After feeling like we have been waiting forever, the AHL announced the full schedule for the 2013-2014 season today. Teams had been given a few guaranteed home dates, including the date for their home opener, but not any of the information about who they would play those days. Now, fans can access the full schedule here to see when their favorite teams are playing.
There are a lot of exciting games, but there are also a few interesting things to highlight. The 2013-2014 season kicks off on Friday, October 4th with 5 games. One of those games will feature the reigning Calder Cup Champions, the Grand Rapids Griffins visiting the Rochester Americans to kick off their season. The Rochester Americans will also be taking a 12 day break in December to participate in the Spengler Cup. The Spengler Cup takes place in Davos, Switzerland from December 26-31 and this is only the second time that an AHL team has participated in the event.
The AHL is following in the footsteps of the NHL and will once again host outdoor games. The Rochester Americans will be taking part in this honor as well as they host the Lake Erie Monsters on December 13th at Frontier Field. The second game will take place on December 30th when the Grand Rapids Griffins host the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park in Detroit. It is part of the events leading up to the Winter Classic.
This season, the AHL All-Star Classic will take place on Tuesday, February 12th and Wednesday February 13th. The location and further details are yet to be announced. Check back soon and we will have updates as the league releases them.
With the addition of two new teams, the AHL announced divisional realignments earlier this summer. The former Houston Aeros have relocated to Iowa and will be called the Iowa Wild. The franchise that was formerly the Peoria Rivermen will now be affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks as the Utica Comets. The new divisional alignments can be found here.
The San Jose Sharks announced that they will once again participate in the Young Stars Classic in Penticon, BC hosted by the Vancouver Canucks. The tournaments runs September 5-9 and will feature rookies from the Sharks along with the Canucks, the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and the Edmonton Oliers. Over the course of the tournament, each team plays in three of the games.
This tournament gives fans a chance to get to see future stars before they make it to the NHL. For a list of all the players San Jose is taking to the tournament, check here. For some highlights of players attending for each of the teams or two buy tickets, check here.
San Jose will be playing in the following games:
On September 5th, the Sharks and Canucks face-off at 7:30pm
On September 6th, the Sharks and Jets face-off at 4pm
On September 8th, the Sharks and the Oilers face-off at 5:30pm
*All times in Pacific Standard Time
Patrick Burke
The league announced today that, Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch will join the Department of Player Safety as Manager, while Patrick Burke of You Can Play Project and former scout for the Philadelphia Flyers will join in the newly- created Director of Player Safety position.
Both Leetch and Burke will join NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan to assist with the upcoming season.
For those unaware, established in June 2011, the NHL Department of Player Safety’s mission statement is: “We are committed to making the game as safe as possible for our players while preserving the intensely physical, competitive and passionate nature of hockey.”
Many fans around the league were looking for additions to the department to add some regularity with suspensions among other issues. It is the hope that both Leetch and Burke will prove beneficial for the growing department.
“Brian Leetch and Patrick Burke are two astute members of the hockey community who will bring unique perspectives and personal experiences to the Department of Player Safety,” Shanahan said. “As one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, Brian displayed a rare sense of the game and its nuances that will be a tremendous asset to our department’s efforts to make the game safer for our players while maintaining its physicality and passion. The ability to evaluate players that Patrick refined as a pro and amateur scout will be invaluable to the team that monitors games each night to both identify incidents that might merit Supplemental Discipline and to note developing trends in our game.”
With the seasons’ open just around the corner, fans will see just what these two additions bring to the league soon.
Many of you may be familiar with the children’s book “Flat Stanley“, well a close friend of The Pink Puck with long standing ties of supporting our troops (and to hockey), has altered the idea to bring you “Flat Soldier”. We have fantastic readers across the world and thought that some of you might like to participate in this fun project. It doesn’t matter what state or country you reside in, the broader the reach, the better!
Here’s what our close friend had to say about Operation Flat Soldier:
“Flat Stanley is a project that many students (and teachers!) enjoy doing to learn about travelling, map reading, and all sorts of wonderful things! I have adapted the concept and turned it around to make a fun travel book for one of my adopted soldiers currently in Afghanistan! You have in your possession a flat-version of one of my adoptees. He is ready for some adventures with friends and family!
Please take him on adventures. It could be cooking in the kitchen, going for a drive, helping in the garage, seeing the local sites, or going fabulous places!! Set him up, snap a picture, and send it to me with a description of the activity! Send as many pictures as you like. The options are limitless!! And I will put everything together in a book and send it to the soldier. Think about how much love and support will be in that book!!! It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t know you. You took the time to do this, which shows kindness and compassion! From everyday events (drinking coffee in the kitchen), which are greatly missed while deployed, to the hilarious or harrowing (PLEASE don’t let him fall ALL THE WAY down Niagara Falls!!!! But if you do, TAKE PICTURES!!!!!!!!!), photos and stories are greatly appreciated!!
It would be awesome to get some pictures of Flat Soldier doing funny things (I’ve seen pictures of a martial artist bowing to a Flat Soldier, then appearing to be flipped by him, and then having FS sitting triumphantly on his chest. Hilarious!!!!), so let your creativity flow! Mine took a trip to the Bobby Orr statue at the Garden. I taped him to the statue to make it appear like he is flying through the air with him.”
If you’d like to participate in Operation Flat Soldier, please send an email to pinkpuck@thepinkpuck.com – we’ll give you more information, the pdf for printing Flat Soldier and the email address to send your photos to by October 1st! Don’t have a printer, don’t worry – our friend will gladly mail you a pre-printed Flat Soldier so you can participate in the project as well.
We can’t wait to see what adventures our Pink Puck readers take Flat Soldier on!
You love your favorite NHL team, but sometimes it isn’t cost efficient to be a season ticket holder from anywhere beyond your couch. Sure, in a perfect world you would be center ice at every game, but the world isn’t always perfect. If it was your team would hoist the cup every single season.
Sometimes a more cost efficient and enjoyable alternative to the big show is to catch a game with the farm team; the NHL has both AHL and ECHL affiliates. These games are full of grit and passion. You’ll find players fighting for the opportunity to advance to the next level, instead of players who already have. Maybe the affiliate for your favorite team isn’t close to you, it’s okay to support the one that is!
A prime example, the Boston Bruins’ ECHL affiliate resides in South Carolina. For the second consecutive season, the Stingrays will play host to developing players within the Bruins’ organization throughout the duration of the 2013-14 season. Prior to being the ECHL affiliate for Boston, the Stingrays who play in North Charleston, South Carolina, were affiliated with the NHL’s Washington Capitals from 2004 to 2012.
So this season, take your family, take your friends or take yourself to an AHL or ECHL game for the same amount of fun at a more cost effective price
In the first round of scouting announcements to hit the airwaves, the Boston Bruins have made a few additions to their scouting roster. In a team press release from Tuesday, August 20th:
“BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today, August 20, that the club has promoted Keith Gretzky to Director of Amateur Scouting, hired P.J. Axelsson as a European Amateur Scout and hired Keith Sullivan as an Amateur Scout.
Gretzky joined the Bruins organization in 2011 as an Amateur Scout based out of Ontario. In his new role as Director of Amateur Scouting, Gretzky will oversee the efforts of the team’s amateur scouting staff in addition to scouting those North American and European players eligible for the annual NHL Entry Draft. He previously served as an Amateur Scout with the Phoenix Coyotes from 2001 to 2005 before being promoted to the Director of Amateur Scouting in 2006.”
While Gretzky is the brother of former NHL superstar Wayne Gretzky, fans of the black and gold will be sure to appreciate the addition of the beloved 38-year-old, Sweden native P.J. Axelsson. Axelsson was a long standing member of the Bruins, wearing number 11 with pride for 11 seasons.
“Axelsson joins the Bruins Organization as an Amateur Scout after spending 11 seasons (1997 – 2009) wearing the Spoked-B. The former Bruins forward skated in 797 career NHL games – all with the Black & Gold – notching 103 goals and 184 assists for 287 points, while racking up 276 penalty minutes. The winger was selected by the Boston Bruins in the seventh round (177th overall) of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
Axelsson was an active contributor to the Greater Boston Community in his time as a Bruin, starting the annual “PJ Drive,” where fans are encouraged to bring new, unused pajamas to a specified game as well as locations all over Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, which are then donated to charity.
Following his time with the Bruins, he played for Frolunda HC in the Swedish Elite League from 2010-2013 before announcing his retirement from pro hockey on April 10, 2013. Born in Kungalv, Sweden, Axelsson will be based out of Sweden and responsible for scouting European Amateur Prospects.”
Finally, former NHL player Keith Sullivan will join the organization following a career with Phoenix, Winnipeg and a GM stint in the USHL.
“Sullivan joins the Bruins as an Amateur Scout after spending four seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes (2007-2011) and one year with the Winnipeg Jets (2011-12). In 2012-13, Sullivan served as the General Manager for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League. He will be based out of Omaha, NE.”
With summer quickly coming to a close and hockey season around the corner, fans interested in learning more about Boston Bruins players, or ticket options, should visit the team website at www.bostonbruins.com or call 617.624.BEAR.
Rejoice, it’s the weekend (well almost) and like us, a pink drink to kick it off is always warranted. This recipe is for our legal to drink readers, although we’ve included an equally delicious non-alcoholic version for our younger fans to enjoy. Please remember to drink responsibly!
Pink Strawberry Lemonade Sangria
Ingredients
1 Can Frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1 750 ml bottle of white wine – Moscato or Pino Grigio
1/2 liter Bottle Sprite or Fresca
2 Lemons sliced
1 Box Strawberries, hulled and diced
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher, refrigerate 1-2 hours to allow flavors to blend. Serve and most importantly enjoy!
Non-alcoholic Pink Strawberry Lemonade Sangria
Ingredients
1 Can Frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1 liter Bottle Sprite or Fresca
2 Lemons sliced
1 Box Strawberries, hulled and diced
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher (leave 1/2 the bottle of sprite or Fresca aside) refrigerate 1-2 hours to allow flavors to blend. Pour 1/2 the mixture into glasses and top off each glass with Sprite or Fresca. Serve and most importantly enjoy!
In recent years, the art of tattooing has become increasingly popular. And NHLers are no strangers to getting their body inked up. Just to ramble off a few, Mike Green (Washington), Andrew Ference (Edmonton), and Jose Theodore (Florida) are heavily tattooed. Some of them have even documented their tattoo progressions on Twitter and shared the meanings behind their ink. And whether it holds significance for their family, represents their team, refreshes a memory, brings good luck, or just simply looks cool, NHL athletes have body art from every end of the spectrum.
One of the more common NHL tattoos is the Stanley Cup– and for good reason. Who wouldn’t want a constant reminder of your Stanley Cup winning year…or years? To name a few, Pascal Dupuis and Ruslan Fedotenko documented their Stanley Cup Champion teams on their skin.
Out of all the Cup tattoos out there in the NHL, Mark Recchi has one of the best. In his career, he won the Lord Stanley trophy three times and with three different teams. He showcases those team logos surrounding the Cup, which has the three different years on it. It’s very nicely done and he clearly took the time to choose a good artist. Unlike Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand…
These two were Boston Bruins rookies at the time and decided to get tattoos the night they won the Cup in 2011. Unfortunately, they didn’t spell check their artwork. Nor did they research their artist very well. What is supposed to say “Stanley Cup Champions” turned into 
something more along the lines of “Starley Cup Chanpians.” Brad Marchand later admitted that the script was not spell-checked before being permanently inked on his ribs. Interestingly enough, he only mentioned the “a” of “Champians” (which is clearly supposed to be an “o”). I guess everything else is close enough. Fortunately, it seems that Tyler Seguin found a better artist because since then he has gotten a full sleeve on his right arm.
One of the most unique stories is Jared Boll of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He said in an interview that his favorite number has always been 7, but when he made the team they gave him number 40. He said that he “was just happy to make the team and [he] didn’t want to ask to change it.” So instead of having lucky number seven on the back of his jersey, he had the Roman numeral tattooed on his inner bicep.
Andrew Ference, an ex-Bruins and current-Oiler, is pretty much the king of tattoos– good tattoos. He has his back entirely covered in a tribal, red and black design; along with numerous tattoos elsewhere on his body including his chest and arms. His first tattoo was a Canadian flag on his upper arm that he got when he was 16. He had just moved from his home in Canada to Portland, Oregon and wanted to take a piece of Canada with him to the States. When asked what his most meaningful one is, he said it’s his daughters’ names, “Ava” and “Stella” across the top of his back. What a great dad.
The Philadelphia Flyers’ new goalie, Steve Mason has a very basic, but personal, tattoo. When asked what it stood for, his answer was simple. It’s a Canadian leaf (because he’s from Canada), the outline of a goalie (because he’s a goalie), and his nickname underneath (self-explanatory). Simple and significant.
So whether they just have one meaningful piece or cover the majority of their body, NHL-ers are becoming more and more accustomed to getting tattooed and showing off their body art.
As the Maine Wild gets ready for their debut season in Northern States Junior Hockey League, the guys are gearing up for training camp and gathering all the necessities – wearing full gear, of course.
Goalie Jon Fields stars in a new Maine Wild promotional video released last week, which aims to get the community of Biddeford, Maine, excited about the new junior hockey franchise. In the video, Fields does some grocery shopping, the team’s laundry (nobody likes a smelly practice jersey!) and even registers for a class or two at UC Saco.
Check it out: [tubepress video=”_HRkUe-_N5w”]
The team’s home opener is Sept. 28 against the AHI Fighting Spirit at Biddeford Ice Arena.
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