Sunday, February 27, 2011
Update
Wow, realized that I haven't been keeping this as up-to-date as I originally planned. The Topeka RoadRunners regular season is beginning to head to its conclusion with only 9 games left. The RoadRunners have already clinched a playoff spot and have positioned themselves well in the hunt for both the division and league regular season championships. I believe that this is truly going to be the Runners year to do it all but they will have a tough battle with all remaining regular season games against playoff qualified teams.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
RoadRunners opening weekend
Before the game the team celebrated last year's accomplishments including the recognition of Scott Langer as the 2009-2010 NAHL General Manager of the Year. Little did we know at the time that was almost the only celebrating the fans and team would get to do this weekend.
The Roadrunners fought hard but lost in overtime on Friday and got totally shutout on Saturday. In my opinion this wasn't a case where the better team won, neither team looked exceptional, there were just individual efforts that combined with poor officiating to swing the points into the Win column for the Tornado.
The goals given up by both Eric Rohrkemper and Rasmus Tirronen were not spectacular and occurred mostly due to a lack of defense on the RoadRunners part. I believe that part of this was due to the fact that the Runners were timid, especially on Friday, due to the officiating. There were several questionable calls and many more missed calls that would've penalized the Tornado and changed the tempo of the game.
The boys will just have to bounce back from this, use it as a learning experience and push forward into the future. Here's looking at the rest of the season and earning our way into the Robertson Cup tournament instead of being there as the result of being the host team.
The Roadrunners fought hard but lost in overtime on Friday and got totally shutout on Saturday. In my opinion this wasn't a case where the better team won, neither team looked exceptional, there were just individual efforts that combined with poor officiating to swing the points into the Win column for the Tornado.
The goals given up by both Eric Rohrkemper and Rasmus Tirronen were not spectacular and occurred mostly due to a lack of defense on the RoadRunners part. I believe that part of this was due to the fact that the Runners were timid, especially on Friday, due to the officiating. There were several questionable calls and many more missed calls that would've penalized the Tornado and changed the tempo of the game.
The boys will just have to bounce back from this, use it as a learning experience and push forward into the future. Here's looking at the rest of the season and earning our way into the Robertson Cup tournament instead of being there as the result of being the host team.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
"AA" Superleague
The CHL and the ECHL are the two leagues that are the equivalent of the MLB's AA farm leagues. If one looks at a map the CHL fills in the gaps of the ECHL's footprint and I believe that it would benefit both leagues to combine into a superleague. This league would be managed by both the CHL and ECHL board of governors working in tandem at first until one cohesive board of governors could be voted on.
American Continental Hockey League
Western Conference
Brabham
Alaska Aces - Anchorage, Alaska
Idaho Steelheads - Boise, Idaho
Utah Grizzlies - Salt Lake City, Utah
Victoria Salmon Kings - Victoria, British Columbia
Colorado Eagles - Loveland, Colorado
Rapid City Rush - Rapid City, South Dakota
Taylor
Bakersfield Condors - Bakersfield, California
Las Vegas Wranglers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Ontario Reign - Ontario, California
Stockton Thunder - Stockton, California
Arizona Sundogs - Prescott Valley, Arizona
Odessa Jackalopes - Odessa, Texas
Miron
Allen Americans - Allen, Texas
Laredo Bucks - Laredo, Texas
Missouri Mavericks - Independence, Missouri
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees - Hidalgo, Texas
Texas Brahmas - Fort Worth, Texas
Tulsa Oilers - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wichita Thunder - Wichita, Kansas
Eastern Conference
Gingher
Cincinnati Cyclones - Cincinnati, Ohio
Elmira Jackals - Elmira, New York
Reading Royals - Reading, Pennsylvania
Toledo Walleye - Toledo, Ohio
Trenton Devils - Trenton, New Jersey
Wheeling Nailers - Wheeling, West Virginia
Turner
Kalamazoo Wings - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Bloomington PrairieThunder - Bloomington, Illinois
Dayton Gems - Dayton, Ohio
Evansville IceMen - Evansville, Indiana
Fort Wayne Komets - Fort Wayne, Indiana
Quad City Mallards - Moline, Illinois
Kelly
Florida Everblades - Fort Myers, Florida
Greenville Road Warriors - Greenville, South Carolina
Gwinnett Gladiators - Atlanta, Georgia
South Carolina Stingrays - North Charleston, South Carolina
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - Bossier City, Louisiana
Mississippi RiverKings - Memphis, Tennessee
American Continental Hockey League
Western Conference
Brabham
Alaska Aces - Anchorage, Alaska
Idaho Steelheads - Boise, Idaho
Utah Grizzlies - Salt Lake City, Utah
Victoria Salmon Kings - Victoria, British Columbia
Colorado Eagles - Loveland, Colorado
Rapid City Rush - Rapid City, South Dakota
Taylor
Bakersfield Condors - Bakersfield, California
Las Vegas Wranglers - Las Vegas, Nevada
Ontario Reign - Ontario, California
Stockton Thunder - Stockton, California
Arizona Sundogs - Prescott Valley, Arizona
Odessa Jackalopes - Odessa, Texas
Miron
Allen Americans - Allen, Texas
Laredo Bucks - Laredo, Texas
Missouri Mavericks - Independence, Missouri
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees - Hidalgo, Texas
Texas Brahmas - Fort Worth, Texas
Tulsa Oilers - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wichita Thunder - Wichita, Kansas
Eastern Conference
Gingher
Cincinnati Cyclones - Cincinnati, Ohio
Elmira Jackals - Elmira, New York
Reading Royals - Reading, Pennsylvania
Toledo Walleye - Toledo, Ohio
Trenton Devils - Trenton, New Jersey
Wheeling Nailers - Wheeling, West Virginia
Turner
Kalamazoo Wings - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Bloomington PrairieThunder - Bloomington, Illinois
Dayton Gems - Dayton, Ohio
Evansville IceMen - Evansville, Indiana
Fort Wayne Komets - Fort Wayne, Indiana
Quad City Mallards - Moline, Illinois
Kelly
Florida Everblades - Fort Myers, Florida
Greenville Road Warriors - Greenville, South Carolina
Gwinnett Gladiators - Atlanta, Georgia
South Carolina Stingrays - North Charleston, South Carolina
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - Bossier City, Louisiana
Mississippi RiverKings - Memphis, Tennessee
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Global Events Agenda Part 2: The World Cup of Hockey.
I would like to discuss the second area of concentration during the World Hockey Summit’s conversation on the creation of a Global Events Agenda. With my proposed switch to having the Olympic rosters revert to being mostly amateurs I believe that we still need a stage on which to showcase the best of the best, being the NHL and the elite European leagues. This would be accomplished by re-establishing the World Cup of Hockey.
The World Cup of Hockey originated in 1996 as the successor to the Canada Cup tournament which ran from 1976 to 1991 and was created to meet demand for a true world championship that allowed the best players from participating nations to compete regardless of their status as professional or amateur. After just two World Cups of Hockey the tournament was, unfortunately, pushed to the wayside and although there have been efforts to bring it back it has yet to return.
I propose that the NHL in cooperation with the IIHF, the KHL and the other elite European leagues bring back the World Cup of Hockey. It would occur on a 4 year schedule, taking place in late August or September in the same years as the Summer Olympics. The World Cup would serve as a great kickoff to the seasons for the NHL and European leagues. It would also provide foreign fans the opportunity to see their hometown heroes that play far from home. The World Cup could also open new revenue streams for the leagues and the players by providing exposure to new markets.
The World Cup of Hockey would be a terrific event if instituted properly. It would be a huge undertaking but if we could get enough communication between all parties it would benefit everyone. The best format would be to have one similar to the Olympics and allow the game to grow.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Global Events Agenda Part 1: The Olympics and the NHL
At the World Hockey Summit held in Toronto earlier this month one of the areas of discussion was the creation of a Global Events Agenda which explored the possibilities to provide hockey with a long-term international event agenda for both national team and club events. I believe that in order for hockey to survive and thrive we must make sure that it gets exposure on all levels.
The first issue that one must discuss when looking at the global future of hockey events is the Olympics and the National Hockey League’s involvement. I personally believe that the NHL should stay away from the Olympics, except for in certain circumstances. One of my favorite quotes is from the end of the movie Miracle where Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks says “I've often been asked in the years since Lake Placid what was the best moment for me. Well, it was here - the sight of 20 young men of such differing backgrounds now standing as one. Young men willing to sacrifice so much of themselves all for an unknown. A few years later, the U.S. began using professional athletes at the Games - Dream Teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have Dream Teams, we seldom ever get to dream. But on one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe.” It is because I agree with this quote that I believe that we need to make a change in the make-up of the teams in the Olympics. We need to return back to having the rosters consist mostly of amateur/semi-pro players. This will benefit both the players and the NHL which I will discuss in more detail.
By having Olympic rosters consist mostly of amateur/semi-pro players it will increase the exposure for these players, giving them greater opportunity for advancement. This would also expose the amateur players to a variety of playing styles. Also by switching back to mostly amateurs it would provide a more even playing field where you are not having the extreme blowouts that have occurred in the past. The largest benefit would be for the national teams if they consisted of mostly amateurs is that they would be able to do like Team USA did before we switched to pros and have a several month long training camp where they would be able to learn a comprehensive system of play. The current system makes the Olympics into nothing more than a two-week long NHL All-Star Game.
As to the NHL they would see a couple of different benefits. The largest benefit would be in the fact that the current situation is a very large physical toll on those players involved. By having the Olympic break teams are forced to play almost every other night for the remainder of the season in order to still have the Cup occur in a reasonable amount of time. This means that by the end of the season players are truly wiped out. This increases the chance of injury because it does not allow for your players to gain the rest that their bodies need. The second benefit is that we would no longer have the three week long interruption in the middle of the NHL season which hurts the NHL both on and off the ice. On the ice the break prevents teams from truly building momentum and off the ice it can hurt the attendance for teams. Although there are some teams who saw benefits at the gate when people realized they had Olympic heroes playing there, there are most likely many more teams who had decreased gates after the Olympics because the team fell into a status of irrelevancy.
Although I believe that the amateur players, the national teams and the NHL would benefit from returning to amateurs I also believe that there should be certain exceptions for those NHL players wishing to play. These exceptions would be in limited circumstances and would have to require permission from the league and the IIHF. These circumstances would be outlined in the NHL’s future CBA and written into player contracts. Certain circumstances would include cases where the Olympics are occurring in a player’s birth nation or where it is in the best interest of all parties involved for the NHL player to participate.
In conclusion, I believe that the best situation for the Olympics and the national teams is for the NHL to remove itself from the game and to switch back to having teams consisting of mostly amateurs or minor-league players. All parties involved would benefit from this and it would allow for the growth of hockey worldwide by providing an outlet for the best younger players on a world-wide stage that will have actual media coverage.
The first issue that one must discuss when looking at the global future of hockey events is the Olympics and the National Hockey League’s involvement. I personally believe that the NHL should stay away from the Olympics, except for in certain circumstances. One of my favorite quotes is from the end of the movie Miracle where Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks says “I've often been asked in the years since Lake Placid what was the best moment for me. Well, it was here - the sight of 20 young men of such differing backgrounds now standing as one. Young men willing to sacrifice so much of themselves all for an unknown. A few years later, the U.S. began using professional athletes at the Games - Dream Teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have Dream Teams, we seldom ever get to dream. But on one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe.” It is because I agree with this quote that I believe that we need to make a change in the make-up of the teams in the Olympics. We need to return back to having the rosters consist mostly of amateur/semi-pro players. This will benefit both the players and the NHL which I will discuss in more detail.
By having Olympic rosters consist mostly of amateur/semi-pro players it will increase the exposure for these players, giving them greater opportunity for advancement. This would also expose the amateur players to a variety of playing styles. Also by switching back to mostly amateurs it would provide a more even playing field where you are not having the extreme blowouts that have occurred in the past. The largest benefit would be for the national teams if they consisted of mostly amateurs is that they would be able to do like Team USA did before we switched to pros and have a several month long training camp where they would be able to learn a comprehensive system of play. The current system makes the Olympics into nothing more than a two-week long NHL All-Star Game.
As to the NHL they would see a couple of different benefits. The largest benefit would be in the fact that the current situation is a very large physical toll on those players involved. By having the Olympic break teams are forced to play almost every other night for the remainder of the season in order to still have the Cup occur in a reasonable amount of time. This means that by the end of the season players are truly wiped out. This increases the chance of injury because it does not allow for your players to gain the rest that their bodies need. The second benefit is that we would no longer have the three week long interruption in the middle of the NHL season which hurts the NHL both on and off the ice. On the ice the break prevents teams from truly building momentum and off the ice it can hurt the attendance for teams. Although there are some teams who saw benefits at the gate when people realized they had Olympic heroes playing there, there are most likely many more teams who had decreased gates after the Olympics because the team fell into a status of irrelevancy.
Although I believe that the amateur players, the national teams and the NHL would benefit from returning to amateurs I also believe that there should be certain exceptions for those NHL players wishing to play. These exceptions would be in limited circumstances and would have to require permission from the league and the IIHF. These circumstances would be outlined in the NHL’s future CBA and written into player contracts. Certain circumstances would include cases where the Olympics are occurring in a player’s birth nation or where it is in the best interest of all parties involved for the NHL player to participate.
In conclusion, I believe that the best situation for the Olympics and the national teams is for the NHL to remove itself from the game and to switch back to having teams consisting of mostly amateurs or minor-league players. All parties involved would benefit from this and it would allow for the growth of hockey worldwide by providing an outlet for the best younger players on a world-wide stage that will have actual media coverage.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The Five Reasons I love Hockey
1. 7,777 fans
For me when I think hockey I always think back to my very first game. It was October 15th,1998 and the Topeka Scarecrows of the Central Hockey League were playing their very first home game. Landon Arena in Topeka, KS holds 7,777 fans and that game was a complete sellout. I can still remember the noise of the crowd and just the atmosphere of that building.
2. The Mighty Ducks
My first exposure to hockey was the Mighty Ducks movies, I know that they were cheesy as heck but they are still special. I still remember the first time I watched it quacking along and then cheering Charlie, Charlie, Charlie as he skates out to take the penalty shot. I knew what was going to happen but I still couldn’t stop myself. I remember D2 and hating Iceland and loving when the Bash Brothers kicked ice. I cried during D3 when Hans died but laughed when Bombay had the Eden Hall Ducks banner drop. I remember being excited when I found out that there was going to be a real Mighty Ducks team and still have t-shirts from that inaugural season.
3. Hockey History
One of my favorite things to do is sit down and read a book on a certain team or player and find a little tidbit of knowledge that I didn’t have before. It is so interesting to pick a team and find out why they picked their name or how a certain player or trade impacted them. I am planning on one day writing a book on the history of hockey in my hometown which although it is short, it already has many honors and achievements and tons of variety due to the fact that we have had four different teams.
4. Olympic Hockey
There is nothing more pure than watching guys play for the pride and honor of their nations. Even though I don’t agree with the major teams being mostly NHL players I still can’t help but get excited and feel chills go down my spine when I see that USA across the chest of a jersey ready to battle for Lady Liberty. This past Olympics was really special because of the throwback jersey. That jersey was the same as the 1960 team, who went undefeated in Olympic competition. It was really special because one of the guys on the 1960 team was Edwyn “Bob” Owen who lived in Topeka in his later years and was one of the greatest people and hockey fans I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
5. Goaltending Ever since I was little I have been a fan of goaltenders (and not just because Greg Goldberg gave me hope that a big guy could be a goalie). There is nothing more awesome than watching the athleticism involved in stopping a guy from burying a piece of vulcanized rubber into the net. I love when you see a goaltender go from one side of the goal to the other in less than a second and being able to just snatch that puck straight out of the air or when a goalie gets knocked to his back and manages to get a beautiful stick save.
For me when I think hockey I always think back to my very first game. It was October 15th,1998 and the Topeka Scarecrows of the Central Hockey League were playing their very first home game. Landon Arena in Topeka, KS holds 7,777 fans and that game was a complete sellout. I can still remember the noise of the crowd and just the atmosphere of that building.
2. The Mighty Ducks
My first exposure to hockey was the Mighty Ducks movies, I know that they were cheesy as heck but they are still special. I still remember the first time I watched it quacking along and then cheering Charlie, Charlie, Charlie as he skates out to take the penalty shot. I knew what was going to happen but I still couldn’t stop myself. I remember D2 and hating Iceland and loving when the Bash Brothers kicked ice. I cried during D3 when Hans died but laughed when Bombay had the Eden Hall Ducks banner drop. I remember being excited when I found out that there was going to be a real Mighty Ducks team and still have t-shirts from that inaugural season.
3. Hockey History
One of my favorite things to do is sit down and read a book on a certain team or player and find a little tidbit of knowledge that I didn’t have before. It is so interesting to pick a team and find out why they picked their name or how a certain player or trade impacted them. I am planning on one day writing a book on the history of hockey in my hometown which although it is short, it already has many honors and achievements and tons of variety due to the fact that we have had four different teams.
4. Olympic Hockey
There is nothing more pure than watching guys play for the pride and honor of their nations. Even though I don’t agree with the major teams being mostly NHL players I still can’t help but get excited and feel chills go down my spine when I see that USA across the chest of a jersey ready to battle for Lady Liberty. This past Olympics was really special because of the throwback jersey. That jersey was the same as the 1960 team, who went undefeated in Olympic competition. It was really special because one of the guys on the 1960 team was Edwyn “Bob” Owen who lived in Topeka in his later years and was one of the greatest people and hockey fans I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
5. Goaltending Ever since I was little I have been a fan of goaltenders (and not just because Greg Goldberg gave me hope that a big guy could be a goalie). There is nothing more awesome than watching the athleticism involved in stopping a guy from burying a piece of vulcanized rubber into the net. I love when you see a goaltender go from one side of the goal to the other in less than a second and being able to just snatch that puck straight out of the air or when a goalie gets knocked to his back and manages to get a beautiful stick save.
Welcome
Hello,
I am Cory Deeds-Rookstool. I have created this blog as a place to express my opinions and report stories regarding hockey at a multitude of levels, from world-wide to Topeka, KS specific and every level in between. I hope that as I go on that I will be able to post several times a week but it will most likely be sporadic here in the beginning. Welcome to Sunflower Hockey and the mind of a fan of the greatest game in the world.
I am Cory Deeds-Rookstool. I have created this blog as a place to express my opinions and report stories regarding hockey at a multitude of levels, from world-wide to Topeka, KS specific and every level in between. I hope that as I go on that I will be able to post several times a week but it will most likely be sporadic here in the beginning. Welcome to Sunflower Hockey and the mind of a fan of the greatest game in the world.
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