Whoa, Canada

by Anne

Team Canada defeated team Kazakhstan 15-0 today.

Kazakhstan has allowed 24 goals in two games and has scored exactly none.

Tyler Ennis had a goal and 2 assists and Tyler Myers notched his first goal of the tournament. Hilariously, one player, PK Subban was a +6 in this game alone. Hahahaha. He's now a +9 for the tournament after only 2 games.

Thusfar, projected #1 or #2 overall pick John Tavares is living up to the hype. He has 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points but is 2nd on the team in scoring to Vancouver prospect Cody Hodgson who has 8. (2+6)

The Tylers are tied for shooting percentage on the team at 50%. Myers has 1 goal on 2 shots and Ennis has 2 goals on 4 shots. Sweeet.

Poor Kazakhstan.

Team USA won today 4-3 over the Czech Republic. Thomas McCollum got the start again.

Wooooooooooo! Keep it up U-S-A!

Fifteen

by Anne

I waited in line at Dave and Adam's with Andrej Sekera today. We did not chat. What was I supposed to say? "Hey Andrej, my aunt is Slovakian too, nifty, eh?" "Hey Reg, can you stop being mediocre and go back to being badass like you were last season?" "You're more broad shouldered than I anticipated you'd be." "Why are your pants so shiny?""Why do your friends look like they're thinking about stealing my car?" I don't think any of those are good openers. I was buying a t-shirt for my cousin and the guy ringing me out was looking between me and Sekera and appeared to be thinking "Does this girl know who he is?" the answer is, yes. What do you want me to do, have a panic attack? Apparently if I'd been like 15 minutes earlier I could've seen Paille. GRRR!!!! Or I could go back and see Royzie. Meh. Anyway I bought my cousin a Miller t-shirt with the original logo on it. It's a little big but by the time Miller's contract runs out it'll be too small for him (he's 11, have you SEEN the way boys grow between 11 and 16? omg, he's going to be 16 one day. I still think of him as being about 5 years old or when he was 2 and he was the fattest little kid you've ever seen but he was so adorable and now he's really skinny, wait what was I talking about?)

Anyway, the title corresponds to the number of Sabres I've now encountered off the ice. Most of them were in the bowels of HSBC Arena, but they were not on the ice so I think that counts. They are, for those who are curious:

Derek Roy (S0Ho, ugh don't judge me, it was a bad idea)
Tim Connolly (Arena)
Danny Paille (Wegman's)
Adam Mair (SoHo)
Thomas Vanek (Arena)
Paul Gaustad (I feel like we used to be next door neighbors I saw him all the damn time when I lived downtown)
Jason Pominville (Arena)
Ryan Miller (Arena)
Pat Kaleta (The airport, wearing a #36 hat and carrying a Sabres bag)
Patrick Lalime (Arena)
Andrej Sekera (Dave and Adam's today)
Brian Campbell (SoHo)
Craig Rivet (Arena)
Max Afinogenov (Place I used to work)
Andrew Peters (Same place I used to work and at Wegman's multiple times)

If Mike Funk, Mike Card or Geoff Peters count for anything then the number is 18. (All at Mother's and Card at the Arena)

Anyway, voting is well underway. So far the Sabres are dominating the East. Who's surprised? Encourage others to vote!! Link to this blog in your blogs and get people to vote so we can get an accurate sampling, hahaha. Vote often. I'll update on the first 24 hours of voting tomorrow.

BTW why are all the clothes sold by the NHL ginormous? I found this kind of sweet shirt at Dave and Adam's for a man and I'm like "no biggie, mediums in unisex shirts fit well enough." The small was HUGE and they do not sell extra small for men, haha. Whatevs, I don't go to Sabres games anyway... ok, well I do, but, yeah. I don't generally wear Sabres gear around town

I'm currently bidding on a pair of Sabres tickets for $1.04. No joke. I couldn't resist. If I win them, they're basically up for grabs. They're for Friday's game against LA. I'll find out Thursday. If I win I'll have an extremely easy to win contest and the first person who emails me with the correct answer can have them. They're not great seats but they're in the last row so you can stand which is really a perk if you've never done it and they'll most likely be free, so its really win/win. Oh and if I can think of a clever enough sign, if you get the tickets, I might make you hang it up for me.

Oh yes, and yay to the Tylers for making the World Junior team! Can't wait to see them! Thomas McCollum is tending goal for Team USA as well. Hooray!

I think I'll watch Devils at Maple Leafs tonight and cheer for the Devils over at Interchangeable Parts.

He Just Won't Stop Growing

by Anne

On Wednesday, Team Canada announced their tryout roster for the 2008-2009 World Juniors team.

Both of Buffalo's first round picks, "The Tylers" (Myers and Ennis) were selected to attend the selection camp. I'm not sure how this works for Myers because he's technically not Canadian. He was born in Texas and moved to Canada when he was 12 or so. In a pre-draft interview he said that Team Canada couldn't have him even if they wanted him because he had not yet obtained dual citizenship. I'm assuming that paperwork has been rushed right along and he's eligible. Otherwise, this might just be a "Hey, come on by and see how it goes and then we'll use you when you're actually a Canadian citizen." Team Canada is such a tease.

On the stats sheet, our Jolly Blonde Giant, Tyler Myers has grown... again. According to the sheet he is now 6'7.5" and 213 lbs. When Central Scouting released his stats in June he was 6'7" and 204 lbs. Hopefully he's adding inches on his frame horizontally and not just vertically. After reading Central Scouting's info, they say he's "just over 6'7", so perhaps Team Canada is just more into details than the NHL. Much like Mrs. Staal, I'd like to speak to Tyler's mommy and figure out what the crap she feeds her son, Miracle-Gro?

Work it, JBG

FYI, also on the stats sheet, Tyler Ennis has apparently shrunk an inch and gained 19 pounds since June. For the draft he was listed at 5'9", 146lbs. For the roster he's 5'8", 165 lbs.

Good luck, Tylers!

I've un-friended most of the hockey players I was friends with on Facebook, but I can't bring myself to unfriend Tyler Myers, hahahahaha. He's so young! He hasn't done anything to anger me!

I ordered a new part from Apple on Monday, they said it'd be here Wednesday... its Friday and still no love. This extra keyboard thing is slightly cumbersome.

So much work left to doooooooo.

The World Juniors

by Anne


I'm going to try to contain my FREAK OUT. But, the boys over at The Goose's Roost have reported that its basically a guarantee that Buffalo will host the 2010-2011 World Junior Championship tournament.

Excuse me for a moment:


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!woo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ok, I'm back.

This would be EPIC. EPIC.

Fingers crossed!!!!

JUST WHEN I THINK I'M OVER IT I'M NOT

by Anne

YO. Why must TSN constantly torture me?

GOD I'VE MISSED HIS ADORABLY BROKEN ENGLISH!!!! COME BACK, BIG BEAR!

And, Stefan Legein is probably like sick or never actually wanted to play hockey, it sucks for the Blue Jackets that they lost him, but if Legein lost the drive to continue to challenge himself and grow in the sport, then you don't want that type of player on your team. It's too bad. I don't really know where he ranks on their promising young prospects list, it'd be interesting to see the Sabres comparison.

I'm super pumped about the possibility of Buffalo hosting the 2010-2011 World Juniors. It probably won't happen because awesome stuff like that never happens to Buffalo, but I'm excited that we're on the short list. It'll probably go to St. Paul, MN because its Minnesota, which is like the United States hockey capital.

I'm hopeful that the attention would make Buffalo seem better and less "dying" and "decaying". I always get paranoid about these things because you never know how its going to turn out. If by some miracle we are awarded the games, we need to TURN IT OUT and make sure that we trick out the city for the event. What's the city-wide equivalent of spinning rims? There are lots of less desirable situations right around the Arena and Dwyer isn't exactly in the middle of a bustling metropolis. What about the fact that HSBC Arena is obviously an NHL rink, not an international hockey sized rink? Dilemmas, dilemmas. Also, not my issue to resolve. SWEET. OMG IF I STILL WORK AT THE ARENA THEN (which I probably won't) CAN I SELL BEER TO SWEDISH MEN?!?!?!?! LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN BOYS AND GIRLS!!

Classes start on Monday. BFF Adam and I went shopping for cute school supplies. We're 23 and (almost 22), he's starting grad school and I'm returning for basically a 2nd bachelor's/beginning of a master's degree and he'll be carrying a High School Musical notebook to one of his classes while I'll be rocking a Chuck Norris notebook/folder combo as well as a "Shane" from Camp Rock duet. WE'RE NOT SO SECRETLY RESENTFUL THAT WE WERE BORN IN '85 AND '86 AND NOT '95 AND '96. He loves Hannah Montana and I love the Jonas Brothers, he thinks Zac Efron is straight and I think Selena Gomez is a way better match for Nick Jonas than Miley Cyrus is. This also stems from the fact that we teach high school students and we can't help but get involved in such super fun trends. WE'RE REALLY NOT ALL THAT COOL BUT TEENAGERS THINKS WE ARE AND ISN'T THAT REALLY WHAT'S IMPORTANT?

World Juniors already?!?

by Anne

Our very own Tyler Myers has been selected (along with 43 of his closest Canadian friends) to participate in Hockey Canada's National Junior Team Development camp. The World Juniors are a major BFD in Canada, way more so than in the United States. Frankly, most people in the United States, even hockey fans, don't really know what the World Juniors is. I've never actually watched any of the tournaments. All I know is Staffy was on the Team USA that won gold for the first time ever in 2004 and Paille was once captain of Team Canada which is pretty darn cool and Paetsch and Roy I think both played for Team Canada. I'm sure other players did as well but I just don't know who or when.

They aren't officially trying out for the team, they're just being evaluated so the coaches etc. will be able to pick the team having seen the players up close and personal on the ice, running their drills.

In this camp they completely divide the players into 2 teams, Red and White. These teams will never interact with each other, they stay at the same hotel but on different floors and will eat at different locations to avoid mingling together.

Yay!

"You watch the World Juniors every year at Christmas time and as I started getting older I started seeing guys out there that I knew," defenseman Tyler Myers, who went to the Buffalo Sabres with the 12th pick at this year's draft, told NHL.com. "To get an opportunity to come to this camp is very exciting."

Woohoo! I hope they pick you for the team!

I hope Tyler doesn't get worn out by these intense camps being so close together. Eh, he's young, I'm sure he'll be fine. Is he going back to Kelowna next season? Portland? Probably Kelowna. Woo!

Why is Tampa Bay's prospect camp being held in Victoria, B.C.? Is that a normal occurrence to have your camp really far from home or is it not? The only prospect camp I've ever been to was last month up at Niagara University, so I can't speak with any authority on the matter.

Anyhoot, going to GardenWalk today, then MK comes home from Chicago and we're having a partay this afternoon at her boyfriend's house. Word up. Have a good Sunday!