Monday, February 21, 2011

Quick thoughts from Cranbrook

  • It was a loose group aboard the bus as we made our way down to Cranbrook. It's a day off to relax from the hectic schedule. The players have to focus tomorrow with the first test of the trip being one of the toughest. Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Calgary make this trip a hard one without everyone playing at their maximum level.
  • Had Evan Bloodoff not gotten off to such a slow start offensively, could he have score 30 goals this season? He has 19.
  • Zak Stebner was prepared for the trip. He is wearing a knitted toque and mittens from a relative. Impressive work actually. The toque is in Rockets colours with the word 'Rockets' stitched in white. The mittens have an R for the right hand and a L for the left hand. I will try to get a pic and post it here on the blog.
  • Rockets Athletic Therapist Jeff Thorburn is reading Bob Probert's book 'Tough Guy'. Being a non-book-reader, I will quiz him on the highlites of the book once he's completed it. I know it's lazy of me, but reading a hard covered book just isn't what I would call entertaining.
  • Despite the 7 hour road trip to Cranbrook, the hotel at the end of the trek is the carrot that dangles in front of all of us. The St. Eugene Mission Resort is on the outskirts of Cranbrook and boasts a golf course, casino and steam room. The accommodations are solid. A good night’s sleep in that first rate facility is a guarantee.
  • What's the one thing I've missed over the last couple of years when it comes to Kootenay Ice home games? The public address announcer who says during the player introduction, "welcome your Kootenay Iccccce". It's a bit of a dry-old school delivery but it matches the setting for some odd reason. That's usually followed by the quickest national anthem singer in the WHL. She can crack off 'Oh Canada' in under a minute.
  • My objective tomorrow is to interview Jeff Chynoweth. He is always personable. I enjoyed talking to him when the Rockets and Ice were involved in playoff battles and I would often gravitate to Chynoweth because the coach at the time - Cory Clouston - acted like he was going through a root canal every time I was interviewing him. Chynoweth may feel the same...he's just not so obvious about it.

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