Showing posts with label Jonathan Toews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Toews. Show all posts

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Thursday Dreaming: Hockey Season is Here



Change is the theme around the UND locker room this year.



The Minnesota Wild have resigned Jason Pominville to a nice contract.











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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Team Canada Jersey's


Apparently, these are the team Canada Olympic jersey's. They've been leaked today. I must admit, that I am not a fan of these at all.
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Thursday, September 05, 2013

Toews sporting Canada's Olympic Jersey



I don't know about you, but Canada's Olympic jersey is, well, unimpressive.
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Former Sioux Toews: 'Naive' to think PEDs aren't in NHL

English: Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan T...
English: Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews during warm up prior to a National Hockey League playoff game against the Calgary Flames, in Calgary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I found this article in the Chicago Tribune and I think it brings up an interesting point. I have often wondered if NHL players are using PEDS as well. With the trouble that Major League Baseball is currently happening, it’s only a matter of time before the finger will be pointed at the National Hockey League. Thoughts?
Sports Xchange --- Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews told Toronto radio station Sportsnet 590 The Fan this week that it is "naive" to think that performance-enhancing drugs are not being used by NHL players.

"I think it would be naive to say that there's no one in the NHL that is trying to get the edge in that fashion," he said. "But at the end of the day, whether you get caught now or not, down the road at some point those sort of things come out as we've seen in Major League Baseball and cycling. v

"Eventually ... someone is going to save their own butt and throw you under the bus. And that's your legacy. That's what people remember: that you're a cheater and you took performance-enhancing drugs.
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Friday, July 19, 2013

Johnny Toews with the Cup



s/t @JRoadsreal awesome picture. Too bad it wasn't in Grand Forks, ND. This is the second cup that Toews has won with the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Wednesday, July 03, 2013

UND Hockey: Hitting the links on Wednesday



First off, if you're not following @DanCorey8 on twitter, I highly recommend following him. Dan does some interesting stuff for WDAZ Channel eight.





Today, I am home with a stomach bug and a little bit under the weather, but no worries, thought I would catch you up on some of the latest news surrounding UND hockey.



It's hard to believe that Dillon Simpson is entering his senior season and the defenseman  is now only 20 years old.








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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Fandom: blurring the lines

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews duri...
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews during a game against the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place on November 22, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At the Beginning of the Stanley Cup Finals, after the Blackhawks qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals, I told my wife that no one in this house hold wears a Jonathan Toews t-shirt or a Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt during entirety of the Stanley Cup Finals.  My wife looked at me and said, “you can’t be serious.” I told her, “I was dead serious.”  I continued on with my rant, I don’t care if he went to UND or not, I am Boston Bruins fan, blah, blah, blah…. Nonetheless, that wish was honored. The fact that no one ever wore one of the t-shirts in question was probably a pure accident, or a divine intervention, because my wife takes orders from no one.

I even considered deleting the song Chelsea Dagger from my iPod. Before I did anything rash, I regained my senses, when I realized that I was in fact allowed to keep that song on my iPod.

I had an epiphany, and it dawned on me. Of course, I can keep Chelsea Dagger on my iPod, because whenever the UND hockey team scores a goal, the song Chelsea Dagger is played over the Ralph Engelstad Arena’s loud speakers. Disaster was avoided, for at least that moment.

Just for the record, last season, Chelsea Dagger was played 71 times at Ralph Engelstad Arena, s/t to Jayson Hajdu.  So, I had a reprieve.  My daughter is also a big fan of the song as well. Somehow, my five year old daughter also knows who Jonathan Toews is as well and she seemed to be talking about him a lot during the Stanley Cup Finals, I am sure she had some coaching, from someone. I am not sure who is to blame.

Last night, before I went out for a bike ride, before I left, I was looking for a t-shirt to put on and I just couldn’t bring myself to slip any of the aforementioned shirts on at the present time. Not now, maybe later.  I just wasn’t up to it right now. The wounds are still fresh. I know, I know, as a UND alumnus, I am supposed to be happy for Toews winning his second Stanley Cup, but his team just beat my favorite NHL team. I am still in a state of mourning.

Yay, good for him, but he was part of the enemy for two weeks.

While riding my bike last night, I began to percolate for the subject of this blog post, I thought of an article that also inspired me as well that is worth reading.  It’s a good article written by Ian Cameron McLaren, one of my colleagues from the Hockey Writers.

Ian Cameron McLaren, ScoreNation – First, let’s talk about why things are the way they are.
This past week, Jeff Marek made an interesting point on the MvsW podcast that speaks to the divisive nature of sports fandom. His basic premise was that sports marketing and culture is set up to create and us vs them mentality, and that this is expressed most clearly in the use of “(Blank) Nation” or “(Blank) Army” to describe a fan base. What this does is establish a mobilization of the fans wherein we feel as though we are actually part of the battle, so to speak. We follow and support the cause of our favorite teams, and feel intimately linked to the outcomes that befall them. If they win, we take to the streets to celebrate; if they lose, we feel like our home and native land has been invaded and pillaged, leaving us wander aimlessly until the battle picks up again.
The fallacy here, of course, is that what will be, will be, regardless of how we personally feel about the team in question. Our attachments to our teams are mostly peripheral, in the sense that we likely have no personal knowledge of or attachment to the actual people who are playing the game. We pay money for tickets, jerseys and cable packages, investing in war bonds if you will, but we don’t affect the outcomes of the games, Bartman notwithstanding. 
Again, regardless of what happens, it’s not a reflection of who we are personally; if they win, we cheer but the accolades are not ours, and if we lose, it stinks but the failure is also not really ours.
Think about this, we have no “affect” on the outcomes of favorite team’s games. No matter what jersey we wear to the games or what we eat meal we eat in our pre-game meals, we have no “affect” on the outcomes of favorite teams games. None! Zero!

Although, looking back, former UND hockey players from the past will talk about how the amazing the fan following was, while they were in Grand Forks playing for UND. So, that could be up for some debate.

But I digress.

While we might be unhappy that our favorite team lost a game, division, or championship, those losses are not ours. These losses belong to our favorite teams, they own them. We’re just along for the ride, but sometimes that ride can be pretty awesome.

On November 19, 2011, while covering the UND hockey team for Inside Hockey, UND was playing the Bemidji State Beavers at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota. While finding my assigned seat in the press box, I came across a beat up practice puck that was sitting where my laptop was going to sit in the BSU press box. There it was, just sitting there in the press box, so I put the puck in my bag.

Coming into the series against the Beavers, UND was mired in a 3-6-1 slump. UND would leave the series and the Sanford Center with a series split and a 4-7-1 season record.

That beat up hockey puck would travel with me in my backpack, to and from the arena for the rest of the season. From that weekend forward, the UND hockey team would go 22-6-2. With puck in toe, UND would win its third Final Five championship in a row, before losing in the NCAA West Regional championship at the Xcel Energy Center the week later.

After the season was over, I contemplated keeping the good luck puck in my bag for the 2012-13 season.  The puck has since been retired; it sits in my dresser at home.  I know the puck played no part in the UND’s success that season, but I didn’t want to upset the apple cart and I am very superstitious. I don’t like to even golf without the correct number of balls and tees in my pocket.

Think a lot of us even though we might just be fans or bloggers, we still get wrapped up in our favorite team’s success and failures and feel it, when they lose their last game of the season.

Since 2000, I have only had one of my favorite team’s win its final game of the year that resulted in a championship once, and that team was the Boston Bruins, who won the 2011 Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks.

So, since 2000, I have only had one favorite team of mine win it all, and more times than not, these favorite teams of mine (UND hockey, Vikings, Boston Bruins) have had their seasons  ended in defeat, many times in the early rounds of the playoffs, when they were the heavy favorites.

In conclusion, while we might just be fans, our favorite teams play a very big part of our lives, even if the games are only an escape from the reality of our boring lives.  It is what it is. 
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Final Finals Numbers: Former NCAA Hockey Players

Throughout the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, I compiled a list of NHL hockey players that participated in at least one season of division I college hockey, which competed in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The players were listed by their NHL team. These were players that played in at least “one” Stanley Cup Playoff game during in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. I have also listed their point totals as well.
Points lead after the completion of the final round
The Finals are officially over. The top three spots are owned by Chicago Blackhawks. Former Vermont Catamount Patrick Sharp (10g-6a—16pts) is the leader in the club house.  His teammate former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathon Toews (3g-11a—14pts) is in second place.
Third place, is former Michigan State Spartan and current Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2g-11a—13pts).
Former Wisconsin Badgers and current San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski(4g-8a—12pts) was able to hang on to fourth place, even though his team was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the defending Stanley Cup Champions the L.A. Kings in the Semi-Finals.
Fifth place, goes to former Golden Gopher and current Penguins Defenseman Paul Martin (2g-9a—11pts), whose team was eliminate by the Boston Bruins 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Leader Board (National Hockey League rank in parentheses)
1. (6) Patrick Sharp, F, Vermont, 23GP, (10g-6a—16pts)
2. (13) Jonathon Toews, F, North Dakota, 23GP, (3g-11a—14pts)
3. (14) Duncan Keith, D, Michigan State, 22GP, (2g-11a—13pts)
4. (18) Joe Pavelski, F, Wisconsin, 11GP, (4g-8a—12pts)
5. (23) Paul Martin, D, Minnesota, 15GP, (2g-9a—11pts)
Boston Bruins (3)
Torey Krug, D, Michigan State, 15GP, (4g-2a—6pts)
Matt Bartkowski, D, Ohio State, 7GP, (1g-1a—2pts)
Richard Peverley, F, St. Lawrence University, 21GP, (1g-0a—1pts)
Chicago Blackhawks (7)
Patrick Sharp, F, Vermont, 23GP, (10g-6a—16pts)
Jonathon Toews, F, North Dakota, 23GP, (3g-11a—14pts)
Duncan Keith, D, Michigan State, 22GP, (2g-11a—13pts)
Nick Leddy, D, Minnesota, 23GP, (0g-2a—2pts)
Victor Stalberg, F, Vermont, 19GP, (0g-3a—3pts)
Brandon Bollig, F, St. Lawrence, 5GP, (0g-0a—0pts)
Ben Smith, F, Boston College, 1GP, (0g-0a—0pts) 

 

 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Steve Rosenbloom on the Boychuk hit

All right! Interesting perspective, no mystery that the NHL isn’t consistent in their call of the head shots, it’s well documented. Here’s my question; why is it, that players like Dustin Brown of the L.A. Kings has been able to get away with many of the same kind of hits for so long? Most of them have been deemed hockey hits, just like the hit that Brown put on Toews in the Western Conference Finals.
Steve Rosenbloom, The RosenBlog – Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk went after Jonathan Toews' head with his forearm in the second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night. Toews didn’t play a shift in the third period. Game over. Game 6 over for Boychuk.

Just as a penalty in the first period is supposed to be a penalty in the third period, then a head-hunting move in Game 5 of the final ought to warrant a suspension the way it does in Game 1 of the regular season.

It wouldn't matter if it was Viktor Stalberg instead of Toews, but I'd bet if it was done to Sidney Crosby, then Boychuk would've been suspended between periods.

The product the NHL is selling is not Boychuk’s act. It is selling exceptionally skilled players. It is selling stars such as Toews and Crosby.

Like Crosby, Toews is part of the Hart Trophy conversation. At least he is when Eastern writers stay up late to watch.

Also like Crosby, Toews is a repeated concussion victim whose head is targeted continually.

The league cannot afford these kinds of acts. The Hawks certainly can’t.
I have always said, “that the NHL has two sets of rules. One for goon’s and fourth line players and one for super stars.” I don't know why the NHL didn't take action against Boychuk or why they pick and choose which hits to discipline. I don’t know how anyone can make rhyme or reason out of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety’s rulings anymore. They're allover the place.

I like everyone else is confused, as a Bruins fan, I guess I am kind of relieved that Boychuk can play, but know he may have gotten away with one, but so have a lot of other players, as well. It sounds like both Toews and Bergy are going to play in game six tonight.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Johnny Boychuk not suspended for hit On Jonathan Toews



I was out of town at a WoO race in Fergus Falls, MN, but I did see the hit in question last night on my iPhone. I showed the video to the guy I was at the races with and said, "Boychuk is going to get suspended by the NHL for this hit." Apparently, the NHL saw fit not to suspend Johnny Boychuk for game six. The NHL didn't even have a hearing and ruled it was a legal hit. Not my words. Just for the record, the Bruins Boychuk was not penalized on the play.


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Monday, June 10, 2013

Patrick Kane's Hat Trick sends the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup Finals



And then there were two. You can bet that the 6'9" Zdeno Chara will be glued to Patrick Kane during the Stanley Cup Finals. You can also bet that "the little ball of hate" Brad Marchand will be in Jonathan Toews grill, much like Henrik Zetterberg was during the second round the playoffs.

So, here's how the Stanley Cup Finals shake out. Boston Bruins 28-14-6 regular season, 12-4 playoffs vs Chicago Blackhawks 36-7-5 regular season, 12-5 playoffs... Game one kicks off on Wednesday Night at 7:00 p.m. at the Mad House on Madison.
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Saturday, June 01, 2013

Dave Bolland hit Mike Richards



At the 01:53 mark of the third period Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bollard hit L.A. Kings forward Mike Richards with a shoulder in the chin/head area. You have to wonder, will Mike Bollard be getting a phone call from the NHL's department of players safety for this hit? I have to think, based on everything that we have seen so far in the playoffs, that this could be a potential one game suspension for Bollard. Thoughts? Just for the record, there was "no" penalty called on the play.






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Thursday, May 30, 2013

L.A. Kings and Chicago Blackhawks schedule (Greene vs. Toews)

Game 1: Saturday, June 1 - L.A. at Chicago 4:00 p.m. NBCSN
Game2: Sunday, June 2 - L.A. at Chicago 7:00 p.m. NBCSN
Game 3: Tuesday, June 4 - Chicago at L.A. 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
Game 4: Thursday, June 6 - Chicago at L.A. 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
Game 5: Saturday, June 8 - L.A. at Chicago 7:00 p.m. NBC
Game 6: Monday, June 10 - Chicago at L.A. 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
Game 7: Wednesday, June 12 - L.A. at Chicago TBD NBCSN  

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Toews (gif)


s/t to Jack who posted this gif in the comments of another post. So, do you think that the refs are not calling the obstruction in this series? This is pre-lockout officiating in the NHL. The calls the officials have let go have been pretty obvious. Zetterberg has been in Toews hockey pants all series long.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Schedule for round three of the SCP...



These tweets should shed some light when round three will be played. So, we need the Chicago Blackhawks to beat the Detroit Red Wing tomorrow night... That means if Chicago wins we're going to end up with two games on Saturday. I guess, that's the scenario that I would rather see. I believe that the L.A. Kings and Chicago would be a much better series to watch. The Bruins game will be on Saturday anyways.







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Pavel Datsyuk drills Jonathan Toews



s/t to Paul from Kukla's Korner... The puck is nowhere around when Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk drills Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews. I remember the play from last night’s game and don’t know why a call wasn’t made on the play, checking the box score there was no penalty called. Whatever… The Red Wings have done everything they can to get Toews off of his game and last night he didn’t take the bait even though Henrik Zetterberg was hacking him up one side and down the other. I can’t wait for game seven.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Detroit's Joakim Andersson scores a knucklepuck goal



I was beginning to think we were watching Mighty Ducks. What next? The flying v... Detroit Red Wing forward Joakim Andersson scores a knucklepuck goal and Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cory Crawford didn't have a chance on the goal.
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Friday, May 24, 2013

Jonathan Toews high stick on Justin Abdelkader...Was this Embellishment?



Former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews had a rough night for the Chicago Blackhawks, he beat a path to the penalty box, taking three minor penalties, this one was laughable based on some of the calls the on-ice officials have missed this season. Sure there was a penalty but, come on! Abdelkader sold this one big time with his Academy Award winning acting job. On this play, Johnny was assessed a two minute minor for high sticking Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader. So, what do think? Was there was some embellishment on the play from Abdelkader? I do believe there was. Thoughts and feelings…

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

SCP: Blackhawks (Toews) vs. Wild (Parise)

Wild (26-19-3) 8th vs. Blackhawks (36-7-5)1st
Game 1: at Chicago Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:00 PM CT, CBC, FSN, NBCSN
Game 2: at Chicago Friday, May 3, 2013 8:30 PM CT, CBC, FSN, NBCSN
Game 3: at Minnesota Sunday May 5, 2013 2:00 PM CT, CBC, NBC
Game 4: at Minnesota Tuesday, April 30, 2013 May 7, 8:30 PM CT, CBC, FSN, NBCSN
GAME 5: at Chicago Thursday May 9, 2013 TBD (If Necessary)
GAME 6: at Minnesota Saturday May 11, 2013 TBD (If Necessary)
GAME 7: at Chicago Sunday May 12, 2013 TBD (If Necessary)
On paper this series looks like a mismatch and one that could be very short series if the Wild don’t right their ship. You have the President’s Trophy winner versus a team that basically backed into the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the last day of the season. The Wild went 1-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks this season.
How bad were the Wild?
The Wild went 5-8-1 during the month of April and had to be the lowly Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on the last game of the season, to gain the eighth and final playoff spot.
Two Former Sioux go head-to-head  
 There is an interesting series side note; you have two former Fighting Sioux forwards Zach Parise (18g-20a—38pts) and Jonathan Toews (23g-25a—48pts) who both played two seasons at the University of North Dakota. Currently, both are leaders on their current squads, as well.
While neither player played with each other, while they were at the University of North Dakota.  Parise (49g-67a—116pts) played at UND from 2002-04 and Toews (40g-45a—85pts) played at UND from 2005-07. Both players enjoy icon like status at the University of North Dakota and in city of Grand Forks.