Western Conference Hottie: Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings)

Well, since I'm stuck in the dead time zone, of working till the wee hours of the night. I must admit, as an obvious hockey addict, I've watched FAR more of the Guppies and Devils spawn than I've ever willingly watched in my life. I mean, I seriously don't know who to root for (or against as the case may be). As soon as someone makes a save or gets a goal, I start questioning myself, with well, did I really want that to happen? Well in the midst of this moral delima (as I really would prefer neither of these teams advanced, and BOTH of the other teams (VAN and CHI) could advance.) I did notice this ADORABLE!!!! [and I mean REALLY adorable] Little rookie goalie for the wings.

IMPORTANT HOCKEY STUFF: He was tearing them up in the playoffs for a little while. And enough so, that now that it got tough with going against the Guppies, Coach Babcock gave him the vote of confidence, that "he got us here, so he's staying in net." Sounds like someone believes in the guy. (We'll know more on Wed, when this is posted.)

He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2003 Draft by the Red Wings. During his three seasons with the Black Bears, Howard set team and league records.

Beginning with the 05/06 season, Howard began his career in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins where he was occasionally called up to play for the Red Wings. Howard's inaugural season in the AHL became what is still one of his best in professional ice hockey. During this season he set many personal records as well as franchise records, including being the first Griffin named to the AHL's All-Rookie Team and helping establish the Griffins franchise win streak record of 12. He was in net for the Red Wings four times in the 05/06 season posting a 1-2-0 record, a GAA of 2.99 and a save percentage of .904. In the 07/08 season during the month of February, Howard was in net for the Red Wings an additional four times, and called up once during the 08–09 season, bringing his total NHL games played to 9. Howard only played four games in the 2007–08 regular season and therefore did not qualify to have his name engraved on the cup. However, he was included in the 2008 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup picture, given the Cup for a day, and awarded a Stanley Cup ring by the Red Wings' management. With the retirement of Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek in June 2008, Howard was expected to compete with Ty Conklin for the position beside Chris Osgood for the 2008–09 NHL season.

Howard's roster spot on the Devils Spawn turned official during 2009 off-season when Detroit did not offer Conklin a new contract, (I'm not sure why he had one to begin with) instead electing to promote Howard to Osgood's full time backup. He recorded his first win of the 2009-10 NHL Season on October 27 in relief of Chris Osgood against the Vancouver Canucks, making 20 saves. On December 17, 2009, Howard recorded his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jimmy Howard won the starting position in mid-season and kept the role until the end of the season. Jimmy Howard finished the 2009-10 season with excellent stats, ranking him in the top 5 in GAA and Save %, and finishing with a 37-15-10 record and a nomination for the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. Howard gained more fame in the March 22, 2010 game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins when he put his glove in Penguins captain Sidney Crosby's face after he repeatedly cross-checked Howard's teammate Henrik Zetterberg. [Yes, I KNOW, but the purpose of this post is to LOOK at him!!!!!!] On April 14, 2010, Howard played in his first NHL playoff game, a 3-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. On April 20, he recorded his first career playoff shutout, making 29 saves in a 3-0 win over the Coyotes.

REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF: If you like sensative men, he's probably for you. Check out this video from the Devils Spawn website. (Just skip forward to 1:28, unless for some reason you like looking at Ville Leino...) He's trying hard to cover it, but it looks to me, like he gets mushy at a lot of movies. (IE: I think he had trouble deciding on one to admit to, aren't guys so cute when they do that.)

Also super cute is this video. Wherein he recounts getting his first goalie mask. Oh, and I will guiltily admit to watching several of his post game interviews, just to look at his shoulders in a t-shirt. Mmmm, yummy. One of my favorite things, men in t-shirts... well, and out of them...

6'0 (goalie = flexable) 210 lbs (goalie = flexible) um, yes, he's a solid (goalie = flexible) chunk of hockey player. Blond [hush Stephanie, yes, I fall for all of them.] Baby blues. Did I mention he's a goalie, and likely quite flexible? I'm not even going to help you ladies with your imagination there, since I'm sure you can all handle that quiet well, and... well... I think most of the things in my imagination would frighten small children...