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CBC/Radio-Canada has introduced two initiatives to get Canadians in the Olympic spirit and increase the connection with and support for Canadian athletes via social media.

Tweet and Instagram inspirational messages and photos to Olympic hopefuls using #OurAthlete.

The second initiative, called ‘Hoist the Flag,’ gives Canadians the opportunity to take a patriotic photo of themselves holding a Canadian flag in front of a Sochi 2014 backdrop that they then can share socially. Each CBC centre across the country will give Canadians the chance to ‘Hoist the Flag’ at community events leading up to and throughout the Olympic Games in February.

Viewers can also connect with the CBC broadcast using Twitter in English @cbcolympics (#cbcolympics) and at facebook.com/cbcolympics, and in French at ici.radio-canada.ca/olympiques, on Twitter at @RC_Sports (#RColympiques) and on Facebook at facebook.com/ra

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Former New Jersey Devil (a.k.a. Mr. Devil) Ken Daneyko is the master of storytelling.  As I was putting together his contribution to the Throwback Thursday series on his early beginnings growing up hockey, the first part of the interview was so long, it warranted its own piece.  That means…there’s a part two to this interview which you will find here next Thursday.Here’s Daneyko’s story…”We all take different paths,” Daneyko said.  “I did it not out of arrogance, but more out of belief and confidence that I wanted to play so bad. I told my mother 50 times a day since I was seven years old ‘I’m going to play in the National Hockey League.’ She used to pacify me and say, ‘Yeah, yeah, Kenny, I know.’ I used to annoy the heck out of her. It’s not a lie. It’s all I said. I guess back then, if I reflect, I believed it. As a kid, you’re gung ho, saying things and having dreams. It certainly was a dream.”My third grade teacher…I done pretty good in school. I finished my work quick[ly]. She told my mother that, called her up and she says, ‘You’ve got to tell him he’s really disrupting the kids, because he’s telling the kids he’s going to play in the National Hockey League. They’re not finished their work yet and that’s all he talks about.’ My mom said, ‘Don’t burst his bubble. Don’t burst his dream,’ (even though I knew she felt the same way). ‘It’s a small percentage. I’ll tell him to stop disrupting the class, but don’t tell him he can’t play in the National Hockey League.’

“I went to junior hockey right from Bantam. I played in Saskatchewan. I was the youngest kid in the league at 15. I wasn’t mature enough mentally, I certainly was physically. I wanted to do whatever it took.

“My father was born in Germany and was a soccer guy. He didn’t know a lot about hockey till he came to Canada. He always supported me and never said boo to me. He knew I had an inner drive. I had a day to decide if I was going to move 500 miles away at 15 years old. My mother said, ‘Over my dead body are you going to leave at 15 and go play with 18/19 year olds.’ My father said, ‘I’ll take care of your mother.’

Photo: TSN

Photo: TSN

“I got driven by the coach to the team in Saskatchewan. I didn’t tell my mom I was leaving. She wouldn’t have let me. My dad says, ‘Is this what you want to do?’ I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your mother.’ So I took off.

“She never forgave my dad ever since. It all worked out fortunately. I was drafted in ’82, the original year. I didn’t know where New Jersey was.

“I would have ran 3,000 miles to get my chance. I just always believed. I knew it since I was seven. When I became maturer as a 14/15 year old, I just thought this is what I’m going to do. This is what I’ve got to do. This is all I want to do and know how to do. I have no clue if you had asked me what I wouldn’t have played hockey. I have no idea. I threw all my eggs in one basket. I don’t recommend that. Do different things.
“This was a dream of mine. I wanted to play. I would’ve ran 3,000 miles to New Jersey. It didn’t matter what team drafted me. I was pretty darn happy.

“Bert Marshall was the scout at the time, one of the head scouts for the New Jersey Devils. He used to drive a small beat up Winnebago through Western Canada to scout kids. He’d drive 12 hours through Saskatchewan to Spokane to Seattle. I played junior hockey in Seattle in the Western Hockey League. I had no idea the Devils were interested in me and I didn’t expect to go the first round. I was partially optimistic that I would get picked second or third, or maybe the fourth round. That’s when I got nervous. That’s when my confidence waned a little.

“I heard there was a good chance I could get drafted, but I wasn’t ranked nearly as high. There were 21 teams at the time. Bert Marshall had been following me around for a month and through the last month of the playoffs. I had seen Bert Marshall at the [2013] Draft. He still kept scouting for Carolina.

“He came up to me. I said, ‘Bert, I’ve got to thank you for putting a lot of faith and belief in me.’ He said, ‘You kidding me? You made my career, because the Devils didn’t want to draft you.’ He begged them. He said, ‘I’m telling you, if you had 18th pick. He’s not ranked in the first round. We’re not going to take him. That was Marshall Johnson…he’s just not ranked there. We don’t know enough about him. He said, ‘I drove my Winnebago around and watched this kid for one month. I watched him in the playoff. I’m telling you he’s going to play 15 years for you.’ Then Bert laughed at the Draft recently. He said, ‘I lied to them. You played 20 for them.’

“He stuck his neck out for me. They didn’t want to take me and then they were going to take me. Bert Marshall said, ‘You’ve got to take this guy. He’s there. I’m telling you…take him. He’s going to play a long time.’ I was very grateful to him and vice versa, because he’s still scouting in the National Hockey League. You hit some and you miss some. I’m very grateful that I had the drive and determination, because I know I wasn’t the most talented. I was more of a role guy. I like to believe I developed my game along the way and bring that physical presence. But to be able to fulfill that dream and to make sure Bert Marshall looked good. It makes you proud when you reflect when you get older. It was fine, because we had a big hug.

“He said I was one of the guys that started it for him, because he just started scouting. He stuck his neck out for me, and I’m just as grateful to him for believing in me.

“Fortunately it was here in New Jersey and for a guy that didn’t know where New Jersey was, I wear the logo on my chest (the NJ) and I’ve been here for 31 years now. I love the State. I’m very grateful I got to play on one team. I know I don’t take for granted that not many players get to stay in one organization.”

***

If you think hockey players are all a bunch of fearless, tough guys, that’s not always true.  Back in the 1980’s, there were teams that terrified the New Jersey Devils.

“In the early 80s, when we had to go out in Philadelphia and they had seven tough guys, we had to take the bus up the turnpike and you could hear a pin drop on our bus because we didn’t have any tough guys. Me and Joe Cirella would stand up for guys back then. It was nerve-wracking. Did I want to go out and play? Yeah. You know that threat of Philadelphia aura was the real deal. They were tough, nasty.

Photo: Devils

Photo: Devils

“I remember in the early 80s when we weren’t that good of a team, it was tough to want to go play there. We knew they were going to beat the crap out of us. The guys were really nervous once in a while going into Philly when I was in my early 20s.”

***

Most players grew up loving a specific team.  Since the New Jersey Devils didn’t exist when Daneyko was a kid, what team did he cheer for?

“I grew up a Toronto Maple Leaf fan.”

***

There is always someone, when you look back on your life, that inspired you to become a greater person.  For Daneyko, that inspirational person gave him such a difficult time, he thought the guy hated him.  That person was Tommy McVeigh.

“He was very instrumental in my career. He was a very old, old school coach. He had that deep, gruffy voice. I thought he hated me. I know I played with him when I was an underage Devil. We played here, we’re playing well. I broke my leg 12 games into the season. He didn’t really say much to me when I was playing good hockey. Then the next year I came back, I felt like I [was doing] very good. They sent me down and I was pissed off and sulking. Tommy happened to be the coach down at the farm team then, so he’d bring me into the office every other day. He’d joke with me and I’d be very pissed off. He’d go, ‘Guess who called for you? Not a friggin soul.’ He knew I wanted to go up to Jersey.

“He was always hard on me… He went through the whole team [when] we were playing terribly. ‘Paul, you haven’t made a pass in a month. You suck.’ He was going through everybody, out in front of everybody. He goes, ‘Don…you might as well put two sticks together because all you do is poke check, poke check. You’re scared to death out there.’ Then he came to me, ‘Kenny, you want to play in the National Hockey League, you need to get beat by Todd Binger. He sucks. You got beat three times by him tonight.’

“Al Stewart was a little Looney Tunes, and [McVeigh] goes, ‘Al, what can I say about you, Stew? You’re just big and dumb.’ Because he fights everybody. ‘I can’t really say anything about you. You take on everybody and you’re not that bright.”

“I thought [McVeigh] hated me because he was always hard on me. Little did I know, I learned when I retired, I gave him lots of credit when they retired my number and he actually came to Jersey. He was tough on me because he believed in me. He said, ‘I’m not going to be tough on a guy I know is going to be a career minor leaguer. I thought you could play, but you had to learn a lot along the way.

“He made me do this 20 minute workout before every practice in the morning with weights where you’re punching them out. Tommy would come around. He’d take a step back and he’d sniff me, smell me. He goes, ‘Dano, do you need 50 bucks? Jesus. Do you need 50 bucks?’ I go, ‘What do I need 50 bucks for?’ He said, ‘Start drinking something with a label on it.’

“We’d been out the night before.”

“I was getting called up by the Devils and [the] captain, he couldn’t get a hold of me. I was out at restaurants and bars with a bunch of teammates. [He] leaves his house at one in the morning and comes to the bar and say, ‘Dano, get to a payphone. You’ve got to call Tommy.’ I think he’s playing a prank on me. He says, ‘I’m telling you, call him.’ I say, ‘Steve, I’ll kill you if you’re bullshitting me.’ He gave me a quarter and I call Tommy. In his deep gruff voice he says, ‘I’ll be at your house at 6AM. You’re going to the airport. You’re getting called up.'”

“Tommy was the only coach that picked up his players and brought them to the airport himself when they get called up to the National Hockey League. I go home. I get no sleep. I pack. I got eight bags out. I’ve got everything but the kitchen sink outside of my little condo there. He gets out of the car and goes, ‘What the hell is this?’ He said he’d never seen one player get called up and have more than a suit bag. I put them all in his car and said, ‘You’re not going to be seeing me back.’ He never said another word. He dropped me off. Lo and behold, I never came back. He told me when they retired my number, ‘I knew you were never going to come back. You were going to be there for 15 years. You were too determined. You wanted to play.’ It all started with Tommy being hard on me and these crazy stories, but I had every bag packed. He said he’d never to this day, every guy would bring one suit bag.

“I did ask him how long I would be going before. He said, ‘How the hell should I know?’ He goes, ‘You play good, you’ll be there 15 years. You play bad, I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He said he knew I wasn’t coming back.”

 

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In the world of NBC Sports, rivalry night falls on a Wednesday and the contest between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins earned the title for game of the week. With a storied history from last season alone, Bruins sweeping the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final, the Penguins scooping up Jarome Iginla at the trade deadline among the biggest headlines; the game should have been a high ranking audience. Perhaps it was in Pittsburgh and other parts of the country, but in Boston all eyes were on a different sport, baseball. The Red Sox with a chance to clinch the World Series at home for the first time in over 95 years stole the spotlight from the black and gold and rightfully so. But viewership from Boston or not, rivalry night faced off in good fashion.

With a scoreless first period in the books, Pittsburgh opened the scoring at 6:54 of the second period, PPG – Chris Kunitz (6) Backhand shot – ASST: Kris Letang (1), Sidney Crosby (13). But the goal from Kunitz would be the lone one of the game, the real show of rivalry faced off in the third.

1:05 into the period, the Bruins evened the score, with thanks to, Patrice Bergeron (3) Tip-in – ASST: Dennis Seidenberg (4), Brad Marchand (3). A fiery game underway, the Penguins went back on top at the 11 minute mark with an outstanding goal from Brandon Sutter (1) Wrist shot – ASST: Pascal Dupuis (8), Brooks Orpik (5). At 17:58, Jussi Jokinen (6) with an unassisted Snap shot gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead. But the Bruins weren’t ready to hibernate and fought to the very end, tallying one more goal from former Penguin Jarome Iginla (3) Slapshot – ASST: Milan Lucic (6), Patrice Bergeron (3) at 18:17.

Despite a valiant effort the Bruins fell 3-2 in Pittsburgh, but their loss may have been overlooked by Bostonians’ as the Red Sox won the World Series title around 11 p.m. The opportunity to shine comes tonight on ‘All Hallows Eve’ when the Anaheim Ducks skate into the TD Garden for a 7 p.m. start. Fans attending the game will see ten Bruins post-game receive a clean shave courtesy of Gillette as they prepare for the start of Movember tomorrow.  The Penguins will host the Blue Jackets at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

 

 

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CBC Music and Hockey Night in Canada are hosting an exciting nationwide contest to find what they are calling Canada’s Next Great Hockey Song. They are looking for a catchy, heart pumping, energetic pop or rock song that celebrates all the amazing qualities of hockey: teamwork, commitment, hard work, and going for the goal.

If chosen, YOUR song will be featured in a prime-time montage on Hockey Night in Canada. You will also be flown out to perform your rockin’ number LIVE at the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada concert.

No recording studio? No problem! The winning entry will be professionally produced by Canadian rock musician, Joel Plaskett. All CBC Music is looking for is great potential.

Even if you don’t win the grand prize, just by entering you’ll have a chance to hear your song on CBC Radio. This is a great opportunity for any musician in the hockey community, especially us ladies! So hurry up and enter! Submissions will be accepted until November 20. Voting begins November 23.

Do you think you have what it takes? Enter here now!

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Earlier today, CBC unveiled the network’s broadcast team for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at a public event at the Toronto Broadcast Centre. CBC’s Ron MacLean and Scott Russell were on hand to introduce their fellow team members at the 100-day countdown celebration to the Opening Ceremony on February 7, 2014.

Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, and Neil McEneaney, interim executive vice-president of CBC English Services, were on hand to officially kick off the network’s 100-day countdown celebration and welcome the broadcast team.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the talented group of hosts, journalists, commentators and analysts we’ve assembled to bring the Olympic Games home to Canadians this February,” said McEneaney. “As Canada’s official broadcaster for Sochi 2014, CBC/Radio-Canada is covering the Olympic Games like never before. The breadth of knowledge and expertise of this incredible broadcast team plays a major part in allowing us to do just that.”

With more events and more hours of competition than ever before, Canadians won’t miss a minute of the action and excitement of the Games with coverage available on multiple platforms. CBC/Radio-Canada will provide access to live broadcasts, updates, news and more on TV, radio, online, on tablets and through mobile devices, allowing Canadians to access what they want when they want it, from anywhere in Canada.

  • Diana Swain of CBC’s The National pairs with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada’s David Amber to host Olympic Morning from 6–10 a.m. ET (3–7 a.m. PT)
  • Russell will host Olympic Daytime from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (7 a.m.-12 p.m. PT) every day throughout the Games.
  • MacLean hosts Olympic Primetime in the evenings from 7-11 p.m. across Canada outside of Alberta (6-10 p.m.) and British Columbia (5-9 p.m.)
  • Andi Petrillo from CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada teams with CBC News Montreal’s Andrew Chang to host Olympic Overnight in Pacific primetime from 12–6 a.m. ET (9 p.m.–3 a.m. PT)

To ensure Canadians can see every competition, CBC has partnered with TSN, TSN2, TSN Radio, Sportsnet and Sportsnet One, to provide extended broadcast hours of CBC’s coverage of the Olympic Winter Games. Further programming details and scheduling information will be made available closer to the start of Sochi 2014.

Canadians can also find live streaming content, entertaining video content, news, notes, analysis, interactive schedule and more leading up to and during Sochi 2014 on the newly redesigned cbc.ca/olympics.

CBC’s all-star broadcast team has been to more than 180 Olympic Games combined either as broadcasters or competitors and have won 30 Olympic medals. CBC/Radio Canada’s full English-language broadcast team for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games is as follows:

Studio Broadcast Team (International Broadcast Centre):

  • David Amber – co-host, Olympic Morning
  • Andrew Chang – co-host, Olympic Overnight
  • Ron MacLean – host, Olympic Primetime
  • Andi Petrillo – co-host, Olympic Overnight
  • Scott Russell – host, Olympic Daytime
  • Diana Swain – co-host, Olympic Morning

Sport Specialists:
Alpine:

  • Kerrin Lee-Gartner – analyst
  • Scott Oake – commentator

Curling:

  • Mike Harris – analyst
  • Joan McCusker – analyst
  • Bruce Rainnie – commentator

Figure Skating:

  • Kurt Browning – analyst
  • Brenda Irving – commentator
  • Carol Lane – analyst

 Freestyle:

  • Jeff Bean – analyst
  • Jennifer Heil – analyst, moguls
  • Mitch Peacock – commentator

 Ice Hockey:

  • Jennifer Botterill – analyst, women’s
  • Cassie Campbell-Pascall – analyst, men’s and women’s
  • Don Cherry – analyst, men’s
  • Elliotte Friedman – reporter, men’s
  • Glenn Healy – analyst, men’s
  • Kelly Hrudey – analyst, men’s
  • Jim Hughson – commentator, men’s
  • Mark Lee – commentator, men’s and women’s
  • Ron MacLean – host
  • Craig Simpson – analyst, men’s

Nordic:

  • Rob Keith – analyst, ski jumping
  • Karin Larsen – commentator, cross country and Nordic combined
  • Jack Sasseville – analyst, cross country and Nordic combined
  • Beckie Scott – analyst, cross country and biathlon

Sliding:

  • Jeff Christie – analyst, luge
  • Mark Connolly – commentator
  • Helen Upperton – analyst, bobsleigh and skeleton

Snowboard:

  • Craig McMorris, analyst
  • Rob Snoek, commentator

Speed Skating:

  • Steve Armitage – commentator
  • Kristina Groves – analyst, long track speed skating

Special Studio Analysts:

  • Jennifer Heil – Two-time Olympian, two-time Olympic medalist in freestyle mogul skiing
  • Clara Hughes – Six-time Olympian, six-time Olympic medalist
  • Rosie MacLennan – Two-time Olympian, 2012 Olympic gold medalist in trampoline
  • Kelly VanderBeek – 2006 Olympian in alpine skiing
  • Adam van Koeverden – Three-time Olympian, four-time Olympic medalist in kayak

Reporters:

  • Carly Agro – reporter, Mountain Cluster
  • Doug Gelevan – reporter, Mountain Cluster
  • Colleen Jones – reporter, Coastal Cluster
  • Sonali Karnick – reporter, Coastal Cluster

 CBC News and CBC Radio:

  • Peter Armstrong – reporter, radio and reporter, CBC News Network/The National
  • Adrienne Arsenault – reporter, The National
  • Nahlah Ayed – reporter, The National
  • David Common – host/reporter, radio and reporter, CBC News Network/The National
  • Matt Galloway – host, Morning Olympic Report
  • Jian Ghomeshi – host, Q
  • Ian Hanomansing – host, CBC News Network
  • Heather Hiscox – host, CBC News Network
  • Peter Mansbridge – chief anchor, The National
  • Nick Purdon – reporter, radio and reporter, CBC News Network/The National
  • Scott Regehr – host, Afternoon Olympic Report and reporter, CBC News Network

 

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One of our absolute favorite seasons is fall, of course the trees are fiery with color and the air is crisp, but we really love it because of all the cheap squash produce at the market. One of the squash varieties that causes us to celly, butternut. Currently suffering a rainy cold New England day, a warm bowl of soup makes for the perfect lunch, dinner or snack. Our crockpot vegan friendly Butternut Squash Soup is the Stanley Cup of fall recipes.

This soup makes a fairly large batch, so if you’re the only one eating it, absolutely half the recipe.

2013-10-30 10.15.04Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (approximately 6 cups)
2 medium sweet potatoes (approximately 3 cups)
1 Apple  (we used a granny smith but any kind will do)
5 cups water
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can coconut milk

Directions

1. Peel and cube the butternut squash, sweet potatoes and apple, place in crockpot
2. Add 5 cups water and 2 bouillon cubes
3. Let the above ingredients cook on high in your crockpot for 5 hours
4. If you have a hand mixer, we highly recommend that – however, we didn’t and used the blender, ladle the mixture into a blender and liquefy until it’s a smooth consistency, do this until you’ve made it through the entire contents of the crockpot (about 4 times if you fill the blender 3/4 of the way). WARNING, the mixture is hot so please blend with caution!
*We suggest pouring the blended soup into a separate bowl as you make your way through the contents in the crockpot as to not mix them.
5.Once you’ve blended everything, pour your bowl of soup back into the crockpot and add 1 can coconut milk, stir thoroughly.
6. Let soup heat on low for an additional hour and serve! We garnished ours with a few pieces of green onion for added flavor, enjoy!

2013-10-30 16.08.03

 

 

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With the month of October about to skate out, November will skate in with the start of Movember on Friday. Movember is an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches, with the purpose of raising awareness of prostate cancer and other male cancer and associated charities. Similar to years past, players throughout the NHL will participate in the month-long event, ten Boston Bruins specifically.

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Bruins announced today, October 30, that Matt Bartkowski, Patrice Bergeron, Gregory Campbell, Dougie Hamilton, Chris Kelly, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Daniel Paille, and Shawn Thornton will participate in the Movember movement by growing and maintaining moustaches during the month of November in order to raise funds and awareness for men’s health.

To kick off their month-long participation in Movember the players will get a clean shave, provided by Gillette, on Thursday, October 31 at TD Garden after their game against the Anaheim Ducks. Gillette will donate $1,000 to each of the player’s Movember pages to jumpstart their fundraising. Fans can get involved by donating to their favorite player’s Movember page or by starting their own at bostonbruins.com/movember. Bruins prizes will be awarded weekly to the fan with the best Mo.

To donate or start your own page, head here. Let the growing begin!

 

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Here at the Pink Puck, our guilty salad pleasure is hands down anything caesar. But anyone who has had caesar knows the guilt that comes along with this high calorie dressing. Today, while strolling through the grocery store we stumbled upon possibly our best find yet; Marie’s Yogurt Parmesan Caesar Dressing. With about half the fat and half the calories as regular caesar dressing, we thought it may skimp on the taste as well, but it didn’t. Yes, we purchased it this morning and made a big salad for lunch to test it out – we recommend that you do as well. The best part? Marie’s has an entire yogurt dressing line with several other appealing flavors. If you’re looking to eat your favorite kind of salad with a little less guilt, this is a prime alternative!

Nutrition Facts via Marie’s Website

  • Serving Size 2 Tbsp (28g)
  • Servings Per Container, About 11
  • Calories 50
  • Fat Cal 45
  • Vitamin A 0% *
  • Vitamin C 0% *
  • Calcium 2% *
  • Iron 0% *
Amount/Serving % Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g 8%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 200mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
  • * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
  • ** The nutrition information contained in this list of Nutrition Facts is based on our current data. However, because the data may change from time to time, please refer to the product package for the most accurate information.

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Have you heard about Shnarped? Shnarped is an app that every hockey fan (with either an iPhone or an Android) absolutely has to have on their radar. It is a one-stop shop for everything that any hockey fan (or hockey player, for that matter) could want to know about their favorite players. In one stop, you can see a player’s statistics from recent games, statistics from past seasons, recent news stories, and tweets (if applicable). The app also allows fans to send a virtual fist bump, called a pound, to their favorite players along with a message. Players can then send a “pound” back to their fans as well.

Shnarped was founded by two former Princeton hockey players, Dustin Sproat and Kyle Hagel. Sproat retired from his professional career to pursue a Master’s degree while Hagel is still playing in the AHL. There are over 300 professional hockey players that are active on the site including Jonathan Toews, Matt Moulson, Andrew Shaw, and Brendan Gallagher. Since Shnarped was founded by hockey players, they know what other hockey players want to see. Sproat and Hagel saw a need for fans, especially younger ones, to interact with their favorite players.

“Twitter can quickly turn into a hostile environment for athletes and fans,” says Dustin Sproat, CEO and co-founder of Shnarped Hockey. “We wanted to create a youth-friendly mobile app that allows young hockey fans to interact with their hockey heroes in a safe social community.”

The pair founded a charity called Hockey Players 4 Kids and this app sprung from that. They launched it into the iPhone app store in October of 2012. When February of 2013 came around, Shnarped was a great app, but they did not have as much of a following as they would have liked. Someone suggested to Sproat that he audition for the popular show Dragon’s Den on CBC in Canada.

At the time, Sproat was playing for the Bentley Generals Sr. AAA team in Alberta. He missed playing competitive hockey and had gotten back into the sport. But, in February of 2013, the last audition for Dragon’s Den was March 2nd in Vancouver. The only problem was that Sproat’s team had playoff games scheduled in Alberta on March 1st and 2nd.

Fate seemed to be headed in Sproat’s favor as his team closed out the playoff series after the first game, allowing him to move his flight to Vancouver to make the audition. But, as any hockey player knows, winning a playoff series brings a celebration along with it. That celebration almost kept Sproat from making his flight. However, the story leading to him eventually making his flight makes everything all the more exciting.

Dustin Sproat knew he had to make that 9am flight on Saturday, March 2nd. So when he and his teammates went out to celebrate their playoff victory, he designated himself as the driver. The night started around midnight and the final stop had them rolling through to Brian Sutter’s barn in the early hours of the morning. Yes, the same Brian Sutter that’s an NHL legend and yes, it was actually a barn on a farm. It’s true what they say about Alberta in early March. It’s calving season and it is ridiculously cold. As the boys on the team continued their celebrating, Sutter went out every hour to check on his pregnant cows to make sure they were not in distress.

As it turned out, Sutter found one that was in distress. This meant that the boys got to experience an actual birth firsthand, an experience that I’m sure none of them will forget soon since it was their own captain that helped out. This also meant that it was 5am and they were nowhere near leaving. The team had become very invested in the process and did not want to leave before the calf took her first steps. Time was running short and Sproat had a two hour drive to the Calgary airport ahead of him. Finally, at 6am, the calf took her first steps and the boys were on their way. Sproat managed to get on his flight just before the gate closed.

An overly tired Dustin Sproat arrived in Vancouver only to find another obstacle. The same person that had recommended Sproat try out for Dragon’s Den also promised to organize the pitch. But, that person got stuck out of town and would not be able to make it. Sproat and his partner were 30 minutes away from the end of the auditions and had only 15 minutes while waiting in line to come up with something. Leaving the audition, Sproat was not feeling confident. He had not been able to answer some of the questions and regretted not taking the chance more seriously.

Something must have gone right, though, because a few weeks later, they got a call. After answering a few more questions, they got the invite to Toronto. Kyle Hagel and Dustin Sproat flew to Toronto on April 24, 2013. They made the pitch to CBC’s Dragon’s Den and that’s where our story ends…for now at least! The episode airs on CBC on Wednesday, October 30th. Everyone will get to see how well the pair did, but we suspect it went really well.

Make sure you download the app if you have an iPhone or Android. Shnarped was only just released for Android users so now they can see what all of us with iPhones have been enjoying all this time. Shnarped continues to grow in users as even the professional hockey players themselves use it to keep track of friends playing in different cities. It’s a must have app for all hockey fans.
Shnarped Panel 2

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Today, the San Antonio Rampage announced that forward Jon Matsumoto will head up a new program called “Matsumoto’s Rescues” that will be supported by the team. The program’s aim is to help address the population of stray dogs around the AT&T Arena, where the Rampage play. The team will host a series of collection drives at all 7 Sunday home games this season.

One such home game will be the team’s 7th annual “Pucks and Paws” Night on March 9th. This is an event copied by many teams around the AHL now. Some teams just invite people to bring their dogs along while others invite local shelters to bring dogs for people to see. The Rampage have great success with the event and even see a number of dogs adopted from their version of the night. With this added program, the Rampage asks fans to bring pet food, towels, blankets, paper towels, pet shampoo, and plastic grocery bags to any of the 7 designated home games. The items will then be donated to the Animal Defense League, which is a no-kill shelter in San Antonio.

The program kicks off on Thursday from 2-3pm at the Animal Defense League. Matsumoto will be visiting two dogs that he recently rescued on his way home from a Rampage game, one of which needed serious surgery to survive. The Animal Defense League will also bring dogs up for adoption to each of the Sunday home games this season. Matsumoto will be donating $20 for every goal he scores during the season as well.

“My wife, Kristen, and I have always been animal lovers and we saw this as a great opportunity to help pets here in San Antonio,” Matsumoto said in the Rampage press release, “We have a rescue dog of our own and we want to do everything we can to help animals in need find permanent homes.”

This season, Matsumoto returned to the San Antonio Rampage after spending most of last season with the Worcester Sharks. He spent part of the 2011-2012 season with the Rampage and now that he is back, wants to help out the community and a cause that is important to him.

Photo Credit: San Antonio Rampage

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