Showing posts with label Noreau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noreau. Show all posts

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Quick Hits: Annie Savoy, Blank Canvas, and Bendy Grahame

So, I'm not sleeping with them or reading Emily Dickinson to them, but the last couple of seasons, I've certainly had pet projects. Two seasons ago, it was the Cal for Calder campaign, which was tongue-in-cheek silliness and lots of fun for the bloggers and fans who got involved. And hey, we got national pub out of the deal!

This year, of course, I was hot to trot to "Free Brusty" and get him back in the AHL where he belonged. I guess you could chalk that up to equal parts frustration/success. He did finally get back, but was likely just about to get sent down again when the ol' foot became uncooperative again. But there was much happiness across the land (and, of course, by "happiness across the land" I mean "tingling in my goalie bits") when he was playing here.

But Brusty will move along and grace some other lucky fan base with his magic (and, of course, by "his magic" I mean "his ability to explode ovaries with his sexy glove saves"). So, my nest is feeling a bit empty and I'm opening my mind to a new, worthy crusade. It has to be organic though. I won't fabricate something. There has to be a genuine hockey reason... a real stirring in the hockey heart... it has to come to me.

But just as a heads up, right now I feel that stirring for Max Noreau, because my level of irritation at Minnesota not calling him up is rising with every day that I don't get a good explanation for why he's being snubbed. No offense to Sifers but Max should have gotten that last call. Don't argue with me on this point. It's just a fact.

But don't panic yet, Max. It's not carved in stone. Just percolating. Still a long summer ahead and surely plenty of changes afoot. (And speaking of feet, heal up quick, Barry! Not actual Brustyfoot ----> Just a stand-in.) Who even knows what the goalie sitch will be here, and you know I'll get 1000x more riled up about goalie stuff than skater stuff, so there's hope, Maxy. You may not be stuck with me yet, but I still think you've more than earned a fair shot at the show.

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Meanwhile, I've got a weekend project that combines my third love, which (after hockey and writing) is art. I haven't dabbled in my artistic side in a long time as it seems my writing obligations have swallowed me whole the last couple of years. And you guys thought I just did stick figures.... ;)

I used to paint, mosaic, make jewelry, and even lost a few brain cells making plant trellises out of copper pipe (copper solder has fumes that I'm pretty sure ate my short term memory, but fuck me if using a propane torch isn't just a helluva lot of fun. Right up there with socket wrenches and wang on my list of "guy things I love to play around with").

But I find myself with a strong urge to play in my basket of paint tubes again. All my paintings before have been abstract, pulled out of my head, and I've always just done them because I was too cheap to buy someone else's art, get it framed, etc. for my own walls. And I like how original art looks versus prints, so I learned to keep it simple and make stuff I really like, even 10 years later.

But now I'm venturing into humans. More specifically, hockey humans. Thanks to all the great photographers I've gotten to know, there's lots of material to work from.

I've never painted people before, but I can see the outcome in my head and I can think through the process of creating it, and usually that means I'll be happy with the result. I wish goaltending came so naturally to me! It also means I can hardly contain myself from starting right now and not stopping until I'm done. Alas, I have a work deadline on Friday. But as soon as that's done, it's me and my brushes and the canvas that's been sitting in our closet for 5 years waiting for inspiration.

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First though, Lake Erie plays here Friday night. Bendy John Grahame is still with the team, so I'll have my eagle eye on him. And since it's "just the Aeros" maybe they'll actually play the back-up. Rawr. Bringin' the binoculars, bitches!

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Friday, October 17, 2008

Their mamas should be proud...

Isiah Carey reports on his blog that some of the guys have been busy on their days off this week helping out with one of the hurricane shelters. Clayton Stoner and Maxim Noreau (don't worry, I already left a comment saying who "the other guy" is) are the do-gooders, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Could this team be any more loveable?

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Friday, September 26, 2008

Wild Pre-season Line-up: Game 2

Ahh, more of my boys getting a shot tonight. Very exciting, though I feel pretty sure we're going to lose as the Chicago line-up is better offensively. But at least I get to listen tonight! Huzzah!

The lineup for tonight:

Nolan Irmen - Belanger - Veilleux
Gillies - Pouliot - Weller
Boogaard - Sheppard - Clutterbuck
Kalus - Koivu - Miettinen

Skoula - Zidlicky
Noreau - Johnsson
Bergeron - Reitz

Harding - Schaefer

A quote from Ryan Stanzle's blog regarding the travel plans for the game:

The team will depart from MSP at 2:30 p.m. for tonight's game, then return immediately afterward. Head Coach Jacques Lemaire said that the team is away from home so often during the season that, during the preseason, it's nice to give the guys a chance to stick around a little longer.

Cal Clutterbuck, though, is so fired up to be on this trip that he may just head to the airport right now.
Heh. I'm excited for him. Go Cal!

Very cool that Noreau is getting to play, too. It really is pretty amazing considering he was undrafted just a little over a year ago and now has a 3 year NHL contract and is playing his first NHL pre-season game tonight. Go Max!

Um, and just to be fair: Go Crack Squirrel!

Back after the game with any interesting stuff...

Update: Nolan is scratched so Irmen, who traveled as an emergency fill-in, is in. Very happy for him since the last game didn't go so well, with an ugly (and controversial) misconduct penalty that ended the game with only 3 minutes and change in TOI for him.

Post-Game Update: Nolan was purposely scratched to give Irmen another chance. Boy, that was nice of JL. And he did much better. JL expressed great pleasure with his performance tonight. He even got an assist on the first goal.

On the other hand, Reitzy... oh boy. He had a brutal game and got called out for it afterwards by Lemaire. He's in deep doodoo up there. I feel for the guy big time, but this is what I was afraid of for him. That he just wouldn't be able to think and act fast enough for the NHL game.

Kalus got himself a goal though it sounds like he got lucky. I'm sure they'll have highlights on Wild.com tomorrow, so we'll see.

Didn't hear anything good or bad about Clutterbuck, so I'm assuming he played a pretty conservative game. I did hear his name in the mix a few times. I dunno. Wish I could watch these games with my own eyes.

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Prospect Tourney: Third Place Game

Ahhh, that was fun. Nice to see the youngsters head into big camp with a nice victory under their belts. Hey, at least someone in the Wild org can beat someone in the Red Wings org!

A few things that stood out to me:

  • Cal is still the cat's pajamas. Love the look of the C on my guy there. Great intermission interview, too. He's 007-cool. And he was the top scorer for Minnesota in the tournament.
  • Kassian looks like a lumberjack when he skates. Won't someone tell him to get those arms swinging more front to back than side to side when he's skating? Augh. Still love ya though, Kass. WTF was up with the way they were pronouncing his name: Kay-shun? Yeesh.
  • Dimples was fan-fucking-tastic, particularly in the shootout. Talk about a guy who is patient and cool. Not quite 007 cool, but certainly Batman-cool.
  • I haven't read much about him in the coverage of the games, but I noticed Kevin King quite a bit. Seemed to be doing the right things most of the time. And he's only 18.
  • I found Madsen frustrating me in the way Pouliot frustrates me. Very graceful skater, big guy, creates great chances for himself, but can't finish.
  • Cuma is very very good. Just brimming with confidence and maturity on the ice. Wow. Definitely looked like a guy who could play very well in the AHL right now. Will be interesting to hear reports from big-boy camp about how he looks compared to NHLers. Liked that he showed some emotion, too. You sometimes expect these goody-two-shoes (and he is SUCH a GTS by all accounts), to be sort of hockeybots, but he was jawing and pissed off at one point. I love emotional players who can still play wicked smart.
  • Not so impressed by Scandella or Schmidt.
  • Hodgman and Almond looked good.
  • McMillan didn't make much of an impression. Culligan only slightly more. They were fine but didn't really get my attention.
  • Noreau looked good, but I'm still not seeing why everyone has such a hard-on for him. But then, my judgement around defensemen is notoriously lame.
  • If I did not call your name, you may leave the runway because you're out.
Man, I was so screwed up by all the goofy numbers. That 78 on Cal was too heavy for him. He needs a lighter number. And 54 on Kassian? Ick. Wrong.

Anyway, that wet my whistle big time. If I was jonesing for hockey before, I've absolutely got the DTs now, man. Time to strap me to the bed until Oct. 3 when I get to see real hockey in person again.

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Miss Elainey

The blog seems lonely after a couple of weeks of hard core posting. I don't have hockey this weekend, but my inline skates arrive today, so I've been kinda taking it easy, getting stuff done around the house (my poor overgrown garden!), etc.

But a few tidbits have stacked up that are worth mentioning:

  • Puck Daddy had an interesting (well, as interesting as any post involving the KHL can be) regarding how the KHL might actually have a significant impact on the AHL by luring veteran players who would otherwise be stuck in the minors. Though one of the commenters has a valid point that it seems that guys don't really make a career in the AHL. They almost invariably head overseas anyway, at some point, and with more money to offer and possibly a better caliber of player, the KHL would be attractive. But from the AHL perspective, gone is gone.
  • The Wild announced the roster for the Traverse City Prospect Tourney today. Lots and lots of tryouts, some they've seen a bit of before, and 5 AHL/ECHL guys (Clutterbuck, Kassian, Madsen, Noreau, and Khudobin). I don't think it's going to happen for this year, but the NHL Network seriously needs to televise this going forward. Hockey fans are utterly parched this time of year... fresh hockey in early September would get some good attention, I'd think.
  • Great post on Scoring For Houston today checking in with dearly departed Joel Ward, who is a pretty funny guy and will be missed here as he moves on to the Preds organization. Nice to hear from the boys in the summer. And hey, Brandon, you've got your NHL contract now. Buy your own Center Ice!

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Monday, July 14, 2008

Kassian's Camp Wrap-Up

Posted on Wild.com today, this little blurb made me laugh.

SUPERLATIVES

Ed note: By way of a very unscientific poll, conducted primarily with Matt Kassian, who had help from others.

Fastest skater: Colton Gillies

Hardest worker: Ryan Hamilton

Hardest shot: Justin Falk, Max Noreau

Sickest hands: Benoit Pouliot

Best stickhandler: Benoit Pouliot

Most agile: Benoit Pouliot, James Sheppard or Colton Gillies. "They're all pretty close."

Best passer: Morten Madsen

Future leader: James Sheppard

Best hockey sense: Tyler Cuma

Best one-on-one: James Sheppard, Beniot Pouliot

Funniest: "Funniest looking is Colton Gillies [who happened to be walking by]. Funniest is possibly Paul Albers or Cal Clutterbuck."

Strongest: "I'd rank myself high there."

Gillies: "You can't pump your own tires."

Kassian: "I'm pumping my own tires. I get to pick myself. Matt Kassian."

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