MyTop 5 Favorite Players

It's getting towards the end of August and closer to training camp, but it's still a slow time in the world of hockey. Sure there was just a World Hockey Summit in Canada hosted by my favorite beer company and a draft for a woman's hockey league (it's gotta be more watchable than the WNBA), but really nothing for us down here in the States (especially since my local cable company blocks the NHL network in the offseason. I hate Cablevision.) So I'm just gonna write about my favorite NHL players of all time and my most hated players of all time. I'll start with the positive ones.

5)Jeremy Roenick- How can you not like JR? Sure he cried when his former team won the Stanley Cup, but who cares. This guy was entertaining on the ice and off the ice. There was a reason why reporters always flocked to him and why all the various networks used to mic him during games. He was always good for a sound bite and he never held back what was on his mind. The fact that he's a hotel room wrecking American helps his case too. I'll always see him as a Blackhawk even though he played for numerous teams and I definitely like to ignore the time he played in Philly.



4)Brian Leetch- My favorite American born d-man. Watching him represent Team USA growing up was always exciting since he was a great puck mover and always had a knack to kick his offense into high gear. Since he played locally for most of his career I was able to watch the majority of his Hall of Fame caliber play. It was just a shame he had to play most of his playing time in that Rangers uniform. He was much more likable in his USA, Maple Leafs, and Bruins jerseys.





3)Mario Lemieux- In my opinion the greatest player to play the game in my lifetime. When he was healthy he was even better than Gretzky. He had a finesse game and a power game. Super Mario single handedly saved the Penguins franchise not once, but twice. He battled cancer, overcame it, and returned to his Hall of Fame form. I still can't take ESPN seriously after they awarded Michael Jordan the "Comeback Player of the Year" Espy for his return from baseball over Lemieux's return from battling a life threatening disease. I was fortunate enough to see Super Mario play (and usually defeat) the Islanders at the Coliseum many times and was always amazed by his skill level.

2)Scott Stevens- Now here was a player when he was at his best he was leaving a path of mayhem. His hits on players who would have their heads down coming into his zone really should've been greeted with an ECW Joey Styles "Oh My God!!!" upon impact. Whether it was Ron Francis or Paul Kariya or (my personal favorite victim) Eric Lindros or some mid talent no name on your favorite team, you knew that player deserved that hit for their lack of being aware of him being on the ice. When I played growing up he was one of two guys that I based my style of play on. Once again he played for a rival team, but I couldn't help but enjoy watching him play. To this day I still watch old clips of him on YouTube during the offseason when I need my hockey fix.

1)Darius Kasparaitis- My favorite player of all time. He was a pest. He was the guy on the ice that the other team hated. He even got physical with Gretzky and Lemieux. His hip check was a work of art and he was never afraid to play the body on anyone (Eric Lindros being one of his victims too). He was another player who other players had to be aware of when he was on the ice. Every kid growing up picks their favorite players number to be on their jersey and I had his #11. I still remember the old "Kaspar the Unfriendly Ghost" signs people used to have at the Coliseum. I was even fortunate enough to meet Darius at a local ice rink when he played on Long Island and he signed my sweat stained Caldor bought Islanders hat. I still have it laying around somewhere at my parents house. I even became a bit of a Penguins fan when he got traded from the Islanders and like Stevens he was a player that I based my style of play after. I was able to master Stevens' shoulder check, but could never quite get low enough to mimic Kaspar's hip check.

Well that's my list of my favorite players from when I was growing up. I'll eventually get to my list of most hated players (hint- Brett Lindros' brother being one of them) soon enough. Back to counting down the days til training camp begins. As usual, I'm Bill Elvis... Go fuck yourself San Diego.

Dammit, the Season is Over and Soccer Sucks

Wow, so it's been since the start of the 09-10 season since I wrote anything on here. Guess I was too entranced by the NHL season to find time to write... or I was lazy. Lazy sounds about right. What a year for hockey though. The Olympics saw the battle of North America (sadly the Mexican team didn't qualify again), the Blackhawks blasting "Chelsea Dagger" all the way to winning the Cup, and while at an Isles game at the Coliseum I got to watch the Rangers allow the Flyers to make the playoffs and have a ridiculous run (only time I ever cheer on the Flyers is when they play the Rangers). And now after all that excitement... it's World Cup of Soccer time. Boring! Is it October 7th yet? I mean for the time being I have the draft to look forward to on Friday and the July 1st Free Agent Frenzy! to keep me occupied, but after that it's a dull summer of baseball and preseason football. At least the Islanders planned trip to have their training camp in China got ruined and now they have to stay local, which will fill a few days when they allow the public to attend. Looks like I'll have to be hitting the ole X-Box 360 for some EA NHL 2010 and some NHL Hitz to kill time. There may even be a road trip to Toronto to the Hall of Fame, who knows?

Speaking of the draft this upcoming Friday June 25th, it brings myself and my girlfriend to our 2 year anniversary. Technically it's a day early that we're celebrating it, but we both have to work on the 26th so that was the logical thing to do. Last year I brought her, on crutches from a knee surgery, out to the Coliseum for the NHL draft party. I mean, we had the #1 pick that year and Garth Snow kept the Tavares pick under his hat pretty damn good. Since then shes actually become an Islanders fan and even watches games on her own. Now before any of you say she shouldn't have become an Isles fan because in recent history they've managed to be below mediocre (suck), just know this, she is a Yankees fan. So she has enough winning with her sports team from them. Not to mention that I could never date a Rangers fan. Oh, and with her being mobile this year we won't be attending the draft party at the coliseum. I mean the number 5 pick isn't quite has impressive compared to last season's first overall.

Who do I realistically want them to get with their first round pick? I'll answer the way a GM does to the media before the draft by saying they should take whom ever is the best available at that moment. However, I want Erik Gudbranson. I've been saying they need to get him since the Islanders imploded around the Olympic break. This 18 year old kid is a 6'3" almost 200 lb monster of a dman. The Isles have been lacking that strong blue line presence for a while and he'd more than fill that void. He's only 18 and he's that big. Imagine what he's gonna be wants he matures and grows into himself. Granted if they don't end up drafting him there will be plenty of other highly touted prospects left for them to choose from. I just hope not to have another Scott Scissons debacle.

Other off season things I'd like to see the Islanders do is sign at least one above average free agent, get a legit NHL tough guy who can also play the puck a bit, and finally come to an agreement with local government on getting a new arena. With Nassau County and everywhere else being strapped for cash I don't see why they wouldn't jump at this opportunity to make some cash off of Charles Wang. I don't mean to rehash my previous posts, but a new arena would create new jobs, more income for the county, and more income for the local towns. Then again, when has Nassau County made sense financially? Well that's it and in closing all I got is this... I hate this place and I hate all of you... Just kidding, I don't hate this place.