Meeting Matt Cullen (Minnesota Wild)

THANKS again for sharing another of your 'Wild' experiences with us, Karson!! ; )

Last weekend (September 12th) I went to the Mall of America for a little shopping for my best friends birthday. Right when we walked in I the Best Buy Rotunda was decorated with Minnesota Wild stuff.. so we went to check it out. Turns out Matt Cullen (number 7, a forward) of the Minnesota Wild was there signing autographs! He was so nice, and it was really cool to meet him. Left wing Eric Nystrom was also there signing autographs, but we left before he got there.

Crosby Pictures of the Week

Of course this week's pics come straight from this year's training camp since Maureen and I were there this past Sunday!!  Just when I think I can't love Sid any more ...

ENJOY, ladies!! ; D

THIS is a Beautiful Sight!!!

My New Hockey Crushes

Ryan Schnell and Keven Veilleux.

But it's just destined to end tragically.  I don't think either one of them will make the Pens roster and will most likely go back to playing for WB / S.

Mr. Schnell caught my eye last week when I was looking around for Pens pics and I found one of him dropping the gloves - YUMMY (picture below)!!!  You guys know how much I love scrappers!!  But LOOK AT THIS KID'S FIGHT CARD (here!)!!  Pretty impressive as far as I'm concerned, so naturally my eye was on him during training camp this past Sunday.  SO MANY things make Ryan awesome aside from being a tough guy [*swoon*] ... he's American-born and also a pretty big boy at 6'3 and 225 pounds.  I'll hold off on anymore information on him so that Maureen can work her magic on his post (hint, hint!)!!!

My little Keven isn't so little!!!  He's just MASSIVE at 6'5!!!  How could he NOT catch my eye!!!  The funny thing was that they were paired up together so they were pretty much at the same place at the same time (they made my life SO MUCH easier!)!!

My only hope is for them to be called up sometime during the season; otherwise, sadly, it can only be a training camp fling!! 

There were a few others at training camp who tugged on my heart strings and are worthy of noting -- Carl Sneep, Simon Despres.

I think I'm going to keep Maureen pretty busy in the "Future Sweets" department!! ; P

Crosby Picture of the Week

This week's pic comes from a press release last week.  The press release announced the five-year partnership between Sid and The Forzani Group, Ltd. (which includes Sport Chek, Sports Experts, and Hockey Experts - they are the exclusive retailers of Sidney's Reebok SC87 Signature Collection).

"As Canada's largest hockey retailer, the official sporting goods retailer of Hockey Canada and a proud partner of many Canadian NHL teams, we are beyond thrilled to welcome Sidney Crosby to our team," says Tom Quinn, President and COO of The Forzani Group Ltd. "Through his professionalism on and off the ice as well as his dedication and commitment to the game of hockey, Sidney is truly an athlete that all Canadians can look up to."

This partnership also gets Sid involved with another charity called "The Power of Sports for Kids." This charity is "devoted to bringing sports, activity and play to underprivileged youth across the country."

"My time spent on the ice as a kid was me always dreaming of being able to play in the NHL one day," says Crosby. "I am fortunate enough to be able to have that dream come true and know there are other kids out there who share the same passion. Equipment is such an important part of playing the game for safety and performance. With this in mind, I am happy to be working with The Forzani Group and Reebok to provide the equipment with my name on it to the next generation of Canadian hockey players."

Malkin Gearing Up for the Upcoming Season

Via the official Pittsburgh Penguins twitter (@pghpenguins):

The season is almost here! Malkin taping promos for TSN at the NHL media tour in New York City.

There's a pic that goes along with it which has been floating around and causing quite a buzz all day (at least in the world of Twitter!)!!

It appears as though Geno is sporting a new hair cut to gear up for the new season ... a more aerodynamic style perhaps (notice the slick racing stripe shaved into the side!)!!

Malkin, the 90's called and they want their hair cut back!! ; )  Poor Malkin - I don't mean to make fun ... maybe he'll have a hand in bringing the style back (heck, Kaner brought back the ever-popular mullet during the SCF, so why not?!)!!

THANKS to Hftl follower, Lisa M., for bringing it to my attention!!

Eastern Conference Eye Candy: Mike Comrie (Pittsburgh Penguins)

My hope was to post this last week, but it just didn't turn out that way ... but this week is as good as any (hockey hotties really never have an expiration date or go out of style!).

Mike Comrie is the newest Pittsburgh Penguins forward after signing him a few weeks back to a one-year, $500,000 contract.  It won't take you too long to realize that Comrie also "ups" the hotness factor on this already gorgeous team in addition to possibly being the next best candidate for filling the role of the all-to-infamous "winger for Sid!"

HOCKEY FACTOR:

While attending and playing collegiate hockey for the University of Michigan, Comrie was drafted 3rd in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers (91st overall).  He was one of the first players to take advantage of the loophole established by the "Van Ryn Ruling" by joining the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2000-2001 after playing two seasons for the University of Michigan and signing with the Edmonton Oilers halfway through the season collecting a paycheck well above the league max for draftees in 2001 ($10 million for 3 years; $1.13 million / year, per year, over three years).  Prior to this ruling, NHL teams "retained the rights of drafted collegians until they leave school," but that changed in June 1999 when Michigan Wolverines defenseman Mike Van Ryn took the issue to court and an arbitrator ruled that "a player drafted off a college team could play one season of major junior hockey as an overage player (20 years old) and then become a free agent."

Since his start in the NHL and after the Oilers ultimately traded him in December 2003 to the Philadelphia Flyers, Comrie has been somewhat of a hockey transient playing with a total of four teams before returning to Edmonton in September 2009 after signing a one-year contract for $1.125 million.  His return wasn't much better than his departure as he was placed on long-term injured reserve for a bought with mononucleosis in November 2009 and not returning until February 2010.

HOTNESS FACTOR:

Mike has an older sister, Cathy, and older brother, Paul, who also played with the Edmonton Oilers for a short time prior to Mike being drafted.  His mother passed away in 1990 after a battle with cancer and their father, William (Bill), remarried extending Mike's family by a step-mother and two younger half-brothers, Eric and Ty, who share in the dream of playing in the NHL.

As a player, Mike has speed on top of skill which is where all the talk of his playing on the top line with Sid comes from.  Everyone believes those qualities as a player would make him a good fit and would enable him to keep up with Sid.  He also has alot of grit and doesn't back away from throwing down the gloves when he feels the need ... this is something that's quite attractive and has me looking forward to seeing from his this season.  The Pens could definitely use more grit to help Matt Cooke in that department!

The Comrie name is actually more synonymous with furniture in Edmonton.  It's also where Mike acquired his nickname, "the Brick," which comes from the name of the furniture company his father and uncles, Fred and John founded back in 1971 when his father was 21 years old.

Like his son, Bill himself was also a promising young hockey player, being signed by the Chicago Black Hawks, aged 16. The 1968–69 season, saw Bill playing his last year of junior hockey with his hometown Edmonton Oil Kings. In the fall of 1969, Bill was all set to attend the Black Hawks training camp, but after the untimely death of his father, Herb (Mike's grandfather), Bill immediately made the decision to cut his hockey career short, and took over the running of his father's business, to support his family.

I really don't believe that I have to mention this as I'm sure you're all well aware (but its a big part of Comrie's life) ... he recently married his longtime star girlfriend Hilary Duff this past August which will make things interesting come hockey season!!  It's actually something I'm NOT looking forward to this season (and I'm hoping she keeps her appearances at the CONSOL to a minimum)!