Maybe it was foreshadowing…

En route to San Antonio last Wednesday, March 3, I started to write a blog that was going to cover several topics, the latter of which was going to be how the Aeros could still make the playoffs despite being 10 points out with 18 games to go. After I finished pumping my own tires over my near-flawless prediction for Team USA’s run at a gold medal in the Olympics, I started to get into the Aeros and the uphill battle they face. Then, my computer froze / crashed (it’s been having some “health issues” lately) and I never finished blogging. Was that a sign of things to come for the Aeros? Anyway, here is what I started to write:

My prediction in my last blog for a Team USA gold medal was almost spot-on, as the Americans fell in overtime in the gold medal game to Canada keeping them from their third-ever gold medal in men’s hockey. What an outstanding “tournament” it was and what a disappointment it was all at the same time. So damn heartbreaking. I really wanted the Americans to prevail just to have some bragging rights for the next four years. The hockey was great and the passion level was extremely high. Kind of sucks that we have to wait until 2014 for more Olympic hockey and who knows if the NHL will even allow its players to take part in those games.

As for the Aeros, it’s been a tough few weeks. Wanting to win at least six of their nine games over the last three weekends (all three games in three days situations), the team came up essentially empty, winning just twice and now falling into serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs for just the third time 16 consecutive seasons of pro hockey in Houston. No time to lament however, and it’s certainly no time for excuses, so rather than display my somewhat inherited negative outlook on sports teams I am passionate for (after all Philadelphia is often referred to as “Nega-delphia” by those that truly know Philly sports fans), I’m going to tell you (computer crashed here)

Well, now it’s March 8 and the Aeros are situated in last place in the West Division. That’s right, last place. When I saw that both Peoria and San Antonio won yesterday, I checked out the updated standings just to see what the West Division was looking like. Needless to say, I was stunned. I mean, as this season has slowly been slipping away from the Aeros over the last three-plus weeks, I have thought about how the team could finish below .500 or even in last place if they weren’t “careful”. But it was a stone cold reality check last night when I saw the team in the cellar of the division with 15 games left. It was kind of mind blowing.

Anyway, I’ll now continue what I was trying to do last week, which is tell you HOW the Aeros WILL make the playoffs. Remember, nothing but positive thoughts here…

Record over the final 15 games: 12-3-0-0. This gives the Aeros 41 wins and 90 points.

Here’s how:

3/12 vs. PEO – W (Aeros own Peoria this season)
3/13 @ CHI – W (Gotta get off the snide against the Wolves some time)
3/14 @ RFD – L (3-in-3 in 3 different cities is too tough to run the table)
3/20 vs. MIL – W (Must-win) 3/21 vs. MIL – W (Got some confidence now…another must-win)
3/26 vs. LE – W (Trap game since it’s a non-division foe, but team finds a way to win it late)
3/27 @ PEO – W (Rivermen goaltender Ben Bishop gets pulled early)
3/28 @ PEO – W (Irmen scores shorthanded – twice)
3/31 vs. CHI – L (Wolves are too good)
4/2 vs. CHI – W (Wolves had a day off in sunny Houston to golf and lose their focus)
4/3 @ TEX – W (First win in the Cedar Park Center since 1917)
4/6 vs. RFD – W (1-0 shutout win for Anton Khudobin)
4/8 @ SA – L (Rampage score early and often in blowout loss)
4/10 vs. TEX – W (Stars roll over b/c they have already clinched a playoff spot)
4/11 @ SA – W (One-goal victory coupled with Milwaukee regulation loss = playoffs)

Goaltender Anton Khudobin is going to be red hot for the next month, the Aeros’ power play will score at a goal per game average and the trio of Jon DiSalvatore, Tony Hrkac and Peter Zingoni are going to be a constant offensive force. Take all of the above, add in a little bit of confidence after the team gets a few wins under its belt and top it all off with a legitimate intangible – an experienced coaching staff.

Chicago and Rockford are playoff locks essentially, so you’ve got to chase down either Milwaukee or Texas and I’m thinking it’s the Admirals or bust at this point with the Stars getting healthier recently and having just taken three straight from the Aeros over the last 10 days. For the record, I’m not concerned about Peoria or San Antonio – trust me, neither of those two teams are making the postseason. With that said…

The Milwaukee Admirals will go 6-8-1-1 in their last 16 outings, giving them 89 points, which places them behind the Aeros by one point at the conclusion of the regular season.

The Aeros finish in 4th and play the Chicago Wolves in the first round.

So that’s how it’s going to happen. And since I’ve just taken care of all the worrying for you, then you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride.

- Aero Joe

I’ve been saying for about three years now (to anyone that would listen and mostly Canadian citizens that I know) that Team USA is going to win gold in Vancouver at the 2010 Olympics. To be honest, I’ve partly been saying it more or less to be the guy that said “I called that” should it come to fruition. Despite some long odds given the talent that some of their opposing countries will boast, I still think Team USA can pull off a stunning gold medal performance and here’s how:

Ryan Miller is an all-world goaltender and he’s proving it again this season with the Buffalo Sabres. Miller’s 93.0% save percentage is top’s in the NHL heading into the Olympic break and many pundits will tell you that save percentage is the best gauge of a goaltender’s true ability. In a short “tournament”, a goaltender can steal you a game or two and put you into the medal round where obviously anything can happen.

Although I’m not completely sold on Team USA’s defensive corps. (led by Brian Rafalski and Jack Johnson), I do love the mix of forwards assembled by GM Brian Burke. Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner will provide the necessary leadership to keep the group together and the skill sets of Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Bobby Ryan and Zach Parise will provide enough offense to make the Americans successful.

Whichever countries gel the quickest and get timely scoring / saves will find themselves in the medal round and in position to wear gold in late February. There’s no reason that can’t be the Americans. On an NHL-sized ice surface and with more of a home-ice advantage than every country outside of Canada, the Americans should have an edge. Plus I think the Canadians are under such scrutiny to perform on “home ice” that their home ice advantage may actually work in a negative fashion should they not get off to the start that the media and majority of fans expect them to. With that said, I’m not oblivious to the fact that playing in GM Place (home of the Vancouver Canucks) will benefit Team Canada more than any other country when things are going well for them or say late in a close game when they need a goal to tie).

Team USA opens with Switzerland on Tuesday, followed by a game against Norway on Thursday and a tilt with arch-rival Canada on Sunday. If they can score some early goals on Anaheim Ducks’ goaltender Jonas Hiller and beat the Swiss somewhat handily, they’ll then roll through Norway and get their first real test against the Canadians. By then (with presumably two wins under their belt) they should be able to give Team Canada a handful and wrap up the preliminary round knowing they can play with anyone.

The European countries may take more pride in most international competitions (including the Olympics) than the USA or Canada, as they try to use an “us vs. them” factor in their motivation, but at the end of the day it will be about goaltending and clutch plays, intangibles and talent. Team USA won’t be the favorites, but I’m pulling for them to shock the world and take gold on Canadian soil. And given the 1960 and 1980 “Miracles on Ice”, 2010 sounds like a nice round number to add some more gold to Team USA’s collection.

Enjoy the Olympics!

- Aero Joe

At the end of my last blog I said I would provide some off-ice “stuff” in my next posting. Well, I lied. My brain is kind of frozen as I’m trying to think of fun, off-ice stories, so I’ll just get you right to the on-ice fodder that really matters anyway.

Here’s an update on the slew of injuries:

Defenseman Max Noreau is not with the team on this weekend set, as he’s nursing an injury suffered on Wednesday against Peoria after blocking a shot in the third period. I won’t specify the area, but hopefully he’ll be back for the three games in three nights at home beginning on the 12th.

Colton Gillies and Barry Brust both received a large amount of stitches for lacerations they suffered during Wednesday’s game, but both are on the trip (no word yet – at the time of this blog anyway – whether or not Gillies will be suspended by the AHL for his major boarding penalty on Wednesday).

Ryan Lannon and Andy Hilbert are both still out of the lineup and not on this trip.

Carson McMillan is out as well with a lower body injury…he missed Wednesday’s game - not sure when he’ll be back.

Jon DiSalvatore is on the trip and although he’s still under the weather, he may have to play Friday in Milwaukee. He missed Wednesday’s game with illness.

Jamie Sifers blocked a shot late in the third period and went back to the dressing room. He is OK – relatively speaking - and is on the trip.

With Brandon Rogers (who played forward on Wednesday) dropping back to defense to replace Noreau, the Aeros will be at 12 forwards, six defensemen and one goaltender (Brust) by my count when they head to Bradley Center for their morning skate. That’s assuming Gillies is not suspended and that DiSalvatore plays. Of course, I’m also anticipating the Wild to make some moves to help out the Aeros – ECHL recalls, NHL reassignments, etc. to help the Aeros get through this weekend. To be honest, I’m not even sure Brust can play Friday because of the severity of his cut, which means at least one goaltending move will have to be made.

This weekend is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for the Aeros. After Saturday’s game in Grand Rapids, the Aeros will have finished seven games in 11 days. That’s a lot of hockey to say the least. It’s very grinding – both emotionally and physically and as Aeros’ head coach Kevin Constantine always points out during stretches like this, you are more likely to sustain injuries when you’re this run down…

Anyway, as for the weekend, scoring first is paramount (even more so than normal) in my opinion. Banged up, fatigued, and on the road, the Aeros need to play with a lead to be successful. If they fall behind, they might not have enough in the tank to come from behind. Regardless of their energy levels, the team knows the importance of every game and if they can earn at least one more win this weekend, they’ll have five full days off before hitting their final 27 games of the regular season. By the way, a distant look ahead shows three straight weekends of three games in three days scenarios heading into early March.

Notes from today’s morning skate: At the time I originally wrote this blog, Anton Khudobin had yet to make his NHL debut. Well, late last night he got into his first NHL game after Wild goaltender Josh Harding injured himself making a spectacular save and was helped off the ice by his teammates. Khudobin got the win and it appears that he and Wade Dubielewicz will stay up with the Wild for the immediate future. Thus, the Aeros have signed goaltender Ryan Nie to a PTO and he will join the team in time for tonight’s game in Milwaukee. Brust did take part in the morning skate, but I’m not sure if he can physically play tonight. Eric Iverson manned the pipes opposite Brust at the morning skate so the Aeros were able to have a second goaltender. He was brought in on an ATO (amateur tryout) for the day.



- Aero Joe

Just checkin’ in from Milwaukee…oh yeah, it’s freezing cold at the practice rink here in the Kern Center (at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, a spot where the Aeros practiced last May as well during the West Division Finals) and it’s even colder outside. Weather.com says its 8 degrees right now and with the wind chill it feels like -7 degrees. Sounds like the perfect day to sit in your hotel room all day…

The team is still pretty upbeat despite losing in Chicago last night, 5-2. It’s easy as a fan (and a broadcaster from time to time) to overreact after certain games – a big win and you’re going to be in the Calder Cup Finals – a brutal loss and the team stinks and won’t make the playoffs – but you’ve got to temper your emotions in sports and get re-focused for the games ahead. With that said, as big as this weekend is with games in Milwaukee and Peoria, keep in mind that the Aeros still have 25 intra-division games left after this weekend. Twenty-freaking-five! That’s a lot of “four-point” games left. Now you certainly don’t want to fall 8-10 points out of a playoff spot because that’s a lot of ground to make up, but if you keep winning three out of four and five out of eight, etc. you are going to be in the race until the final 10 games or so. In which case you hope to have a full lineup (i.e. Any Hilbert back from injury and maybe even Robbie Earl back from Minnesota) and you’ve given yourself a chance to make the postseason.

If you missed it last night during the broadcast, my interview with Aeros’ GM Jim Mill is available in the multimedia section of aeros.com.

The biggest two things for the Aeros in my mind over the next 10-plus games: get goaltender Anton Khudobin (winless since November 25) back on track and continue to find ways to get secondary scoring from guys like Danny Irmen, Petr Kalus and Duncan Milroy.

Just a quick note that at the Aeros’ next two home games (Feb. 1 & Feb. 3) the team will be raising money for the relief efforts in Haiti, as part of a league-wide effort started by the coaches in the AHL. So be sure to watch the video board in Toyota Center for details on how you can contribute and as always, you can check out aeros.com for more info. Because the Aeros haven’t had any home games since mid-January, the team is behind the eight-ball so to speak compared to other AHL teams. But with two home games coming up, I am confident the Aeros faithful will rise up to the occasion. By the way, really cool stuff the Texas Stars are doing during their “Hockey For Haiti” week. For more, click here.

I’ll try to check in again shortly with some “off the ice” stuff…


- Aero Joe

Sitting high above the ice at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, I’ve got a few extra tidbits for ya in addition to the behind-the-scenes multimedia look that we’re bringing you on aeros.com.

Marc Crawford, head coach of the Dallas Stars and long-time NHL bench boss, was chatting with the media this morning after his team got off the ice and he was asked about the Wild’s trade of former Aero Benoit Pouliot to the Canadiens for Guillaume Latendresse. In addition to signing the praises of Latendresse (who had his first NHL hat trick the other night in Phoenix), Crawford went out of his way to note that Pouliot has been a pleasant surprise for the Canadiens (six goals and one assist in just 12 games). Crawford was also asked if he noticed any changes in the Wild’s style of play under the new management in Minnesota with GM Chuck Fletcher and head coach Todd Richards. Right off the hop he gave credit to former Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire and the fact that as an organization you don’t ever try lose the strengths that somebody like Lemaire brought to the Wild.

As for tonight’s game, Richards said he wants his team to come out tonight and try to essentially start this game like they’re on home ice – meaning he wants to “push” the Stars instead of letting them set the tempo. As he put it, he wants his team to be “invested physically and mentally.” Tonight’s Wild / Stars game is being nationally televised on Versus (7:00 pm CST) with Joe Beninati and Eddie Olczyk calling the action.

Plus, don’t forget that the AHL All-Star Skills Competition is tonight and you can see it live at 7:00 pm CST on FS Houston. Aeros’ defenseman Max Noreau and goaltender Anton Khudobin are in Portland, ME representing the squad and the two will square off in the rapid fire competition. To stir the pot, I texted Max to see how he was planning to beat Anton and here was his response:

“High and hard. I find out you told him and you’re done : p” So naturally I tried to rile up Anton a bit and told him I needed him to talk some smack and that I wanted to know if Max would score on him. His response:

“I don’t know we will see!”

Well, at least I did my part to try and create some mild drama…

Be sure to check out all of the other segments in the multimedia section of aeros.com and the photo gallery we’ve posted, plus Asst. Communications Manager Palmer Hestley will be blogging the game on aeros.com.

Two blogs on the same road trip…uh oh hockey fans, somebody must be bored…

So on Thursday’s non-game day I rented a car and drove an hour-plus (without traffic) from Rockford to Chicago with assistant coach Mark LeRose and head equipment manager Doug Tretiak to catch the Blackhawks / Blue Jackets tilt from United Center. Here are some observations:

The pre-game atmosphere at UnitedCenter is unreal. They play several intro videos – displaying historic footage, new highlights, some extremely digitalized (almost looked animated) clips of current players skating through downtown Chicago – think pond hockey – all before the team hits the ice. The entire crowd was standing minutes prior to the anthem and the pre-game presentation as a whole was “clean” and inspirational. The team honored Troy Murray during the pre-game ceremonies (12 seasons with the ‘Hawks, highlighted by 99 points in 85-86) and there was a ceremonial puck drop that followed before the anthem got underway. When talking with Texas Stars GM Scott White the other night, he mentioned that the National Anthem at UnitedCenter was a must-see. Well, he was on point. The crowd was going bonkers to the point where the anthem singer had to belt out every line or he’d be drowned out. I’ve never witnessed anything like that before!

As for the game, the ‘Hawks scored 61 seconds into the first period on an odd-man rush goal by defenseman Brian Campbell. That’s the last thing the Blue Jackets needed given the ‘Hawks are 20-5-1 on home ice. The skill and speed of the game was very impressive as always. So many shots get blocked that it’s almost unbelievable. Players’ sticks are always in the proper lanes and the physical play / one-on-one battles are intense. At the end of the first stanza, the ‘Hawks led 1-0 and could have easily been up by three or four goals.

Here are a couple of other random notes: One of the referees (there are two for each NHL game unlike the AHL) was Frederick L’Ecuyer who has worked some Aeros’ games this season including Jan. 10 vs. Rockford. Some of scouts in attendance included former NHL’ers: Dave Brown, Rob DiMaio, former ‘Hawk Dirk Graham and Pat Verbeek. As I mentioned last night during the Aeros’ broadcast, there were nine scouts at the Rockford Metrocentre for the Aeros contest including Blair Mackasey, the director of pro scouting for the Wild (you can catch my interview with him in the multimedia section of aeros.com). The attendance was 21,884 – a new season-high for the ‘Hawks this year (and the Blue Jackets were in town for crying out loud…they could have had a “guaranteed win night” promotion). Aeros’ fans may know current ‘Hawks Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson and goaltender Antii Niemi from last year’s Ice Hogs squad.

I’ll try and bust out another blog from Oh Canada next weekend when the Aeros are in Abbotsford – it’ll be my 30th birthday, so I may be a touch sentimental…

- Aero Joe

So we’re halfway through the regular season already, eh? It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the campaign flies by given how long the offseason seems to drag on. In this scintillating blog, I have a few off-ice things to mention before I get to the Aeros recent stretch of games and what’s upcoming for the squad.

Some of you probably know by now that I’m a diehard Philadelphia sports fan and have been for a number of years. With that said, I went with my wife and her brother to Dallas last Saturday night to watch the Eagles / Cowboys playoff game. There was one problem however…it wasn’t a game, I’d call it more of a beating. Obviously I knew going in that it could be a long night, but losing by 20 on the road in a playoff game in your most hated rival’s stadium will severely test your “fandom”. We took some heavy verbal abuse and did our best to keep our emotions in check while watching the Birds season come to a crashing halt. Here’s hoping Tony Romo snaps his left kneecap this weekend in Minnesota…

In addition to being a huge Philly sports fan, I’m also a 311.. fan. They are a rock, rap, reggae hybrid band that’s been around since the early 90’s. So today I check into my hotel room in lovely Rockford, Illinois and my room number is 311, which is very cool when you’re as big as a fan as I am. Well, then I got to lunch with the coaches and my bill at Steak ‘N Shake (a Midwest burger chain with outstanding sliders and shakes) is $8.16. Why am I telling you this? Well, 311.. has a song on their “Grassroots” album that is titled “8:16 AM”. Anyway, the coincidence / karma / symbolism of those two things blew my mind.

Now to the ice:

This ongoing four-game “series” against the Ice Hogs has been highly entertaining and I’m going to make what may be a somewhat obvious prediction that the best is yet to come. I’m going to say there will be at least 3 fights in the two games in Rockford (Kassian vs. Flinn would be a treat, I think). Give the Aeros credit for battling hard despite being down in numbers on Friday the 8th (when Lannon and Sifers both left the game with injuries) and again on Sunday the 10th considering defenseman Ross Rouleau hardly played once the coaching staff established he wasn’t ready for an AHL game (previous statement is solely my opinion from calling the game). Keep in mind that Rouleau was essentially a “proximity” call-up since he could drive in from Fort Worth to make the afternoon game at Toyota Center on short notice.

The Aeros are on a six-game point streak right now and although there are four overtime losses in that stretch, they are gathering points right now, which is extremely valuable in the ever-tight West Division playoff race. Let it be known that the Rockford Metrocentre is not an easy place to play, especially when the faithful get fired up. The Ice Hogs are seven games over .500 on home ice right now, so winning two here this week will be tough. The coaching staff is really emphasizing a good start to this two-game set in light of what happened when the Aeros hit the road for their three-game swing that wrapped up December. If you remember (and you should, it wasn’t that long ago) the Aeros didn’t get a win until the final game of that road trip.

Two things to keep in mind over the next few weeks:

o The Aeros need to “survive” this next stretch of games. Seven of the next eight are on the road and the Aeros are without two players to NHL call-ups and several more due to injury. If they can get through this weekend and then next weekend’s games in Abbotsford, not only will a bevy of bodies most likely be ready to return from injury, but tough games against division foes in Peoria, Chicago and Milwaukee lie ahead.

o The Aeros need to establish an IDENTITY on home ice soon. Again, this is something the coaching staff has been preaching for weeks. And I don’t mean just winning more games on home ice, I mean playing with an edge and an attitude that will translate into more home ice success.

- Aero Joe

We’re on the road again, hockey freaks and I have to admit being in Houston for about 3 straight weeks, I got a little spoiled and didn’t really miss bus travel and hotel rooms. This is a huge stretch for the Aeros starting against Chris Chelios and the Chicago Wolves. To be honest, I’m pretty geeked up about calling a game featuring Chris Chelios, who is without question one of the greatest defenseman to ever lace up a pair of skates. Chelios went out to today’s morning skate with some of the Wolves’ healthy scratches for tonight, shot some pucks down the far end of the rink by himself, took part in a few drills and got off the ice before the rest of the team took the ice at 10:15 am. When you’ve been in pro hockey for a quarter century, you can pretty much do whatever you want and I don’t think a lot of people question you.

I gotta mention and give subsequent props to the media dining room in Chicago, which is far and away the best meal in the AHL. What a spread! Tonight’s meal: Chicken Parmesean (my favorite), cheese tortellini in a pesto sauce, mixed vegetables and the usual soup and salad bar accompanied by dessert. The Aeros have one of the league’s best media meals at Toyota Center on a nightly basis, but my, do the Wolves do it right.

I had a chance to chat with former athletic trainer Jerry Meins earlier today and he seems to be doing well. He is currently doing some work in Houston for Methodist Hospital and he said his wife is glad to have him around after so many years in pro sports, although he said he does miss traveling with the team and all of the locker room camaraderie. If you’ve never been lucky enough to meet Jerry, that’s unfortunate because he is truly a great person.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that you have a safe and happy New Year. If you’re curious, I’m really excited (the previous three words are the most sarcastic words of this blog) to spend New Year’s Eve on a bus from Rockford to Milwaukee.

I’ll check back in again early in 2010.

- Aero Joe

Emergency roadside blog here…

 

That’s right – a flat tire (back right, to be exact) detained the team on the side of Highway 130 (a toll road) about 25 minutes outside of Austin.  At the start of this blog it’s 4:50 pm, two hours and forty minutes prior to opening face-off tonight against the Texas Stars. 

 

Prior to pulling over, there were a few shouts of “flat tire” from the veterans in the back of the bus and once it was translated up front to the bus driver (think “whisper down the lane” style) we hit the shoulder where we are now sitting and waiting…waiting for what, I’m not sure.  The smell of burnt rubber and a shredded tire (see the photos below) were enough proof that the bus was in need of immediate service.

 

****

 

Now approaching 30 minutes at the side of the road, no sign of help yet…I tried a few flares and smoke signals and I’m about to go hitchhiker style to help the team out (just kidding on all accounts although the smoke signals would be fun I think)…if only we were in the Bat Mobile, we would have never had to pull over…our bus driver Joe has been on the phone for a while, as has our GM, Jim Mill.  I thought I heard Jim Mill say that another bus was on its way…Maybe we can all pile into the back of the PV Rentals equipment truck which made it safely to Austin a few hours ago, in honor of Jim Carrey in “Dumb and Dumber”, I say “Pick ‘em up!”…Remember the last time the Aeros had major game day travel issues?  It was prior to Game 3 vs. Peoria in the 2009 West Division Semi-Finals.  Corey Locke had a pair of power play goals in a 2-1 win giving the Aeros a two-to-one series lead…Nathan Smith just came up to the front of the bus and with a big smirk on his face said, “What’s the plan?” to the coaches.  Turns out another bus is on the way.  Nice welcome back from the NHL for Mr. Smith.  Only in minor league sports…

 

Enough random thoughts for now, hopefully the Aeros pull this one out tonight.

 

-       Aero Joe

 

So I ended up making a quick stop by the Hockey Hall of Fame before we left Toronto on Sunday and it was sick!  I can’t remember the exact year I was there from my childhood days, but I’m guessing it was probably when I was about 12, which means I don’t remember much from the visit other than the fact that I had been there before.  With that said this was my first chance to take it all in – granted it was only for about 45 minutes because they didn’t open until 10:30 am and I had a bus to catch at noon to head back to the States.

 

There are so many displays, interesting facts and pieces of memorabilia that I could have spent four hours there and still not gotten my “fix.”  I mean it was unreal.  Here are some quick notes I jotted down and photos I took while breezing through the exhibits:

 

• The “replica” Montreal Canadiens’ dressing room from the old Montreal Forum.  You can literally sit in the stalls of some of the all-time greats – they have nameplates up from guys like Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.  They have Patrick Roy’s old goalie pads and helmet in his dressing stall.  Simply awesome.
• There’s a section dedicated to NHL dynasties featuring the great Canadiens’ teams (you have several dynasties over time when you win 24 Stanley Cups), the Islanders from the early 80’s and the Oilers run of five cups in seven years.
• Each current NHL team has a small display with their AHL and ECHL (when applicable) affiliate’s jerseys displayed.  John Scott’s Aeros jersey from the first half of 2007-2008 season is in the Minnesota Wild’s / Aeros display case.
• The Avco Cup (championship trophy from the old WHA) is also on display…the Aeros won it in back-to-back seasons beginning in 1974.  Mark Howe’s Aeros jersey from the 1976-1977 season (WHA) is on display as well.
• At one of the several multimedia areas, there was a small theatre that was showing videos.  When I walked up, the video that was playing was showing Mark Messier’s hat trick for the Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Devils in 1994.  Goosebumps…and I hate the Rangers!
• Lord Stanley’s Cup is there for you to touch and take pictures with, which is just unworldly…don’t touch it if you’re superstitious about every winning it!

 

There’s also a section dedicated to international hockey, defunct leagues, junior hockey broadcasters of the game and so much else, my head was spinning.  There are individual displays for a lot, if not all, of the inductees and an area dedicated to some of the great individual and team NHL records.  I’m not even sure I saw everything there since I was practically running through the place!  The bottom line is you have to get to Toronto to see the HHOF.  It’s a must.

 

Here are two crazy stats I saw and thought I’d share:

 

• The NHL record for most assists in a game is seven (7).  Several players have done it, including Wayne Gretzky, who did it three times.  Comprehend that for a minute.
• Theo Fleury once recorded three (3) shorthanded goals in a game.  Wow!

-   Aero Joe