Now that I’ve created a compiled image, I thought I would share with the readers the last project that I completed before I started writing for Hockey Punx.  There isn’t much to say that you can’t see for yourself, but there are links below that will take you to my commentaries.  Thanks, enjoy

What is the deal with Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Dan Ellis?  Nashville hockey fans used to champion Ellis due to his humble yet fun, open, and honest personality.   The man could even make a good time out of mid-game interviews from the bench.  He was a solid goalie, but the fans loved him because he was simply a lovable sort of guy.  What happened between the end of the Predators’ season and now that has turned him into sounding like a bit of jerk whose hobby is introducing his tonsils to heels of his shoes.

He made waves this summer by getting into twitter arguments with fans, a subject that I wrote about a little.  Folks across the NHL were pretty shocked and confused as to why Ellis was suddenly antagonizing and belittling fans.  Even those defending Ellis’ comments found themselves unsure as to why a professional hockey player had any reason to refer to other professions as dime-a-dozen, un-skilled labor, with his job being more akin to brain surgery (not to mention saying that Paris Hilton deserves all of her fame and fortune because she was fortunate… what?). But the Lightning management took hold of situation in order to prevent it from happening again, and encouraged Mr. Ellis to focus on his rebound control, leaky 5-hole, and not giving up laughably soft goals, while downplaying his internet debate skills.  While the latter has been successful for Ellis he still managed to find a way to remind all of us of his twitter escapades.  During a post-game interview he said the following about Linus Omark’s shootout goal:

It’s embarrassing for him. You come into a league, a respectful league like this, and you try a little move like that. It’s not a very classy thing. That’s just the kind of person he is.

YouTube - The Shootout Goal in Question

All I can do is echo what most bloggers have been saying.  The shootout is a gimmick, we know it, Ellis knows, he needs to deal with it.  If you hate that shootout then don’t let the game get to the shootout, stop the puck.  After all, Ellis did gives up 3 goals on only 23 shots.  Omark did nothing that violated the rules or taint the spirit of the shootout. The young Swede wasn’t really showing off because if Omark pulled out that move at the All-Star skills competition he would have  hardly been on the judge’s radar.  The only thing truly unconventional about the shootout goal was that the spin-o-rama came at the beginning of the attempt rather than towards the end.  Just a cursory search on YouTube will show you dozens of examples of NHLers using the same move in- and outside of shootouts.  My opinion, Ellis feels pretty foolish from being dazzled and then tricked by a simple forehand/backhand deke.  He needs to get over it.

Writing Music: Make Do And Mend – End Measured Mile

Jer gave me a nice little introduction and then ruined my plans to repost some old blogs by pasting convenient links to some of my work, but it’s good because Ontheforecheck is not only a great Nashville Predators blog, but the man behind it, Dirk Hoag is a master of numbers, stats, spreadsheets and the always amazing Super Schedule covers anything and everything about your team’s schedule this season. Currently the thing to see over at my blog is my series on colors in the NHL, the first post contains links to the rest. In the meantime I’m going to leave you with a article that I wrote a couple weeks ago.

The Current State of Fans and Body Contact in the NHL

Watching and listening to Predators games this season I’ve noticed a common topic that frequently crops up between play-by-play man Pete Weber and color commentator Terry Crisp. Crispy has consistently noted the strong fan reaction when the home town crowd sees one of their boys leveled with a hit. The gist of Crispy’s comments are along the lines of “current NHL fans believe that any body contact between two players should result in penalties or retaliation.” Further, he believes that the NHL hockey culture as cultivated by the central NHL officers are, at least in part, to blame for current fan-reactions to body contact. As with most things there is a grain of truth in what Terry Crisp has been saying recently, but as always I’d like to spend some time thinking about what may actually be going on in the minds of fans.

For better or worse every hockey fan can agree that the game has changed since the league entered the post-lockout world. Grappling and constant body-crippling hits have either decreased or been totally eliminated from the game and as fans we’re now experiencing traditional North American hockey with some added European style flavors. The NHL have also placed a greater emphasis on player safety with rules that try and protect players from head shots and other plays that result in high probability of injury. The easiest thing to say about the fans is that when you and your friends or family are sitting in the stands all you can see is the hit. Like with many potential penalties, the fans can’t see every detail. Sometimes the fans see a trip, but the hometown guy just stepped on a stick. The same thing happens to referees. Predators fans may recall a penalty last year called against (I think) Kevin Klein. He was called for a slash after Klein’s opponent broke his stick by clashing with Klein’s. The same thing can happen with hits of all types, but I don’t think that is the essence of the issue nor what Crispy has noted in his commentary.

I think the fan unrest that we’re seeing when it comes from hits stems from two things: perceived inconsistency of rule enforcement and sensitization. As always this isn’t a commentary on how people are doing their jobs, but rather a hopefully objective exploration of a hypothesis. With the NHL’s closed door, window, and vent policy fans know little to nothing about injuries, rule making, and rule enforcement outside of what is directly observable in public settings. It is therefore difficult, neigh impossible, to comprehend how the NHL deals with supplemental punishment. After several seasons of confusion on the parts of fans as to why and how certain suspensions and fines are doled out we’re becoming acutely aware of inconsistencies. It’s tough when you see a fan favorite penalty killer and fourth line grinder go into the boards face first and watch the guilty party skate away and face no consequences, then days later see a player get suspended for two games after trying to squeeze an opposition player through the cracks in the glass. I could illustrate more instances, but if you’re a hockey fan I’m sure you’re aware of a dozen examples on your own.

What you’re seeing is the perceived inconsistencies in enforced discipline that is causing fans to become hyper-sensitive to hits and any other type of body contact. Fans have started to look at and mentally break down each and every hit trying to determine not if it’s clean or dirty, but rather to what degree of dirty it was. The problem is then only compounded as similar hits are treated differently and further complicated by fans trying to figure out what equation is used to determine how justice is doled out, or not doled out as the case may be. At some point fans might as well boo any hit because no one really knows when or if a hit will be considered dirty by the NHL.

As a final note, the whole Crosby/slew-foot topic could also be included in the above blog, but I won’t be addressing that.

Just a quick note, 3DLink has jumped on board the HockeyPunx writing staff. 3DLink brings his physcology background to the world of punk rock and hockey to create his own unique spin. You can see his current writings over on his blog Puck and Punk (which we feel bad for not finding out about until now), and he has previously submitted to On the Forecheck. Stalk link on Twitter by following @3DLink.

Stick-tap to our new friend! Welcome.

Remember when I made that bet with Peter Evans and totally lost? Well, I just recently purchased and received my Patrick Kane shirt and will soon fulfill my part of the deal. In the meantime however, I decided to make more ridiculous bets. This latest was with Kylewilliam from the band imadethismistake (why not buy their 12″ from Anti-Creative Records? /shameless plug). KW is a (the?) Panthers fan, and on December 1st, they matched up in Anaheim against my beloved Ducks. Fortunately for me, this is a bet I won. And pretty easily. The Ducks took out Florida with a 5-3 victory. So what was at stake? Loser had to make a one minute-minimum video blog about why their team lost. Enjoy…

A dissapointed jer.

So in case y’all hadn’t heard, I sorta lost a bet. I haven’t had the stomach to purchase my Patrick Kane tshirt just yet, but I’ll keep my word and will be acquiring one shortly.

In a very exciting game that kept the suspense up for 3 full periods and almost a full overtime stretch, the Ducks fell to the Blackhawks 3-2 on Sunday (11/14) after Viktor Stalberg scored with just 28 seconds left of OT. Check out how it all went down in the official recap.

Also, be sure to check out this week’s upcoming Up The Pucks! podcast (to be released on Friday 11/19 I believe) when I join the crew to co-host the fun. Perhaps that Peter fellow might want to, uh, discuss the bet.

As we’ve talked about before, there’s a weekly podcast over on UpThePucks.com that discusses hockey and punk that you should really be listening to. Not only have I made a quick correspondent appearance on the podcast already, but I’ll be guest co-hosting sometime next week (11/14-11/20).

And look at this, next week just happens to be when the Anaheim Ducks make a trip over to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. It’s been no secret that I’m an Anaheim Ducks fan, and lo and behold, our old friend Peter Evans from Up The Pucks! is a Chicago fan. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to make a dumb bet?

If the Ducks win on Sunday (11/14), Peter must purchase a George Parros Ducks shirt, and provide convincing visual evidence that it was worn in public. If the Blackhawks win, I must do the same with a Blackhawks shirt for a current Chicago player of my choosing (to be decided prior to puck drop).

So what do you think? What player should I pick (does it matter? Chicago is going down, right?)? What counts as convincing visual evidence? What kind of public place should the loser prove to have worn the shirt in?

Comments are open and (as always) our message board is calling your name.

UPDATE: 11/14/10 Since it is game day, I guess I should share with you that I have picked Patrick “20¢” Kane as the person whose shirt I will buy if the Ducks lose. Which they wont.

If you weren’t in Gainesville, FL for The Fest 9 this year, you missed out. I spotted quite a bit of hockey paraphernalia there, including these Oilers/Habs-themed “Fuck Cancer” tshirts for sale (which seemed pretty damn popular!)

So start making plans for next year, because you don’t want to be the jackass that misses it two years in a row. How about a HockeyPunx street-hockey tournament next year?

(Pssst, start saving up money for Plan-It-X Fest in Bloomington, IN in June!)

In an article written back in April entitled “The L.A. Hockey Counterculture“ (that I somehow am just now coming across), the Wall Street Journal finds that the “oft-forgotten” Los Angeles Kings have a “an underground, pasty-skinned, punk-rock following.” While the direct mention of punk rock is fleeting and lost in the article’s introduction, it is at the very least interesting to see that even the WSJ is starting to pick up on what we’ve been saying all along: Hockey is the sport of the subversive.

The WSJ claims in their article that often times the hockey follower uses his or her fandom in order to  make ”a deliberate statement about valuing loyalty, individuality and hard work over money, fame and status.” It appears that the Journal relegates this underground following as unique to the Kings, but we know better.

So have a quick read through the article and see how the WSJ views Kings culture as the LA underground’s reaction to Lakers culture… that is of course if you can stomach the Kingscentric tone and insinuation that the team is somehow no longer an NHL joke

Click Here to Read the Original Article

We here at HockeyPunx are not the only ones starting to see the link between punk and hockey. Second City Hockey can tell you all about the connection of the two subcultures. Still not convinced? Allow Hoosier Hockey to expand on the idea a bit.

Hoosier Hockey is run by a guy named Peter Evans. Peter is evangelizing the hockey/punk connection, rivaling our work here at HockeyPunx. Through his “Punk Rock and Hockey” feature on the Hoosier Hockey blog, he’s already landed interviews with The Hextalls and with The Briggs (who we spotlighted previously), as well as spotlighted both the Dropkick Murphies (whom you might remember from their set at the Winter Classic) and Propaghandi (who have also spoken with Puck Daddy, as we pointed out in the past, and who Ottawa Senators fanblog Silver Seven snagged an interview with).

He even has a “Punk Rock and Hockey” podcast in the works. If that idea sounds familiar, it’s because HockeyPunx has been kicking the tires of just such a podcast idea since September.

Wait a minute; is this guy out for my job?!? Let’s switch gears before I hype him up too much.

I mentioned Peter’s interview with The Briggs, and it seems like that band is a hot commodity in the Punk Rock/Hockey world : Here is LA Kings fanblog MayorsManor.com‘s interview with The Briggs (and when you’re done reading that, why not check out their thoughts on the band performing at Staples Center during a playoff game). Looks like the Mayor’s interest in punk music goes a little deeper than simple knowledge of The Briggs, as here’s an interview with Greg Hetson of Circle Jerks and Bad Religion fame.

Not convinced that the hockey/punk connection is blowing up? Here’s some more evidence: As pointed out by Peter Evans (that guy again?), Erin Nicks of The Universal Cynic is one of us, and she writes about it often. Here’s some of her work, as pointed out on Hoosier Hockey:

I recently ventured on to her twitter page and came across the factoid that she absolutely loves punk rock. She is a huge Bad Religion fan and even named her blog after a BR song. We’ve briefly discussed the connection between punk and hockey over twitter and email. I decided to share the links she sent me with my readership as I now realize that a lot of you seem to think the same thing.

- After a reference to Pulley in an earlier post, Erin elaborates on the connection between hockey and punk rock.

- An interview with Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge on the use of their song “Bro Hymn” and its frequent usage at NHL games.

- An anecdotal story about a conversation with Bad Religion guitarist, Greg Hetson.

- Another quick tale of talking to Mr. Hetson after a show in Pennsylvania.

- Short post about being back stage at a BR show.

So there you have it. Irrefutable proof of the coming hockey/punk revolution. Or, at the very least, some interesting off-season reading. Have at it, kids. And, as always, the message board is open!