I have bought 3 of these so far.  I paid about $65 for my first one in October of 2008.  I played on it a total of 15 times before breaking it last night (on accident, of course).  Luckily, I had bought a pack of 2 from HockeyMonkey.com for $65 the week before.

How did it break?  Well, I was chasing a puck straight into the boards while being pursued by an opponent.  I guess I wasn’t quick enough as I jammed one end of the stick into the boards and the other into my gut, and SNAP.  I remember the guy at the store telling me that if I broke the blade, it could be replaced.  Not sure how, but I think I’ll figure it out.

Overall a great stick.  Totally pleased with what you get for the money.

Prices and selection were amazing, and I was able to find some great deals on base-model equipment.  I usually the cheapest stuff since I am not a very serious player.

I ordered 2 sticks and a pair of gloves.  My existing stick, a Rebok 4k, put me back about $65 from the Hockey X-sport up in Oakland last year.  I was worried about it breaking, so I wanted to get the same stick again as a backup.  I got a 2-pack of the exact same stick from Hockey Monkey for $60.  I was afraid of ordering sticks online since I thought the shipping would kill me, but it was only an extra $5 for over-sized shipping.

I also bought a pair of base-line hockey gloves.  I have had my existing gloves for nearly 10 years, and they were hand-me-downs when I first got them.  They developed large holes and left blisters on my thumbs each time I played.  I had been searching around on ebay, but didn’t really want to get a pair of used gloves for $40+ with shipping.  I think the ones I ordered from Hockey Monkey were $29.99.  I’ll test them out this weekend and write a review on them.

I also saved an extra 10% on my order by using coupon code adwsave10.  It worked at the time of writing this post 6/8/2009, but I don’t know how long it will last.  The total order, including shipping and tax set me back just over $100, but for two composite sticks and a new pair of gloves, I thought that was a steal.

Will be posting reviews on the equipment soon.

Steve’s Video, as I said I’d have:

GAME SUMMARY

Karlsson gets the player of the game for the Swedes.
Dustin Tokarski, who was shaky the last few games, finally stepped up and got the player of the game, after stopping 39 out of 40 shots.

Coaches Choice for Swede’s Top 3: Markstrom (who gets heavily booed for his diving), Karlsson (who gets cheers yet again, as he’s a Senators Prospect), and Backlund (who’s rumored to be going to the CHL tomorrow instead of returning to Sweden).

Coaches Choice for Canada’s Top 3: PK Subban (Plenty of cheers, nearby Montreal Canadiens prospect), John Tavares (who’s quickly become a legend in Canada), and Jordan Eberle (who scored the biggest goal in Canadian History since Gretzky to Lemieux or Paul Henderson’s Goal).

Top Goaltender: Markstrom (Should’ve gone to Slovakia’s Jaroslav Janus)
Top Defenseman: Karlsson
Top Forward: John Tavares (the easiest decision since comparing Gretzky to Tie Domi)

Videos (TONS COMING!)

Lets start with the most controversial event so far tonight: A vicious bite by Jokarim Andersson on Tomas Hickey, which better get reviewed by the IIHF.

Now, PROOF that Markstrom is the worst diver I’ve EVER SEEN.

And the final moments and celebrations!

So, it looks like Detroit’s only thing close to a scapegoat, Jiri Hudler stole the show when it was needed.

The guy that Wings fans don’t seem to like at all for some reason stole absolutely pounded on everyone, getting two goals an an assist to help the wings remind millions of people why they won the Stanley Cup this year.

Yes, it was another great Winter Classic. The air was cold yet nice, the sky was overcast in just the right way, and Ty Conklin was in net (how the heck he’s pulled off being the starting goalie in all 3 outdoor games the league has had to date is beyond me, especially since he himself is usually the backup).

The two teams looked fantastic in their vintage uniforms, both from the early days of the NHL (Detroit’s from the 20’s, the Hawks’ from the 30’s). The crowd, while 32,000 smaller than last years due to the size restrictions of Wrigley Field, was loud and energetic, and it was just a great time.

On top of Hudler, four other Wings scored (Mikael Samuelsson, Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski, and Brett Lebda) to take the team even further ahead in the Central Division standings.

Kris Versteeg, Martin Havlat, Duncan Keith, and Ben Eager scored for the Hawks, but it just wasn’t enough (but it was enough to bring the Hawks to 0-4-0 against the Wings this year, which is odd, because the much worse Hawks of last year went 6-2-0).

Now, this brings up the question that everyone’s asking - where next?

Personally, I’d go with one of the following.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins @ Fenway Park (Boston)
New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers @ New Yankee Stadium (New York)
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals @ FedEx Field (Landover, Maryland - Near Washington)

All and all, it was a great game, and I’ll have more info and video for you guys as we go.

UPDATE: VIDEO TIME!

The Anthem Extravaganza:

Take Me Out To The Hockey Game:

Datsyuk Is The Man:

As we all know, the central focus for the Toronto Maple Leafs last year was the trade Deadline. John Ferguson Jr was fired, and Cliff Fletcher was brought in to clear the weeds. By the weeds, I mean the aging players, and most importantly, the “Muskoka 5″ - Mats Sundin, Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe, Pavel Kubina, and Darcy Tucker.

What was the end result of the deadline?

After much hype, Mats decided he be staying in Toronto and using his NMC (No Movement Clause) to do so. He also threw some comments out there about “being a Torontonian” and a “True Leaf”, and that one must play for the team from “training camp to the playoffs”. Shortly after, Tomas Kaberle used his NTC, and so did Pavel Kubina. The thought is that Tucker did too, though that cannot be confirmed. McCabe had no offers on him.

And really, you can blame most of that on the original Sundin deal. Lets play a quick game of dominoes here.

Sundin Blocks Trade: The deal he blocked was one to the Montreal Canadiens, which would send him to the energetic young rivals for Christopher Higgins, Mikhail Grabovski, and their 2008 1st Round Pick (Which they traded for Alex Tanguay at the draft. Not saying we’d do the same, but throwing that out there). We would go on to trade for Grabovski after the draft, costing us our 2010 2nd Round Pick, and Greg Pateryn (who we just picked with a 5th Rounder).

Total Lost: Higgins, 1st Round Pick 2008, 2nd Round Pick 2010, Pateryn, Sundin

Kaberle Blocks Trade Shortly Thereafter: Obviously seeing what it means to be a “True Leaf” (aka, BS), Kaberle was next to block his no trade clause. He was going to be traded to the Philadelphia Flyersfor Jeff Carter, and the Flyers’ 2008 1st Round Pick. Carter had a beast of a playoffs, earning him a contract worth $5 Million per year (he wouldn’t have got anywhere near as much with us due to no playoffs, probably closer to $2.5 Million). Carter is currently in the Top 5 in the NHL in Goals For. Thanks Tomas. Really though, I think if Mats waives, Tomas waives too.

Total Lost: Jeff Carter, 1st Round Pick
Total Gained: Tomas Kaberle (who won’t get nearly as much of a return now)

Kubina Joins The Blocking Club: Though Cliff didn’t mention names in his after deadline press conference, everyone knows that the player who said he would waive and changed his mind after a win and dinner with teammates was Pavel Kubina. The San Jose Sharks were the team that made the offer, offering up Steve Bernier and a 1st Round Pick, the same offer as they gave Brian Campbell. Even after Campbell was acquired and Kubina had changed his mind, they offered Kyle McClaren and a 2nd Round Pick. Really though, the 1st offer is what we’re looking at as the one that should be in question. It was done clearly as a reaction to Mats and his best friend on the team, Kaberle, deciding to stay.

Total Lost: Steve Bernier, 1st Round Pick
Total Gained: Pavel Kubina (Who may still get a similar reward, but I’m not so sure)

With these guys gone, along with Belak, Gill, and Kilger, one could only assume we’d continue a downward spiral last year, especially if it turns out we could’ve got something for Tucker instead of buying out his contract. So instead of being 7th overall going into the draft, we could’ve been looking at much better, probably close to having the #1 pick. Lets say we pick 2nd and get Drew Doughty, rather than getting 7th, trading our 2nd Round Pick in 09, and a 3rd rounder in 2008.

In summation, here is my argument. Mats Sundin not waiving his trade clause by reasoning of being a true leaf and not a rental (only to leave the leafs and become a rental starting yesterday) lead to this in the large scope, while completely ignoring a potential deal that couldv’e been on the table for Tucker.

Toronto Gains:
Mikhail Grabovski, Pavel Kubina, Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn

Toronto Loses Out On:
Christopher Higgins, Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty, Steve Bernier, MTL 1st 08, PHI 1st 08, SJS 1st 08, TOR 2nd 09, TOR 2nd ‘10, TOR 3rd 08, TOR 5th 08 (Greg Pateryn)

See what happens when a teams culture ruins the scope of what’s necessary? I truly believe that Tucker would’ve gotten a return too, seeing as he signed for 600,000 less than he was making in Toronto. Even if ts a 5th rounder, we don’t have a cap hit for the next half decade. The team is much better set for the future and the present, and the rebuild is at least three years ahead of the current schedule.

And yet there are some people going “HOW COULD YOU BLAME MATS?”. Trust me, the people respect what he has done, but the final “blessing” will leave a sour taste in the mouths of Leafs fans for years to come. Really, both sides are right on the end result - Thanks Mats for what you did on the ice, but in my eyes, your legacy as a Leaf has a severe blemish on it.

Agree or Disagree, leave your comments below.

So what’s it about then?

Its a big thank you to the hockey section, as cheesy as its going to sound.

As you may know, hockey isn’t exactly huge in the US, and since Digg is largely comprised of US Citizens, its not huge on here either. In fact, most of the time a highly commented article regarding hockey will have comments along the lines of “The NHL still exists?” and “The strike is over?”.

Put it to you this way - the hockey section is so small on digg, that in the last year, there have been 98 front page articles related to hockey, which isn’t exactly an impressive number. In fact, I’m pretty sure around election time that was about 6 hours of Obama front pages.

What will shock you is it was a lot worse months ago, and a staggering 27-29 (not sure of the exact number, I’m unfortunately much too lazy to check) of those are from the past 44 days. Still not great, but its comparable with many of the sports sections. Its also at a pace that would get about 240 of them on the front page over the course of a year, which is something nobody expected.

Its becoming more and more clear that the issue on digg wasn’t always that hockey wasn’t popular. No, it seems like it just wasn’t the “in” thing - because all of the sudden, I get the ball rolling on it, and wouldn’t you know it, people are digging the articles because they see that they’re there.

Its funny, it kind of shows that even on digg, parity can somewhat be achieved with attention (though I doubt hockey will ever get out of the bottom 20 sections, being better than 4th last is great). It shows that maybe the system is not flawed as much as people believe it is, that people are still coming to digg for interesting content.

Or maybe I really need some sleep and I’m rambling on about something thats completely pointless. Well, I guess we’ll see within 24 hours if people believe I have a point here.

Thanks for reading my crazy ramblings,

Jeffler

PS - If you digg hockey stuff, CHECK UPCOMING MORE. Some stuff never makes it because people simply don’t see it. This actually rings true in all “lower 10″ sections (Microsoft, Extreme Sports, Playstation, Programming, Soccer, Motorsports, Web Games, Hockey, Mods, Golf, and Tennis - a few of the tech ones there actually shocked me), as the majority of diggs are obvious occuring once promoted. On top of this - the snowball effect occurs in upcoming to get articles there, so you should always check to see if you’re going to miss something you like.

Also, since it isn’t a Jeffler submission without a hockey vid, THIS IS WHY I HATE DON CHERRY:

But ladies and gentlemen, Brian Burke is the next GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to the Toronto Sun (which I won’t link to, most of their stuff is more garbage than the British Sun tabloid, or the parody Sun magazine in the states), Burke signed the contract today while with his second family in Boston.

The contract is for six years, coming out to a whopping $17M, which would actually make him one of the highest paid FORWARDS on the Leafs roster if he was a player, just behind Niklas Hagman.

Burke will have complete control over the team, meaning he could practically trade Luke Schenn for George Parros and nobody could say anything to him until the next day when he gets fired. As well, any reports he does make, will not have to go through MLSE CEO and Dick Cheney of Hockey, Richard Peddie.

So, the wait to see what he does first begins. Many speculate he’s going to immediately blow up the team, trading several of Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Niklolai Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Vesa Toskala, Jason Blake, Mike Van Ryn, Jeff Finger…oh forget it, pretty much the entire team.

Others believe that he might think the Leafs have a shot, and will sign last year’s Captain Mats Sundin to a deal (he did have talks with Burke a few weeks ago while Brian was still the GM of the Ducks). He may also go for a goalie.

Personally, I don’t know what to believe anymore, other than I’m certain of the fact that I hope he doesn’t screw up. I don’t want to be 85 years old when we get to the finals for the first time since 1967, I really don’t.

Talk About It Here: http://faceoffboards.com/showthread.php?t=3195

Causing John Ferguson Jr. to probably slit his wrists and write emo songs for the next few days, the Leafs have given up on young guns Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. (For those who don’t know, JFJ rejected a trade that would send Steen to the Oilers for Chris Pronger, and another that would send Steen to the Flyers for the 2007 2nd Overall Pick. WHOOPS!)

What will the Leafs get for the overrated-to-many Steen and made-of-glass Colaiacovo? Well, just ask the St. Louis Blues, their new team. The Leafs are getting 25 year old stud forward Lee Stempinak, who has 3 goals and 10 assists in 14 games this year(which puts him on pace for 72 points on the year).

Personally, I like the move for the Leafs. Steen wasn’t going anywhere. He was stuck on the third line, and for the love of god, Matt Stajan surpassed him on the offensive depth chart (however, Stajan looks like a beast now with 19 points in 19 games).

As for Colaiacovo, he just can’t stay in a lineup. In the span of six years, he’s played 111 games. This is about a year and a half full time, meaning he’s missed about 75% of the games he could’ve played in that time, pretty much entirely due to injury.

Eklund is speculating that the Leafs are also trying to Acquire Jay Bouwmeester from the Florida Panthers, however, I have my doubts that they’d jump the gun and get him before July 1st.

However, interestingly enough, the trade *does* remove 500k off the leafs salary cap, meaning they could theoretically bring Sundin back and take in Jaybo…

We’ll have more on this as it develops, but for now, this is basically what has been said.

Though a team spokesman denied a trade had been made moments before Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars, there were signs that something was in the works to acquire Michael Nylander of the Washington Capitals. Forward Dustin Byfuglien came out on the ice for the morning skate and promptly was sent back to the locker room. He had left American Airlines Center before the brief workout was over.

Asked about Byfuglien’s sudden departure, coach Joel Quenneville said, ”We should know more later,” and wouldn’t comment further.

And tonight in an interview with player Dave Bolland…

Bolland: “We’ve bonded a lot and we’ve played great together. It’s sad to see Buff…”

Edzo: (cutting off Bolland) OK, Dave. Thanks a lot for joining us

We’ll keep you posted.