Monday, July 14, 2008

Sittin' at the end of the bar...


The Denver Post is reporting that Colorado forward Peter Forsberg, if he intends to play in the NHL this year, won't be doing so until about Christmas...
"After consulting with more doctors about his troubled right foot in his native Sweden, Forsberg was told he would need several months of rehabilitation if he wanted to have hope of playing again, a source close to the Avs star said."
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The Detroit Free Press has the scoop, as it were, on Kamryn Draper. She is the newborn daughter of Red Wing forward Kris Draper. She had her own moment with the Stanley Cup...

"A week after we won it, I had my newborn daughter in there, and she pooped in the Cup...That was something. We had a pretty good laugh. "I still drank out of it that night, so no worries."
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The Sports Business Journal (subscription required) took a look at the endorsement potential of young NHLers, including Alex Ovechkin, and likes what it sees...to a point:
“'Ovechkin certainly has enthusiasm and personality as his greatest assets,' said Bob Stellick, president of Stellick Marketing Communications Inc., Toronto, a firm specializing in hockey and other sports. 'With the Capitals having some success this year, it has certainly helped his profile. However, his English skills and the fact that Washington is not a major U.S. market team — like New York, Chicago, L.A. or Boston — doesn’t help.'"
On the other hand, Anthony Fisher, senior vice president of marketing for Pro Hockey Life (which is handling exclusive distribution rights to Ovechkin's street wear clothing line in its first year) says...

“Alex’s marketability has the unique capability to transcend team loyalties. If you are a fan of hockey, you are a fan of Ovechkin — period.”
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Akim Aliu, who was something of a curiosity in the 2007 entry draft, thought to be a risky pick, might be seeing time with the Chicago Blackhawks this year, if a report in the Chicago Tribune is true. Of Aliu's development camp performance, Hawks GM Dale Tallon said this...

"Akim is really, really impressive. His skating, his puck handling, his intensity, his physicality—all of those things have improved a lot. He's really close."
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And, if you are a Ranger fan, be very very afraid. In the New York Times hockey blog, "Slap Shot," there was this...
"According to [Ranger prospect Alexei] Cherepanov’s Russian agent, Sergei Paremuzov, the Rangers’ No. 1 draft choice in 2007 will be staying with Avangard Omsk this year, his second with the high-ranking Siberian club. And although Paremuzov says that Cherepanov wants to play in the NHL, he also says that the 19-year-old will benefit from another year with the Hawks, where he will learn from the newly signed ex-Ranger Jaromir Jagr."
Uh...learn what, exactly?
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3 comments:

DMG said...

However, his English skills and the fact that Washington is not a major U.S. market team — like New York, Chicago, L.A. or Boston — doesn’t help.

Boston: 4.5 million people in the metro area, ~$65,000 median income/

Washington DC: 5.3 million people in the metro area; median income of about $79,000.

So...huh?

Anonymous said...

LOL on that last point. Learn to pout and sulk, and look good in a dress.

Anonymous said...

Yes, this is all part of the fuzzy math syndrome. Tell us the National Capital Region is not a major market (completely false) and then tell us that our star has language problems? Ovie's command of english is far better than the ridiculous english I hear every day in and around the metro and the streets of downtown DC -- and some of these folks have been in the USA 5 times as long as Ovie.