Can I PLEASE have the puppy?

The pre-season is upon us. I have been slack and have not attended training camp. What I hear scares me. I hate to think that some of the veterans are slacking off. I hate the fact that we got a 19 year old defenceman for the purpose of fighting and everybody has been fighting but him, and I hate the fact that at least two 20 year old players will be leaving us.

The first cuts have been made and 10 players on the 59-or-so man training camp roster were sent home.

Lewiston goaltender and conditional tryout Jonathan Connelly was cut, as was Anthony Kimlin, a goalie whose rights we just acquired from Gatineau in the "fighting defenceman" trade. Perhaps most shocking was the release of Jeremie Forbes-Brisebois, especially considering that amongst the goalies at camp he was one of the ones with the fewest goals allowed per game according to Wuest's unofficial intersquad stats.

Even more surprising than all of that is the fact that goaltender Kody Blois chose NOT to attend training camp. Kody was a 2008 draft pick and was considered by some a front runner for the backup goaltender position. Not only is he local boy, but he plays locally, having spent last season with the Halifax Lions of the MJAHL. The only conclusion I can come up with for his absence was that his parents didn't want him to be a Moosehead because they could not stand the idea that I may develop molesty thoughts in his presence. Fair enough.

This leaves goaltending prospects Justin Collier, Randy Chisholm, Joel Grondin, Gatlin Burt and Stefan Dumaresque in the mix. Somewhere along the way Justin Farrell went missing and Gatlin Burt appeared. Farrell is listed in the final intersquad stats but Burt is missing. Burt is listed on the current roster but Farrell is missing. Farrell is not listed as a cut.


Dearest Duma, please pay attention:
The goaltenders (OK I just mis-spelled that goatenders...brilliance) for today's pre-season game against the PEI Rocket were Dumaresque and Grondin. Duma brought home the loss in the shootout. Shame. He is too damn cute for losing and I desperately want him as our backup goalie and that will never happen if he acts like a cheap ho.

He needs to act like a puppy. Fetch that puck before it goes in the net. Bite the opposition. Poop in the crease. I don't care - whatever it takes to keep the puck and the enemy away from the net. We can house train him later.


Other boys:
Speaking of puppies The veterans have been at camp fighting like a bunch of puppies - just for fun like. This is weird. I do not understand how two friends can say "hey wanna fight" and one walks away with a black eye and it is all kinds of fun for everyone. pfffff boys.


Wuest has been keeping track of everything and so I will post a bunch of links here eventually to cover all of the articles in the Metro and the Herald. Each day 5 guys were selected who stood out at the intersquad scrimmages and these are listed below:

Carl Gelinas x 2 (F)
Tomas Knotek* (F)
Dylan McGuigan (F)
Trey Lewis (D)
Andrew Smith (F) - cut
Sawyer Hannay (D)
Linden Bahm* (F)
Jamie Bishop (F)
Gabriel Desjardins* (F)
Jamie MacIntyre (F)- cut
Matt Myers (F)
Guillaume Pelletier (F)*
Matthew Boudreau (F)
Stephen Gillard (D)
_____________________
*returning player


There appears to be some boners going around courtesy of Carl Gelinas. Apparently Bahm and Stoddard are also boner inducing. I refuse to agree. Of those two only Bahm can make me feel that way. Everybody already knows how I feel about Bahm. The way that he plays he might as well be buying me flowers daily....yes it is just that romantical.

Some forwards *ahem, not naming names* seem to think that my love for them is eternal and that they can just slack off. Clearly they have never had a discussion with Bryce Swan about how fickle I can be when it comes to forwards. Unconditional love is for goaltenders only. I will wait to see for myself. Heaven forbid I trust the opinions of message board guys and people who comment in the newspapers.

The NCAA guys all seem to be sticking around. They do this because they hate us. Dudes, stop messing with my head and declare yourselves 'just not that into us' already.


NEWS LINKS:
The Metro
Q-files - too much to mention
Lemieux plans to stick it out at this year's training camp
Herd hopefuls get off to scrappy start at camp
Mooseheads pick up 'big brother' in swap with Olympiques
Russell sees plenty of opportunity at Mooseheads camp

The Herald:
Forward outlook taking shape
Brief QMJHL off-season is officially over
Blue-line battle intensifies
Rookies, vets get jitters out at Moose camp
'Be ready to go'
Russell’s all about attitude
Russell preparing for Moose camp

There, if you didn't know what we were all about before - well, you do now!

__________________________________
In other news former Moosehead Richard Greer was cut from the Montreal Juniors training camp. George Dunn remains. Dunn had 7 minutes in the sin bin for crimes committed against the Shawinigan Chrétien's in yesterday's pre-season game.

Nostradamus does it again

The Montreal Junior will be giving free agent and former Mooseheads George Dunn a try out at their training camp. See!

Whew. I hate when I get these things wrong. Therefor I am glad I got it right and did not post misinformation when I came across it. George and Richie can now gossip about the Moose behind their backs from the safety of Montreal.


In other interesting (???) trade news* the Mooseheads have swapped Matthew Burns to the Rouyn Noranda Huskies for a 12th round pick in 2010.

Matthew Wuest has a few more articles posted: one on 2009 draft pick Kody Orr, another on their import pick Konrad Abeltschauser, and an update on some old Gerrad Grant news. There is also a general piece about the training camp.

I find Konrad's eyebrows to be absolutely mystifying.


*admittedly, not that interesting

Scratching my head

The Mooseheads are supposedly working on a trade with the Gatineau Olympiques in order to acquire 19 year old defenceman Spencer Metcalf. As it currently stands the Moose are full of defensive prospects and I don't know where Metcalf will fit in unless he is pushing Scott McDonald/Ryan Matheson out. I am hoping that the team does not maintain too many players on the roster and allow boys to fester in the press box. Nobody wants to lick a festery defencman.

In order to figure out what was up I went back and looked at Matthew Wuest's roster breakdown

LOCKS (6): Pascal Amyot (19), Alexandre Brunet (20), Garrett Clarke (17), Konrad Abeltshauser (17), Alex MacDonald (18), Jamie Bishop (16).
CLOSE (2): Scott McDonald (19), Trey Lewis (16).
ON THE BUBBLE (2): Ben MacAskill (20), Ryan Matheson (18).
WILDCARDS (3): Stephen Gillard (17), Sawyer Hannay (17), Matthew English (18), x-Luke Duprey (18).

It did not make the situation any clearer to me. According to Metcalf's stats he only has 1 goal and 2 assists in 25 games with the Olympiques as an 18 year old...so we are not getting him for his puck moving skillz. Hmmmm????

Then I looked up his picture and all was clear. The Moose picked him up for his rugged looks, his strong chin and his hockey hair. This is Spencer Metcalf in his Owen Sound Attack days. In two years and 29 games with the Attack he had 2 assists and far fewer penalty minutes than with the Olympiques. He apparently perfected his penalty game while playing with the Georgetown Raiders of the OPJHL.

Wuest also mentions aquiring goaltender Anthony Kimlin and forward Jordan Costello in the trade, and this also leaves me confused.

Kimlin is an OHL free agent who was invited to Mooseheads training camp (I wouldn't forget that hair). We knew about him ages ago but why was there never any mention of Gatineau having his rights? Why are we just hearing about it now, and is he actually worth trade materials (boys) and draft picks (younger, more futuristic boys)? Why are we not just borrowing him then making offers of kisses and gifts to Gatineau should he actually make the team?

_______________________________________
Metcalf picture from the OHL website

Tastes like Gold

Tidbits of news abound but damn it is hot out there...and I don't want to be in here blogging about hockey. Let's get to it.

Mo' Gold
Canada's Under 18 team won gold at the Tournament of Ivan Hlinka in the Czech Republic by defeating the Russians 9-2. Louis Boileau-Domingue of the Moncton Wildcats was in nets and stopped 20 of 22 shots put his way. Brandon Gormley of the Wildcats had the opening goasl of both the first and second periods while Sean Couturier ( Drummondville) had a hand in Gormley's first goal. Congrats to the Q boys (including Michaël Bournival) on getting that gold. No, there is no chocolate inside.


Ned
Deadly Nedly is apparenly not feeling so deadly. The 19 year old winger has decided that he will not be reporting to Mooseheads training camp this week, opting instead to enroll in University at UNB and begin his 'regular boy' life. The news was first revealed on the Mooseheads twitter feed and later elaborated upon by Matthew Wuest at the Metro. The Metro couldn't have posted a more unflattering picture of Mr O'Brien. He actually does look a little undead there. Good luck to Undeadly Nedly in all of his future endeavors. Let's hope he learns how to make slightly less unfortunate life choices. I mean, Nickelback is his favorite band...the boy clearly needs help.


Oh GOD!
Training camp starts this week: Wednesday Aug 19th at Cole Harbour Place. We shall be together soon enough my darling Jessyko. I expect nothing but the fanciest shoes from you this year...or better yet, no fancy shoes. Fancy shoes means you are walking the concourse injured, and we can't have that. It is for your own safety. This is because I stalk around the concourse when I'm drunk.


Everybody is going Wild
Tomas Knotek has also been invited to join the Wild for the Traverse City prospects tournament. He will be joining Bryce Swan and Michael Kirkpatrick. The Wild love Cape Breton. Tomas will be wishing that he was from North Syndey in order to increase his chances with the Wild, and then he will realize that this was the sadest thought he has ever had. He may then contemplate suicide. Let's hope that being surrounded by so many Capers does not bring him down. The Moose need scoring this season.

Pet the other Sea Dogs

Once, I saw Yann Sauve take a fit and throw one of my Moosies up against the glass in a rage. Time froze. I felt sooooo funny down there. This sudden outburst of violence induced the friskiest feeling I have ever felt at a hockey game.

It is currently development camp time (kinda) and Saint John Sea Dogs' defenceman Yann Suave has been in Vancouver getting his hockey stuff on. To prove that he is not all irrational bouts of panty melting violence, he has written a blog about his time at development camp. See totally regular boy stuff - awww he makes his own pasta.

Sure, I may be 5 days late on this one but don't hold that against me. Yann wouldn't! He would rather spend all of his down-time blogging and trying to be "one of us" than hanging out with the guys. Blogging totally buys him kisses... that and his baby blues, his hair, his tall buff defenceman body, etc.

Oh... I think I just got a femmeboner.

From the Metro:

It’s sounding like there will be a little more bite at the Halifax Mooseheads’ training camp in August.

“We’re going back to five-on-five hockey with whatever goes,” said Mooseheads head coach and general manager Cam Russell. “You want to drop the gloves and fight? Go ahead. If players are tough guys, fighters, we’ll allow them to do what they do in camp so we can assess their ability, too.”

I think I might just actually like Cam Russell. The Jury is still out on him and I have been shifting back and forth in my team management related emotions, but with how I'm feeling right now I would say that quote deserves at least a handjob. I will have to wait and see what he can get out of the boys this upcoming season. It could get interesting.

In other Moose news - 20 year old forward Matt Boland is no longer of the team's protected list. I suspect he is off drowning his sorrows with a couple of chocolate bars, maybe even rubbing chocolate on his oft injured shoulder. Mmmmm chocolate. Right now I am so desperate for sweets and I would even lick chocolate off of Boland just to get some.

Otherwise:
I am still festering about the possible re-inclusion of green into the team wardrobe after they spent 3 years phasing it out. Fuck! I mean grean is ok, and it looks really good on redheads... but red, black and white is totally 'teh hot'. The boys were stylin' and totally sexy in the thirds. The all black was totally RAWR. Amyot looks like such an intellectual in all black, like as if next season he will be founding the Halifax Beat Poetry society.

image from the Mooseheads Website

Dudes, there is a company down on the waterfront called BREAKHOUSE. They specialize in design. They can do advertisements, campaigns, interior etc. etc. etc. Look them up. Then, as soon as a contract becomes available, give it to them. Now, don't say I never did anything for you.

Training camp and Exhibition schedule

Somehow both of those things sound naughty to me.

The Mooseheads have announced their pre-season schedule on their website. All of the goalies just can't wait to get here to show me what they can do.

The training camp Schedule is as follows:

Friday, August 29^th at Cole Harbour Place

11:00am-12: 30pm Team A On-Ice Practice

12:30pm-2:00pm Team B On-Ice Practice

7:00pm-9:00pm Inter-squad Scrimmage

Saturday, August 30^th at Cole Harbour Place

9:00am-11:00am Team A On-Ice Practice

11:00am-1:00pm Team B On-Ice Practice

7:00pm-9:00pm Inter-squad Scrimmage

Arrrgggh. F'n Cole Harbour. No, I do not have a car!!! Do these guys know how inconvenient it is for ME when they stick everything in f'n Cole Harbour? They probably house all the goalies out there too just to keep them far away from me.

Our pre-season games are a series of home and aways against both Cape Breton and Moncton - but any n00b with eyes and a link to the Mooseheads webpage knew this ages ago. This will be our (my) first ever chance to lay our (my) eyes on Moncton's new baby goalie Louis Boileau-Domingue...if we (I) were actually going to be here to catch pre-season games...but unfortunately....no.

I will also be MIA all this weekend because I love my mother (and because she tells me I must).

That tryout was supposed to go to the OTHER BOY...THE OTHER BOY. ARRRGGGHHH

:<[) has received an invite to the Detroit Red Wings training camp in September. There is another boy sitting around looking pretty and waiting by his phone for a call. You said you would call, Detroit!!! Pffff Detroit is such a jerk. All I can say is Argggggggggggg. Matthew Wuest has the story:

The Detroit Red Wings are expecting (Bryce) Swan to report to their training camp in Traverse City, Mich., in September, a source with the team confirmed to Metro yesterday.

The former Halifax Mooseheads forward is a free agent looking for a contract after he turned down offers from the Anaheim Ducks, who initially drafted him 38th overall in 2006.

Swan, a 20-year-old from Alder Point, spent four seasons with the Mooseheads. He posted 25 goals among 49 points in 67 games last season, a 10-goal decline from 2006-07.

The 6-foot-3, 198-pounder re-entered June’s NHL draft but was passed over, allowing him to become a free agent. He had expected to sign an entry-level deal with a team, but will have to earn his way into contract at the Red Wings’ camp.

Detroit is hosting an eight-team prospects tournament from Sept. 13 to 17, with its main camp running Sept. 20 to 23.

Cully goes wild

Chris Culligan is expected to join former Screaming Eagles teammate James Sheppard at the Minnesota Wild training camp in September. If Cully makes it, Cape Breton will need a new captain.


Original article by Greg MacVicar, Cape Breton Post


Cape Breton Screaming Eagles captain Chris Culligan of Howie Centre was told by his agent, Monday, he’d probably be getting a call that day from Minnesota Wild brass inviting him to their rookie camp and prospect tournament in September as a free agent, but he went to the new Batman movie The Dark Knight anyway.

...“I didn’t really talk to the guy from Minnesota until probably around 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. I was kind of expecting it. But I was excited. All you need is one opportunity to prove what you can do and that’s what I got, so I’m pretty happy.”

The 6’0”, 174-pound centre plans to fly out of Sydney on his own to attend the rookie camp and tournament, being held at Center Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., Sept. 13-17, and featuring prospects from the Wild, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues.

Dearest Zdeno, you can contact me at...

Boston and Halifax are so up in a tree it is not even funny. We let them borrow Haligonians, BFFs and Mooseheads players Brad Marchand and Andrew Bodnarchuk. Also, for more than 30 years the people of Nova Scotia have been donating a giant ever green tree to the city of Boston, just to thank them for their assistance following the 1917 Halifax explosion. For what purpose do they use that tree? This is the tree that we all 'get up in' for the sole purpose of making kissy faces.

In the fall of each year Boston gives something in return, usually they send their finest studs to play some quality pre-season hockey in our lowly NHL deprived city.

As a child I was enamoured with all things Boston...because I had a speech impediment that made me sound like I was from Boston. I would say things like cAr, bAr, and I also had a problem with making the 'th' sound. I had to attend a special speech class, as did the boy who was my very first school crush. That boy grew up to play for the Mooseheads and the Voltigeurs, and now I am in love with all Mooseheads - kawinkidink! - nein doch! But I digress.

Because everybody said I sounded like I was from Boston, I loved all things Boston and thus as a child the Bruins were my favorite hockey team. Don't even try to discern the logic of a child.

Now I am one of those evil creatures that likes lots of teams for various different reasons. I like Boston (again) because I love Zdeno, and there is lateral transfer of my tingly feelings from Big Z to his Boston Jersey. I, like many people, think that trading Big Z was the dumbest move Ottawa ever made. Ottawa broke my heart (which did not even belong to them) but I still watch them ALOT because, being from the east coast of Canada, Sportsnet pumps us the Ottawa feeds like young men pump their boners, thinking that this is the team we should care about (WRONG). We are just lucky that Ottawa plays Montreal and Boston a lot.

Anywho, what does it all mean? It means that Zdeno, Milan Lucic and the rest of the boys in yellow will be in Halifax playing not only Montreal (yum yum) but also Detroit this pre-season. To top it off the Bruins have also decided that they will be having their training camp here.

According to an article by Monty Mosher in today's issue of the Chronicle Herald:

The Boston Bruins are coming to metro in September and they are bringing their suitcases.

Boston head coach Claude Julien made an appearance in Halifax on Wednesday to announce the Bruins will hold five days of training camp, which will be open to the public, at Cole Harbour Place and Halifax Metro Centre surrounding a pair of exhibition games in Halifax.

There will be two practices on Sept. 23 (10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.) and Sept. 24 (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) at Cole Harbour Place.

There will be two practices at Metro Centre on Sept. 25 (10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.) prior to a game against the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings. There will be two more skates at 10 a.m. and 11:15 at Metro Centre the following morning before departure.

...There will be a lot of local content to display during camp with ex-Halifax Mooseheads Brad Marchand and Andrew Bodnarchuk of Hammonds Plains trying to make an impression.

"They were in Boston a couple of weeks ago at our development camp and both of them looked good," said Julien. "Bodnarchuk is a very mobile defenceman, a very good skater and moves the puck well and he’s a young player who will definitely get an opportunity to showcase himself."

Marchand’s time with the Mooseheads ended poorly and his talents became secondary to a lack of discipline. But Julien said he was all business at camp.

"He focused on just playing hockey and he went out and did his job. He’s a pretty good agitator, he doesn’t back down from anything and he scored some goals in the scrimmages. So both guys I think are going to have a really good look."

There is more to read here at the Halifax Metro.

So that is the deal. I will be starting my hockey season in Germany, where I will likely catch Jason King's first game with the Adler-Mannheim Eagles in Düsseldorf, but I should be home by the 15th of September. My German friend C.B. and I have it all planned out as long as we can get his wife (and Mooseheads' lover C.G.) to agree with our hockey shenanigans road trip from Mannheim to the rival town of Düsseldorf.

Yes, we spread Moosemania all over Germany. There are scientists in Wurzburg with Mooseheads mousepads, I will be bringing C.B. the Mooseheads jersey he requested, and C.G. has become the secret lover of Steve Lund, Colby Pridham, PJ Corsi and Mark Yetman. CG's special hockey trick was cursing at Denis Reul (who should also be here with Boston) in German whenever Lewiston came to town.

However, come training camp time the Bruins will be here, I will be here, and I can guarantee that when I am not slobbering all over Carey Price (because he should be here as well), I will be thinking about some Bruins - namely BigZ and Milan Lucic. I have one thing to say to these fellows - my e-mail address is in the sidebar on the right!