Before the puck dropped last night the girls and I predicted it was going to be a bad night to be a goalie. But like most of my predictions, I was terribly wrong. The started quick enough with Kyle beach getting a jump on mixing it up. He would then take more penalties that night. A few of which I am pretty sure were “Kyle Beach, two minutes for being named ‘Beach.’ Beach, two minutes.” James Reid stood tall and held off the Giants who are sans Evander Kane. Jared Cowen was a bit more useful than usual. But that still isn’t saying much. Blake Gal continues to be a bulldozer with a wrecking ball attached, doing his part to fill the void the the departure of Dustin Donaghy. Still Hardy Sauter does the line change jumble. I’m waiting for the day when Leigh Mendelson Jon Klemm [edit: LOL, I'm dumb, of course I meant Klemm] just snaps and punches Hardy in the back of the head. Is that too much to hope for?
Also, I think I am pregnant from Levko Koper’s goal. My god was that sexy. Like…wow.
Final. Chiefs 2, Giants 1.
GUYS, THE MAPLE LEAFS BEAT THE WINGS LAST NIGHT 5-1. OH MY GOD, IT WAS LIKE THE SKIES PARTED AND THE BABY JESUS WAS LIKE “HEY WAC, I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN DOWN ‘CAUSE OF HOCKEY BUT I GIVE TO YOU THE LEAFS THRASHING THE WINGS.” AND IT WAS GOOD.
Also, I nicknamed Tanner Mort. Full House. Why? Because anytime I hear the name Tanner I think of Danny Tanner and Full House. Yeah I am really effing weird. But it makes sense to me.
After last night’s Chiefs victory over the Chilliwack Bruins the news came hard: Dustin Donaghy was traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a sixth round Bantam pick which is, essentially nothing. It’s crushing because while the Chiefs did still have the over ager status to settle, it sucks it was Donny. Donny wore a 16 on his sweater. Which a lot of grinding greats in the NHL seem to sport.
For the Chiefs, he did encompass the current Maple Leafs motto of “truculence, pugnacity, testosterone and belligerence.” You could count on Donaghy to drop his mitts when needed but more than that he brought character to the team. In fact, he proved himself to be versatile at the end of last season. When the Chiefs were collapsing amidst a playoff run, food poisoning and suspensions Donny stepped in and showed he can play defense as well. We’ll always remember that Friends Don’t Let Friends Fight Dustin Donaghy and Viva La Donaghy. We’re going to miss you, Dustin. Thank you for your time in a Spokane sweater. We wish you nothing but the best.
Kyle Beach continues to get shit done. 8 goals in 5 games? Divide that out and its 1.6 points per game. That’s out of control sexy. The ranks of the Beach Bunnies continues to swell and grow. Things Beach does that Jared Cowen doesn’t: acts like a goddamn captain. Last night Beach was skating hard and fast making all the right moves. In addition to directing teammates for positioning in faceoffs. What did Cowen do? Skate about lazily and MISS PASSES. Collapsing like a dying star? Yeah that would be Jared Cowen. He seems to have checked out and I don’t even want him here. I used to be proud to say “Cowen is a Chief and he is ours.” Now I’d be ok with shipping him out. Also, if Pittsburgh Bruins, I mean Chilliwack, can give Mitch McColm the C on his sweater, I don’t see why we can’t give it to Beach.
Also, I am tired of the line change jumbles. STILL. WHAT EVEN. This should not be taking place anymore. The constant mix ups make the boys look awkward out there, like they have no idea what to expect. And I realllllly want a Time On Ice stat for the WHL because I am dying to know how much Beach plays a game. I want to say it’s at least 30 mikes (that’s minutes in military speak, I’ve been watching Generation Kill). The front office of this team just continues to frustrate and disappoint me. With the lackluster coaching from Hardy Sauter to the absolutely dismal promotions; it’s an appetite for destruction. It just feels like the team is imploding. Perhaps I am being overly dramatic because well, I am a Leafs fan and have you looked at the points standings lately? Even then, I just want better. It’s not that hard.
NS16, The Canadian and I ventured to Kelowna Friday to see the Chiefs and Rockets game. I knew it was going to be an amazing day when we stopped to fill up and the gas station had OREO BROWNIES. Oh my god, whoever came up with that concoction deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Truly wonderful.
We journeyed north and there was snow on the ground. Crossing the border I was noting the eh’s the patrolwoman said as she took our IDs. We were going to have to get searched and a nice man asked to look through our purses. I was embarrassed because well, it was a mess. And I had things like headphones and a bagel and an alarming amount of lip product in my bag. As well as old receipts and hockey ticket stubs.
Kelowna was gorgeous and Ogopogo knows wassup. The Rocket fans are truly classy and I told them how much I love Luke Schenn and Baby Bowman. We were never once harassed for our Chiefs sweaters (Beach, Reid and Koper). The arena was nice and small and filled. I was giddy. I wasn’t exactly expecting the Chiefs to win so I was like “whatever I will drink this thing they have in Canada called cider and enjoy the game.” Guys! They poured the cider into a cup with a straw! It was almost like an adult sippy cup THERE WERE CHURROS TOO. Do you have any idea of how much I friggen love churros? Also the fans were so kind, putting up with my screaming/cheering GO BEACH GO about every three minutes.
Why can’t the Chiefs enter the ice all rad like the Rockets? They come out of the mouth of Ogopogo. With lights! And a fog machine! It was dazzling. I christened the new backup goalie, Mike Tadjdeh, Mr. T. Jared Cowen and Brett Bartman continue to be on my Unfavorites list. It’s like the T Mobile 5s, just not awesome. In the end I was giddy on cider and a Chiefs victory. It was a step in the right direction after the mess that was Wednesday’s game.
I left Kelowna totally in love with the fact there were many Wendy’s and liquor stores open until 11 pm. I had Tim Horton’s for the first time and thought, “I think I should live here.” I wanted to jump in the lake and declare MAKE ME ONE OF YOUR OWN, CANADA. We stopped at the border 7/11 and picked up Slurpees and I snagged the Maple Leaf Annual which I read in the car on the way back while occasionally falling asleep. The dude at the border checked the trunk of the car for hockey players. It’s like he knows us.
And last night’s game. Well uhmmm. The Chiefs played the Portland Winterhawks. I was pleased that the Chiefs did manage to hold off Portland for a bit and the final damage was 2-0 Winterhawks. The Hawks were efficient with their shots and continued to be bruising and physical. I was honestly surprised the Chiefs didn’t snap in the third and put on a display of truculence, pugnacity, testosterone and belligerence. Also, I motion to remove Cowen’s C because he is not cutting it as captain.
The Chiefs continue to hate me. I really don’t have much to say about last night’s game other than it was a disgusting performance. Which I never planned on saying given Kyle Beach had a hat trick and THE CHIEFS STILL LOST. I’m sorry, but under no circumstances should a team lose when a player steps up like that. I think I knew the night was going to suck when I was disappointed by the player magnet. It was handed to me and I said “REALLY?”
Some notes:
-Brayden Schenn wasn’t as tan as he was at the draft.
-There were three players present on the ice I saw drafted in Montreal: Schenn, Scott Glennie and Jared Cowen.
-Cowen was useless last night and played lazy and is thus ON MY LIST. And it’s not the one I bake cupcakes for.
-Mitch Wahl was playing defense a few times, pretty sure…
-Schenn scored a goal and it was announced as “Scoring for the Wheat Kings, Luke Schenn…” HAHAHAH.
-Reid probably needs a night off.
-Portland is at the top of our division. Is this real life?
-I miss Jared Spurgeon. A lot.
-It’s really hard for me to rage and kick the seat in front of me when there is a person sitting in it.
-I think the Wheat Kings lied about their heights. They looked super tall.
-Also the Kyle Beach fangirls are now known as Beach Bunnies. Yes, a boy can be a Beach Bunny.
Yo Chiefs:
Tomorrow, NS16, the Canadian and I are Kelowna bound. We have a hockey game to see. Fingers crossed the boys can pull off a road win.
Hey, did you know when the team actually tries, the score works in our favor? It’s seriously crazy how it works. The lines seemed to settle into better combinations, at least long enough so they could find chemistry with each other. The Wahl/Koper/Beach line needs a name. Also, that line shows up and makes the points happen. Stefan Ulmer was a one man defense wrecking crew. I like when he’s on the rampage. Kyle Beach got a bit feisty and I sat there saying “calm down, kitten…” Jared Cowen, please shave that ’stache you have going on? It’s not a cute look. Many of us think you look like Pedro, from Napoleon Dynamite. Chiefs winnnn 4-1. Scoring summary style.
Julia sent more pictures of Dustin Tokarski! Last night he notched his first shut out in Norfolk backstopping the Admirals to a 2-0 win with 26 saves. Also he’s wearing the 34, as he should be. Look at him skating with the kiddos!
“You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms; the most convenient definitions…”
There is always a comforting and warm nostalgia that comes with the opening of the hockey season. Things have changed but really it’s all the same. It’s like a formula that we all know, but it can still yield different results. The Chiefs came out to the usual fanfare of pyrotechnics. Though this season they squirted some lighter fluid on the ice and I thought SHIT’S ABOUT TO GET REAL, SON. And the boyos skated out along with some Chiefs alumni to celebrate the quarter century mark of the organization. Seth Compton, the precious lil’ woodland nymph returned too.
I went into the game basically trying to stave off totally hating Kyle Beach. I was prepared to supremely dislike him and mutter obscenities under my breath. And really when he took the penalty super fast into the first, I did an eye roll and thought “here we go…”
But something happened. Kyle Beach showed up to play some hockey. He was everywhere, making his presence known. And I was slightly giddy. I caught myself in moments where the words were leaving my mouth and I was cheering him on. I wanted him to succeed. Because face it, his failing does nothing good for the team.
It’s in the awkward crush stage I’d say. But I get it now. It’s like The Breakfast Club. I’m totally Claire Standish (I can even do the lipstick trick like her) and Kyle is John Bender. I think, that we have nothing in common as we suffer through this detention together. There we are, pushing each others buttons with undertones of flirting and him seeing through all my nonsense. And I’m laughing while he’s saying things like “screws fall out, the world is an imperfect place.” It’s not something that will last, but it’s good in the meanwhile. He’ll be OUTSTANDING because my parents use me to get back at each other.
So Kyle notches two goals and an assist. And has an adorable post game interview talking about how excited he is to be playing for Spokane and is a bit embarrassed over that penalty in the first. Also, he drove 30 hours to Spokane after he got the call about the trade. He was headed back to Lethbridge from Chicago then picked up his stuff and was Spokanda bound.
So yeah, maybe for the minute I have turned a corner on Kyle. I know what I’ve said before about him and I’d love for him to give me more reasons to ignore his rap sheet and priors. Mr Beach, welcome to Spokane. I hope you didn’t take the boos too seriously.
Jared Cowen looked fierce with his new leadership and wears the C well. I believe in Captain Cowen.
Chief win: 5-2 and Kyle is second star.
Portland thumps Seattle 6-1 and Seattle’s Stefan Warg was a painful -5 on the night.
“Summer for me has been going to the gym every day,” said Cowen, who is being kept off the ice during rookie camp. “There’s been no skating with the boys or doing 3-on-3s or something like that. It’ll be nice to get back out there and have some fun on the ice.”
Every time I see Cow Cow in Senators apparel, I tear up a little. But Jared is with a team he wants to be with. I just have to be happy for him. Come back to Spokane, Cow Cow. We miss you.
Ryan Classic was amazing and sent this to me. It’s out Reider! James Reid at Canucks camp.
Alright let’s get down to business. Thank you so much to everyone who posted in my absence. Y’all are amazing and I really appreciate you lending your time and creativity. ILY. In the event you ever need vaycay coverage; call me. I owe you. Thanks to the commenters too. No lamps were broken and you left me some booze! It’s going to be a bit of an information overload, so I’m tucking it under a jump.
Even if you are now a damned, dirty Senator. I still love you Jared Cowen. Though when you are playing against Luke Schenn, it will be really hard to like you even. But look at how happy you are;
Ahwwww. It’s precious. And then I read awesome articles like this and you say stuff like;
“I’ve been in NHL arenas before but this was different because I could play here someday,” he said about his first walk into his future pro hockey home. “Growing up, you’re always curious about what NHL dressing rooms look like. I like the dressing room here a lot. So far, I like everything I see.”
I know I skipped around and only did a few of the top fifteen. But hey, I promise to do better next year. Really all I want to talk about is Jared Cowen. Since he is one of our boys, we love and adore him in all his 6′5″ glory. If you read my ramblings on a semi regular basis, you know that the Cow Cow is a wonderful hulking defenseman born in Allan, Saskatchewan. His defensive partner is the very Spurgalicious, Jared Spurge0n. Jar Jar is just a tiny lil’ defenseman coming in at 5′8″ and about a buck seventy. They are a delightful pairing and they get the job done.
Oh, then Jared Cowen’s had a thing happen with his knee and missing the last crucial half of the Chiefs season. The absence of Cowen in the lineup showed just how integral he was. If you ask me, the Chiefs pretty much unraveled after the Cowen injury. The team got sloppy and a bit lazy and had no real discipline. The Chiefs then faced a bout of even more injuries, suspensions and the entire team getting food poisoning and barfing between periods of play, oh and then trying to capture another Memorial Cup in the playoffs. This is what Jared Cowen looked like, watching this all unfold with his team;
oh god it burns it burns. make it stop.
Heartbreaking. We’d then see him walking around the arena, often talking about how he couldn’t wait to get back to playing. There were doubts on just what this would mean to his potential NHL career. But I’ve been a fierce defender of Cowen, even prior to the injury. I live in a dream world, where Cow Cow goes to my lovely Maple Leafs, and teams up with Luke Schenn and demolishes all opposition. Clearly, it is a dream. And as a Leafs fan, I expect the utter and absolute worst on Friday. Really, the team drafting that high can make no bad choices but…I am just prepared for disappointment. I’d love for Cow to be in the blue and white, but perhaps it’s better if he goes to a different organization. Potentially it could be Phoenix. It’s close-ish. Well, closer than Toronto. Cowen said he would love to go to a Canadian team, but figures that won’t happen. I’ve looked at far too many mock drafts. Drafts with Cowen going to the Colorado Avalanche, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Dallas Stars, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I like Cowen because he doesn’t rely on dropping gloves to do his job. He’s just there and boys tend to stay out of his way. He is fiercely protective of goalies. The one time I remember him fighting was because someone decided to take a run on Dustin Tokarski. Oh he can fight if needed, in case you were curious. He knows how, and the mechanics of it. Cowen had a bit of a clunky beginning with the Chiefs and he often made me groan and guffaw. But he really grew into his own and became a solid, go to player on the roster. Because this is junior hockey, he has a band of loyal fans, who want nothing but the best for him while we wait for him to take over the NHL.
Best of luck, Jared.
PS.; I was going to post the first three paragraphs of today’s article in the paper on Cowen but I didn’t want to make your brains bleed because I love you all.
I am Montreal bound tomorrow morning. Any bloggers or other peeps going hit me up on my cell if you have my number or email me at; wraparoundcurl@gmail.com. Or drop a message on Pension Plan Puppets.
AsThePuck turns was amazing and sent me these two news items this morning but I haven’t had a chance until now to get around to posting about it. Ok, so. I think this whole week should be Jared Cowen Week. Spread the Cow Cow love. A sampling of an article up on NHL.com;
Cowen was the first pick of the 2006 WHL bantam draft, and last season, his first in the WHL, he had 4 goals, 18 points and led the league’s rookie defenseman with a plus-27 rating.
He was the top-rated player in the WHL when the Central Scouting released its preliminary rankings in November, but slipped to No. 7 in the midterm report in January and No. 9 in the final rankings in April.
If you think that bothers Cowen, think again.
“All the players that were put in front of me, I was better than them,” Cowen told NHL.com. “I kind of took it personal. I saw the players put in front of me and I knew I was better, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I knew I could play better than them at a higher league anyway.”
Cowen said the scouts shouldn’t be overly worried about him. And if they need any refreshers, Cowen said all they have to do is go to the videotape.
I like that Cowen has confidence and swagger in his abilities. He has the right kind of attitude and he is just hunry to get back to the ice to make up for all the lost time. Drayson Bowman is looking to make up for lost time as well since he pretty much figured he would be playing with the Carolina Hurricanes this past season. But the Hurricanes are excited for all their young and saucy talent waiting to fill the line up. And please believe, Bows wants to be on that Canes roster.
“Sometimes guys come out of great college or junior careers and I don’t think they understand how big the jump is,” said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford. “With that being said, a guy like Bowman with the way he can shoot and score, if he has a good camp he’s going to have a chance. Same with Boychuk, same with Sutter, same with McBain.”
Director of Amateur Scouting Tony MacDonald, who helped draft each member of that group, agreed.
“I think most of the players that we have now, those young kids that we’re excited about, I think they’re knocking on the door but would probably have to come in and have the kind of training camp that would force you to consider keeping them here rather than allowing them to develop in the American league and get a little bit more seasoning,” he said.
Ugh. More emos. I had intentions of getting up early this morning to keep an eye on the trade wires for Pension Plan Puppets. But my instructions from the overlords were more or less to just look fabulous. Which in essence, means nothing? So instead I stayed up until 2 am eating buffalo ranch Doritos and watching epis of 30 Rock. I rolled out of bed when most of the trade shenanigans were just getting started. Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov gone from my Maple Leafs. Sad panda. The Vesa needs surgery because he is in bad shape. SADDDDD PANDAAAAAA. The trades finally cooled. Brian Burke was a straight up G in his pressers. “Brian can I ask you about….?” “NO.” Love it. Perhaps there should have been more shake ups. But at the end of the day, it comes down to money. And in this economy, well you do what you can…
“Evian is naive spelled backward.”
I win at life and forgot to flip my calendar and thought there was a Chiefs game tonight at the arena however M was kinda enough to tell me “no sweetie, Chiefs are on the road tonight.” Oh…ok then. Well awesomesauce. I can watch the pirate feed in my sweats. Watching the game in its warm bluriness I could only hear Jeremy Clarkson in my head: THIS HAS NOT GONE WELL. Clearly the lineup is hurting. But it was hurting prior to The Fallout. The team feels like its been on the slide since the injury of Jared Cowen. His absence has amplified just what he means to the team. His leadership is missed. Pull it together boys. Play like you, I dunno, like each other and want to put effort in? Hey I know the dudes missing sucks. It sucks for the fans too. But you have to adapt, pause for a sec, think about the game and go play your face off and show why y’all deserve to go to the playoffs. The Chiefs fall to to Kelowna and I think Tokarski needs a breather. Fuh realzie.
I’d hate to end this all on a downer.
Reality Bites is one of my all time favorite movies. Netflix it, yo.
[[edit]] Join me tomorrow while I am Princess Game Thread over on PPP for the Leafs/Caps game. Meet some of the classiest and wittiest commenters on the internetz and joke away the sucking of Tronna. Ily, Schenners. Bring the funny, they don’t bite.
Also, Drayson Bowman, WTF were you thinking fighting? UGHHHH. Dumbest idea of the year. [[/edit]]
Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) / International Scouting Services (ISS) 2009 Draft Prospect Performers of the Week presented by the Pipeline Show & Hockey Now ending Sunday, February 15, 2009.
Each week, International Scouting Services (ISS), Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW), Hockey Now, and The Pipeline Show recognize the Top Draft Eligible player from each of the WHL, OHL, QMJHL, & USHL leagues for the upcoming 2009 NHL Entry Draft based on their play over the course of the week. Players are nominated and the selected by graduates of the SMWW Hockey GM & Scouting with each of the winners receiving a gift acknowledging their selection.
WHL – Levko Koper, Spokane Chiefs
Left Wing
Born Oct 5 1990 — Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.00 — Weight 190 — Shoots L
Levko Koper earns his first nomination as draft performer of the week after registering 2 goals and 8 points in 5 games for Spokane. Koper currently sits second in team scoring with 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points, a career high, in this his third season in the WHL.
If you have any tips, phone numbers, mayhjah issues, Mustache Monday submissions or don't like the flavor of Haterade; wraparoundcurl@gmail.com
On the docket;
Toronto: Spring Break. The TO could use a dame of my caliber.
hockey boyfriend power rankings.
1. Dustin Tokarski, you will probably always occupy the number one slot. Nice job ninjaing the starting goalie slot for the Admirals.. 2 Kyle Beach, we are just like John Bender and Clare Standish in the Breakfast Club and I sorta love you. 3. Milan Lucic, babe I think I am suffering from Lucic Lust... 4. Sean Avery, you scored two goals on the Leafs and all I could do was giggle.
