Finding fun elsewhere

With the NHL feeling like it's on (semi) permanent hiatus, I have to look elsewhere for my hockey fix. And 2 weekends ago, I found it. In spades.

It was what I was calling "An Epic Hockey Weekend" in 3 parts. 3 hockey games, 3 different levels of competition, 3 cities, 3 nights, 3 different sets of people I was viewing with. And each one was fantastic.

And none of them were the NHL (well Sunday sort of was, but not really.)

So let's recap...

Friday:
I had some free tickets to the Canisius/Robert Morris hockey game that night. it's D-I hockey. Small school, but still D-I and still funtimes. I decided to take the little nephews- but it was a surprise. They know there's no NHL hockey and I didn't tell them where we were going, only that it was in Buffalo. So they started guessing.. a concert? A baseball game? (even though it's November. They're kids!) A museum? A play? They did guess hockey but even then they weren't sure.

So when we arrived, they were happy. It wasn't too busy so we went right down to the front row to be right on the action. :) Good choice. Canisius lost 4-0 but the game was closer than you'd think by the score. There was a nice bit of hitting and some pretty fast-paced action. All in all, a good night at the rink. The kiddos enjoyed themselves. They stood right on the glass for the 3rd period, and every time a player would run into the glass close, Benjamin (the 6 yr old) would turn to me with a HUGE grin and say "SAM! Did you SEE that?!" It was precious and totally made the night. :)

Saturday:

Saturday it was off to Erie to connect with some of my CBJ tweeps and peeps to see some CBJ prospects Oskar Dansk (Erie Otters) and Boone Jenner (Oshawa Generals). I knew nothing about either team and hadn't heard of most of their players but it didn't matter. It was hockey. And it was OHL hockey, a new experience for me! WOOHOO! We had super fun. I got to see my bf Cyrus and my bff Dannie and several other friends. We even made it to the CBJ website- http://bluejackets.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=12073 I would totally go to Erie for another game. The fans were loud and fun (it helped that the Otters scored 5 goals) and the tickets were cheap. Good place for hockey. :)

Sunday:

Sunday was PAVEL BURE DAY. I had been waiting for this day since I heard Pavel was going to be inducted into the HHOF. I bought the tickets to the Legends game back in September. Finally I was getting to see Pavel play hockey again. Nothing short of death was going to stop me *(and luckily, I didn't catch the plague until AFTER my epic hockey weekend)* I could hardly sleep the night before from anticipation. My friend Eric came over and we left at 8am sharp. (I haven't found it that easy to wake up at 7:15 in a LONG time!) The drive to Toronto was super smooth- border crossing was fast, there was no traffic, it was brilliant. We parked and had lunch at Gretzky's- it seemed appropriate for the Epic Hockey Weekend, and Eric had never been. The food was tasty and the atmosphere there is fun.

Then we wandered to the ACC for the game! I was getting a little giddy.. I was kinda bouncy. We couldn't go down to watch warmups and it was open seating (except for the first 8 rows) so we found a spot 20 rows up or so in front of the stairs so there was no one in front of us. It was a nice vantage point. The game was cool. There were NHL Alumni from all different teams on "Team Trottier" and then Leafs Alumni on "Team Gilmour". We got to see Dino Ciccarlli, Theo Fleury, Paul Coffey, Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark, Trevor Kidd, Curtis Joseph and others. It was pretty fantastic all around. 

And then of course they got to the presentation. Pavel was first. I almost cried when they did his intro.. but I manged to turn it into a scream instead. ;) There were several Bure fans in attendance. I chatted with a few guys with Canucks jerseys on. :) He got his jacket and watch. Then they did Adam Oats, Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin (all totally legit players who I could cheer for... even Suckic- he's legit, just played for the wrong team LOL) so that was spiffy. Of course being in Toronto, the peeps went nuts over Sundin. That was cool. He's really tall.

Then they started the game. The honorees had to get changed so they didn't start. But it was a fun game- they kept the clock running and did random announcing/interviewing during the whole thing. It's hard to explain but it worked. Finally, about halfway through, the honorees got to take the ice. Pavel was a little slow at first.. like he was getting back into it. He had a couple of chances right off but nothing happened.

But in the 2nd half (yeah they did 2 halves, instead of 3 periods), things got fun. Pavel seemed to get his groove back. He had a few really good chances and started to look better. He got an assist on a goal (and I got it on tape!) and then scored 2 more! I videoed a lot of his shifts. It's not the best quality, but it's PAVEL. BURE. SKATING. which is something I will probably not ever see again. And it was amazing. I feel like words can't actually describe it. I never got to see him win a Stanley Cup but I have seen him play a few times, and I got to see it again. Even if it was a fun game, it was still the best skater I've ever seen. And he was clearly having fun. He was taking super long shifts- like he didn't want to leave the ice ever!

It was a glorious day. He was incredible. Theo Fleury was really funny and the other players too- they were all having a grand time playing in this game. They had some 5 and 6 yr olds come out for a while and they played with the kids too. it was pretty adorable.

After the game, Eric and I headed home. The drive home was also very smooth, and again the border crossing was super fast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All in all it was a fantastic hockey-filled weekend. I got to see lots of different hockey and hockey fans and spend time with wonderful people doing something that I love- watching hockey.It was more of an effort than turning on the tv to MSG and catching a Sabres game, but it was well worth the time. Hockey is always worth it.

In closing, here is a pic that I think sums up the joy of the game. Noses pressed to the glass, not wanting to miss a second of the action. That's what being a hockey fan is about. Not revenue and collective bargaining agreements and players' associations. Ice, and puck and flying bodies and goals. And love.

I have something to say about that

I love Pavel Bure. I have loved him since I started watching hockey back in 1994 and I will love him til the day I die. He's my ultimate #1**. I have other favorites, some short term, some long, but he will always be there. I've written about it before, so I don't need to go into it again.

Similarly, I wrote a post back in 2008 about Bure getting dissed by the Hockey Hall of Fame. http://intotheboards.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-defence-of-pavel-bure.html
In the piece, I talked about what an exciting player he was and broke down some statbits to back it up.

And now, FINALLY, 4 years after he was first eligible *and denied* to be inducted into the HHOF, someone wised up and added his name to the ballot. My boy is going to the Hall of Fame!

I am thrilled. At last, Pavel Bure is getting some long-due recognition.

I may be making a trip to Toronto in November. :)

**if you look at the sidebar with the labels, Pavel Bure is the only player name that is capitalized. I did not do this on purpose. But I find it appropriately symbolic of his status.

hello again

Hello again all.

I'm sorry I've been such a slacker on the blog lately.. We had a bit of a family reunion before my niece left for Japan for 3 years, and my sister who is currently stationed in Japan (air force) was in town as well. so woo lots of family time and not much internet-ness. But it's all good.

I did watch some hockey.. and what the what is wrong with the Canucks? Get it together boys! Y'all DO NOT WANT another game 7 in the finals. I do not want that. BOO!

And why isn't game 6 on Sunday? I have plans Monday night and I won't be able to watch it. GRR. (But interestingly enough, my plans involve a boy who is a PAVEL BURE FAN!!!! How great is that? I haven't met anyone recently who even knows who Pavel is, let alone is a fan of his.. WOOO!)

That's about all I have.. just checking in. I should possibly have some more coherent thoughts soonish. If I get around to it. (if anyone still reads this blog..)

YAY!

Had to post this before I lose the link:

The Hockey News' Top 10 Canucks of all time--- and guess who's #1?

Of course- Pavel Bure!!!! :) The best player of my life. I don't see that ever changing. I like lots of hockey players, but none have impacted me the way Pavel did. I have rambled about him many times, so you don't need to hear more but it was nice to see that someone else appreciates him as well. :)

happy happy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my One True Hockey Love, Pavel Bure!

The Russian Rocket turns 39 today. He's been out of hockey (officially) since 2004, but hasn't played a game since the 02-03 season. If not for the recurring injuries, he could possibly still be playing today. I miss seeing him on the ice. He was one of the reasons I started watching hockey, and THE reason that I continued.. and for that I will always love him. Besides that, I have yet to see anyone who can skate- and not just skate, but stick-and-puck-handle, WHILE skating at top speed, like he can. He made goalies and defencemen look silly almost every night.

Poor guy never won a Cup (though he came about as close as you can get in 1994) and never really played on a contender (aside from that Cinderella year, the Canucks were pretty bad and the Panthers even worse). He never played with a top centerman (which could have made a difference) and even still, he finished his career with 779Points in 702 NHL games, which is good for 1.10 points per game, and 437 G which is .62 goals per game. Not too shabby. (and playoff-wise, he had 70 pts in 65 games- 35G 35A, also not bad)

To compare a bit with today's top Russian player, Ovie has 265 G in 390 games, which is good for .67 goals per game, and he scores 1.33 points per game but he's played on better teams--and with better centermen (no offence to Trevor Linden) than Pavel did. You can't really compare much more because they are such different players, style-wise. Ovie is more like a Fedorov- a power forward, where as Bure was a sniper and really too small to be a "power forward".

Enough comparisons, Pavel Bure was and always will be my favorite hockey player of all time. Say what you want to about him, but he was super exciting and could (and usually did) make magical things happen when he was on the ice. I think if he had ever won a Stanley Cup, then he would have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008, when he was eligible. I think I wrote about that here, so I won't bore you again, but I think it was outrageous that he wasn't inducted, when they only picked 2 players out of 4 spots that year. B.S.

that was refreshing!

First off, my first round predictions were a little off.. LOL 3/4 in the East and 2/4 in the West. I was really pulling for the Blue Jackets and I'm sad that they lost. But there is no shame in losing to the Red Wings, it happens. I hear the show in C-bus was off the hook and that is good. They have now made it to the post-season, this is progress, and next season will be even better. Well done boys. :) Y'all have nothing to be ashamed of.

so I *finally* got around to watching a spot of playoff hockey tonight. I turned on the Blackhawks/Canucks with about 12 mins left in the 3rd. What a show. The 'Hawks scored 2, the 'Nucks scored 2 and the Canucks ended with the win. I think I should do this more often. I actually casually enjoy both of those teams so I certainly won't mind watching a bit more.

It was a weird feeling though, because the last time the Blackhawks and Canucks played each other in the playoffs was Round 2 in 1995- and the 'Nuckies got swept, much to my dismay. I vividly recall watching game 4 with my sisters. It was an afternoon game- Saturday I think- and the weather was nice so the windows were open. I'm glad we lived on a quiet street cuz any random passers-by would have been weirded out by the mad yelling that went on that day. It was pretty stressful. Weird how some things just stay with you..

Anyway it was cool to finally watch some post-season hockey. I feel like a total slacker, but in my defence, I have been stupidly busy since the playoffs started, and had things going on almost every evening. Then I was annoyed because they weren't showing MY teams when I could watch. Bastards. It was a little rude of the league to schedule without consulting me, don't ya think? LOL

A few parting thoughts..

*tomorrow I'm going to see Wolverine and I'm super excited!
*my sis and I have decided that Luongo is henceforth known as LuLu.
*I know it's been noted on many an occasion, but I will say again that Patrick Sharp is lovely. in fact, tonight I went as far as to call him "excrutiatingly lovely", because well, he is.
And he looks FINE AS HELL with a playoff beard. Very good look for ya, Patrick. Carry on my man, Carry on.

Wow are the Oilers this bad or are the Sabres this good? It's 4-0 Buffalo with 17 mins in the 2nd period. The boys scored on 2 of their first 3 shots.. this is sweet. Roy, Staffy, Paestch (say what?) and Hecht with goals so far. As my sis Brett said.. "Roloson needs to take nap. Or maybe he was napping." LOL Of course if anyone could blow a 4-0 lead, it would be the Sabres.

It's not too horrible watching a non-Sabres feed. It's not like we have RJ to listen to anyway and these guys are decent.

I have never even heard of half of the Oilers.

OOooh no Mair is broken now. Well, at least he's not a defenceman, but I hope he's okay anyway.

Watching western games always brings me back to the beginning of my hockey fandom, when I was dedicated to the Vancouver Canucks. They were not often on ESPN but you know that when they were (particularly the playoffs in 1994, the very beginning), I was staying up way too late and watching them. No matter that I had to be up at 6 for school, it was hockey and it was MY team and there was no chance I was missing it. Those were the days when I would watch any and all hockey I could get my hands on. The margins of my math and science and even occasionally history notebooks from high school were covered with hockey stats and facts and whatnot. I was obsessed and nothing made me happier than watching hockey. The love of hockey hasn't changed, though my notes are now online in the form of a blog and I don't watch the random games as much (evenings tend to be busy around here) but it's still hockey and it's still fun. ANd of course I live in the Buffalo area and watch as many Sabres games as I can but it will never be quite like the early days of hockey watching. I was thinking about that while watching the all-star game. It really made me miss Pavel Bure. I've babbled about Bure a few times on here so I'll spare you but he's been on my mind lately. I would pay good money for a DVD of Pavel Bure highlights. LOL

Okay.. back to the Sabres. Holy whoa there have been 137 coaching changes in the NHL since 1997 when Lindy Ruff was hired. He's so the man.

OH MY GOSH it is now 7-1 Sabres. This is hilarious but I feel kinda bad for the Oilers. Only a little though.. the Sabres need a game like this- perfect timing for it.

I just put a bid on an old Canucks Bure jersey. I own a black Canucks jersey (the old black, red and yellow ones) and I own a Pavel Bure jersey (Panthers) but I always wanted a Bure Canucks jersey so it's time. It's going for really cheap (I put a bid up to $25 cuz I don't need it but it'd be cool to own) and the bidding ends in 2 days so we'll see what happens. There are some sweet Pavel Bure items on ebay right now, including lots of white 'Nucks jerseys- which I always really wanted- but they are a lot more expensive. There is also a Pavel Bure watch, made by my Pavel's Great-Grandfather for the Czars of Russia. Mad sweet but way too expensive for my budget. It would be soooo cool to own one of those though, seriously. Oh well.

Hey guys, did I tell you that I'm going to Ottawa on Feb 6-8? My sis and I are participating in a triathalon- as a team- that includes an 8km skate on the Rideau canal (I'm doing that part), a 5k (I think) run (Renee' is doing that) and a cross-country skiing thing too (my sister's friend is doing that). Pretty sweet, eh? it should be fun. Our sister Brett is also coming along for the fun. We will be going to the Sabres/Sens game that Saturday night. I'm super excited about that because Sabres/Senators games are always fun and it's a great time to cheer for the other team- plus it's HOCKEY in Canada which is just brilliant. ;)

Wow Goose is bustin the commercials- Go Green and promo-ing the Infiniti car place. It's all good, he's looking rather dreamy so I'm not complaining. :)

Wow the Sabres really haven't played in Edmonton for 2 years? Weird. I def. like the whole every team plays every team thing. Good stuff.

Let's go around the NHL: Hot dang Rick Nash was the man tonight. He scored all 3 of CBJs goals, including the game winner in OT which was a sick goal too. Well done brutha.. OOoooh Ovie took a nasty hit to the boards but he came back later in the game so.. I hope he's good. I like him, I can't seem to help myself. And geez could the Caps have left Krejci any more ALONE to score that OT goal? That was lame horrible defence, my friends.

I really want to see CBJ go to the playoffs, it would make my Ohio-loving heart very happy. As of the moment, they are in. (dude on the broadcast just called him "Steve" Nash- no you ijdit[yeah I spelled it like that on purpose], it's RICK!) Ahem.. anyway I like the Blue Jackets, even though they always seem to play really well against us. I wasn't born there but I spent more time in Ohio than any other state (about 16 years) so I claim it as "home" and I want my "home" team to do well. They have amazing fans who always get made fun of (for no reason), a great arena (and a thriving Arena district in what was once the ghetto of Cbus), fantastic and well-liked ownership and Columbus is one of my favorite cities so it's time for them to get some love that doesn't start with The and end with Ohio State University.

Man I'm full of random tangents tonight. Okay boys it's 7-1 now and if you give it away, I will cry and disown all of you. Got it? That being said, continue to fire at will. :)

Staffy scores his 2nd of the game. 8-1. Ha. Make that a hat trick. Stafford just nailed another one and it's 9-1. Insane. Maybe Edmonton will put Roloson back in? LOL

Wow it's a good night for my fantasy team, even though I forgot to update. *I thought I checked but I guess not* Well all I missed out on was 2 goals (one was a PP) but overall I'm pretty set. It helps that Royzie has a goal and 2 assists and Pommer and MacArthur also have 2 assists each. Marc Savard (forgot he was on my team LOL) has a goal, as does Elias. Sweetness. We have 12 pts tonight. It kinda sucks though in my other league, because Rick Nash has 3 goals (which is sweet) but I forgot to set up Nabokov as my goalie and he's working on a shutout! Grrrr.

Whoa Edmonton scored. Ha. They cheered pretty heartily for him though.

Sweet move, Timmay-a shortie even! It's 10-2 now my friends. What a lovely game. There have been worlds of penalties though. Oh well, doesn't seem to be hurting the Sabres at all. LOL They are even playing good D even though it totally doesn't matter at this point.

Sick game, boyos. It was a blowout but it was still quite well-played, all around. REMEMBER THIS FEELING WHEN YOU CONTINUE THIS ROAD TRIP, MY FRIENDS. :)

And with that, I'm off to shower and get some sleep. I went sledding and playing outside for 2 hours today, I'm tired!

In Defence of Pavel Bure

Ooh today on the Hockey News's e-mail newsletter there was a link to an article about how Pavel Bure should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I could not agree more. I have talked about it before, but Pavel is my first and always hockey love. If Lance Links (a kid my sister had a crush on) started my watching hockey in the first place, Pavel Bure kept me there. He was electrifying, he was incredible. Bure had inhuman speed, but more importantly, he had the skills to make that speed DANGEROUS. Speed will only get you so far (i.E. Max Afinigenov) But Bure had amazing puckhandling skills. He could control the puck at warp speed and he made goalies look silly. On a consistent basis. He was pure artistry on the ice. And he scored goals- lots of them.

But he never recieved the mainstream media that you'd expect from someone so talented. he shied away from the interviews and profiles, because deep inside he was a very private person. Also, keep in mind that he was raised in the Soviet Union and life was different then than it is now for the Russian born players. So the media villified him and that hurt his reputation, even though he was poetry in motion on the ice and sold oodles of tickets. I think that's the biggest reason he's not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also never won a Stanley Cup but you can't blame that on him. Stanley Cups are won and lost by TEAMS. He owned all players in playoff goals in 1994, the last time he made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. He never played for a truly great team, and never with a superstar center. What he did do was lead all players in goals in 1994, 2000, and 2001. In 2000, he also came within TWO point sof breaking the Gretzky/Lemieux/Jagr trifecta that owned the Art Ross Trophy for highest point-scorer for 2 decades. That's not nothing.

Campbell from THN Has this to say:
The two arguments against Bure are that his career was cut short by injury and he never won a Stanley Cup, but both of those are quite easily debunked.

First of all, having a short career didn’t hurt Bobby Orr or Mike Bossy and it should not be held against Bure that his back gave in to the rigors of playing in the toughest league in the world. Had he spent the first half or two-thirds of his career playing in Europe and piling up Olympic gold medals and World Championships against inferior competition and in a much less rigorous environment, the way 2008 inductee Igor Larionov did, Bure would have his path to the Hall of Fame cleared already.

Secondly, it’s not Bure’s fault he didn’t win a Stanley Cup. He came agonizingly close to doing so with the Vancouver Canucks in 1994, a spring in which he led all NHL players in playoff goals with 16. Although Bure only played in the playoffs five times, he failed to average at least a point per game just one of those years and his 70 points in 64 playoff games stacks up favorably against a lot of players with Hall of Fame credentials.

But it was his sustained excellence during the regular season – particularly in goal scoring – that sets Bure apart. He played just 702 games, but scored 437 goals, just 47 fewer than Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler, whose 484 career goals came in almost 400 more games than Bure played. In fact, Bure’s average of .623 goals per game is third-highest in NHL history among the league’s top 100 goal scorers behind only Bossy (.762) and Mario Lemieux (.754).

I think the numbers will speak pretty well for themselves. Not to mention that he was Rookie of the Year in 1992 (the same year Nicklas Lidstrom was a rookie! And beyond the .623 Goals per game. he also averaged 1.11 points per game. Not bad at all. (For reference, here are some other players points per game: Mike Bossy- 1.50, Jagr- 1.25, Sakic 1.19, Lemieux 1.88 (!) Gretz- 1.92, Ovie- 1.24, Sid 1.38) **But also keep in mind that all of those guys except Ovie and maybe Bossy, are/were centermen which means they are setting up a lot more plays, thus leading to more assists and points. Pavel was a Right Wing.

I think that's it. I've been wanting to post this for ages. I think it's an embarassment to the hockey hall of fam committe that they didn't induct Bure, especially when they had 2 open slots. That's like a slap in the face. Next year will be Yzerman, Leetch, Hull and Robitaille, since they are up and are all for sure lock-ins so you know he's not getting there next year. It'll have to come late. And that's a shame. Pavel played in the wrong time- he would have thrived in today's obstruction-free NHL. But alas, his body fell apart. (too many cheap shots to the knees?) and he had to retire at age 32.

Back to hockey

Okay I'll take a break from my incessant swimboy stalkerage and talk about my true love- hockey.

Today I got The Hockey News's 2008-09 Yearbook with the team previews and such. There were good and bad things to be had. I didn't read everything yet but here is what I think:

*They underrated the Sabres, picking them to finish 11th in the east. I think they definitely can be better than that, and they will. They fixed the goalie problem, added a steady d-man in Rivet and kept the core of young talent together which was wise. Those guys have a better idea of what's expected this year and there isn't the cloud of lost free agents hanging over their heads from day one this year. I have high hopes, and I think they will make the playoffs at least.

*there was an article about Alex Ovechkin that made me like him even more than I already did. I don't know why Ovie doesn't bother me and the hype doesn't get to me, but it doesn't and I just like him. Check this: "When you have fun and you love it, you can go all the time. You love your mom all the time and I love hockey all the time." That is SO cute!
And then there is this stat: Most goals in first 3 seasons:
Gretzky- 198
Bossy- 173
Ovie- 163
Pavel Bure- 154

Yeah, I like goal scorers. (Pavel played less games than those other guys too.)

*They rated the top 50 players in the NHL right now. Sid was #1 of course, with Ovie #2, but guess who cracked the list at #47? My main man Derek Roy! :) Good job Royzie! Ryan Miller was #39, also reppin for the Sabres. And guess who DIDN'T make the list? Chris Drury. Ha, in your eye!

I think that's it. I'm off to find pretty pictures of Ryan Lochte. Shameless, I know, but one does what one can in these hockey-lean times. ;)

rubbing salt in the wound`

Oooh ouch. The Sabres won that game, handily- which was great. Then there's the post game show, a very terse interview with Lindy- how much do I LOVE that man?! and a bit of a sad goodbye from the studio 200 boys. I think kevin was a little sniffly. "We'll be around"..

so I was feelin a bit down, ya know.. then MSG cuts to this show about the 1994 Rangers and SHOWS the end of that game, which just happened to be the END of my first season as a hockey fan. (and I was a CANUCKS fan, so I was not happy!) Oooh it burns! I can't remember if I cried or not that night, i sure as hell wanted to, I jsut can't remember if I did. I know I could barely watch that stupid game. The boys were there, dammit! I could not sit still, I wandered from the living room to the office and back all night. It was way too tense and in those waning minutes, with the whole crew at MSG losing their minds, I just saw my first hockey dream crumble into dust.

It was not a happy feeling 14 years ago and it still stings. My Pavel Bure was that close to a Stanley Cup and it didn't happen. He was almost the first Russian to have his name on the Cup.. but they couldn't get it done, and he never even came close again. :(

I have since had other teams win- the Wings and the Devils, and seen my fellas- including a team I knew personally- the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL make it to the finals to get swept, but nothing will ever match that feeling of pain on June 14, 1994. And those bastards on MSG just had to bring it back, tonight, when I was already feeling a bit hockey sad.

So I'm not in the mood to dissect the Sabres tonight. It was a good game today, and a good way to end the season- way to go, Thibault and Vanek! Also, way to be a team player, Royzie.. but I will save my season-ending recaps for another time.

I'll also get some playoff predictions going on tomorrow or monday, once the teams are set. Congrats to the Caps- I kinda have a soft spot for them. But I'm still pullin for the Devils and the Wings, those are my boys.

G'night everybody.

not the Sabres

Not Sabres related but at the core of my hockey obsession is Pavel Bure.

I could go on about Pavel for days, and maybe I will one day but this is not the time.

Today (March 31) is his birthday. So Happy Birthday to my one and only first and all-time favorite hockey player Pavel Bure!

In case Pavel was before your time (he did retire about 5 years ago) and for whatever reason he didn't get much press and even less respect, but again another post for another time- here is a lovely video montage that some generous soul put on youtube for us to enjoy. and it truly is enjoyable.

Learn about my favorite hockey player EVER:

....>

yeah.. it's beautiful, isn't it? Derek Roy who? (LOL, j/k Derek, I still love you too!)