Thoughts: Ales Hemsky.

Once upon a time, I wrote about hockey on this blog. From time to time, I still do. I may not write about the NHL and the Oilers, but I’m always up to talk about it. My RSS feed is full of daily reading materials.

There’s lots of chatter on the ol’ Al Gore on the subject of Mr. Ales Hemsky.

I believe he is a goner.  I’ve read he has essentially disappeared from Oilers video montages.  The Oilers media talks about him like he’s terrible (yet at the same time up-sell his return value).

There are all sorts of posts on the matter..

BDHS: Ales Hemsky and the Fans

MC79: I hate to point this out, but Hemsky isn’t dead.

Lowetide: Wing and a prayer

Copper and Blue: Ales Hemsky’s final run with the Edmonton Oilers

…and there are tons more like this. Mine won’t turn over any new stones.

Like Pat, I stop before I get to the comments of most sites.  I can’t read that drivel.  Not because I disagree with many of them and, frankly, think I’m smarter than those folks, but because part of my day job entails moderating thousands of comments.  The only thing it has taught me is that under the veil of Internet anonymity, people release their core idiocy.  I’m scared for humanity.

Back to Hemsky.

How about a list? I love lists.

5 reasons to keep Hemsky:

Bonus: He’s not Cam Barker.

5. He was named to the all star game… LAST YEAR.

4.  2007 Hot Oil Hot Off Champion.

3. Stats.

2. He’s still just 28 years old.

1. What are you going to get for him?  Reading posts around the league about deadline day, and many think Hemsky is not worth the risk.

I’m actually not totally against trading Hemsky.  If there is a deal that actually does some good, I’m for it.  I’m just so disillusioned by past moves that I no longer expect a decent deal to be done.  When I look at teams like the Canucks (who are shoved in my face constantly), I see a team with skill all through the lineup.  Getting rid of Hemsky leaves a hole in the lineup.  Based on how well numerous defensive holes and the hole in net has been addressed, how can I trust that management will bother filling them?

I was watching a Vancouver Giants – Edmonton Oil Kings game this weekend that featured young Keegan Lowe. It was a fun game. We sat in the front row by the penalty box to give my Australian boyfriend’s brother an up-close experience of (Ice) hockey. As I watched young #4, a defenseman for the Oil Kings, it dawned on me. I no longer associate Kevin Lowe as the player. I think of him only as an inept manager.

You can blame Renney, you can blame Katz (actually, I’ll get back to that), you can blame Tambo, but who has been here these painful 6 years? Lowe.

Katz was an Oilers fan growing up.  So was I.  But a stockpile of number 1 picks does not hide the fact that I’m forgetting what success feels like.  Stop ruining my memories.  Start making some tough decisions regarding the management of this team.  It’s… not… working.

In just over a week, we’ll be saying happy trails to Hemsky.

He was a step off when he came back from injury and now he’s just a half-step behind. I imagine he’s about 8 days away from full go. Just in time for the trade deadline.

As an Oiler fan who put up with the last 10 years, I wish him well. I have no qualms with Horcoff or Smyth but Hemsky is the only magic left from ’06. And he is real magic.

I look forward to what he’ll do for another team in a playoff run.

I look forward to seeing what crap we’ll get in return.

But I wish they’d treat him like the best player of the Oilers of the last decade, because he was/is.

144: FML

Gino Reda (iPhone 4 w/ToonPAINT - May 24, 2011)

Few things are amusing me tonight, but a cardboard cutout of Gino Reda is one of them.

@loxyisme: I knew I wouldn’t be happy when the Canucks won. But I didn’t expect to be a boiling pot of pure rage. I’m so sad, I’m angry. #sangry

116: And it continues

One of the many drinks consumed during this playoff run. (iPhone 4 - April 26, 2011)

I knew the Canucks would pull it off, but not in such dramatic fashion.  Another two more weeks of winter.

Andrea Woo is sooooo lucky to be in Mexico right now.

109: Bold. I like that.

I don't use this much. I don't have a lot of channels. (iPhone 4, April 19, 2011)

Check out Andrea Woo’s collection in this photo throwdown.

103: NHL Playoffs in Vancouver

Artificial colours (iPhone 4 - April 13, 2011)

The Canucks are in the playoffs. This is what the Canucks sent our station. Was it a bribe? Were we not going to talk about the Canucks?

100: #stilloilfans

98: Post-practice

Walking home from Canucks' practice (iPhone 4 - April 8th)

I had the pleasure of going to the Canucks practice this morning.  Now, I’m not a fan of Vancouver’s hockey team but I like sports and photography.  I wish I could go more, but I already have enough tasks waiting for me at work each day. I have them all on my flickr account.

A couple things came out of it:

1. I think I need to start saving for a new camera.  The Rebel XTi that has been with me since late 2007 needs to be restarted constantly.  Colour and white-balance settings were failing, forcing me to do lots of work after the fact.

2. I took the above picture as I walked over the Cambie Street Bridge.

3. I returned to the station and ran into our Sports Director who had taken me to practice.  Turns out, one of the players was asking about me. I’m sure he probably just thought I was scouting for the opposition or something.  Still…. A Yale-educated NHL player who is a fantasy hockey staple of mine? Heh.

 

If you don’t like my picture-a-day, you can always see what Andrea Woo is posting.

Surviving the Canucks playoff run

(Note: I realize it has been a long time since I’ve written. I’m not gone. I’m just not going to blog for the sake of blogging! Frankly, it’s been a good couple of months, which means I don’t have too much to complain about.  P.S. Hawaii in 6 days. Booya suckas.)

I didn’t always hate the Canucks.  In Edmonton, I tolerated them, even cheering for them during my childhood.  But moving to Vancouver, that changed everything.

How bad is this Oilers team?

This is not the worst pro team of all time.  This is not the worst NHL team of all time (Washington 74-75).  But ladies and gentlemen, we may be dealing with the worst team in the history of the Edmonton Oilers.

No bandwagon for me

I live in Vancouver. I have been here for four years.  I will never be a Canucks fan.

First and foremost, I’m an Edmonton Oilers fan.  I put up with a lot of crap because of it. But it makes me only hold onto my hometown team even harder.  Three years ago, my team slipped into the playoffs, arguably underachieving during the season.  While I never expected the team to make it out of the first round, I was much more hopeful than in years past.