Red Wings are Predictable

Another obscure Red Wings find....

"In golf you can be a Tiger Woods and not make the British Open," she said. "It's not a predictable game. You can be the Detroit Red Wings and know in pre-season you're going to come out on top, or at least be pretty close." ---Chris Critelli, the acting athletic director at Brock University.

The whole article in The Standard is about the 52 year old and how she is improving her golf game, but I'm never willing to let an ego stroking quote like that slip through the cracks, no matter how irrelevant or unreliable the source may be.

Fact of the matter is, this 52 year old former basketball coach at Brock University just proved she knows more about how the NHL works than most of the people at THN, who love predicting the downfall of the Wings. When was the last time THN picked the Wings to win it all? I don't know because I'm sick of reading their crap and I'm not going to give them the time of day to find out. My guess would be last year, when they lost.

Anyway, news is probably going to be slow again today, but keep checking in. I'll make up news if I have too...

Thursday's Clip

The man, the myth...



The Nightmare.

Classy Bert Shirts

Check this out.

By the Numbers

Red Wings Central has the training camp roster and along with it, some answers as to who is going to be wearing what number.

No changes for returning Wings (well...those that were on the team last year, that is). But it looks like all the newbies and second-chance additions have their digits picked out.

Todd Bertuzzi: 44

Jason Williams: 29

Patrick Eaves: 17

Doug Janik: 37

Andy Delmore: 4

Kris Newbury: 32

Jeremey Williams: 15

Recent '09 Drafties attending the camp:

Mitchell Calahan: 73

Landon Ferraro: 57

Andrej Nestrasil: 56

Tomas Tatar: 72

Adam Almqvist: 74

Gleason Fournier: 54

Note: former Plymouth Whaler, Michigan native, and badass last name holder John Vigilante is one of the few free-agent tryout participants at the camp.

Abdelkader Charity Skater

From freep.com; Abdelkader participated in the "Skate With the Pros," charity event. A part of Michigan State hockey's ongoing "Shoot for a Cure" initiative.

Fans paid $10 to skate with Abdelkader and other former Spartans playing in the NHL, like Anaheim's Drew Miller, and there was an autograph session after the skate. Proceeds went to the Brandon's Defense Foundation, a charity started in honor of Brandon Gordon of DeWitt, a youth hockey player. Gordon died in February after a two-year bout with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer.

Ok, so I guess they had to mention Drew "Hey, isn't that Ryan's brother?" Miller's name. Drew was on the '08 Cup champ Ducks squad, but c'mon...people went to see Abbadabbadoo.

Oh and Abdelkader continues to impress me with the way he handles himself in regards to the meda:

"It's definitely an adjustment, coming from college to the pro ranks. It's a lot different playing 80 games and all the travel that comes with it. The road trips are obviously tough. It's an adjustment, but it's a fun adjustment because you're playing a sport as your job and career. I've been really fortunate to be able to do that."

Keep that attitude, son. Especially when Ken comes to you this year about signing before you become a restricted free-agent next year. Take a Leino-ish contract; take it and run.

So while Cabbie Slapper Pat Kane in Chicago is out running around commiting misdemeanor crimes, Helm and Abdelkader have been raising money for charity...hmmmm.

Kenny Still Confident

Freep.com just posted a new one about the Bertuzzi deal putting us over the Cap. Well, nobody should be worried because Abdelkader goes down to G.R., despite what you guys wanted and Lilja isn't playing this year...it's the LTIR for him.

So staying away from the saturation of Bert-news-i, I thought I'd pull a quote from Kenny:

“We lost almost 90 goals. I read or hear people picking us to be about fourth in the Western Conference. Even though a lot of teams have gotten better, I still think we’re a Stanley Cup contender because our defense is as good as anyone’s defense and I like the rest of our team.”

That's right, Ken. Don't let those narrow-minded Red Wing hating idiots at THN fool you.

Don't even click on that link, unless you want to get angry.

-

Ah...that's better.

Stevie-Y teams with Upper Deck

Yes, they are still producing hockey trading cards.

Found this over at hockeyfights.com.

"After long hiatus, recent Hall of Fame inductee returns to sign autographs for hockey card leader’s 2009-10 lineup of products."

It might not be Earth-shattering news, but I think it's pretty cool and I'm sure people are getting sick of reading nothing but Bertuzzi talk across the Red Wing Nation.

“Steve Yzerman amassed a multitude of awards and accolades during his playing career both with the Detroit Red Wings and as a member of the Canadian National Team,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck brand manager for hockey. “To be able to provide collectors access to a player like Yzerman who is so popular in key hockey markets like Detroit and throughout Canada provides a huge boost to our new hockey releases for the upcoming season. We know collectors have been waiting a long time to see content from this legendary player and Upper Deck is thrilled to deliver his autograph.”

And you should be. THE Captain is probably the greatest ambassador to our sport, now that Gretzky can be seen cussing and screaming as the Yotes lose game after game...Stevie-Y is class-act all the way.

The card shown above (got the pic from the website) should be available in December.

Happy hunting.