Lets put glory on ice for a minute, or is that possible these days? Did anyone know that the NHL had playoffs, and that they were going on? Apparently no one told the major networks because they have done no justice to professional hockey in their coverage of the game or its players. Crying out loud I tried to get an update on one of their websites and didn’t even see a mention of the NHL Playoffs.
Over the course of the last two weeks we could have seen the game’s second coming of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux make their first playoff pushes towards hoisting a Stanley Cup Trophy. Sydney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) have made one spectacular play after another, but who saw it?
It brings me back to one of those goofy questions that ponder whether or not a tree makes a noise if it falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it. Umm… well… is hockey back in a major way if no one gets to see it? Heck yeah it is, and you can thank the young stars of the game for doing it!
I don’t claim to be a fortune teller, but I have been known to make a few predictions, and have them come to be. Let me jump on that soapbox just long enough to scream this prediction to the masses; Sydney Crosby and the amazing mix of young players in Pittsburgh will win the Stanley Cup this year, and they will win the hearts and attention of the masses in the process.
The Pens have three players that are barely 20 years old. All of them are turning into undeniable superstars. Each one comes from a different background, language and set of circumstances to become the present and the future of the NHL.
Crosby has been a prodigy since he could walk. He grew up loving hockey in a country that hangs its hat on three national icons; hockey, those Mountie guys with the red coats and Canadian bacon. Well lets just say Sydney Crosby brings home the bacon Canada.
Evgeni Malkin grew up playing hockey in Russia. He went back there during the lockout and almost didn’t get back due to threats from the Russian mob. He fled with his mother to the states, battled the language barrier and became an all-star in the absence of Sydney Crosby (injury) for most of this season. Basically Geno came, he grew and he conquered on his way to scoring 106 points this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury has been the question mark all season. He was the number one overall pick a few years ago, stayed in the AHL for a while and then stuck in the pros last year before the wheels came off in the playoffs. This year he ended up with an injury that sidelined him for most of the season, and many questioned what he could do after he came back and played poorly late in the season. Since then, well, lets just say he has been nearly impenetrable in the net sweeping the Senators in the first round of the playoffs (including a 4-0 shutout). The kid is like Gumby between the pipes and undoubtedly could become the next great French-Canadian goaltender in the league ah la Patrick Roy.
These three guys combined with the fact that the Pens have the best mix of veteran leadership and youthful athleticism in the league. They are fun to watch, and even more so in the playoffs as their enthusiasm and energy is contagious to everyone watching.
The BottomLine here is that the young guys have brought the game back. It’s faster, stronger, and the scoring is better than ever. The coverage has got to come back too. They have earned it and frankly they deserve it. Hockey is no longer the forgotten, runt little brother out of the four major sports in America. In fact I would rather watch the rebounded NHL than Major League Baseball or the NBA any day of the week. The NHL seems to have a bigger, brighter future with its young stars and its faster style of play than their major counterparts, and no body has said anything about steroids, shooting people in strip clubs or beating their wives up. Go figure, hockey players are suppose to be the goons.
Turn em’ on and see for yourself.
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