And just like that it's all over. As many of you know I went out to play for the Detroit Hitmen in the AAHL last week, arriving to town Wednesday morning. I flew from Boston and got into the Detroit airport at 10am, after a short drive to the arena I met my new teammates and was on the ice for practice by 11:30am. After practice I had a voicemail on my phone from Cardinal Sports Management offering me a full time job back home in Boston as head advisor for New England. Cardinal offers hockey players a service that will help the player move up the ranks from high school to prep school to juniors and college. It's a dream job for anyone who has ever been in the hockey world. A full time job as a scout and advisor, getting to go to the rink everyday and still be in the game of hockey. However, I had just gotten to Detroit and met the team. How could I tell them I was leaving after just one day?
After talking to my parents and some friends back home I called Matt Wiedenhoeft, who has become a close friend of mine over the past year and also my coach in Battle Creek and Detroit. I told him what the job, how it was a salary plus commission based job and that I didn't know what to do. He immediately told me that as a friend he was telling me to take the job, even though he knew how much I would help the team. So after a sleepless night and a practice Thursday morning I called Cardinal to accept the offer. Then I realized that this past weekend would be the last 3 games of my career.
We bussed down to Battle Creek Friday afternoon to play the Revolution that night. It was an awkward feeling walking back into The Rink as a visitor and not walking right into the Revs locker room. The feeling grew as warm ups began and I started seeing several familiar faces in the crowd. During the game it was business as usual, unfortunately we lost in a shootout, but I was credited with 2 assists in the game. We were spending the night in Battle Creek at the same hotel we stayed at during training camp last season and some of the girls I have become friend with came out for a few drinks after the game. I told them that this was my last weekend of hockey and we talked about last year and all the great memories from BC. Intern Kate, Haili, Leah and Misti thank you for being there to see me and have a great time.
The next day we traveled to Chicago to take on the Blaze and more familiar faces were waiting in their dressing room. Kevin Demers and Nigel Hawryliw from last years Battle Creek team are on the Blaze as is Joe Pace, who I played with in Amarillo a couple seasons ago in the Central Hockey League. We lost that game 8-6 after going up 3-1 and 4-3. It sucked because I missed the whole 3rd period with a broken steel on my skate and wasn't able to help out in the 3rd period.
After the game we stayed in town at Hotel Indigo and the next morning it was off to get my skate fixed then onto Chi-Town to play the Shooters. I loved playing there last year because of the olympic size ice sheet that gives you so much more time and space. Unfortunately we didn't come to play and ended up losing 9-2. But I did what I had set out to do and that was to play my ass off and leave nothing in the tank after my last professional game. And even though we lost I actually had fun out there again. I was so tired before the game with it being our 3rd in 3 nights that I didn't know if I was going to be able to have anything in my legs, but I played on pure adrenaline and didn't feel a thing. I played thru a slight separation in my left should that happened in the 2nd period. But there was no way I was telling anyone on the bench that I felt my shoulder pop out and pop back in when I hit a guy behind the net. I left it all out there. And I need to thank my teammates, especially Ryan Webb who told me to stay out on the ice for the last 2:31 of the game. When the final buzzer sounded I picked up the game puck and slowly, very slowly made my way to the locker room. I had a hard time holding it together in the locker room knowing it was the last time I would take off my jersey and skates in my career.
But thru it all I've had an amazing time and met some great people over the past 5 years of this journey. I want to thank Weezy for the past 2 years and guys like Charles Harvey and Brett Aimone who were teammates for the past 3 seasons. Other guys like Nigel and Joe Lyle. Scott McDougall, who got me into the coaching world and now the scouting world. All my buddies from back home in Billerica who have been there since clinic at the Hallenborg all the way thru our Super 8 run in 2002. And most importantly my mother, father and sister; without them I would never have made it this far and I can never thank them enough.
So it's been fun...Thank you all for reading and stay in touch.
It's been a hell of a ride!!!
Hutch-9
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
2009 Neponset Valley River Rats U18
Well we went into the state playoffs with a 19-1-2 overall record and a 10-0-2 league record. We were ranked as high as #2 in the country in certain national polls. We have 6 players committed to Division 1 Colleges and 12 other players all fielding offers from D1 schools, at least 8 of them will join our 6 committed players soon. Our head coach accepted an offer to be an assistant coach at Division 1 Sacred Heart University starting tomorrow morning. We won the Massachusetts Hockey Labor Day Tournament. To say the season was a success would be a huge understatement. But we ended the season 20-3-2, going only 1-2 in the playoffs and not making the state final game. It just wasn't in the cards
It's disappointing not to win the big game or even make it to the big game. From the start of the season everyone in the state thought we would be playing again in April in the National tournament. But through it all, I got to coach 20 great hockey players and more importantly great kids. I saw the determination, the courage and passion these guys play with. They're not getting paid to play the game, their parents are actually paying for them to play. They show up every week, leaving their prep schools and some were driving 3 hours both ways to come play in front of 10-15 scouts a night, some games in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts. All for the chance to get that phone call and hear the offer of a Division 1 school offering them a scholarship to play hockey and get a free education.
It really put things in perspective for me. These kids play for the love of the game. They play because they want to have fun. They come to the rink with their buddies, share some laughs and play a game. When it's over they go their separate ways and remain friends forever. After we lost our last game of the season Saturday night I walked into the locker room to find some kids crying, some in disbelief and some just sitting there with blank looks on their faces. I was emotional talking to the team for the last time ever. I held it together long enough to say my words, shake everyone's hand and say goodbye. Some of those kids have been with our organization for 3 or 4 years and never went to nationals. And I've built friendships with those guys who have been there for so long. I played on a summer hockey team with Ryan Coffey who was a 4 year vet of the Rats, the kid was my linemate. I texted him Sunday morning to thank him for everything he has done for the Rats and he wrote back saying "I just love playing man, I love competing and I never wanna stop doing that. That's why I respect you and you are the best coach I have ever had." To hear a kid say something like that choked me up. To know that I have made a difference in these kids lives is an unbelievable feeling.
I was telling my dad how hard the guys competed and he said "So they were perfect." Which completely threw me for a loop since we lost. He reminded me of the Friday Night Lights line "Play with love in your hearts for the game and your teammates and you'll be perfect." How true is that line?
So now that I'm done with the sentimental talk I'll move on. Earlier I mentioned my buddy and head coach Scott will be coaching at Sacred Heart this season. What I didn't mention is that I have been named the new head coach of the U18 River Rats for next fall. When I was brought on as an assistant 3 years ago I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I coached to have fun with the guys and slowly grew into this role. I can't wait to be the head guy next fall and already promised Scott that if I do make it to Nationals next year I'll have a spot waiting for him at the celebration party.
So there it is, the final write up for the '09 Rats. Good luck to all of you boys who read this blog. I can't wait to watch you guys play in college and beyond. I wouldn't be surprised to see more than one of you in the NHL someday.
And it's onto Detroit for me on Wednesday morning to join the Hitmen. I can't wait to be part of the team and turn things around for them. Hopefully I'll be writing a blog in April about the AAHL champion Detroit Hitmen.
OH!! And how stupid am I to forget to mention that the Neponset Valley River Rats U16 midget team did what their elders could not. On Sunday morning in Foxboro the Rats were led by 15 year old goalie Jon Gillies to a state championship and punched their tickets to Chicago in April for the U16 National tournament!!! Great job boys! Hopefully some of you will be helping me win a state championship and national championship a year from now. Congrats to all of you and 1st year head coach, as well as a former player of mine Frank O'Connor!
It's disappointing not to win the big game or even make it to the big game. From the start of the season everyone in the state thought we would be playing again in April in the National tournament. But through it all, I got to coach 20 great hockey players and more importantly great kids. I saw the determination, the courage and passion these guys play with. They're not getting paid to play the game, their parents are actually paying for them to play. They show up every week, leaving their prep schools and some were driving 3 hours both ways to come play in front of 10-15 scouts a night, some games in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts. All for the chance to get that phone call and hear the offer of a Division 1 school offering them a scholarship to play hockey and get a free education.
It really put things in perspective for me. These kids play for the love of the game. They play because they want to have fun. They come to the rink with their buddies, share some laughs and play a game. When it's over they go their separate ways and remain friends forever. After we lost our last game of the season Saturday night I walked into the locker room to find some kids crying, some in disbelief and some just sitting there with blank looks on their faces. I was emotional talking to the team for the last time ever. I held it together long enough to say my words, shake everyone's hand and say goodbye. Some of those kids have been with our organization for 3 or 4 years and never went to nationals. And I've built friendships with those guys who have been there for so long. I played on a summer hockey team with Ryan Coffey who was a 4 year vet of the Rats, the kid was my linemate. I texted him Sunday morning to thank him for everything he has done for the Rats and he wrote back saying "I just love playing man, I love competing and I never wanna stop doing that. That's why I respect you and you are the best coach I have ever had." To hear a kid say something like that choked me up. To know that I have made a difference in these kids lives is an unbelievable feeling.
I was telling my dad how hard the guys competed and he said "So they were perfect." Which completely threw me for a loop since we lost. He reminded me of the Friday Night Lights line "Play with love in your hearts for the game and your teammates and you'll be perfect." How true is that line?
So now that I'm done with the sentimental talk I'll move on. Earlier I mentioned my buddy and head coach Scott will be coaching at Sacred Heart this season. What I didn't mention is that I have been named the new head coach of the U18 River Rats for next fall. When I was brought on as an assistant 3 years ago I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I coached to have fun with the guys and slowly grew into this role. I can't wait to be the head guy next fall and already promised Scott that if I do make it to Nationals next year I'll have a spot waiting for him at the celebration party.
So there it is, the final write up for the '09 Rats. Good luck to all of you boys who read this blog. I can't wait to watch you guys play in college and beyond. I wouldn't be surprised to see more than one of you in the NHL someday.
And it's onto Detroit for me on Wednesday morning to join the Hitmen. I can't wait to be part of the team and turn things around for them. Hopefully I'll be writing a blog in April about the AAHL champion Detroit Hitmen.
OH!! And how stupid am I to forget to mention that the Neponset Valley River Rats U16 midget team did what their elders could not. On Sunday morning in Foxboro the Rats were led by 15 year old goalie Jon Gillies to a state championship and punched their tickets to Chicago in April for the U16 National tournament!!! Great job boys! Hopefully some of you will be helping me win a state championship and national championship a year from now. Congrats to all of you and 1st year head coach, as well as a former player of mine Frank O'Connor!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Roller Coaster Continues...
Well it's been over a month since my last entry, so I'm sure I've lost a couple readers. But the write ups will be coming much more frequently as I will have plenty to write about for the rest of the season. I have decided to play again this season and will be suiting up for the Detroit Hitmen in the All American Hockey League. It's the same league I played in last year for Battle Creek and I will be playing for the same coach I played for last season as well. Matt Wiedenhoeft is behind the bench of the Hitmen and I am excited to get out there and start up the season. At the very latest I will in a Hitmen uniform by November 20th. I can't wait to get out there and play for Weezy again, as I have previously stated I loved playing for him last year and I'm sure this year will be no different.
The Hitmen have had a rough start to the season going 0-5-0, but are making changes to turn things around and be a winning hockey club by Christmas. When I arrive in Detroit I will be reunited with Charles Harvey and Brett Aimone, who I have played with the past 2 seasons both in Battle Creek and Valley Forge. I'll also see Brad Bohlinger again who was in Battle Creek for a bit with me last year also.
But before I get ahead of myself telling you how awesome it'll be in Detroit I cannot forget to mention how great of a season the Neponset Valley River Rats U18 team is having. At last update we were 12-0-1 and taking the country by storm. We finished our regular season this afternoon with a record of 19-1-2. By far the best season we have ever had. Myself and head coach Scott McDougall are very happy with what we have gotten out of this group. We've been tough on them this season, but only because we know what we can get out of them every night. Next weekend we will enter our state playoffs with a 10-0-2 record in the league and play a round robin style tournament against the top 4 teams in the Mass Select League. The finals are Sunday and the winner goes to Nationals in April. There's not much more to be said about that... Everyone in the league wants to go to Nationals, we've been the favorite since August 30th.
We'll see what we can get out of them next Friday-Sunday. And I'll be sure to keep you posted. Also for those of you on twitter you can follow me at http://twitter.com/JonHutcheon
-Hutch-
The Hitmen have had a rough start to the season going 0-5-0, but are making changes to turn things around and be a winning hockey club by Christmas. When I arrive in Detroit I will be reunited with Charles Harvey and Brett Aimone, who I have played with the past 2 seasons both in Battle Creek and Valley Forge. I'll also see Brad Bohlinger again who was in Battle Creek for a bit with me last year also.
But before I get ahead of myself telling you how awesome it'll be in Detroit I cannot forget to mention how great of a season the Neponset Valley River Rats U18 team is having. At last update we were 12-0-1 and taking the country by storm. We finished our regular season this afternoon with a record of 19-1-2. By far the best season we have ever had. Myself and head coach Scott McDougall are very happy with what we have gotten out of this group. We've been tough on them this season, but only because we know what we can get out of them every night. Next weekend we will enter our state playoffs with a 10-0-2 record in the league and play a round robin style tournament against the top 4 teams in the Mass Select League. The finals are Sunday and the winner goes to Nationals in April. There's not much more to be said about that... Everyone in the league wants to go to Nationals, we've been the favorite since August 30th.
We'll see what we can get out of them next Friday-Sunday. And I'll be sure to keep you posted. Also for those of you on twitter you can follow me at http://twitter.com/JonHutcheon
-Hutch-
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Updates....
Well since the last time I wrote plenty has happened. Most importantly the River Rats are still rolling thru the league with a record of 12-0-1. We've had 4 league games the past 2 weekends and remain undefeated, that mark will be put to the test this Sunday against my former Midget team the Central Mass Outlaws. Last weekend (my birthday weekend) the boys put on two very impressive displays beating the Valley Jr. Warriors 6-1 on Saturday and then giving me a nice birthday present by beating the Dual State Huskies 14-0. For those who need to re-read that it does say 14. This past weekend we played a very solid District 10 Bulldogs team that challenged us and we scraped by with a 5-4 win, we will most likely be seeing them again in the state playoffs. And then disposed of the South Shore Dynamos at home on Sunday 7-3. We keep telling the boys that they have to come out to play hard every game, teams in the area know we are ranked in the top 5 in the country and are really gunning for us.
This has been the best start for us since I started coaching 3 years ago and in the previous seasons we have had 4 draft picks and about 20 kids go to Division 1 colleges, so you can imagine how talented this group is. As coaches we want the kids to succeed and move onto the colleges of their choice, but at the same time a trip to Nationals would be nice. And a National Championship would be even better, both for the team and for us as coaches in the hockey world.
As all of you know I signed with the Evansville IceMen back in August. What you don't know is that I have asked for my release and will be officially released October 17th, one week into training camp. It's been a rocky road to get to this point and I was very excited to be an IceMan this season and play in front of the fans and be a part of that family. But hockey is a business and myself and the organization never saw eye to eye on the contract negotiations that were ongoing. So as a 4th year guy I knew I had to get out of there. What's next for me is a mystery even to myself.
For the first time in 5 years I won't be at a professional hockey training camp to start the season and it is a very weird feeling. At this point in my career I am trying to figure out if I want to continue to play or if the time has come to hang em up and move on. Hockey has always been fun and a game for me and I want to make sure it stays that way. I won't play just for the status of being a hockey player or any other reason, other than it is fun and what I want to do.
I have been working hockey clinics lately with the River Rat organization with their Mites-Bantam teams and I love getting out there with the young guys and teaching them. At that age the score doesn't matter, no one cares what your plus/minus was and no one is going to call you into the GM's office to talk about your contract and that you're not living up to your money. It is a game and that is what hockey is supposed to be. From Mites all the way up to the professional ranks.
So if I do decide to play this year it will be because I want to have fun, have a smile on my face and obviously win a championship.
Til next time....
Hutch
This has been the best start for us since I started coaching 3 years ago and in the previous seasons we have had 4 draft picks and about 20 kids go to Division 1 colleges, so you can imagine how talented this group is. As coaches we want the kids to succeed and move onto the colleges of their choice, but at the same time a trip to Nationals would be nice. And a National Championship would be even better, both for the team and for us as coaches in the hockey world.
As all of you know I signed with the Evansville IceMen back in August. What you don't know is that I have asked for my release and will be officially released October 17th, one week into training camp. It's been a rocky road to get to this point and I was very excited to be an IceMan this season and play in front of the fans and be a part of that family. But hockey is a business and myself and the organization never saw eye to eye on the contract negotiations that were ongoing. So as a 4th year guy I knew I had to get out of there. What's next for me is a mystery even to myself.
For the first time in 5 years I won't be at a professional hockey training camp to start the season and it is a very weird feeling. At this point in my career I am trying to figure out if I want to continue to play or if the time has come to hang em up and move on. Hockey has always been fun and a game for me and I want to make sure it stays that way. I won't play just for the status of being a hockey player or any other reason, other than it is fun and what I want to do.
I have been working hockey clinics lately with the River Rat organization with their Mites-Bantam teams and I love getting out there with the young guys and teaching them. At that age the score doesn't matter, no one cares what your plus/minus was and no one is going to call you into the GM's office to talk about your contract and that you're not living up to your money. It is a game and that is what hockey is supposed to be. From Mites all the way up to the professional ranks.
So if I do decide to play this year it will be because I want to have fun, have a smile on my face and obviously win a championship.
Til next time....
Hutch
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
So while everyone was throwing and attending end of the summer parties, I was in a rink all weekend. The 2009-10 Neponset Valley River Rats Tier 1 Midget AAA season has begun. It started last Monday with practices and continued thru this Monday. We have a whole new team this year with only 4 guys back from last season. Myself and my buddy Scott McDougall brought in the best hockey players born in 1991-1993 we could find and we found some great talent. Guys on our team are committed to Wisconsin, Princeton, Brown and Union; with more guys who will be committing soon.
We had 2 good practices then played a league game Wednesday and a scrimmage game Thursday. Wednesday we beat the Western Mass Blades 12-0 at home. Then we played the South Shore Kings of the Eastern Junior Hockey League on Thursday at home and beat them 4-3. The Kings are a junior A team that are being looked at as the best team in their league. It was a great game to coach and we came back from a 3-1 deficit halfway thru the game. After those 2 games we were onto the Tier 1 Faceoff in Marlboro, MA. We beat the Phantom Fireworks 6-0 in a mercy rule shortened game Friday, they had been moved up a division due to a team backing out last minute and their goalie played great. On Friday we played the Boston Little Bruins, who knocked us out of the tournament in the semi finals last year. We beat them 4-2 and it felt good to get a little revenge. That night we had to play the Cape Cod Whalers in a tournament/league game so it was a very important game. After being up the entire game and taking it to them all night we blew a 3-0 lead within the last 5 minutes of the game and ended up tying 3-3. It was a tough one to swallow, but luckily we bounced back on Sunday. We started off with a 4-2 win over the Western NY Selects and finished round robin play with a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Colonials. Finishing 4-0-1 record in the tourney ranked us first in our bracket and gave us a semi final matchup against the always strong Mid-Fairfield Black team.
Two years ago in the tournament Mid-Fairfield gave us one of our worst losses by mercy ruling us 7-1. It was something we made sure to tell the boys about before the game and as fate would have it we won the game by the same 7-1 score ending the game by mercy rule. The win set up a rematch against the Whalers and we wanted to win badly. We have never won the tournament, winning it would set us up nicely for a number 1 ranking in the country and also avenge our previous tie.
It's funny I've played in alot of big games and I've never been very nervous. But when you're coaching and can't get out there to control the play and all you can do is tell guys when to change up or offer advice it's a totally different feeling. You can do everything you can to get the guys ready, but then it's up to them. The first period we were all over them but couldn't score and were down 2-0 after the 1st. We were able to get 1 in the 2nd and hold them off the board to end the 2nd period down 2-1. Then the 3rd period was all us. We scored a short handed goal to tie it up with about 13 minutes left and then took it to them hard. We finally scored the eventual game winner on a bomb from defenseman Kyle Quick with about 5 minutes left and were able to hold on for the win.
So as it stands now we are 8-0-1 with a couple weeks off so guys can move into prep school and deal with school activities the first few weekends. I'll be sure to keep you updated when the national rankings come out.
We had 2 good practices then played a league game Wednesday and a scrimmage game Thursday. Wednesday we beat the Western Mass Blades 12-0 at home. Then we played the South Shore Kings of the Eastern Junior Hockey League on Thursday at home and beat them 4-3. The Kings are a junior A team that are being looked at as the best team in their league. It was a great game to coach and we came back from a 3-1 deficit halfway thru the game. After those 2 games we were onto the Tier 1 Faceoff in Marlboro, MA. We beat the Phantom Fireworks 6-0 in a mercy rule shortened game Friday, they had been moved up a division due to a team backing out last minute and their goalie played great. On Friday we played the Boston Little Bruins, who knocked us out of the tournament in the semi finals last year. We beat them 4-2 and it felt good to get a little revenge. That night we had to play the Cape Cod Whalers in a tournament/league game so it was a very important game. After being up the entire game and taking it to them all night we blew a 3-0 lead within the last 5 minutes of the game and ended up tying 3-3. It was a tough one to swallow, but luckily we bounced back on Sunday. We started off with a 4-2 win over the Western NY Selects and finished round robin play with a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Colonials. Finishing 4-0-1 record in the tourney ranked us first in our bracket and gave us a semi final matchup against the always strong Mid-Fairfield Black team.
Two years ago in the tournament Mid-Fairfield gave us one of our worst losses by mercy ruling us 7-1. It was something we made sure to tell the boys about before the game and as fate would have it we won the game by the same 7-1 score ending the game by mercy rule. The win set up a rematch against the Whalers and we wanted to win badly. We have never won the tournament, winning it would set us up nicely for a number 1 ranking in the country and also avenge our previous tie.
It's funny I've played in alot of big games and I've never been very nervous. But when you're coaching and can't get out there to control the play and all you can do is tell guys when to change up or offer advice it's a totally different feeling. You can do everything you can to get the guys ready, but then it's up to them. The first period we were all over them but couldn't score and were down 2-0 after the 1st. We were able to get 1 in the 2nd and hold them off the board to end the 2nd period down 2-1. Then the 3rd period was all us. We scored a short handed goal to tie it up with about 13 minutes left and then took it to them hard. We finally scored the eventual game winner on a bomb from defenseman Kyle Quick with about 5 minutes left and were able to hold on for the win.
So as it stands now we are 8-0-1 with a couple weeks off so guys can move into prep school and deal with school activities the first few weekends. I'll be sure to keep you updated when the national rankings come out.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Concerts and Championships
Well I promised to give you a write up about Countryfest 2 weeks ago and never got around to it. In the mean time I also found my way to the Bruce Springsteen concert this past Saturday. Two Saturdays, 6 bands and artists; pretty good couple of Saturdays if you ask me. At Countryfest I missed Lady Antebellum because I was in the parking lot with a few hockey guys that I hadn't seen in a while, but I heard I didn't miss too much. Either way I wish I had gotten the chance to see them. Miranda Lambert and Montgomery Gentry put on good shows also with tons of energy and good songs. Miranda doesn't know it yet, but she's my future ex wife for sure! Sugarland was on before Kenny and for a minute there I thought they had stolen the show. I had heard they were incredible live, but those words don't do them any justice. They had Gillette Stadium rocking and I swear the ground was shaking during some songs. Jennifer Nettles has an amazingly powerful voice and a killer body to go with it.
But then came the big one, Kenny Chesney. He opened the show by coming up thru the ground on a swing seat at the 50 yard line singing "Live Those Songs Again" and rode the seat all the way to the endzone where the stage was, the guy knows how to put on a great show. This was my second time seeing him and he was better this time than the first. Just the energy he puts into his shows is unmatched. I've seen alot of the big country bands and artists over the past few years (Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Big and Rich x2, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts x3, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift) but no one comes close to Kenny. He has this amazing talent of having 70,000 people going crazy with his country rock, then in the matter of seconds he slows it down to some love and reflection songs and has 70,000 feel like an intimate 700, then he's back at it finishing the show rocking out with songs about Boston and everything that reminds you about growing up. It was truly amazing.
Then this past Saturday I had the pleasure of heading to Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA to see the Boss. At first I was hesitant to go, but then I remembered songs like "Dancin' in the Dark, Glory Days and Born in the USA. I knew I had to go. My dad was telling me stories that he was one of the greats of his time and now I know why. He was great live and played for almost 3 hours. He rocked it every minute he was on stage.
But now to the big topic. Championship. I was thinking about it on my way to the gym tonight and realized that the first few years of my professional career that the months leading up to training camp I just wanted to make the team and have a good year personally. But now, turning 25 next month, I don't know how many more years are left in my career and I want to win a championship. I want to lead Evansville to a Champions Cup, get a ring, have a huge party, be on the ice with 20 brothers celebrating in front of 2000 people at Swonder Arena. Only a select few players each year can say they were tops in their league. And that is my goal this year. Set the personal goals aside, obviously I still have personal goals, but now my personal goals lead to a team goal. Being the last one standing in April or May. Win our last game.
-Hutch-
But then came the big one, Kenny Chesney. He opened the show by coming up thru the ground on a swing seat at the 50 yard line singing "Live Those Songs Again" and rode the seat all the way to the endzone where the stage was, the guy knows how to put on a great show. This was my second time seeing him and he was better this time than the first. Just the energy he puts into his shows is unmatched. I've seen alot of the big country bands and artists over the past few years (Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Big and Rich x2, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts x3, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift) but no one comes close to Kenny. He has this amazing talent of having 70,000 people going crazy with his country rock, then in the matter of seconds he slows it down to some love and reflection songs and has 70,000 feel like an intimate 700, then he's back at it finishing the show rocking out with songs about Boston and everything that reminds you about growing up. It was truly amazing.
Then this past Saturday I had the pleasure of heading to Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA to see the Boss. At first I was hesitant to go, but then I remembered songs like "Dancin' in the Dark, Glory Days and Born in the USA. I knew I had to go. My dad was telling me stories that he was one of the greats of his time and now I know why. He was great live and played for almost 3 hours. He rocked it every minute he was on stage.
But now to the big topic. Championship. I was thinking about it on my way to the gym tonight and realized that the first few years of my professional career that the months leading up to training camp I just wanted to make the team and have a good year personally. But now, turning 25 next month, I don't know how many more years are left in my career and I want to win a championship. I want to lead Evansville to a Champions Cup, get a ring, have a huge party, be on the ice with 20 brothers celebrating in front of 2000 people at Swonder Arena. Only a select few players each year can say they were tops in their league. And that is my goal this year. Set the personal goals aside, obviously I still have personal goals, but now my personal goals lead to a team goal. Being the last one standing in April or May. Win our last game.
-Hutch-
Friday, August 14, 2009
Country Fest!!!
The best weekend in New England is upon us, tomorrow 70,000 country fans will embark on Gillette stadium for Kenny Chesney's Country Fest. It's one of the best times of the summer, this year the concert sold out in 15 minutes. Can you imagine that many tickets selling that quickly? That's insane. I'll be one of the fans in attendance and be partying in the parking lot before it starts. Country music is huge among the hockey players in this area and we also are some of the best partiers so you know it'll be a great time.
Kenny Chesney will be the last on stage, but before that will be Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry and Lady Antebellum. It's an all day event and like I said will be an absolute blast. I will try to upload some pictures onto the blog on Sunday and will write a blog with all the highlights of the event when I do that.
Hutch
Kenny Chesney will be the last on stage, but before that will be Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry and Lady Antebellum. It's an all day event and like I said will be an absolute blast. I will try to upload some pictures onto the blog on Sunday and will write a blog with all the highlights of the event when I do that.
Hutch
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Summer winding down
Hey everyone, it's been such a long time since I have gotten on here to write. It's not that I don't have time or don't want to, it's just been that I haven't had much to talk about. For the past 8 weeks it's been pretty much the same thing Monday thru Thursday on the ice 3 hours a day and getting ready for this season. It's been a long summer of wondering where I would be playing and that wondering has come to an end. I signed with the Evansville Icemen of the AAHL yesterday afternoon. I'm extremely excited to get there and start the season. I remember playing there last season in front of sold out crowds whether it was a Friday night or Sunday afternoon. The fans are really into the team, they have great ownership and they just hired a great coach. Right now it seems like the best fit for me and I couldn't be happier. Going down there with me will be my roommates from last season Brett Riley and Mario Passarelli. Those two along with Ryan Huggett and Steve Koich are out here in Boston for the rest of the summer to skate and train together until we all leave.
Away from hockey it's been a great summer so far hanging out with the boys, heading to the beach and going out on the weekends. I went down to Martha's Vineyard a couple weekends ago for a summer tourney with a some buddies. The tournament had 10 teams with guys from around Mass that play in college and pro leagues. It was one of the best times I've ever had and the hockey was good as well. Some highlights were riding around on mopeds we rented, swimming in the ocean at 2am and of course dancing and making fools of ourselves all night. Picture 12 hockey players trying to dance to rap music, no matter how graceful we are on the ice it doesn't usually transfer onto the dance floor.
Well that's it for now. I'm sure I'll be writing much more often as the season approaches and straight thru the season as well. I want to say hello to any Evansville fans that may be reading this for the first time and feel free to email me any questions!
Hutch
Away from hockey it's been a great summer so far hanging out with the boys, heading to the beach and going out on the weekends. I went down to Martha's Vineyard a couple weekends ago for a summer tourney with a some buddies. The tournament had 10 teams with guys from around Mass that play in college and pro leagues. It was one of the best times I've ever had and the hockey was good as well. Some highlights were riding around on mopeds we rented, swimming in the ocean at 2am and of course dancing and making fools of ourselves all night. Picture 12 hockey players trying to dance to rap music, no matter how graceful we are on the ice it doesn't usually transfer onto the dance floor.
Well that's it for now. I'm sure I'll be writing much more often as the season approaches and straight thru the season as well. I want to say hello to any Evansville fans that may be reading this for the first time and feel free to email me any questions!
Hutch
Friday, June 5, 2009
Superstitions, Summer and a New Hobby
What's up everyone. It's been another long time since I've been on and some people have been wondering when a new post will be up. Along with that question I have gotten some emails from readers asking me questions about superstitions, whether I have any and what I like to do on gamedays. So I'll start with the superstitions question; I think you can ask any hockey player out there if they have superstitions and everyone will have the same outcome. "I don't think of the as superstitions, more so just a routine." Personally, I call it a routine because I think sometimes if you get so wrapped up in your superstitions you lose track of the bigger picture, the game. For me game days start the same way, wake up and have a good breakfast then go to pregame skate if we have one. Get the blood going, get a feel for the puck and loosen the legs. After lunch and a nap I head to the rink about 2.5 hours before the game starts. At the rink I'm always loose, I'll tape my sticks, get a good stretch and then just hang out til it's time to get ready for warmups. I know some guys who have to do certain things at certain times and get mentally ready for a game, but that doesn't work for me. It's all about doing what you need to do personally to get ready for a game.
With the calendar turning to June this past week the summer workouts have picked up and some teams are starting to show interest for next season. It's still really early in the contract period so I'm trying not to think about it too much or else I'll go crazy. Some guys are getting back from college and I'll be hanging out with them in the weeks to come. My summer gets pretty busy on June 22nd when my summer job of shooting pucks on goalies starts. Some of the best goalies around are on the ice throughout the day and we shoot for anywhere from 2-4 hours Monday thru Thursday, if you were to count the amount of pucks we shoot a day it would probably add up to about 1000 pucks a week. It's a fun job, it keeps me on the ice with quality goalies and great guys.
My newest hobby as of late has been betting on horse racing. My old roommate Joe Lyle got me into it and it's pretty fun. It gives you a good adrenaline rush everytime you watch your horse go to the gate. The good thing about it is it has kept me out of trouble and I'm not going out nearly as much as I went out last summer. With the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown going off tomorrrow I'm staying in tonight doing some last minute homework for the Belmont Stakes tomorrow night. Personally I like Summer Bird to at least show, if not better and you have to like Mine That Bird after jockey Calvin Borel guaranteed victory earlier this week.
Also what a great series the Stanley Cup Finals has turned into. I picked Pittsburgh in 6 at the start of the series and it's looking pretty good so far for the Pens. Crosby and Malkin have been unreal this post season, but the guy I like right now is Kris Letang who is having a great series. Not to take anything away from Abdelkader's 2 goals in the first two games of the series, not bad for the rookie from Michigan State.
Hutch
With the calendar turning to June this past week the summer workouts have picked up and some teams are starting to show interest for next season. It's still really early in the contract period so I'm trying not to think about it too much or else I'll go crazy. Some guys are getting back from college and I'll be hanging out with them in the weeks to come. My summer gets pretty busy on June 22nd when my summer job of shooting pucks on goalies starts. Some of the best goalies around are on the ice throughout the day and we shoot for anywhere from 2-4 hours Monday thru Thursday, if you were to count the amount of pucks we shoot a day it would probably add up to about 1000 pucks a week. It's a fun job, it keeps me on the ice with quality goalies and great guys.
My newest hobby as of late has been betting on horse racing. My old roommate Joe Lyle got me into it and it's pretty fun. It gives you a good adrenaline rush everytime you watch your horse go to the gate. The good thing about it is it has kept me out of trouble and I'm not going out nearly as much as I went out last summer. With the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown going off tomorrrow I'm staying in tonight doing some last minute homework for the Belmont Stakes tomorrow night. Personally I like Summer Bird to at least show, if not better and you have to like Mine That Bird after jockey Calvin Borel guaranteed victory earlier this week.
Also what a great series the Stanley Cup Finals has turned into. I picked Pittsburgh in 6 at the start of the series and it's looking pretty good so far for the Pens. Crosby and Malkin have been unreal this post season, but the guy I like right now is Kris Letang who is having a great series. Not to take anything away from Abdelkader's 2 goals in the first two games of the series, not bad for the rookie from Michigan State.
Hutch
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Why Do You???
Recently I was reading the May, 4, 2009 Sports Illustrated and as I was flipping thru the magazine I came across an article about surfer Kelly Slater. I'm not a surfer, nor do I follow Kelly Slater but something caught my eye and I started to read the article. It talks about how great of a surfer he is and how he has been a world champion 6 times in his career. But after a little bit of time away from the waves, Kelly wanted to return. He wanted more. "Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress that way? Why do you do that job? Why are you married? Why are you alone? Why do you compete? Why can't you let go? No, c'mon...why, really?" That was part of the article and it got me thinking on how I would answer those questions.
I won't bore you with answers to why I dress the way I do, why I'm alone or why I can't let go. But I do what I do because it's fun and natural to me. I work for at most 14 hours a week during the season and get paid for playing a game. Not many people can say that they are living a dream. But I think the biggest question to answer is "Why do you compete?"... I think competing is something that everyone does everyday of our lives. Some compete against co-workers or classmates, others like us compete against teammates and other players. But in the off season, you can't compete against teammates or other teams.
So who do we compete against in the summer? Thousands of free agents are out there calling their agents or doing the dirty work on their own to line up a contract for next season. At the same time we're all in the gym, at the track, and on the ice all summer to make sure we're ready come training camp. You have to motivate yourself though, you don't have a roommate waking you up in the morning to head to practice or staying on you to go to that optional lift in the afternoon. I choose to compete against myself everyday. Each week I want to lift more than I did the week before and run or bike a little further. So far I'm halfway thru week 7 of the summer workouts and have so far to go, but it's worth it.
The summer is a time of fun, but can also be stressful for a free agent. You get to see all your buddies and head to the beach, but at the same time you wonder where next season will take you and when you'll sign your contract. You wonder who it will be with, where it will be, how much it will be for. So for all the excitement this nice weather brings, it also brings some drama into our often stress free lives.
I won't bore you with answers to why I dress the way I do, why I'm alone or why I can't let go. But I do what I do because it's fun and natural to me. I work for at most 14 hours a week during the season and get paid for playing a game. Not many people can say that they are living a dream. But I think the biggest question to answer is "Why do you compete?"... I think competing is something that everyone does everyday of our lives. Some compete against co-workers or classmates, others like us compete against teammates and other players. But in the off season, you can't compete against teammates or other teams.
So who do we compete against in the summer? Thousands of free agents are out there calling their agents or doing the dirty work on their own to line up a contract for next season. At the same time we're all in the gym, at the track, and on the ice all summer to make sure we're ready come training camp. You have to motivate yourself though, you don't have a roommate waking you up in the morning to head to practice or staying on you to go to that optional lift in the afternoon. I choose to compete against myself everyday. Each week I want to lift more than I did the week before and run or bike a little further. So far I'm halfway thru week 7 of the summer workouts and have so far to go, but it's worth it.
The summer is a time of fun, but can also be stressful for a free agent. You get to see all your buddies and head to the beach, but at the same time you wonder where next season will take you and when you'll sign your contract. You wonder who it will be with, where it will be, how much it will be for. So for all the excitement this nice weather brings, it also brings some drama into our often stress free lives.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
NHL Playoffs
Is there a better day a year than today? No I don't mean Tax day in the USA, I'm talking about the first day of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The possibilities are endless for all 16 teams who start the second and most important season of the year. Will there be any Cinderella stories this year? Will an underachieving team through the regular season come to life now? What about a team who limped their way into the post season, will they bounce back and find their true form?
In the East:
#1 Boston Bruins vs #8 Montreal Canadiens
In a repeat match-up from last years first round the roles are reversed. Last year Montreal came in as the #2 seed and heavy favorites after going undefeated against the B's last season. This year Boston went 5-0-1 against Montreal and are the big favorites not only in this series, but in the Eastern Conference. I think (albeit a biased opinion) the Bruins will take the series in 5 or 6 games.
#2 Washington Capitals vs #7 New York Rangers
I got my wish of not having to play the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. Washington's offense is much more potent than NYR having scored 62 more goals in the regular season. With Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin leading the way up front and Mike Green patrolling the blue line I think there is only one way the Rangers will win this series; Jose Theodore lays an egg and Henrik Lundqvist plays out of his mind at the other end for the entire series.
#3 New Jersey Devils vs #6 Carolina Hurricanes
This series will be a great one to watch in my eyes. Both teams have great leadership in the dressing room and have been deep in the playoffs recently. Will the Devils find their game that had them in contention for the #1 overall seed for most of the season? If they do then I think they can win the series in 5 games. But what if the Devils play like they did the last 15 games or so? Where they appeared to shut it down and limp into the playoffs, if that happens then look for Carolina to take it in 6.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Philadelphia Flyers
Oh boy did the Flyers drop the ball on the last day of the regular season or what? All they needed was to hang on for one more game and they would have had home ice for the series. Instead they allow the Penguins to come into their building, win the game and take home ice from them. The Pens are one of the hottest teams in the league right now going 18-3-4 in their last 25 games. With Malkin and Crosby leading the way, I think the Penguins are a very dangerous team to play now.
And In the West:
#1 San Jose Sharks vs #8 Anaheim Ducks
The Sharks, winner's of the President's Trophy this season, are so deep everywhere you look this season. It's tough to go against them in this first round battle. Although if anyone can knock them off it is the Ducks. With guys like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan leading the way they're a very dangerous team to play against. Factor in Joe Thornton's inability to be a big time player in the playoffs in years past and an upset may be brewing. But don't bet on it. I think San Jose will squeak past the Ducks in 6.
#2 Detroit Red Wings vs #7 Columbus Blue Jackets
The obvious favorite for most people would be the Red Wings, however the Blue Jackets played the Wings tight all season. The Blue Jackets freshed face playoff outlook may not know the Goliath they are up against. Steve Mason was one of the best goalies in the league as a rookie and I think it will take it to another level in his first ever playoff series. But how can you really argue against the defending Cup champs and all the talent they have? I think Detroit will take the series in 7 games.
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs #6 St. Louis Blues
Two of the hottest 2nd half teams in the league play each other in the first round and I bet 6 other Western Conference teams are happy they don't have to see either one of them first thing in the playoffs. The Blues have the NHL's best 2nd half record at 25-9-7, while the Canucks were 23-7-2 in their last 32 games. Talk about a great playoff match-up. I don't know who will walk away with this one, I think it's going to go all 7 games. If Roberto Luongo can play up to his expectations he's a very tough goalie to beat, but don't forget about Chris Mason in net for the Blues who has been unbelievable as of late to help the Blues with their late season playoff run.
#4 Chicago Blackhawks vs #5 Calgary Flames
This is another series that will be a great one to watch. I keep going back and forth on who I think will win. Calgary has the playoff experience, but they also had a bad end to the season. Jarome Iginla hasn't been as dominate as he has been in seasons past and Olli Jokinen has been a non factor since he was traded there. On the other side Chicago has virtually no playoff experience, but may be able to ride Nikolai Khabibulin thru this series. Also Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane can be incredible together along with a great supporting cast, they may be able to blow past the Flames.
So there you have it folks! The first round of the playoffs starts tonight. The anticipation is better than Christmas Eve when you wonder what you may unwrap the next morning.
In the East:
#1 Boston Bruins vs #8 Montreal Canadiens
In a repeat match-up from last years first round the roles are reversed. Last year Montreal came in as the #2 seed and heavy favorites after going undefeated against the B's last season. This year Boston went 5-0-1 against Montreal and are the big favorites not only in this series, but in the Eastern Conference. I think (albeit a biased opinion) the Bruins will take the series in 5 or 6 games.
#2 Washington Capitals vs #7 New York Rangers
I got my wish of not having to play the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. Washington's offense is much more potent than NYR having scored 62 more goals in the regular season. With Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin leading the way up front and Mike Green patrolling the blue line I think there is only one way the Rangers will win this series; Jose Theodore lays an egg and Henrik Lundqvist plays out of his mind at the other end for the entire series.
#3 New Jersey Devils vs #6 Carolina Hurricanes
This series will be a great one to watch in my eyes. Both teams have great leadership in the dressing room and have been deep in the playoffs recently. Will the Devils find their game that had them in contention for the #1 overall seed for most of the season? If they do then I think they can win the series in 5 games. But what if the Devils play like they did the last 15 games or so? Where they appeared to shut it down and limp into the playoffs, if that happens then look for Carolina to take it in 6.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Philadelphia Flyers
Oh boy did the Flyers drop the ball on the last day of the regular season or what? All they needed was to hang on for one more game and they would have had home ice for the series. Instead they allow the Penguins to come into their building, win the game and take home ice from them. The Pens are one of the hottest teams in the league right now going 18-3-4 in their last 25 games. With Malkin and Crosby leading the way, I think the Penguins are a very dangerous team to play now.
And In the West:
#1 San Jose Sharks vs #8 Anaheim Ducks
The Sharks, winner's of the President's Trophy this season, are so deep everywhere you look this season. It's tough to go against them in this first round battle. Although if anyone can knock them off it is the Ducks. With guys like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan leading the way they're a very dangerous team to play against. Factor in Joe Thornton's inability to be a big time player in the playoffs in years past and an upset may be brewing. But don't bet on it. I think San Jose will squeak past the Ducks in 6.
#2 Detroit Red Wings vs #7 Columbus Blue Jackets
The obvious favorite for most people would be the Red Wings, however the Blue Jackets played the Wings tight all season. The Blue Jackets freshed face playoff outlook may not know the Goliath they are up against. Steve Mason was one of the best goalies in the league as a rookie and I think it will take it to another level in his first ever playoff series. But how can you really argue against the defending Cup champs and all the talent they have? I think Detroit will take the series in 7 games.
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs #6 St. Louis Blues
Two of the hottest 2nd half teams in the league play each other in the first round and I bet 6 other Western Conference teams are happy they don't have to see either one of them first thing in the playoffs. The Blues have the NHL's best 2nd half record at 25-9-7, while the Canucks were 23-7-2 in their last 32 games. Talk about a great playoff match-up. I don't know who will walk away with this one, I think it's going to go all 7 games. If Roberto Luongo can play up to his expectations he's a very tough goalie to beat, but don't forget about Chris Mason in net for the Blues who has been unbelievable as of late to help the Blues with their late season playoff run.
#4 Chicago Blackhawks vs #5 Calgary Flames
This is another series that will be a great one to watch. I keep going back and forth on who I think will win. Calgary has the playoff experience, but they also had a bad end to the season. Jarome Iginla hasn't been as dominate as he has been in seasons past and Olli Jokinen has been a non factor since he was traded there. On the other side Chicago has virtually no playoff experience, but may be able to ride Nikolai Khabibulin thru this series. Also Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane can be incredible together along with a great supporting cast, they may be able to blow past the Flames.
So there you have it folks! The first round of the playoffs starts tonight. The anticipation is better than Christmas Eve when you wonder what you may unwrap the next morning.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
You're Gunna Miss This
There's a country song that is titled "You're Gunna Miss This" by Trace Adkins, part of the chorus says "You're gunna miss this, you're gunna want this back, you're gunna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast, cuz these are some good times so take a good look around you may not know it now but you're gunna miss this." When I hear that song I think about the way my life is; when you're in your twenties and just having a good time. Tonight I was watching tv and getting game updates via text message from the Chi-Town/Battle Creek 5th game in the AAHA championship series. The song came on tv and I was thinking about all the good memories I had out in B.C. this season and even though Battle Creek didn't win the game I'm still proud of all those guys and what they accomplished this season. I also have to say congratulations to the Shooters, particularly Nigel Hawryliw who won his 2nd professional ring tonight, Alex Motley who was a teammate/roommate of mine last season and Brian Jacque who is a Massachusetts boy and has been dying to get his name in the blog since training camp this year. Both Jaco and Mots are celebrating their first championships tonight.
With tonight being the end of the All American Hockey Association's season I can put an end to the scoreboard watching to see how the Revs are doing. Now I can focus on the '09-'10 season. I don't have a clue where I'll be playing yet, but have a few leads. Maybe I'll be back in the AAHA or somewhere overseas or in a "AA" league here in the United States. As far as I'm concerned tomorrow is the first day of the new season. So once again congrats to the Shooters, but also congrats to everyone involved in the Battle Creek Revolution organization.
I'm going to go on record here and make some predictions for the Frozen Four that takes place next weekend in Washington, DC. I would make a prediction about the NCAA Basketball Final Four, but I didn't watch a minute of it this year so who cares. I think the Miami Red Hawks will beat Bemidji State and faceoff in the finals against Boston University, who should beat UVM in an Hockey East semi-final. BU I think will be too strong for Miami and should win the whole thing. BU is just too strong of a team to be knocked off at this point, they are built like a professional hockey team.
In other big hockey news my hometown Boston Bruins clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference yesterday with a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers. The game could be an early preview to a first round playoff match-up as the Rangers are tied for 8th place right now with the Florida Panthers. As a Bruins fan I'd rather see them play the Panthers, I think NYR is a very dangerous team with tons of playoff saavy players like Scott Gomez, Markus Nasland, Chris Drury and Wade Redden. Plus they have uber pest Sean Avery, who I love to watch play when he can keep his mouth shut.
AAHA fans stay in touch with me this off season thru emails and reading the blog.
Thanks for everything this season to everyone in Battle Creek. Weezy, Nigel, Demers, Wader, Huggs, Bart Really, the whole team, Kaitlin, Haili, Doc Joe, Joe K and everyone else that I'm forgetting.
With tonight being the end of the All American Hockey Association's season I can put an end to the scoreboard watching to see how the Revs are doing. Now I can focus on the '09-'10 season. I don't have a clue where I'll be playing yet, but have a few leads. Maybe I'll be back in the AAHA or somewhere overseas or in a "AA" league here in the United States. As far as I'm concerned tomorrow is the first day of the new season. So once again congrats to the Shooters, but also congrats to everyone involved in the Battle Creek Revolution organization.
I'm going to go on record here and make some predictions for the Frozen Four that takes place next weekend in Washington, DC. I would make a prediction about the NCAA Basketball Final Four, but I didn't watch a minute of it this year so who cares. I think the Miami Red Hawks will beat Bemidji State and faceoff in the finals against Boston University, who should beat UVM in an Hockey East semi-final. BU I think will be too strong for Miami and should win the whole thing. BU is just too strong of a team to be knocked off at this point, they are built like a professional hockey team.
In other big hockey news my hometown Boston Bruins clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference yesterday with a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers. The game could be an early preview to a first round playoff match-up as the Rangers are tied for 8th place right now with the Florida Panthers. As a Bruins fan I'd rather see them play the Panthers, I think NYR is a very dangerous team with tons of playoff saavy players like Scott Gomez, Markus Nasland, Chris Drury and Wade Redden. Plus they have uber pest Sean Avery, who I love to watch play when he can keep his mouth shut.
AAHA fans stay in touch with me this off season thru emails and reading the blog.
Thanks for everything this season to everyone in Battle Creek. Weezy, Nigel, Demers, Wader, Huggs, Bart Really, the whole team, Kaitlin, Haili, Doc Joe, Joe K and everyone else that I'm forgetting.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Spring is here.....Kinda
Hey everyone, it's been a long month and I should have been writing more but I guess I got a little lazy here. Spring is in the air here in Boston, but you never know when that will change and it'll be 30 degrees again for a couple days. Minor league hockey playoffs are starting up and in the AAHA Battle Creek swept Evansville 2 games to none and Chi-Town swept Chicago also 2-0. So the Revs will faceoff against the Shooters in a best of 5 series starting this coming Friday. In the EPHL, Brooklyn will play Jersey in the first ever championship series. The rest of the leagues are winding down their regular season and I will blog about those also as the playoffs begin.
Here in Boston I started working out about a month ago to get ready for where ever next season takes me. It's tough following the scores on the computer and not be playing in the games, but things happen. Good luck to the fellas on the Revolution and also to Nigel Hawryliw, who is playing for Chi-Town. I also have to say hi to Kaitlin and Haili, 2 former Revolution interns, who wore a "We Miss Hutch" t-shirt to the game last night and sent me a picture of it. I got a good laugh out of it and I'm sure others did as well.
The end of March also brings tryouts for the Neponset Valley River Rats organization. I've been down in Foxboro all week evaluating different age levels and trying to put together the U-18 midget team with my buddy and head coach Scott McDougall. Putting a team together is never easy, especially at the lower age groups. Trying to find the right piece to the puzzle can be agonizing for coaches and it doesn't help knowing that you're going to break some kids hearts when you tell them there is no room on the team for him. It's funny to look in the stands and see the parents all watching their sons with nervous faces hoping their boy is the next Sidney Crosby or Mike Green.
Speaking of NHL players, how great are the playoff races this year? Every night it seems like the playoff picture changes. The Eastern Conference is starting to shape up and in my opinion I think Florida will beat out Montreal for the 8th and final playoff spot. Boston had a big win this afternoon to pull away from New Jersey and have a somewhat comfortable 5 point lead for 1st place in the conference, the win also clinched the Northeast Division. The Western Conference could be a blog in itself. Just 5 points separate 7th place Edmonton from 12th place Dallas, with Nashville, Anaheim, Minnesota and St. Louis sandwiched in between them. I'll write a blog on that race in the middle of the week when I do a little more research on the teams.
So long for now
Hutch 9
Here in Boston I started working out about a month ago to get ready for where ever next season takes me. It's tough following the scores on the computer and not be playing in the games, but things happen. Good luck to the fellas on the Revolution and also to Nigel Hawryliw, who is playing for Chi-Town. I also have to say hi to Kaitlin and Haili, 2 former Revolution interns, who wore a "We Miss Hutch" t-shirt to the game last night and sent me a picture of it. I got a good laugh out of it and I'm sure others did as well.
The end of March also brings tryouts for the Neponset Valley River Rats organization. I've been down in Foxboro all week evaluating different age levels and trying to put together the U-18 midget team with my buddy and head coach Scott McDougall. Putting a team together is never easy, especially at the lower age groups. Trying to find the right piece to the puzzle can be agonizing for coaches and it doesn't help knowing that you're going to break some kids hearts when you tell them there is no room on the team for him. It's funny to look in the stands and see the parents all watching their sons with nervous faces hoping their boy is the next Sidney Crosby or Mike Green.
Speaking of NHL players, how great are the playoff races this year? Every night it seems like the playoff picture changes. The Eastern Conference is starting to shape up and in my opinion I think Florida will beat out Montreal for the 8th and final playoff spot. Boston had a big win this afternoon to pull away from New Jersey and have a somewhat comfortable 5 point lead for 1st place in the conference, the win also clinched the Northeast Division. The Western Conference could be a blog in itself. Just 5 points separate 7th place Edmonton from 12th place Dallas, with Nashville, Anaheim, Minnesota and St. Louis sandwiched in between them. I'll write a blog on that race in the middle of the week when I do a little more research on the teams.
So long for now
Hutch 9
Monday, February 23, 2009
Little Bit of Everything
The past 6 months have been a roller coaster of ups and downs that if I didn't live it, I wouldn't believe it. Starting with a 9 car accident on my birthday and ending with a torn ligament in the middle of my best statistical season of my career. Sandwiched in between all of that was a trade from Danbury (EPHL) to Rome (EPHL), Rome folding shortly after my car accident, trying to find a new team only a couple weeks before the start of the season and rehabbing my back from the car accident that had numerous muscle strains and tears along with vertebraes that were out of alignment. The future of my hockey career was looking bleak.
Brendan Tedstone , Danbury's G.M., gave me the phone number for the Battle Creek Revolution (AAHA) and I gave it a shot and made the phone call. Within a day I heard back from Nigel Hawryliw, their player/assistant coach and the ball was rolling to sign a contract. A couple days later I talked to the head coach, Matt Wiedenhoeft and we negotiated a contract. Everything was right again in my hockey life. After some growing pains with BCR we were becoming a team and playing well. We got new owners, started winning games and after 7 games and only 5 points, I hit my stride thru my last 11 games I had 15 points.
Then I went to throw a hit and bounced off the guy a funny. I tried to catch myself, but hit the boards awkwardly and thought I just hyper-extended my elbow. In between periods our trainer checked it out and thought it would be ok, my first shift back I took a shot and felt a pop in my elbow. I knew it was something bad and went right to the locker room. It was determined I had a grade 2 tear to my ulnar collateral ligament and would be out 6-8 weeks. The remainder of the regular season. In the middle of all this the team was going thru some changes and myself, Wiedenhoeft and Nigel were all pushed out to make way for a new coach and some more room on the salary cap. I still check up on the Revs after weekends to see how they do and they are currently sitting in 2nd place with 3 or 4 games to go. I stay in touch with some of the boys and both interns Haili and Kate (the best interns in the league) and wish them luck heading into the playoffs. Nigel is playing in Chi-Town right now and still leading the league in points. He became one of my closest friends on the team out there and we talk once a week. As for Weezy, he played a couple games for the Chicago Blaze and he is hoping to be coaching again next season. He's a great coach, who is a players coach all the way and I had a great time playing for him.
As for me, my elbow finally feels close to 100% and I have been working out for the past couple weeks to stay in shape in case a team needs a guy for the end of the season. I also spent a week or so searching for a new agent, that could help me out overseas. I got lucky in that aspect, doing this site in a weird way helped me find my new agent. After my last post at the beginning of this month I was contacted by Andruw Bourgeois, who is starting a new website called Pro Hockey Insight and asked me if I would be interested in submitting blogs for the site. After some emailing back and forth I told Andruw I would write for the new website. Then told him how I was looking for a new agent, it turns out he is an agent and works with an NHLPA certified agent with contacts all over the world and he told me he would help me out next season. So I'm killing two birds with one stone, taking the next step in my writing career and also found a new agent who can help me with what I need for next season.
With everything going on I will definitely be writing more often now. So feel free to email me and comment on the blogs.
-Hutch 9-
Brendan Tedstone , Danbury's G.M., gave me the phone number for the Battle Creek Revolution (AAHA) and I gave it a shot and made the phone call. Within a day I heard back from Nigel Hawryliw, their player/assistant coach and the ball was rolling to sign a contract. A couple days later I talked to the head coach, Matt Wiedenhoeft and we negotiated a contract. Everything was right again in my hockey life. After some growing pains with BCR we were becoming a team and playing well. We got new owners, started winning games and after 7 games and only 5 points, I hit my stride thru my last 11 games I had 15 points.
Then I went to throw a hit and bounced off the guy a funny. I tried to catch myself, but hit the boards awkwardly and thought I just hyper-extended my elbow. In between periods our trainer checked it out and thought it would be ok, my first shift back I took a shot and felt a pop in my elbow. I knew it was something bad and went right to the locker room. It was determined I had a grade 2 tear to my ulnar collateral ligament and would be out 6-8 weeks. The remainder of the regular season. In the middle of all this the team was going thru some changes and myself, Wiedenhoeft and Nigel were all pushed out to make way for a new coach and some more room on the salary cap. I still check up on the Revs after weekends to see how they do and they are currently sitting in 2nd place with 3 or 4 games to go. I stay in touch with some of the boys and both interns Haili and Kate (the best interns in the league) and wish them luck heading into the playoffs. Nigel is playing in Chi-Town right now and still leading the league in points. He became one of my closest friends on the team out there and we talk once a week. As for Weezy, he played a couple games for the Chicago Blaze and he is hoping to be coaching again next season. He's a great coach, who is a players coach all the way and I had a great time playing for him.
As for me, my elbow finally feels close to 100% and I have been working out for the past couple weeks to stay in shape in case a team needs a guy for the end of the season. I also spent a week or so searching for a new agent, that could help me out overseas. I got lucky in that aspect, doing this site in a weird way helped me find my new agent. After my last post at the beginning of this month I was contacted by Andruw Bourgeois, who is starting a new website called Pro Hockey Insight and asked me if I would be interested in submitting blogs for the site. After some emailing back and forth I told Andruw I would write for the new website. Then told him how I was looking for a new agent, it turns out he is an agent and works with an NHLPA certified agent with contacts all over the world and he told me he would help me out next season. So I'm killing two birds with one stone, taking the next step in my writing career and also found a new agent who can help me with what I need for next season.
With everything going on I will definitely be writing more often now. So feel free to email me and comment on the blogs.
-Hutch 9-
Monday, February 2, 2009
Changes
It's been a few weeks and I'm sure the faithful readers of my blog have seen that I am no longer on the roster of the Battle Creek Revolution. A few things added up to that equation, I tore a ligament in my elbow against Evansville a few weeks ago and tried playing thru it and made it worse. Other than that B.C. was making some changes and going in a different direction and for one reason or another I wasn't in their plans. There's nothing I can do about it and wish them all the best for the rest of their season
I had a great time in my 3 months with Battle Creek and met tons of great people. From the front office staff, the interns, the teammates and the fans; they made it one of my best experiences ever in my pro career. I still stay in touch with some of the guys and I know that I always will. We had some awesome times both at the rink and away from it. Memories that will last a lifetime. From the parties and the inside jokes, right down to somehow becoming a secret WWF fan and watching Monday Night RAW alone last week at home, I had a great time out there and wish it didn't end. I have nothing but good things to say about the team, the city and the league and really hope everything goes well in the future.
As for what I'm doing now, it's a whole lot of nothing. I'm trying to get healthy so I can finish the season out somewhere either in the EPHL or back out in the AAHA. But I've tried skating a couple times and my elbow hasn't responded well yet so it isn't looking good. It really sucks for this to happen right in the middle of the best season of my career, but that's the way it goes and I have to live with it.
Keep checking back in and I'll keep you updated on the injury and my playing career. It's been a season full of roller coasters and hopefully it isn't over yet.
-Hutch 9-
I had a great time in my 3 months with Battle Creek and met tons of great people. From the front office staff, the interns, the teammates and the fans; they made it one of my best experiences ever in my pro career. I still stay in touch with some of the guys and I know that I always will. We had some awesome times both at the rink and away from it. Memories that will last a lifetime. From the parties and the inside jokes, right down to somehow becoming a secret WWF fan and watching Monday Night RAW alone last week at home, I had a great time out there and wish it didn't end. I have nothing but good things to say about the team, the city and the league and really hope everything goes well in the future.
As for what I'm doing now, it's a whole lot of nothing. I'm trying to get healthy so I can finish the season out somewhere either in the EPHL or back out in the AAHA. But I've tried skating a couple times and my elbow hasn't responded well yet so it isn't looking good. It really sucks for this to happen right in the middle of the best season of my career, but that's the way it goes and I have to live with it.
Keep checking back in and I'll keep you updated on the injury and my playing career. It's been a season full of roller coasters and hopefully it isn't over yet.
-Hutch 9-
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bring on the Blaze!
This weekend we have three huge games against the newly acquired Chicago Blaze. The Blaze came together very quickly to save our league and play in place of the Detroit Dragons. Honestly we're lucky that the Blaze were able to pull everything together so quickly and save our league, without the hard work of AAHA people and Blaze ownership who knows what would have happened. We had a very solid week of practice and finished today with a great practice to lead into our pre game skate tomorrow and 3 game series.
I participated very lightly Tuesday and Wednesday in just sweats for skating drills, but did not participate in contact drills. Today I was fully dressed to test out the elbow in my first full practice since Friday night when I slightly tore a ligament in the elbow against the much improved IceMen. The lines were clicking today and I was back on my regular "red" line with Mike Podelnyk and Charles Harvey. Both power play units are looking good and our defense is solid as usual. Both goalies (who last weekend sported Chuck Liddell like mohawks and dyed hair) were on today making several great saves throughout the practice.
We don't know what to expect out of Chicago tomorrow. We got their roster today and most of them have pro experience and I've played with a couple of the players. They look like they have a solid roster and will fit in nicely in this league. Our biggest goal is to not give them their first ever league win in our barn.
So head out to The Rink this weekend, tomorrow and Saturday puck drops at 7:30pm with a Sunday afternoon matinee start at 1pm. Tomorrow night there will also be a Detroit Red Wings ticket give a way to the craziest Revolution fan in the building, so come be loud and have a chance to go watch the Wings play at the Joe!
Hutch
I participated very lightly Tuesday and Wednesday in just sweats for skating drills, but did not participate in contact drills. Today I was fully dressed to test out the elbow in my first full practice since Friday night when I slightly tore a ligament in the elbow against the much improved IceMen. The lines were clicking today and I was back on my regular "red" line with Mike Podelnyk and Charles Harvey. Both power play units are looking good and our defense is solid as usual. Both goalies (who last weekend sported Chuck Liddell like mohawks and dyed hair) were on today making several great saves throughout the practice.
We don't know what to expect out of Chicago tomorrow. We got their roster today and most of them have pro experience and I've played with a couple of the players. They look like they have a solid roster and will fit in nicely in this league. Our biggest goal is to not give them their first ever league win in our barn.
So head out to The Rink this weekend, tomorrow and Saturday puck drops at 7:30pm with a Sunday afternoon matinee start at 1pm. Tomorrow night there will also be a Detroit Red Wings ticket give a way to the craziest Revolution fan in the building, so come be loud and have a chance to go watch the Wings play at the Joe!
Hutch
Monday, January 12, 2009
Good Weekend
After starting 2009 without a win in 3 games we knew we had to turn things around. We had a good week of practice, the boys were having fun at the rink again. Going into the weekend with two home games against Evansville our confidence was pretty high. We have had good luck this season against the Ice Men and wanted to keep it going by getting back on track and back to .500 again.
After our morning skate on Friday we hit some more adversity though. Captain Mark Allen and enforcer Kevin Demers made it official that they were leaving the team for personal reasons. It's tough to lose teammates thru the year, especially this deep into the season. But we were able to pull things together quickly and came out on top with a 6-4 win over a much improved Evansville squad. They brought in 3 guys from Detroit and teamed up with the guys we sent them over Christmas break they've really gotten better. The red line of myself, Mike Podelnyk and Dan Kohanchuk played real well for the first two periods, scoring 3 goals. I say for the first two periods because the red line was without me for the 3rd period after I partially tore a ligament in my left elbow late in the 2nd period.
There really isn't a timeline on how long I'll be out for with this injury. It is my lower hand on my stick so everytime I shoot the torque in my elbow will be really painful, but I might be able to tape it and try to play thru the pain. I'll be off the ice for the next couple of days to try to heal it as quickly as possible so I don't miss too many games. The biggest thing is making sure I don't do more damage to it and miss the rest of the season.
We won again on Saturday against Evansville 11-0. We came out and were all over them all night. We didn't play great in the 1st period but gradually picked it up as the night went on. Nigel Hawryliw led the charges with another hat trick and Justin Grevious picked up the first ever shut out in AAHA history.
This upcoming we face off against the newly formed Chicago Blaze for a 3 game set at home Friday-Sunday. We don't know a thing about them or who is on their team so it's a big mystery. Come by and check out the games if you are in the area.
After our morning skate on Friday we hit some more adversity though. Captain Mark Allen and enforcer Kevin Demers made it official that they were leaving the team for personal reasons. It's tough to lose teammates thru the year, especially this deep into the season. But we were able to pull things together quickly and came out on top with a 6-4 win over a much improved Evansville squad. They brought in 3 guys from Detroit and teamed up with the guys we sent them over Christmas break they've really gotten better. The red line of myself, Mike Podelnyk and Dan Kohanchuk played real well for the first two periods, scoring 3 goals. I say for the first two periods because the red line was without me for the 3rd period after I partially tore a ligament in my left elbow late in the 2nd period.
There really isn't a timeline on how long I'll be out for with this injury. It is my lower hand on my stick so everytime I shoot the torque in my elbow will be really painful, but I might be able to tape it and try to play thru the pain. I'll be off the ice for the next couple of days to try to heal it as quickly as possible so I don't miss too many games. The biggest thing is making sure I don't do more damage to it and miss the rest of the season.
We won again on Saturday against Evansville 11-0. We came out and were all over them all night. We didn't play great in the 1st period but gradually picked it up as the night went on. Nigel Hawryliw led the charges with another hat trick and Justin Grevious picked up the first ever shut out in AAHA history.
This upcoming we face off against the newly formed Chicago Blaze for a 3 game set at home Friday-Sunday. We don't know a thing about them or who is on their team so it's a big mystery. Come by and check out the games if you are in the area.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Ringing in the New Year
2009 is here. Happy New Year and hopefully you haven't broken your resolutions already. We rang in the new year with a 9-1 win over the Evansville IceMen at home after another eventful day at The Rink. The game was supposed to start at 2pm, but would it really be any fun if something didn't go wrong? Evansville's bus broke down on the way and set them back about 3 hours before they got a new one to pick them up and they didn't arrive until 3:30pm. About 250 Revolution faithful stuck around the cold rink, waiting for them to show up. I think the newly acquired beer stand was something that helped them stay.
When things finally got underway we took it to them pretty good from beginning to end. New guys Justin Nattress, Dan Kohanchuk and Battle Creek native Ryan Huggett all helped in the win. Natty and tough guy Mason Cossette both scored their first ever professional goals. Hugger got into his first pro fight at the end of them game, part of a line brawl that broke out with 5 seconds left in the game that even included the goalies. Our goalie Justin Grevious won his fight pretty convincingly and also picked up his first pro assist. The remaining fans definately loved the fight at the end of the game and hopefully will come back to our home games next weekend against Evansville.
After the game guys went off on their own to celebrate the new year, some went over to Kalamazoo to watch the KWings play Muskegon in the IHL. Others went to Kalamazoo to hang out and the rest of us brought in the new year at a small bar up the road from our house.
We couldn't party too hard because we were back at it again yesterday afternoon against Chi-Town in Dyer, Indiana. We loaded up the vans and I was excited to play because they have an Olympic size ice surface, which I have always loved to play on. But, on the way to the game our coach was informed from the league that I was suspended for the game due to my fight with 4:37 left to play in the 3rd period. I got hit from behind, got up and protected myself, but somehow got an instigator penalty. The instigator in the last 5 minutes of a game carries an automatic one game suspension.
It sucked to watch the boys yesterday from the stands and not be able to help. Watching the game with our captain Mark Allen (leg contusion) wasn't easy, knowing that two leaders of the team couldn't do anything was tough to swallow. We lost the game 7-4. Kevin Demers and Cossette tried to jumpstart the boys with a few fights, but it didn't work. We came to life too late and it wasn't enough.
We're back in Chi-Town tomorrow and Sunday, again we will short benched. Allen, Demers and Kohanchuk all have to return to Canada due to visa issues this weekend and we should have them back by next week.
When things finally got underway we took it to them pretty good from beginning to end. New guys Justin Nattress, Dan Kohanchuk and Battle Creek native Ryan Huggett all helped in the win. Natty and tough guy Mason Cossette both scored their first ever professional goals. Hugger got into his first pro fight at the end of them game, part of a line brawl that broke out with 5 seconds left in the game that even included the goalies. Our goalie Justin Grevious won his fight pretty convincingly and also picked up his first pro assist. The remaining fans definately loved the fight at the end of the game and hopefully will come back to our home games next weekend against Evansville.
After the game guys went off on their own to celebrate the new year, some went over to Kalamazoo to watch the KWings play Muskegon in the IHL. Others went to Kalamazoo to hang out and the rest of us brought in the new year at a small bar up the road from our house.
We couldn't party too hard because we were back at it again yesterday afternoon against Chi-Town in Dyer, Indiana. We loaded up the vans and I was excited to play because they have an Olympic size ice surface, which I have always loved to play on. But, on the way to the game our coach was informed from the league that I was suspended for the game due to my fight with 4:37 left to play in the 3rd period. I got hit from behind, got up and protected myself, but somehow got an instigator penalty. The instigator in the last 5 minutes of a game carries an automatic one game suspension.
It sucked to watch the boys yesterday from the stands and not be able to help. Watching the game with our captain Mark Allen (leg contusion) wasn't easy, knowing that two leaders of the team couldn't do anything was tough to swallow. We lost the game 7-4. Kevin Demers and Cossette tried to jumpstart the boys with a few fights, but it didn't work. We came to life too late and it wasn't enough.
We're back in Chi-Town tomorrow and Sunday, again we will short benched. Allen, Demers and Kohanchuk all have to return to Canada due to visa issues this weekend and we should have them back by next week.
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