It's been awhile

It probably goes without saying that there really hasn't been all that much news on the Senators front, what with the chances of there even being a season this year looking pretty slim right now (and what a great way to mark the end of the 20th anniversary of the franchise and potential last year for our beloved captain).

However, I do actually have some Ottawa hockey news to relate because last night I went to an Ottawa 67's game.

For those who don't know, the 67's (so named because the team was formed in the Canadian centennial year, 1967) are a team in the Ontario Hockey League.  When I was young, I went to many of their games at the Ottawa Civic Centre.  However, once the Senators were on the scene this didn't happen as often, mostly due to the fact that I live in the west end of Ottawa and so the Palladium/Corel Centre/Scotiabank Place was much easier to get to.

This year, however, the 67's are playing at the Scotiabank Place while the Civic Centre is renovated (this is the first of two seasons in which this will happen).  What this means is that suddenly they have a huge venue in which to celebrate being the best hockey game in town.

The game last night was great fun.  I was there mostly because my mother's choir, the Goulbourn Jubilee Singers, were performing the national anthem but afterwards we got to watch some great hockey.  While the 67's ultimately lost 4-3 in a shootout, they put forth a great effort and it was especially nice to get to see the captain, and Sens' draft pick, Cody Ceci in action.  Plus it was just a fun, especially for the many children in attendance (of particular note were the children who got to dance around with the cheerleaders and even borrow a few pompoms).

It was a good crowd but there was still lots of seats available and it would be great to see the attendance numbers increase.  So if you're in the Ottawa area and hurting for NHL hockey, I definitely recommend checking some OHL games out and getting a glimpse into the future of professional hockey.

Hockey News in Summer? What's Going on Here?

Wow, so much Sens news!  Did the season start early or something?  Crazy.  I guess I’d better jump right in and get down to business.

I was busy when the awards were being announced but my mother came down to let me know Karlsson had won the Norris Trophy (did I mention he’s my favourite player?).  Neither of us were actually expecting him to win it, to be quite honest, but I am very excited that he did.  It really has been one crazy year for him and about to get even crazier since he’s off to get married now (at least he probably won’t be traded on his wedding day, unlike Jordan Staal).

Even more exciting though really was Alfredsson’s win for the King Clancy.  As I mentioned before, I will be sad if Alfie retires without a Cup under his belt (though let’s face it, the chances of him sticking around AND the Senators winning aren’t particularly great) but the more honours he gets, the better I would feel.  Plus he really just means so much to Ottawa and it’s great to see that acknowledged.

Finally, we’ve got the Draft to talk about.  Despite missing the awards I did actually watch some of this on TSN.  Trust me, it was riveting.

Okay, maybe not but there were some interesting parts to it as you try and figure out a team’s strategy (or maybe just try and figure out if the Flames were the smartest team or the dumbest).  For the Sens, the biggest news is, of course, the first round pick of Cody Ceci.  I am a bit of a lapsed 67s Fan but it is very exciting to see someone who grew up in Ottawa play here for the OHL and the NHL. 

The team picked up 6 other players and I’m excited for all of them to come on board, in particular our new goalie since I’ve always been partial to them when I’m not paying attention to Karlsson (I used to play nets myself).  Hopefully the team is on the path to doing a bit better in the coming years than in the last ones, since it wasn’t so long ago when we were at the top of the West. 

Though as long as we’re better than the Leafs I won’t be too upset.