Return of the Swagger
Chins are pointed north and chests have been re-inflated. Confidence has
returned to Philips. The most pivotal change in character for this team occurred
at the beginning of the third period of Friday’s game. Throughout the first two
periods, Dany Heatley was doing his best to show us all that he is the player we
thought he was when he played in Atlanta. He was the man. If Pedro Martinez were
a Thrasher he would have called Heater our daddy for the first 40 minutes of
this game. He owned Kari and was inside his head. And then everything changed
and our team took over.
The Thrashers dominated the third period. The team had jump and determination
from the drop of the puck to final horn. The feisty crowd at Philips regained
its belief in Blueland during 20 minutes of great hockey. The fear of losing
that we have developed over the last two months left the building and was
replaced with the will to win. The house was once again rocking.
This high level of play continued on Sunday as the Thrashers added two points
with a 3-1 win over Carolina. Very stingy defense, effective special teams and
excellent goaltending were the keys to victory. The big dogs began barking again
as Hossa scored two Sportscenter quality goals and Kovy added a power play
score.
It was a perfect week for hockey in Atlanta. Three games, three regulation wins
and most importantly a regained sense of confidence and hope for the team and
its fans. There are peaks and valleys for almost all post-season bound hockey
clubs throughout an NHL season. What is important is that a team peak at the
right time. That time is now my friends and we look good- real good! If this
squad continues to gel and our special teams and goaltending stay at this level,
watch out! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and begin discussing how a big
silver cup would look on a float rolling down Peachtree. The only game that
matters is the next game.
Thrashers 2006-07
Version 2.0
The latest version of our Atlanta hockey club is a marked improvement from
the beta version. The glaring bugs of the initial release seem to have been
eradicated. Offered to the public on Monday Feb 26th, the product has shown the
following improvements:
- The ability to own the third period
- The passing module is crisp
- New features such as Belanger, Walt, Zhitnik and Dupuis have paid huge
dividends immediately
- Original functionality such as goaltending, hitting and puck possession
have been greatly improved.
- The new version of this product does not cause the user to look forward
to the release of other products such as Major League Baseball and PGA Golf
2007.
- “Thrashers 2.0” does not cause the user’s language to deteriorate into a
mosaic of profanity after each session.
Enough already, the point is Don Waddell came through in clutch and made
moves that have given Atlanta fans the opportunity to once again like this team.
This season was well on it’s way to wearing out the patience of a good portion
of the core fan base. Some of the uber fans that I am in touch with had a
feeling of “let’s just get this season over with.” We were tired, beaten, shaken
and stirred up.
Up until this week the threads message boards contained more bile than usual.
Hang Bob Hartley! Draw and quarter Don Waddell! Trade Kovy for a bag of pucks
and a Goalie stick! The virtual masses were ripe and wanted blood. For now, all
is well due to a few bold strokes of the pen by our GM and the instant chemistry
that has been created by these additions.
Casino Night
Every year the Thrashers host a black-tie charity event called casino night.
Admission is pricey but the experience is well worth the investment. The entire
team, (less Sutton, Rucchin, Tkachuk, Zhitnik and Dupuis this year), attend and
are the dealers at blackjack, roulette and poker tables. It’s an excellent
opportunity for fans to meet Thrashers players, coaches, management and media.
I positioned myself at IIya’s table at the beginning of the night. Kovy cheats
on just about every hand, in the player’s favor. He deals out the first two
cards to everyone and then peeks at every successive card and gives it to the
player that needs it most. I accumulated many chips at his table, took a picture
or two and relinquished my seat to a star-struck woman stalking an open chair at
the table. For the rest of the night I wandered around the room and had the
chance to talk to about 10 members of our team. Here are a few observations:
1) IIya and Hossa have a superstar aura about them but both are humble and a
little shy.
2) Kozzy is highly respected by this team. He also constantly has an eye on IIya,
looking out for him. It seems like a big brother relationship.
3) De Vries is hilarious. He wore a mullet along with his tux and worked the
room all night.
4) XLB is a stud. He was constantly surrounded by a group of women.
5) J.P Vigier is high energy. His personality matches his style of play on the
ice. He tells good stories, engages people in conversation and entertains. He
may end up being a lounge singer or a game show host when he leaves the game.
6) Jeff Odgers is very approachable, down to Earth and could still be an
Enforcer in the NHL.
7) Slater and McCarthy are the players most likely to do a keg stand.
And then I noticed one table had an empty seat so I sat in it. Representing this
Blackjack table was number 16 from Jihlava, Czech Republic. (Editor's note-
check out more pictures from Casino Night
here.)
The Enigma
Bobby Holik’s role on our team is to intimidate. At first impression his
physical appearance reminds me of a villain in a 1970’s James Bond movie. Let’s
face it folks, the guy is a little scary looking. He hasn’t avoided a hit in his
fifteen years in the NHL. The culmination of that contact has rearranged his
face to some degree. It’s not easy to get him talking but once he let his guard
down, my impression of Holik changed dramatically. I came into the evening with
a great deal of respect for him as a player. I exited the building with respect
for him as a man.
Over the course of about 45 minutes I spoke to Holik about many topics ranging
from history to the NHL dental plan. I didn’t tell him that I write for the
Thrasher main site so I can’t share everything he said during our conversation
in good conscience. I can say that he chooses his words carefully like a veteran
of public life when asked questions that could evoke provocative answers.
Bobby Holik does not know the rules of Blackjack and does not understand why
anyone would enjoy the game. He didn’t deal at his table and he also had no
interest in playing. I’d guess he’s also not a big partier. If this event were
not mandatory he would be elsewhere, probably at home reading a book about the
Stalin era or early European history. Holik would rather not speak then engage
in trivial conversation. But I was determined to get the conversation going and
here is what I learned:
- He is an equal opportunity checker. He mentioned that nothing is
personal and everyone who wears an opposing jersey deserves to be hammered
into the boards.
- Holik enjoys living in Atlanta, (Buckhead), and also spends some time at
his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
- Bobby doesn’t smile fully in public and is very conscious of the beating
his teeth have taken during his career. He also doesn’t understand why
hockey players would fix their teeth during their playing years.
- He is very proud that his name is on the Stanley Cup.
- Bobby will have fun at your expense. The Dealer at his table mentioned
that she is attending Clayton State and he asked if it was an Ivy League
school.
- He’ll ask questions right back at ya. He asked me why I was a hockey
fan. I responded with a dissertation about the speed and ferocity of the
game, the long, grueling schedule and the intensity of the post season. At
the end of my monologue he smiled and said, “Yeah, me too.”
The truth is I can relate to his mild reclusive nature, his love of peace and
quiet and disdain for pretentiousness. I imagine he would get along better with
a career factory worker than a stereotypical superstar athlete. Holik believes
that hard work builds character and that character is everything. Thanks for the
taking the time with me Bobby.
And finally…
Irritant of the Week
And the winner is – the thoughtless, reactionary, caldron of useless idiocy
posted on the
message board of this site. It is my contention that because of the
anonymous nature of well-attended message boards, some people, who should be
court ordered not to breed, will post any ridiculous thought that enters their
head. The large message board is the public bathroom wall of the Internet. There
are no repercussions and no accountability for writing total crap. Do you think
that the message board clown named “FIREDONWADDELL” would make his feelings
known to Don if he met him walking through Philips before a game? I doubt it.
I’d guess he’d say hi and smile.
My typical message board experience usually starts out with my desire to discuss
hockey with like-minded folks. It ends with me ripping into someone who
complains that we didn’t trade Niko for Sidney Crosby or that they don’t go to
Thrasher games because of bad traffic. My first ticket Rep begged me to stay off
the main board because I used to take the rumors and gossip as truth.
Unfortunately I can’t abstain, it’s a guilty pleasure.
I am not saying that the message board has no value. Ninety percent of the
comments are appropriate and most frequent message board contributors offer
strong commentary and well thought out argument. Some of the best hockey
analysis I have ever seen has been found on the board associated with this site.
This is a plea to the 5% of message board posters that should have been erased
from the Earth by now according to Darwin. Please find another team or sport to
support. You’ll fit right in on the Philadelphia Eagles message board. Sorry, I
couldn’t resist.
Time to go, but in summary - 78 points, tied for first in the division, sixth in
the East and gaining strength.
Ain’t this fun?
Your Loyal Servant – Sean Grace
