Hockey Trends

As the offseason is now underway, with the action really getting started on July 1, it is always interesting to notice the changes made by the teams that don't win the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup.

Last season when the Anaheim Ducks hoisted Lord Stanley, the emphasis for all the other 29 teams was to add size and toughness to their team. With the Ducks flameout in the first round this year, apparently this was a short lived trend.

The new NHL is going to be built on speed, skill, and strength, size is one of the least requirements . Look at Detroit. Datsyuk. Zetterberg. Kronwall. Three key cogs to Detriot's Stanley Cup Championship. All under six feet. But all of them possess the speed, skill, and strength that the new NHL covets.

So while on the topic of Detroit and their Stanley Cup win, what is going to be the trend this year that other teams in the league can take from Detroit in an effort to win it all next year?

I think this years trend will be seen at the draft and in free agency. The trend: using draft picks as a way to improve your team.

Now more than ever, draft picks have become so invaluable, by giving you more options in terms of offer sheets and with the fact they can be used as the extra ammo needed to make moves in hopes of improving your club.

Look for teams at this years draft and in free agency, being active with their picks, in offer sheets, in trades, in selecting players, and everywhere in between.

So with just four days till the draft, I am glad and lucky to be there for what should be an exciting time in covering the hometown Sens and observing what all the other teams will be up to on draft day.

My Hockey Story

I thought a good way to get to know everyone here at Beyond ice level is in an informal introduction of yourself to the game this blog is all about, hockey. With that said let me be the first to share with you my hockey story. Feel free to post your own hockey story as a comment to this post.

The story how I got involved in the game of hockey starts with another favourite game of mine. A game which shares many of the same similarities that hockey has: passionate fans, superstar players, and entertaining highlights that you can recall for a lifetime. This game is soccer.

I was first introduced to the game of soccer at a young age. It was the first sport I learned to play. During my youth, when I played competitively, I was able to grow a true passionate and love for game. Even though now I play the game in more of a recreational fashion, the ability of the sport to captivate me as a fan and participant strongly exists.

Hockey came to me via a different route. I had always had friends who played the game and wanted me to join in. Even though I consider myself quite athletic, I never felt the game when I was younger. It seemed to difficult for me to understand, play, and grasp.

But nevertheless it was always around me. One of my close family friends, a 67s season ticket holder for years, invited me to a game while in my early high school years. When I went with him and saw the passion of kids, not much older than me, their dedication, determination, and heart, words which seem to describe the game of hockey so much, I fell into the sport.

Like soccer, hockey was captivating now. It sustained my interest, following the puck from player to player, blue line to blue line, one end of the rink to the other. Soon the invites to games with the 67s became a regular Friday to me. Couple this with the fact to going to 67s games on special school days, I felt like a regular part of the team.

Another big thing in my hockey story is the book I read about the game that we Canadians hold so dear. The book, The Hockey News: Century of Hockey, is what introduced me closer to the deep history of the game.

In this book it breaks down the history of hockey, season by season, looking at the great teams, players, and coaches of the past. If you have not read this book it is well worth a read for the hockey fan that wants to connect with the games roots.

When I had my first experience of hockey with friends, it seemed like something that I wouldn't catch onto. But as I grew older and learned to appreciate and embrace the game, hockey has become something that now I follow, play, watch and enjoy all year round, as a passionate fan grateful of such amazing sport.