Hello Everyone!  How are you?  What has been going on in the world of NHL hockey?  Well, both the NHL and NHLPA sat and met with mediators yesterday.  I am guessing they went over their sides of the stories and what is going on and what the parties want in the end.  Today I read that both parties sat down together with mediators to attempt to get a CBA ironed out and the season started.  Apparently they tried this back during the 2004-05 lockout with no success and the season was eventually cancelled in February.  Fingers crossed it has a better result this time around and we see NHL hockey again shortly.

Enough about that, let me tell you about my wild and busy week.  My Dad came over from Victoria on Sunday because we were going to see Paul McCartney that night.  It was the first time Sir Paul had been in Vancouver in nearly 50 years!  He put on a great 3 hour show and it was amazing to watch.  

The next morning I asked my Dad if he wanted to head out to UBC with me to see if the Canucks were practicing?  He said sure!  My Dad has been around longer then the Canucks have but he is a Canucklehead fan.  He likes to watch good hockey.  He will watch any game on TV or the Victoria Royals or even watch my brother play in his league.  My Dad also drove to a lot of hockey tournaments with my brother when he was little.  He got to know Dallas powerhouse forward Jamie Benn's dad over the years when their boys played together so it is safe to say my Dad knows a lot about hockey.

When we got to the rink the Canucks were practicing with the UBC Thunderbirds but to my surprise Jason Garrison was skating with them.  This was the first time I got to see Garrison interacting with his teammates.  They moved from a practice rink to UBC's main rink 1/2 way through practice and as I ran around and took pictures and video like I usually do my Dad was having a great time watching the drills. He knew every drill they were doing.  Whether it be working on the power play or penalty kill, he got it.  Plus it is always fun to see these guys that close up.  My Dad and brother always went to at least one game together a year when my brother was little but as my Dad said to me on Monday "I never got to see them this close up"  We didn't get to stay for the whole practice because we had to leave and pick up my Sister who was joining us for the Bruce Springsteen concert that night.  I know, tough life right?  Sir Paul and the Boss on back to back nights!

On Tuesday I was dead tired after watching Bruce Springsteen for 3 hours. I think "Shackled and Drawn" might be my current favorite Springsteen song, but he did sing "The Rising" which I love, "Waitin on a Sunny Day" which I also love and at the end for fun the Boss sang "Santa Claus is coming to Town."  It was great but I was beat after 2 nights of great concerts.  I found a way to make it to practice.  I got there really late knowing if anything I would maybe catch the last 15 minutes.  When I walked the the rink everyone was involved in a play and it was only locked out NHL players, including Alex Burrows who I hadn't seen yet this year. Although I heard he was in Quebec and playing in charity games in la belle province.  No Thunderbirds at practice.  Then the coach brought everyone to the centre of the ice and began talking to the players.  I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying but I heard him say "Thank you to the guys and Congrats to somebody."  He spoke for a few minutes and the players were smiling and listening and everyone seemed to be very supportive toward what was happening.  It had an interesting energy about it and I was curious to know what was going on.  Then I watched as the the players skated to the far end of the rink.  Cory got between his pipes and I have never seen the players laugh so much and smile or run this particular drill.  There was something really really lovely about the whole thing but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. 

On Wednesday morning it all made sense.  My editor and great friend Ricky sent me a text message simply saying "Good Morning, bye bye Schneidog". I didn't get it at first then I thought Schneider probably signed a contract with a Swiss team.  My heart sank a bit and my first though was this is not good.  If Schneider goes perhaps that means the NHL and NHLPA are further from an agreement then we the public think?  I wondered if there was more to the story and got on my computer.  I found out Cory Schneider had indeed signed with the Swiss team HC Ambri-Piotta.  Then I tried as best I could to put myself in Cory's shoes.  He is 26, hasn't played a game in 7 months, took over the starting goalie job from Roberto Luongo in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings, he signed a 3 year, $12 million contract with the Canucks and is being groomed to take over the starter position in Vancouver, he has his Swiss citizenship through his Dad so he doesn't have to jump many hoops to be able to play in Switzerland and the contract he signed will expire December 31st but Cory can renew if the lockout continues.  I sat back and thought about this and it made perfect sense.  If I were Cory and the chance came up to play some games I would have gotten on a plane and flown over as well.  Then if the lockout ends by Christmas Cory will have a few games under his belt. I get why some Vancouver fans took this like the lockout is going to drag on because Cory is the first Canuck with a big name to sign a contract but I don't view it that way.  I think Cory made a great choice and best of luck to him!  The only question I still have is "How is Chris Higgins going to get to practice?" Whenever I saw Cory and Chris in a car it always looked like Cory was giving Chris a lift.  Maybe Cory will let his buddy borrow his car while he is out of town.

Here are a few websites you might be interested in.  The first is one of a virtual map of NHL players in Europe.  It shows their name and you can click on it and see how they are doing.  The 2nd is the AHL website.  You can take a quick peak and see what the team standings are.  You can also look and see how some of your favorite NHL players are doing.  Some NHL teams had options to send their guys down to the AHL during the lockout to keep them in shape and playing.  Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all play for the Edmonton Oilers but are all currently playing for the Oklahoma City Barons.  I highly recommend keeping an eye on the AHL if you have a team near you.  You can see some great players like Buffalo Sabre Cody Hodgson, Chicago Wolves Eddie Lack, Zack Kassian and Chris Tanev plus a slew of other guys who really play the game of hockey well!  Enjoy X
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-lockout/nhl_players_in_europe/
http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?&season_id=40&tournament_id=0&division_id=-1

Hello Everyone!  How are you?  What can I say?  I hope you all enjoyed the video above.  When I stumbled across it I had to watch.  I was laughing out loud.

In other news the NHLPA has given a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) proposal to the NHL.  Now it is the waiting game to see if the NHL will work with it or reject it. Since they have had the proposal in their hands for more than 5 minutes I feel this one is getting some thought. The last time the NHLPA handed the NHL proposals they gave 3 different options and it took the NHL only 10 minutes to dismiss all 3 of them.  Fingers crossed the ball is rolling a faster now and we can all get our Christmas wish and have the NHL back!  

A couple weeks ago I took a friend of mine Sara to hockey practice.  We were having a catch up before she got back on a plane to Ghana for 3 months.  I wasn't sure if she would be interested in practice but thought I would run the idea by her.  She was completely up for it and I have to say it was one of the best practices I had been to in a while.

When we got to the rink Sara started asking me questions about the players on the ice.  The usual suspects were there including Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Chris Higgins. Willie Mitchell, Tanner Glass, Dan Hamhuis, Cory Schneider, Rod Pelley, James Reimer, Jim Vandemeer and Kevin Bieksa.  Sara and I sat down at center ice and as she asked questions and pointed out players I would give her the run down on who they are and where they are from.  Sara also asked about the lockout.  I explained it in the simplest way I could.   Perhaps the best part of practice was when Sara said to me after watching these guys skate that she was going to enjoy watching a game so much more.  Watching them practice and seeing what the players do during a game but in slower fashion can really open up your eyes to how skilled these players are and how fantastic the sport of hockey is.

As a shot out to Sara and a thank your for letting me drag her to practice I dedicate this post and all of the fun pictures below to Sara!  Thanks for coming wonderful friend and yes, when you get back from Ghana and the NHL season starts lets watch a game together!  X

Till next time!  Thank you for supporting Hockey Talk with Courtney.  Feel free to LIKE Hockey Talk with Courtney on Facebook or follow me on twitter @hockeytalkcourt  

When I found that clip of the first NHL game aired on TV I had to show it.  What a great piece of hockey history.  Yes the game has changed, it is faster, colourful and the rules have changed but the one thing that has stayed the same is the passion.

Monday morning I headed out to UBC to see what I would see at practice.  I wasn't expecting much considering it was a STAT holiday.  

I had told my son we would head out and maybe get to watch Cory Schneider practice.  His name is Hunter and he one of two people I can thank for really getting me into hockey.

Hunter's love affair with hockey started at an early age and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  One day he picked up a golf cub and started playing hockey with it.  

As we all know the 2010 Olympics where held in the city where I live, Vancouver, B.C. and they ended with an unbelievable nail biting Men's hockey game between Team Canada and Team USA!  I was lucky enough the see Team USA in a game against Norway during the Olympics.  My younger sister, brother and I all bid on hockey games in the Olympic lottery.  We were hoping that at least one of us would get them and we could take out our dad to a game.  Well, we all ended up getting tickets.  My brother was lucky enough to get to see Team Canada play Switzerland in a game that ended in a shootout and my sister got to see Latvia and Solvakia.  With 12 tickets total everyone in our family got to experience a game including my 93 year old grandpa! Since Hunter was under 2 at the time he could come watch the game and sit on my lap.  I was certainly not going to let my son miss a chance to see an Olympic event.  I was amazed that Hunter sat so quietly through the game and watched.  He had taken a liking to sport that I couldn't deny.  Then came the game that rewrote Canadian history books.  I had taken the day off work to watch the historic game between Team Canada and Team USA.  Hunter sat with me as we watched Canada take the lead 2-0.  Then Hunter fell asleep as the USA tied the game with 21 seconds left to force overtime.  Hunter was also sleeping when Sidney Crosby scored that golden goal and clinched the Olympic Gold Medal for Canada. Even though he was sleeping when that goal was scored Hunter became a HUGE Sidney Crosby fan.  I think it was all the press that game received.  All the pictures of Sidney Crosby, EVERYWHERE!  You couldn't walk anywhere in this city for months without someone talking about that goal.

Hunter began asking me to see Sidney Crosby videos.  This is when youtube became a BIG part of my life.  I would find Sidney Crosby videos, Hunter would watch them and then he would go into the living room get out his mini nets, grab a stick, set up cones and do exactly what he saw SIdney Crosby do.  He also asked me if he could change his name to "Sidney Crosby Hunter" 

Flash forward 8 months, October 2010 and I was driving Hunter home from daycare.  I told him there was a Canuck game on TV that night and he asked me "Is Cory Schneider in net tonight?"  I was shocked and asked him to repeat the question.  Funny enough Cory Schneider was in net that night.  The new back up to Luongo was getting his 1st start.  I again don't know where Hunter saw a picture of Schneider or an interview with him but for some reason Hunter was just all about Cory Schneider.  

We were lucky enough to meet Cory later that year.  A friend of mine took us down to the rink and for Hunter's 3rd birthday he got to meet Cory.  Cory was incredibly kind.  He signed a stick for Hunter, talked to Hunter about hockey.  I told Cory that Hunter was his biggest fan in the city and Cory was so humble he said "Hunter is probably my only fan in the city" I replied and said "I know for a fact you have an entire city of fans behind you so don't worry about that."  Cory left to get in his gear for practice but he didn't forget Hunter was in the arena.  After watching a great practice I became a Cory Schneider fan myself that day.

Flash forward another 8 months and I had another invitation to Rogers Arena for practice.  This time it was for the Canucks season opener at home and they were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins!  Who is the Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins?  Sidney Crosby!  How could I pass up the chance for my son to see his favourite "big player" as he calls them in action.  Well first the Canucks practiced.  Hunter was standing by the tunnel with all the other children waiting to see their beloved Canucks skate.  I was sitting a few seats down just watching it all unfold.  Then all of a sudden I hear someone say "Hi Hunter, how you doin Bud?" I look over and it's Cory Schneider.  It was amazing.  Hunter was so shocked Cory remember him he could barely talk.  Then after practice Cory stopped again and asked Hunter if he was playing hockey yet or if he was in skating lessons.  For me as a mother it was lovely to see how happy it made my son.  

After the Canucks left the ice it was Pittsburgh's turn. The Penguins started popping out of the tunnel one by one and about the 7th guy out was Crosby.  Hunter could barely breath when he saw his hockey hero and I have to say it was pretty cool for me to see him skate as well.

Sidney Crosby not only ran drills with his teammates, he also gets that little boys far and wide admire him.  At one point toward the end of practice Crosby started doing some puck handling exercises right in front of Hunter.  He would do it fast and then slow it down so Hunter could keep up.  Then he would do it again and then slow it down so Hunter could watch.  Then he skated by and waved at Hunter and Hunter could barely contain himself.  I again was just having a great time watching my son so happy.  

At the end of the Pittsburgh practice Crosby was the last one off the ice.  He picked up all of the pucks, and pushed both nets to the side of the ice for the Zamboni driver.  Then Crosby stopped and signed an autograph for every little boy waiting.  For a second I turned into "that Mum" who can't contain herself.  I thanked Crosby for stopping to talk to Hunter and told him that Hunter asked to change his name to Sidney Crosby Hunter.  Crosby had a laugh and looked right at Hunter and said "Hunter, don't chance you name.  Hunter is a great name."

Part of the reason I started making my show was because I needed to educate myself about hockey.  My son was asking a lot of questions.  I knew nothing about the rules or history.  I also started making my show because of the passion I saw every night during games.  Hockey players have passion.  They live, eat and breath hockey.  Then there are little boys like my son who pick up a golf club and set up fake nets and pretend they are shooting the Stanley Cup winning goal before they can say Stanley Cup.

I guess all I am trying to say is that passion is what keeps me coming back to the game.  The lockout sucks.  It really does.  I am proud of the players for standing their ground.  I know this is an argument between millionaires and billionaires but at the end of the day it comes down to principal.  Not honouring contracts and taking away the player's voices is wrong.  Yes I understand it is a business but it is also a game.  I think what should happen is the owners should lock themselves in a room and not emerge till they have come to a CBA within themselves to share the revenue between the more wealthy teams and the floundering teams.  Then they can approach the players and decide on a fair CBA between the NHL and the players union.  One where the players have current contracts honoured and they get to keep their voices about contracts, free agency and arbitation. How about them apples?  Sounds fair to me.  

Until then I will continue to take my son to watch children play at public rinks.  Hunter couldn't take his eyes off the game Monday. Dan Hamhuis and the Thunderbirds were even skating in the rink next door and Hunter wanted to stay and watch the children play! I will continue to take Hunter to AHL games and I will take him to Vancouver Giants games!  There will always be hockey and their will always be passion.  I just wish the Owners could see that!

Hello everyone!  So I have good news and bad news.  Bad news is the Winter Classic was cancelled but the good news is the NHL and NHLPA are supposed to be meeting Tuesday in New York to discuss the big issues creating the lockout.

Today being Monday I thought to myself: why not start off the week with a hockey practice? 

I drove out to UBC, walked in the rink and saw fresh ice but no action.  No water bottles lined up, no nothing.  Maybe I missed it?  The only hint that I had something was going to happen, was a few Vancouver Canuck fans complete with jerseys on, waiting patiently in the stands.  I decided to wait around a few minutes.  Sure enough Cory Schneider skated onto the ice and set up the net for practice.  Then a minute later James Reimer, goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs skated out.  Then a coach who I had never seen before stepped onto the ice.  Well it was safe to say these two goalies were getting the practice they needed.  Vancouver Canuck D-Man Dan Hamhuis skated out and he was the guy in charge of taking shots on the goalies.

I watched for a while but my parking was about to expire so I decided to take off.  Then out of the corner of my eye a bunch of locked out NHL players skated onto the ice.  The usual suspects including both Sedins, Malhotra, Glass, Mitchell and a San Jose Shark.  No Max Lapierre, Mason Raymond, Chris Higgins or Kevin Bieksa.  I popped a few more coins in my parking meter and decided to stay for practice.

The players were doing their thing on the ice and I got word Jason Garrison and Alex Edler were skating on the main rink with the UBC Thunderbirds!  I grabbed my bag and headed out.  I was on a mission.  Find Edler and Garrison.

On the main rink at UBC a full fledged practice was underway.  I will be honest: I wanted to see newest Canuck Jason Garrison.  I had 2 reasons for wanting to see this hockey player.  

#1: I wanted to see what his personality seemed to be like while watching him skate with other players

#2: he is SO HANDSOME!  I wanted to see if he was as good looking in real life as he is in pictures (I always need men for the Heart of the Week segment)

Well I wasn't let down.  Garrison looked to be a very hard worker out there on the ice, smiling with the Thunderbirds and oh so handsome.  Photos do not do this man justice.  

I heard that UBC's head coach Milan Dragicevic was working his special teams at practice.  "Special teams" meaning the guys that kill penalties and the guys that work the power play.  In hockey as we know there are 12 forwards and 6 defencemen dressed for games.  When a team gets a power play chance they will mix up their lines and send out different combinations.  The team on the power play will send out a "special team" to try and create a scoring chance and the team killing the penalty will send out a "special team" to kill the penalty.  Coach Dragicevic was working his special teams.  

There is one thing I really really like about Coach Dragicevic. It is how often he makes his guys do push ups.  I love it.  It makes me laugh every time.  Last year at Canuck practices I saw Coach AV get his guys to do push ups a few times but Dragicevic does it almost every practice.  What girl wouldn't like to watch fit, handsome man doing push ups?

I only watched these guys practice for about 10 minutes.  Long enough to see them do push ups, get a good look at Garrison, confirm his handsome status and watch the end of practice pep talk.  The team huddled together including Garrison and Edler and then one of the Thunderbirds simply said "The Sun is out Guys."  They all had a good laugh and skated off.

And that is a wrap on practice.  See you next time! XO