't heard by now, OKC is in the midst of one of the worst tornado seasons in recent memory, and there is sure to be loss of life and devastation left behind once the twisters have moved on. In light of this, I just want to say that the people of Oklahoma City are in my thoughts tonight as they try to avoid these tornadoes and be safe.

I was lucky enough to visit Oklahoma City on a roadtrip to Houston a few years back. It's a gorgeous, vibrant city with some of the nicest people I have met on my travels. Southern hospitality was certainly on-hand in spades when I needed some help from the front desk clerk at my hotel and during a stop at a convenience store to ask for directions to a local venue. The people at the store and in line went out of their way to help, and I can only say that it was a positive experience for a guy who turned left when he should have gone right. Thanks, OKC, for helping this guy out.

I wrote a pretty solid article - in my opinion - about the hockey culture in Oklahoma City thanks to the CHL's Oklahoma City Blazers. The AHL's Oklahoma City Barons are the new hockey franchise in town, and they've provided the crowds with an exciting team thanks to be stocked with the Edmonton Oilers rookies and kids.

The Barons are still competing for the Calder Cup this season as they await the winner of the Toronto Marlies and the Grand Rapids Griffins, but I'm pretty sure that hockey will take a backseat to the devastation the city is facing thanks to the wrath of Mother Nature. Here's hoping that everyone in the Barons organization forgets about hockey to help the fans.

I wish nothing but the best for Oklahoma City. It's a scary time there right now, and hockey should take a backseat to anything but safety. May everyone be safe.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Love This Tradition

The Mastercard Memorial Cup started yesterday, and there's always something to look forward to when the three best teams in Canadian Major Junior Hockey gather in a host city for the championship. The host team always plays on the opening night of the tournament to ensure that they kick off things right - hopefully with a win - for the hometown fans, but there's always a second reason I look forward to this game: the Memorial Cup jersey worn by the host team.

We've seen this in past years as Kitchener, Rimouski, Brandon, Mississauga, and Shawinigan have all participated in the past five years. It's fantastic tradition of having the host team honor a local detachment of the Canadian Armed Forces with a jersey commemorating their contributions in World War I. The best part? "Proceeds from the auction will go towards the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. Poppy funds are spent to support veterans and their families, buy hospital equipment, support cadet groups, and provide student bursaries. The MasterCard Memorial Cup Theme Jersey Program was created in 2008 and have cumulatively generated over $100,000 for the fund."

Saskatoon took to the ice on Friday against the OHL Champions in the London Knights in these Mastercard Memorial Cup jerseys.

In a quick glance, they don't seem all that fantastic and could be easily mistaken for an everyday Saskatoon Blades uniform. But upon closer inspection, there are a number of uniform additions to make this uniform an excellent addition to the Mastercard Memorial Cup jersey set.

Let's start with the logo. The outer circle honors the three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces in the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army. The stylized maple leaf worn inside the circular logo isn't any maple leaf worn on a military vehicle that I can find, but it's a very appealing design nonetheless. The poppy is worn over the heart for all Memorial Cup teams, and is one of he best championship series patches in any sport.

On the right arm, you can see the Memorial Cup 13 patch on the shoulder. I do have a slight problem as there really needs to be an apostrophe on "13" because this actually the 95th Memorial Cup tournament. the "'13" would indicate the year rather than leaving some question as to what it meant. The addition of the word "loyalty" above the sleeve number is a nice touch.

On the left side, the Saskatoon Blades logo is worn on the shoulder, and the word "courage" sits above the sleeve number. Courage and loyalty are excellent traits to highlight on these uniforms as all heroes, including those men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms, possess these traits.

The backs of the jerseys did contain the names and numbers of the players in the game, and they look quite like the Blades' normal uniform fonts. Nothing out of the ordinary here as they are easily read on the white background of the uniform.

Overall, the good guys took to the ice in white as all home teams should. The Blades wore these uniforms proudly, playing a spirited game before finally falling to the London Knights by a 3-2 score. The uniforms look great on television, although the chest logo was a little hard to identify when the players were in full flight. But anytime the cameras isolated a Blades player, the uniform looked fantastic, and the Blades should be commended on designing an excellent uniform in the mold of the previous participants in this program.

What say you, readers: pass or fail with these Memorial Cup uniforms?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Disgusting

Eric Staal, seen to the left clutching his leg, was having himself a pretty nice little World Championships as the captain of the Canadian team. The team finished second in its pool behind surprising Switzerland, and Staal was looking to lead the Canadians past Sweden and into the semi-finals at the World Championships for the first time in three years. Things were going pretty well for Eric Staal and the boys until an ugly play derailed Staal, the team, and Canada's hopes for World Championship gold.

I'll be honest in saying that I'm not a Vancouver Canucks fan by any means, but I do have respect for the guys who worked their way through the Manitoba Moose in becoming Vancouver Canucks. Guys like Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, Mason Raymond, and Cory Schneider will always have my respect. After yesterday's game against Canada, Alex Edler will have none nor will be receive any for as long as he shall play the game.

I'll let Rogers Sportsnet anchor Don Taylor set this one up.

I think you know what's coming after watching that hit, right? Let's start the rant.

First off, what the hell was Edler thinking? Edler has been suspended for the remainder of the tournament, but I would be pushing for him to have a longer suspension from international hockey if that's possible. Edler skated in from the blueline, didn't deviate from his line, and skated his knee directly into Staal's knee. He didn't even try to get out of the way when he saw Staal changing course. If he had changed some direction or even tried to swing his leg out of the way, I might come off more tolerant. Instead, Edler should be banned for a long time for doing something extremely dangerous and stupid.

Secondly, much like he did for the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Edler shows up for fifteen minutes with Sweden before packing it in. Thanks for coming, jerk. Why bother showing up at all if this was the contribution? He may be one of Sweden's best players not in the NHL Playoffs, but that's a horsepoop move he pulled. Personally, if I'm Eric Staal, I'm dropping the gloves and destroying Alex Edler in the first shift when Vancouver and Carolina meet up next season. There was no need for this kind of hit, and hopefully it will not derail a rather successful career being carved out by Eric Staal.

Lastly, none of these players are getting paid to be over in Europe to play these games. To see Alex Edler pull off something like this is absolute garbage when everyone is over there trying to win for country. If I'm Peter Karmanos, I'm furious with Edler and the Canucks right now as this might affect the Hurricanes in 2013-14 as the extent of Eric Staal's injury is still unknown. Regardless of how bad the injury is, there will undoubtedly be some owners who will not want their players to participate in extracurricular activities such as the Olympics and World Championships thanks to the Edler hit.

That's a disgusting hit when you consider the distance traveled and target of the hit. Alex Edler is a good player with a lot of upside who has a long career ahead of him. For now, most fans will only remember him as "that Canuck who went knee-on-knee with Staal". And rightfully so.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode Thirty-Six

The Hockey Show returns tonight with a pile of Survivor: NHL Playoffs interviews! There are six people who have pre-recorded interviews for tonight's show, so we'll air those. If I am unsuccessful in getting the last two teams accounted for, Beans and I will deliver the eulogy for those teams. I've left messages for the two people who are MIA, but we can't wait forever to do this.

If you're been over to the Survivor: NHL Playoffs roster page, you'll notice a number of teams have been grayed out. Those are your eliminated teams. Those are the people who will either give their thoughts on why their team was eliminated in a Survivor-style exit interview OR we'll go to that team's opposition to have the eulogy delivered for the team that was defeated. That's how we roll on The Hockey Show. Don't hate the game. Everyone was told this was going to happen. Insert evil laugh here.

We'll also bring MJHL official Jeremie Gauvin in for another look at some of the calls or missed calls in the NHL Playoffs. We'll have a lot to talk about after Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals decided to complain about the officiating in their series against the Rangers. We'll also get his thoughts on the second round of the NHL Playoffs, and his predictions on who will be moving on to their respective conference finals.

It should be a fun night on The Hockey Show, so tune in on 101.5 UMFM at 6pm CT for all of the Survivor: NHL Playoffs fun!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!