Photo: WCVB TV
In the first Original-Six match up since 1979 in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Boston Bruins will meet the Chicago Blackhawks. Boston has proven to be the best in the east, after completing a sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Chicago found themselves fighting in the west, in a double OT 4-3 win against the reigning champion LA Kings on Saturday night.
Both teams will fight until the end for a chance to hoist Lord Stanley – Boston most recently earned the right in 2011 when they proved better than Vancouver. While Chicago had a taste of victory just one season prior to Boston when they won the cup in 2010 in a Game 6 victory against Philadelphia. It’s been less than 4 years for both teams to have seen the Finals and won – pretty exciting statistics for a hockey fan.
With the lockout schedule having teams play only within their division, it could be an interesting dynamic come game time on Wednesday. Why? Neither team has played each other during the regular season this year. Sure, Bruins Tyler Seguin partnered up with Blackhawks Kane playing for EC Biel in Switerzerland, but that doesn’t compare to two teams going blindly into a Finals with no regular season competition to compare to.
“The last thing you want to do, is feel your way through a Final,” said Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien on Sunday.
Both teams will have a small reprieve before heading into the gauntlet on their quest for the Cup come Wednesday. All games will be carried on NBC with 8 pm starts, Finals schedule:
Wednesday June 12th, Game 1, Chicago, 8 pm.
Saturday June 15th, Game 2, Chicago, 8 pm.
Monday June 17th, Game 3, Boston, 8 pm.
Wednesday June 19th, Game 4, Boston, 8 pm.
Saturday June 22nd, Game 5, Chicago, 8 pm*
Monday June 24th, Game 6, Boston, 8 pm*
Wednesday June 26th, Game 7, Boston, 8 pm*
*If necessary
Every young hockey player grows up hoping to get the chance to play for a certain team or in a certain situation. In a lot of cases, that ends up being their favorite NHL team. If you live in Massachusetts, though, chances are those young hockey players grew up dreaming of playing in the Beanpot Tournament. That means college hockey and it limits players to Harvard University, Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern University.
Massachusetts native Colin Blackwell was no exception to that dream. The 20-year-old forward from just outside of Boston just finished his second year at Harvard and has gotten to live out his dream.
“It kind of fell into a spot where I wanted to play at Harvard and I wanted to play in the Beanpot,” Blackwell said. “As a local kid, it was one of those things that it just felt right being there. It felt like home. It made my decision so much easier.”
For Blackwell, going to college was never an option. It was what he expected of himself and it was something instilled in his values early on; attending St. John’s Preparatory School only increased that. NCAA hockey, specifically a team that competed in the Beanpot, was the only way to go.
“The way my parents raised me it was always to be a student before an athlete. If I didn’t perform in the classroom then they didn’t let me play,” Blackwell said.
“I always say expect nothing and earn everything,” Blackwell said about getting the chance to live out this dream. “When I was growing up watching the Beanpot either there or on TV I just was thinking wow, I need to play in that. The importance of that to a local kid is second to none.”
It was during his junior year at St. John’s that Blackwell really started to seriously look at college hockey programs. Right from the beginning, Harvard became his solid number one choice.
“When I was in high school they took care of me really well for the next step. I had been to the Harvard campus a lot and I kind of just fell in love with it,” Blackwell said deciding where to go. “It was a goal I wanted to strive for and it ended up working out.”
When the 2011 NHL Entry Draft came around, he was getting ready to start his first year of college. He was not expecting to get a call that he had been drafted. That was just what happened, though, as the San Jose Sharks selected him in the 7th round. Despite being raised a Bruins fan, he had paid some attention to the Sharks. During the 2005-2006 season, Boston traded Joe Thornton to the Sharks and it made Blackwell take some notice. He was incredibly excited to be drafted.
“It was a really cool experience. I didn’t know what team it would have been but I can’t imagine it being a better organization,” Blackwell said on getting drafted. “They do a great job of developing their players and getting them up through the ranks.”
“The way it kind of panned out, my junior year is when I knew I would be playing Division 1 college hockey and then going into my senior year I wasn’t really thinking about the draft at all,” Blackwell said. “Things started to pick up and towards the end there, everything happened so fast. It was hard to wrap my head around.”
Through his first two seasons at Harvard, Blackwell has already created some incredible memories. He has a hard time picking which is his favorite. As a Massachusetts native, the fact that he has already played an outdoor game at Fenway as well as played in a Beanpot Tournament are both irreplaceable memories.
“I played at Fenway Park my freshman year and that was something special, it was really cool,” Blackwell said about his first big outdoor game. “I’ve been there to watch RedSox games and I had friends and family there. It’s local for me, being from the Boston area, and it was extremely cool.”
“Playing in the Beanpot was awesome. That’s something I’ve been watching as a little kid and it’s kind of a dream come true to play in it,” Blackwell said. “I’ve still got two more years to make the full dream come true and win one. That’s been the highlight so far.”
Not everything has been easy, though. Balancing a full schedule of college classes with being an athlete can be a difficult task. Harvard is a top school in the country and has an incredibly rigorous schedule. But St. John’s definitely helped prepare him to succeed.
“You have to always be prepared and organized,” Blackwell said. “When you’re dealing with a full academic course load and then hockey on top of that, it’s really time consuming. It takes a lot of dedication. It’s really fun at the same time too.”
Despite playing 12 fewer games this season, the North Andover native had a higher points per game average during his sophomore season. He suffered two concussions during the season that kept him out. Despite the fact that he is still recovering from a concussion, he is not going to let it keep him from the game he loves as soon as he is cleared to play. He also had never had concussion problems before his sophomore year at Harvard.
“I had never had a concussion before and didn’t realize it at first. Then I had a second one that was kind of a fluke thing. That ended my season and I’m still kind of recovering from that now,” Blackwell said, talking about his sophomore season. “It’s a long process to get over. You see the number of concussions going up but time heals everything. I’m just taking a break and a step back for now.”
“It’s more psychological like with any injury. You’re going to have some hesitations but you have to go into the game with confidence that you’re good as new,” Blackwell said. “Once I get back into the games, I’m probably not going to think about it too much.”
While Blackwell has two more years playing at Harvard, he would look forward to the chance to in the Sharks organization. Regardless of where he ends up, he wants to let fans know what kind of player they should expect to see.
“I would describe myself and my style of play as being a smaller guy that isn’t afraid to throw my weight around,” Blackwell said. “I’m definitely an energy guy and I hope my teammates can build off that. That’s something I hope to bring every time I step on the ice.”
During his two remaining years, Blackwell will be hoping to see Harvard win their first Beanpot Championship since 1993 and only their 11th in school history. After that, he will hope to continue playing and following his dreams. Make sure to toss a follow to Colin Blackwell (@cb_63) on twitter too!
Frank J. Selke Trophy: The National Hockey League’s best defensive forward
CBC sports
Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins: The defending Selke champ is up for it again. Bergeron is one of the most underrated players in the league and finally got his recognition through this award last year. This year, he led the Bruins forwards with an average of 19:17 minutes per game. He also led his whole team with a +24 rating (second among nominees). What he is best known for, though, is his faceoff success. In the regular season he took 35.6% of the Bruins faceoffs and won a league-leading 62.1% of them. In addition, he had the most defensive zone faceoff wins in the league. The Bruins had a lot of success on the penalty kill and part of the reason for that was Patrice– he won 61.3% of shorthanded faceoffs. Throughout the season Bergeron had 25 blocked shots and tied for third on the team with 23 takeaways.
Yahoo Sports
Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings: Not enough can be said about Pavel Datsyuk. He often embarrasses D-men with his moves and is capable of embarrassing opposing forwards with his solid defensive play, too. Not to mention he won this award three times in the past five years. He ended the regular season with a +21 rating, which led the Red Wings but was last among the nominees. He, like Bergeron, also led his team’s forwards in ice time with an average of 20:10 minutes per game. He had 30 blocked shots and an astounding 56 takeaways (which leads his team and ties for first in the league with Toews). In terms of faceoffs, he took 33.1% and won 55% of them. He also stepped it up in the faceoff circle when coming out with the puck was crucial; he won 62.5% of Detroit’s faceoffs when they were shorthanded.
NHL.com
Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks: Captain Jonathan Toews was a huge part of the Blackhawks success this year—and not only because of his offense. He was one of the best two-way players in the league this season. Like the other two nominees, Toews led his team in plus/minus rating with a +28 (highest among all centermen). He also spent about 19:20 minutes on the ice per game in his 47 games played. Toews had 16 blocked shots and tied Datsyuk for first in the league with 56 takeaways. He took 33.7% of the faceoffs for the Hawks and won 59.9% of them– second in the league after Bergeron. Unlike the other two nominees, Toews didn’t take many shorthanded faceoffs, but he did score 2 short-handed goals.
Pink Puck Pick: Jonathan Toews. All of these nominees can easily be considered the best player on their respective teams. They all have different strengths and contribute to their team in different ways: Bergeron with his constant faceoff success, Datsyuk with his mere existence and natural ability, and Toews with his leadership and offense. If they could give the award to all three of these guys, I don’t think many people would object. But since we have to pick just one, Toews has what it takes. He has the balance of faceoff success like Bergeron and a ridiculously high number of takeaways like Datsyuk.
This “meme” has accurate written all over it… Pierre drives everyone insane.
While the Conference Finals are in full swing in the NHL, the AHL is set to start the final round of the Calder Cup playoffs. With last night’s wild win, the Grand Rapid Griffins became the best from the west. The Syracuse Crunch had earned their spot in the Finals on Saturday and were just waiting to see if it would be the Griffins or the Oklahoma City Barons.
For the whole Western Conference Finals, it had been a battle back and forth between the Griffins and the Barons. Facing elimination in game 6, Oklahoma City battled to stay in the race. They scored 3 goals during the third period, the final of which came with just over a minute in the game, to win. The two teams met again the next night for game 7 and it was as exciting as anyone could have asked for it to be. It was surprisingly low on penalties for such an important game. Instead, there was more of a focus on scoring as the final tally had the Griffins winning 5-4 over the Barons. The 9 goals came from 8 different skaters. Now the Griffins have earned their spot in the Finals and are headed to Syracuse.
From the East, the Syracuse Crunch continued their streak of postseason dominance during the Eastern Conference Finals. So far, the Crunch have only lost one game and that loss came during the Conference Finals against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. This group of prospects is coming off a 2011-2012 postseason winning the Calder Cup. Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning had their affiliation in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals. Now, the Lightning prospects have a chance to repeat as Calder Cup winners.
Both teams have been scoring pretty well and have goaltenders with similar numbers. Syracuse has been on a roll and they have a lot of momentum going for them right now. At the same time, Grand Rapids has come up with some very convincing wins for far this postseason. If I had to pick, I would take Syracuse over Grand Rapids in 6 games. The schedule of games is listed below.
Calder Cup Finals: Syracuse Crunch vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1: Saturday, June 8th – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7pm
Game 2: Sunday, June 9th – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 6pm
Game 3: Wednesday, June 12th – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7pm
Game 4: Friday, June 14th – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7pm
Game 5: Saturday, June 15th – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7pm*
Game 6: Tuesday, June 18th – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7pm*
Game 7: Thursday, June 20th – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7pm*
* If Necessary
Photo: USA Today
It’s been 13 years since the city of Boston saw a playoff game with such length – in 1990 during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers, Boston found themselves defeated in a triple OT. While double OT was the case in Boston last evening, defeat was not, it was the type of playoff game that fans dream about.
Touted to be a “mortal lock” from the beginning of the season, Pittsburgh has found themselves in the middle of the Atlantic with an iceberg dead ahead come Friday, when they face Game 4 elimination. Yes, the Boston Bruins have found themselves up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals after a double OT goal from Patrice Bergeron that gave Boston the win during Game 3.
“We can’t get excited over 3 wins,” said Bergeron while donning the player of the game camouflage jacket. “Because we need 4.”
It has already been a long road to the Cup for Boston, after facing a first round exit and executing the comeback of the century, the team has been on their game. Now, they’re just one win away from advancing and trying to mirror the success they found during their 2011 run.
Injuries go glove and glove with the playoffs, but Boston is now faced with the task of skating forward without one of their most underrated players, Gregory “Soupy” Campbell. A key component to the “Merlot” line, Campbell sustained a broken right fibula during last night’s contest. Fans watched as Campbell continued to be an active member of the penalty killing until for a full 47 seconds after being injured. At the first available moment, Campbell made his way to the bench – while cheers of “Campbell” rained down to the ice. It wasn’t just the fans who recognized Campbell’s efforts.
“For what he went through, he showed a lot of guts to stay out there and to still try and play,” said Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien. “Obviously it was a pretty serious injury, so that’s just the kind of player he is, and it doesn’t surprise me, it doesn’t surprise his teammates, but certainly it shows the character of that player, and that’s why we appreciate having him on our team.”
[tubepress video=”h15m87WsCHQ”]
It was a well fought game, while the Bruins out skated and outplayed Pittsburgh to open the series, the Penguins found their game shortly into the first period after a wrist shot from David Krejci at 1:42 giving Boston a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz tied the game at 8:51 of the second. With the minutes winding down in the third period, neither team scored sending the game into OT. One OT wasn’t enough despite multiple chances on either end, it was, for once, a battle of the goaltenders. Vokun who has had a rocky start in the playoff net this series made a few big saves, but it was the play of Bruins Tuukka Rask that deserved game honors.
“Yeah, he [Rask] was great,” said Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron on his goaltender. “Again, we should say he’s been great all Playoffs, and he’s really given us the saves that we need and the energy, the momentum that we need in order to do the job in front of him. They had some really good looks that we should have done a better job defensively, and he bailed us out.”
Stopping 53 of the 54 shots faced during the elongated game, Rask has been nothing short of perfection at a time when he’s needed most. Perhaps one of the strongest games of his career thus far from an outsiders perspective, the reality is that every game needs to be the best of a goaltenders career.
“I don’t rank them [games],” said Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. “It’s playoffs – every game is important, every win is important. That was probably the longest one.”
Long games make for tired legs and mental mistakes, through five periods of hockey, both teams stayed sharp. As the clock passed midnight in Boston, it was Patrice Bergeron who had everyone questioning if they were dreaming. With a tip in goal at 15:19 of the 2nd OT, from Marchand and Jagr – the always clutch forward sealed the Penguins fate.
While needed, rest is a luxury not afford to those chasing the cup. The Bruins will look to advance, while the Penguins will lace up to fight elimination – with so much on the line, physicality will be the name of the game come Friday for Game 4 in Boston. Puck drops at 8 pm.
[tubepress video=”Q_U7kinSgC8″]
In an age where social media is the platform where most stories break, it’s easy to keep up with what our favorite athletes are doing or how their teams are playing. It’s also easy to hear whenever they get into trouble. What you don’t see everyday, though, are the stories about the professional athletes taking their time to give back. That was a major incentive for Christian Marin to start the blog Pros Give Back.
“I’ve always grown up a sports fan but kind of looking at the stories that you don’t see every single day,” Marin said. “I’ve always been fond of the athletes that do take the time to give back and do something for the community. They didn’t get there by themselves and without the fans they wouldn’t be able to be out there making money playing a sport.”
When Christian Marin graduated from college with a degree in broadcast journalism, he found it incredibly difficult to find an internship in Toronto, much less a job. While he was working full time for a sports marketing company, he came up with the idea to start his own blog. It would allow him to continue writing and create a name for himself in the sports world. It has not always been easy, but the interviews come a lot easier than they once did.
“After about a year’s time we would get agents and team PR people contacting us and asking if we would be interested in doing stories on specific players,” Marin said. “It’s really starting to turn into what I was looking for it to be.”
While there are a lot of blogs and sites out there devoted to talking about sports, Pros Give Back has a distinct advantage. It is a unique idea that Marin has come up with, one he hopes that will help distinguish him. It is important to see that athletes take their free time or money to do charitable work.
“When I started the site, I also wanted to reach out to people that don’t follow sports and show them what’s going on,” Marin said of his goals. “From an outside perspective looking in you’re probably thinking these guys make millions of dollars to go out and play the game that they love but what do they give back?”
Another goal of Pros Give Back is to inspire people to go out and benefit the community as well. It has been proven that people will buy certain products that their favorite athletes endorse.
“If it works with any kind of brand that they wear, why not with a charity?” Marin asked. “They’re seeing that their favorite player donates to a charity and maybe they’ll do the exact same thing.”
Beyond that, Pros Give Back makes it easy to follow in the footsteps of your favorite athlete when it comes to supporting charities. “On our stories we’ll put a link to the foundation page,” Marin said. “They aren’t looking for big donations like the athletes make but even the smallest donation goes the furthest way. It helps someone elsewhere.”
When Pros Give Back first got its start, Christian Marin and a friend were running the site together. Now that he is running the site on his own, it’s harder for him to get to every story. It’s especially hard if a story comes out about an athlete that has already been featured or when so many athletes are contributing to one charity, as was the case with the recent tornados in Oklahoma City.
“If something really big happens and we already have a story out on that athlete, we tell the athlete’s story from a different angle,” Marin said. “With the tornados in OKC, all we really could do was retweet what all the athletes were doing because there was so much out there and it was all a similar message.”
If you, or anyone you know, is interested in submitting a story, Marin tries to make it easy to get involved. If you visit www.prosgiveback.com and go to the contact page, you can send in a story. Provided it meets requirements, Marin is happy to post it. His site is still a nonprofit and he cannot pay writers. But he is hoping that as his site continues to grow, he can take it to a much larger level. Be sure to check out the site, and “like” the page on Facebook here, and follow them on twitter here.
Everyone loves free stuff, our June Pink Giveaway comes from our friends over at Scrappers Hockey Apparel! If you haven’t checked them out, what are you waiting for? Great hockey apparel designs and their t-shirts are some of the softest in the league. We promise.
One lucky winner will receive a Scrappers Hockey t-shirt of their choice, and a “Fight For Everything” wristband set.
How do you win? Well we have a few different options for you, try one, try all:
Be sure to follow both The Pink Puck and Scrappers Hockey on Twitter.
Like The Pink Puck and Scrappers Hockey on Facebook.
Use the comment section on this post and tell us why you love hockey!
Looking for an extra way to win? Share the contest with a friend, if they follow, comment or like us too, let us know by sending an email with your name in the subject line, their name or handle in the body to pinkpuck@thepinkpuck.com and we’ll give you another entry for spreading the word.
You can be entered up to four times if you show us some hockey love through social media by completing all of the above. Think pink, rock the rink and fight for everything!
Contest Deadline: Sunday June 30th, 12 pm EST, winner will be announced on Monday July 1st.
By Kelsie Plesac
The Blackhawks registered 4 goals against Los Angeles Kings goalie, Jonathan Quick, Sunday night, resulting in a 4-2 victory that gives the Hawks a 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference Finals.
The Blackhawks tallied their first goal early with an Andrew Shaw goal at 1:56 that was assisted by Viktor Stalberg and Brandon Saad. The second goal of the period would come from Brent Seabrook at 19:09. Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews registered assists.
At 5:28 the Hawks received their first power play opportunity from a Dwight King tripping penalty. They took advantage of the opportunity with Bryan Bickell continuing his impressive play in the postseason and tallying a power play goal. Patrick Sharp and Saad were credited with assists. Minutes later Michal Handzus registered his 2nd goal of the playoffs, giving the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead and resulted in the pulling of the tired Quick in favor of Jonathan Bernier. The Kings would not be shut out in the period, however. At 18:57 Jeff Carter tallied L.A.’s first goal of the night. Tyler Toffoli and Slava Voynov registered assists.
The Kings would be the only team to score in the third period, taking advantage of a delay of game penalty by Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith at 17:59. Toffoli registered the last goal of the game at 18:58.
Hawks goalie Corey Crawford made 29 saves on the night. The series will resume in Los Angeles Tuesday night.
For most players, hockey is a family affair and Nashville Predators Bobby Butler skates right into that category. At 26 years-old, the Marlborough, Massachusetts native has found success on the ice, but all success needs a beginning.
Like many of his NHL peers, Butler grew up watching and loving Joe Sakic. But it was the off-ice support in the form of his father that ultimately gave Butler the drive to play.
“Off-ice, my Dad,” said Butler in regards to his biggest inspiration. “He got me into hockey.”
When your father is a coach, it seems like a natural progression for a son to play the sport, Butler found himself hitting the ice at just three years-old.
“My dad was a high school coach in our town,” said Butler. “I used to go out on the ice with all of the high school players.”
Commuting to the rink long before the sun rises forges memories in a players mind. After all the early morning ice times are just another part of the game.
“My teammate Mike O’Brien and I,” said Butler. “We used to drive into Boston on Sunday mornings with his Dad and he’d crank the heat in his mini van. We’d both be on each heater on either side of the car, it was pretty funny,” laughed Butler. “5 in the morning, you gotta stay warm.”
It’s the early mornings, a fresh sheet of ice and a love for the game that mold a player. Many fans outside the region may not realize the impact, and opportunity that New England holds for a hockey player. For many, hockey is a staple and the sheets of ice are endless – endless for those willing to put in the work, an ethic that Butler skates with to this day.
“Work hard,” commented Butler. “You’re only going to get as far, as how hard you work.”
Those native to New England are probably familiar with the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League, an American league that has helped give the start to many professional players. The Junior Bruins allowed Butler a lot of ice time and an opportunity to hone his skills. However, it was the four years with the Wildcats at collegiate hockey powerhouse University of New Hampshire that furthered Butler to a career within the American Hockey League and ultimately National Hockey League success.
“Playing at UNH was what got me to the next level,” said Butler. “It was a great school, great place to play and great coaching,” he continued. “Can’t forget a great group of guys that I went through my four years with.”
While some people may forget their roots, in the world of hockey your roots just continue to branch and you never forget where you’ve started or how far you’ve come. Part of that mindset is staying up to date and supporting the teams, players and programs that you’ve grown with.
“I followed UNH all this year and sent an email to them right before the playoff games during the regionals, talked to Coach Umile who is a great guy and a lifelong friend,” said Butler. “It’s not just hockey there, it’s a family.”
Photo: Predators
Post collegiate career found Butler within the Ottawa Senators organization, where he saw ice time with both Ottawa and their American Hockey League affiliate Binghamton. Time spent in Binghamton resulted in winning the Calder Cup Trophy, where Butler notched 13 goals and 7 assists during the 23 game playoff run. Following that fantastic run, Butler struggled during the 2011-12 season with Ottawa, ultimately leading to him being put on waivers. Perhaps a frustrating situation, Butler signed with the New Jersey Devils in August 2012, but found himself again with the AHL affiliate in Albany after the NHL locked out. Despite an earlier than anticipated departure from the Senators organization, Butler harbored no ill feelings toward the club and wasn’t surprised by the success of the team during this seasons’ NHL Stanley Cup run.
“I knew they had a young team, but they have guys who have been through the post-season at the AHL level,” said Butler. “It was still something that helps you become a better hockey player and helps you battle and learn how to put teams away, and that’s what they did the first round and had great success. I wasn’t surprised at all.”
A short stint with New Jersey once the NHL season officially began, Butler was again placed on waivers. But this time, claimed by Nashville in a move that has proven beneficial for both the organization and Butler himself. Registering three goals and six assists, Nashville has provided a hockey environment that Butler hopes to continue to be a part of.
“I’m excited, the fans are great, loud and into the game. It’s a great atmosphere, everyone is so friendly down there,” said Butler. “It’s an awesome environment, you look forward to going to the rink everyday to play and you have fun doing it.”
A positive end to the regular season allowed Butler the opportunity to represent USA in the IIHF World Championships, which placed the forward in Europe for a three week stint.
“It was an awesome experience, something that I’ll always remember,” said Butler. “Just being in Europe, I’ve never been, so it was definitely fun. It was good to have a little change in the bigger ice, kind of neat to have a different and fun experience.”
Photo: IIHF
Just returning from Worlds has placed Butler a bit behind on his usual off-season workout regime.
“I’ll start working out on Monday. I’m a little behind on working out cause I was gone for three weeks with the world championships,” said Butler. “I won’t start skating until the end of July, but I will certainly be doing some pickup games here and there on Thursday nights.”
With a summer ahead of him, fans in Nashville won’t see his continued diligence both on and off the ice until training camp in the fall. But it’s a safe bet that should he make the opening roster, his kind hearted, friendly personality will make him a fan favorite among a legion of Predators.
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