Alberta Bound

Almost two weeks ago I promised a big announcement on this blog. I know you've all been waiting with baited breath, so here it is.

The Kenora division of the Sons of Manitoba hockey pool will be closing its doors later this week. Simply put Ontario is not a competitive jurisidiction to run a hockey pool these days. High energy prices are only exacerbated by taxes and government red tape. Although I've called long and hard for the Minister of Government Services Gerry Phillips to call a "competitiveness council" to address this issue. Alas my requests fell upon deaf ears and we were required to act.

Therefore as of this Wednesday, the Kenora division will be permanetly closed and all remaining staff members (our receptionist, accountant, paralegal and chief cook and bottle washer) have been given their termination notices.

On the bright side we are pleased to announce the expansion of our offices in Red Deer Alberta. I, Peter James, will be joining my colleague James Peters in the bustling community situated midway between Calgary and Edmonton. We will be running the rest of this year's pool out of our joint offices.

I have also accepted a position with the Red Deer Advocate in their sports department. I begin that job May 29.

Final Four: A Marketing Nightmare? Maybe not.

All in all, the NHL has had a good comeback season. Scoring is up, speed has increased, and there are more odd-man rushes. At the same time, the game has maintained its physicality - just ask R.J. Umberger.

This season had possibly the best crop of rookies the NHL has ever seen. In addition to the Crosbies, Ovechkins, Phaneufs, and Lundqvists of the world, the playoffs have uncovered another group of unheralded first-year players. In fact, 3-out-of-4 starting netminders in the final four are rookies. And who can forget the dominance of one Dustin Penner?

But the next step in the NHL's comeback has to be another shot at marketing the game to the United States. With the game relegated to the Outdoor Life Network in the U.S., that's just not happening.

To the untrained observer, the final four features four relatively unknown teams battling for hockey supremacy. It may seem like a terrible thing for the NHL that perennial powerhouses like Detroit and New Jersey aren't around. But in fact, it may be a good thing for the league, if you look at the four teams remaining.

1)Edmonton - The classic underdog story sees a team that struggled just to make the playoffs knock off the President's Trophy winners (Detroit) and the most dangerous team coming into the playoffs (San Jose) to make it halfway. The Oilers are peaking at the right time and have a chance to go all the way.

2)Anaheim - The Ducks weren't expected to anything either, but have used a mix of rookies, grinders, and superstars (Selanne and Niedermayer) to make it this far. They have a chance at revitalizing one of the biggest markets in the U.S. and giving hockey that Emilio Estevez sparkle in Hollywood once again.

3)Carolina - Charlotte is one of the fastest growing markets in the U.S., and during this playoff run, the N.C. has gone crazy for hockey once again. Though it's certainly basketball territory out there, the 'Canes are carving out a niche. And speaking of superstars, they have a break out star of their own in Eric Staal. This is nothing but good for hockey in the southeast.

4)Buffalo - Hockey doesn't need to be sold in Buffalo, where besides the Bills, it's the only game in town. The Sabres have knocked off two Stanley Cup favorites to get this far, and Lindy Ruff has played the underdog card to a tee. You never know who's going to get the goals for Buffalo, but they play a speed game with a lot of scoring nonetheless. And once again, R.J. Umberger will tell you, this team can get physical.

With these four teams vying for hockey's big prize, maybe the NHL has some hope. Sure, it would have been great if the Rangers would have shown up for their with New Jersey. And sure, it would have been great if Sidney Crosby would have been a Ranger. But let's not forget, the NHL needs a lot more than just New York to make strides in the States. They need the Carolinas and Anaheims of the world, too, not to mention Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Nashville, etc. The Rangers made great strides this year, which bodes well for the NHL finally getting back onto ESPN sooner than later.

Ranking the Announcers

For those of you who have entered this pool for the past few years you may remember my regular feature where I rank the CBC announcers. The play-by-play and colour guys moved up and down the list based upon their ability, or in the case of Bob Cole the degree of his senility.

This year we had four sets of series involving Canadian teams in the first round, which meant for sets of announcers.

Play-by-play
1) Jim Hughson: He's the voice of EA sports for a reason. He's got the voice that's a pleasure to listen to and he knows the game. He does talk way too much about the no change on the icing rule, but other then that I have no pet peeves. I will repeat my annual call to have Hughson (or just about anyone) replace Bob Cole for the final.

2) Mark Lee: This spot is earned more so because Lee didn't irritate me as much as the two guys below him. I didn't watch the Montreal/Carolina series as much as the other two, but Lee seemed to be fairly competent.

3) Don Wittman: I came into the Calgary/Anaheim series with high hopes for both Calgary and the broadcast team. For the most part they both disappointed me (Andy Murray excepted, see below). Wittman might just be passed his best before date. He was repetitive all series long and rarely provided much insight. I did, however, appreciate all the Manitoba references both he and Murray dropped.

4) Bob Cole: I'll start with a positive, Bob Cole still has the best voice in hockey broadcasting, bar none. But when you're talking gibberish the best voice in hockey won't save you. Take the fourth game of Ottawa and Buffalo as an example. I swear Cole spent 20 seconds telling us the score was 2-1. He kept finding new ways to repeat himself, all the while ignoring the play on the ice. Please CBC, put this guy out to pasture.

Colour guys
1) Andy Murray: It's a shame this guy is likely going to rejoin the coaching ranks because he was a wonderful announcer. He knows the game inside out and was able to impart his knowledge clearly. Murray was also self-deprecating and had some great one liners. It's too bad he only lasted one round.

2) Harry Neale: Count me in the Harry Neale fan club. Sure he can be annoying at times, but he's rarely boring. If there was a way to permanently get him away from Bob Cole I think more people would appreciate his talents.

3) Greg Millen: His obsession with sticks is grating and often has no clue what he's talking about. He was hired during CBC's "We can only hire former goalies as analysts" phase and for whatever reason has earned a permanent place in the booth. Here's hoping CBC swaps Neale for Millen in round 3.

4) John Garrett: I understand Oiler fans were happy with Garrett's work in round 1. More reason for me to dislike him.

Your Dustin Penner Update

Even though some have suggested he is overrated, Winkler's own Dustin Penner proved his value to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks during last night's 4-3 overtime win in Denver. Of course, Joffrey Lupul got the headlines for his four goals, but three of those goals were set up by Penner. It's a long way from being overrated to being mentioned in the LA Times. The Penner-Lupul-Marchant line has proven to be a good second offensive option to the Selanne-McDonald-Kunitz line, which makes Anaheim a good bet in a potential all-California Western Conference final.

New Strategy

With the success of Ilya Bryzgalov and Cam Ward in this year's playoffs (not to mention Vesa Toskala), I plan to adopt an entirely new strategy when selecting players next year. If I think the Flames will do well, I'll take Brian Boucher. For Dallas I'll take a flyer on Johan Hedberg. If I get hit on the head by a falling piano and decide to ride the Islanders to victory I'll opt for Garth Snow. Should I choose to take the Devils for a second year in a row, I'll rely on, umm, does New Jersey even HAVE a back-up goalie?

Anyway the point I'm trying to make is that these back-up netminders are fooling everyone. I'm beginning to think that one poolie's decision to go with Jimmy Howard (the Red Wings third stringer) may not have been that far off. Unfortunately she was talked out of this plan before her picks got into my hands.

Is that a bandwagon I see? Allow me to jump

OK, so the Flames are out. As much as I hate it, I'm going to have to deal with it. Some other Flames fans I spoke with have said they're not going to watch the rest of the playoffs. In my books tuning out is a perfectly appropriate copping mechanism, but it's not for me.

Instead I will shamelessly jump ship. After much soul searching over the past 24 hours I've settled on my team for the rest of the playoffs. I considered the Ducks for the reasons my fellow poolmaster mentioned below (except for the Dustin Penner part, he's overrated). I thought about the Sharks given the fact I have a lot of respect for their superstars and they're playing the Oilers. I hemmed and hawed about the Devils considering I picked them to win the whole pool. But really, when it came down to it there really was no contest. Fellow Poolies, say hello to your newest Ottawa Senators fan. I even have the jersey to prove it.

With that settled I'm going to go ahead with my second round predictions.

EAST

(1) Ottawa vs (4) Buffalo

The battle of the rookie goaltenders should be interesting since both teams have a lot of firepower. I like Miller more than Emery between the pipes, but I'll take the Sens defence over the Sabres any day. Up front the Sabres were able to skate circles around the Flyers slow and plodding defence corps, but I don't think they'll have the same success against Ottawa.
Prediction: Ottawa in 6

(2) Carolina vs (3) New Jersey

Can Cam Ward continue his sensational play? I'm going to vote no. The Devils are the hottest team in hockey and they're well rested. Sure the 'Canes found their stride at the end of the series against Montreal, but the Habs sitll exposed some weaknesses the Devils are sure to exploit. New Jersey is built for the playoffs, in part because of their cult-like devotion to the team first concept. Oh yeah, they also have someone named Martin Brodeur in net. I don't think they'll sweep again, but they will win the series
Prediction: Devils in 5

WEST

(5) San Jose vs (8) Edmonton
I underestimated the Oilers in the first round and I don't want to make that mistake again. That said I still don't think they're good enough to beat the Sharks. Joe Thornton and Jonanthan Cheechoo have been dynamite together. San Jose has been surging since Christmas and they'll continue their strong play in the second round.

Prediction: San Jose in five

(6) Anaheim vs (7) Colorado
I don't think the Ducks ever expected to get home ice advantage in the second round of the playoffs as a six seed, but with the unprecented four (OK 3.5) upsets in the west they find themselves in that position. Anaheim has a short turn around time, but I don't think that will hurt them too much. They're a young team and by the end of the series of Calgary they were acting as the hammer against the Flames rather than the nail. I was really impressed with the Ducks and although I didn't see alot of the Avs, I think Anaheim has what it takes to move on.

Prediction: Anaheim in six

True Sons Emerge

In analyzing the Calgary Flames' embarrassing loss to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks Wednesday, the popular theory is that the Flames simply failed to show up, and that includes Miikka Kiprusoff.

But the real reason the Flames lost is because of the Sons of Manitoba. And I don't mean Pete and myself.

1) Randy Carlyle - Though not Manitoba born, Carlyle made his name as a rugged defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets. After that, he spent two stints as a successful coach for the AHL's Manitoba Moose. In this series, Carlyle's coaching job against Darryl Sutter was masterful. As a rookie coach going up against the defending Western Conference champs, he could have panicked. Instead, he relied on what had made his team successful. Carlyle made the decision that a goaltender wasn't going to kill the Ducks' chances, whether he played for Calgary or Anaheim.

2) Teemu Selanne - Many Calgary fans will bemoan the fact that Selanne could have been a Flame. Instead, he scored 76 goals and 132 points in his rookie season for the Winnipeg Jets. This season bore an unbelievable crop of rookies, including one who is up for the Lester B. Pearson Award. Yet none of them even approached Selanne's rookie greatness. In this series, Selanne had a head to head battle with Calgary superstar Jarome Iginla, and the Finnish Flash came out ahead. Granted, Iginla didn't have any support, but Selanne scored the timely goals when his team needed them, and Iginla didn't even threaten in Game 7.

3) Dustin Penner - This is Dustin's second appearance in this blog, and deservedly so. Undrafted, Dustin took the U.S. College route to the NHL, starring for the University of Maine before signing with Anaheim as a free agent. 2005-06 was his breakout year, dominating in the AHL with 84 points in 57 games. At 6'4" and 250 lbs, he proved to be a load in the NHL as well. On the Ducks' insurance goal by Ruslan Salei in Game 7, Dustin moved his huge frame in front and distracted Kipper enough that he couldn't get a handle on the Salei point shot. You can count on seeing big #76 play on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry for years to come.

And I didn't even mention the Manitoba combination of Don Wittman and Andy Murray providing commentary on CBC.

Selanne

Temmu Selanne's strong play has presented me with a dilemma all series long. He was my favourite player as a kid, in fact I still remember where I was when he scored is record breaking goal as a rookie (parked at a gas station with the radio running but the car turned off) and when he was traded to the Ducks (again in a car, this time on the way to a hockey game in St. Boniface). I actually attended his last game as a Jet against the Vancouver Canucks.

Anyway, as I Flames fan I should by rights hate Selanne by now. He's by far been the strongest Anaheim forward this series and tonight he's given the Ducks a 1-0 lead in Game 7. But I just can't get mad at the guy. Heck I think he looks great with those teeth knocked out. Don't get me wrong I still desperately want the Flames to win this series but I can't get annoyed when Selanne does something good.

Moving Day

Another day, another leader in the Sons of Manitoba hockey pool. Our previous leader made his first misstep (he took Philly) and that allowed none other than Arthur "I'm nowhere near the basement" Casement to move into first. It's been quite a couple of days for Arthur. Not only did his beloved Oilers move into the second round, but he took grabbed sole possession of first.

Of course Arthur has to look in his rearview mirror as none other than the two time defending champion of this very pool is breathing hard down his neck. Chris Chapman picked up eight points tonight, hitting the bonus point in both series. Although Chris is only 5/7 on his picks so far he's got a pool leading four bonus points.

One of these two gentlemen will be leading the pool heading into the second round as they both picked the Calgary/Anaheim series will go the distance. Arthur (a true Oilers fan) has the Ducks and Chris (demonstrating the wisdom that got him two pool titles) has the Flames. Now a first round lead doesn't necessarily translate into a pool win, but it certainly helps.

Up and down the standings there was a lot of movement after tonight's game. These two series had the most variation among the picks, which led to some interesting developments. For instance Paul Todd moved from last to the middle of the pack based on his two correct selections. On the opposite end of the spectrum Andrew Walker dropped from his spot near the top of the standings and fell back to the rest of the pack.

The playoffs have gone to the Dogs

The Sons of Manitoba hockey pool is proud to announce its newest and most exciting web event ever. I'm inviting all of you poolies to send pictures of your dogs, cats, parrots and ferrets surrounded or wearing some sort of hockey gear. Just send the jpegs to my email address and I'll post them on the site.

To start of with we have Figo, a Flyers fan from Winnipeg. Given his Portugese ancestry Figo is more of a soccer loving dog (he cheers for his namesake on Inter Milan). His lack of knowledge of hockey is partly to blame for his rooting for the Flyers.

Below Figo is Stanley Pup from Calgary. Stanley came into this world just in time for the Flames impressive and somewhat unexpected run to the Stanley Cup final in 2004. Now he wants to give the Ducks a licking.