Hey, Hey Hockeytown!

It’s time for you to defend your Stanley Cup Championship!

So, who is ready for the ice to freeze? I am! Even though it is quite hard to imagine amidst this weather, hockey season is upon us! Training camps opened last week, and all our favorite new rookie sensations-in-the-making and possible NHL prospects reported to their respective teams. Calling all GMs – Mats Sundin and Brenden Shanahan are still up for grabs.

Preseason games have been slated from Sept 20th – Oct 6th, but don’t forget to watch the NHL Premier Games on Versus, October 4th & 5th where the New York Rangers will take on the Tampa Bay Lighting in Prague, Czech Republic and Pittsburgh Penguins will face off against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden.

What does one do to get ready for the season? – join fantasy leagues! I have just subscribed to my 4th fantasy hockey league. I could not be more excited. Mind you, each of these leagues consist of different people I know – who LIKE hockey. Occupational hazard, maybe, but nonetheless very worthwhile! We’re not a dying breed…

I always find “draft day” to be interesting. I find it fascinating that my job encourages the use of fantasy leagues and doesn’t mind that we partake in drafting during work hours. I have yet another one to do today at 4pm. Tee hee. The fact that some people around here are given two computer screens, the other in which they only use to manage their fantasy teams, is genius! (No, that is not the real reason behind it…)

I must say it was alluring to step back into MSG this past Monday for hockey. There is nothing better than the chill of that arena when you walk in and realize hockey is back! Seeing Petr Nedved act like he scored a double OT game winner in a preseason matchup was enough to bring back fond memories of this game in seasons past…

The NHL regular season begins on Thursday, October 9th. If you are not a subscriber to NHL Center Ice, I suggest you give it a whirl during the free preview period from Oct 9th- Oct 15th.

And no, this is not some shameless plug for my business of work, but rather my attempt to get you all into the sport which everyone and not just Canadiens should love. (P.S. You can find Center Ice on all of the channels that MLB Extra Innings is currently on. Don’t worry baseball fans, we aren’t disrupting any out of market playoff games. Hockey won’t be shown until all MLB playoff games are national telecasts.)

Let the games begin!