I grew up in a small country town who’s main interests were drinking, cows and football. My dad put in swimming pools for a living and my mother raised us and cut hair. I was lucky however, to have two of the most accepting parents you could imagine. My father once drove a bus for a drag tour and also (in his 20′s) routinely dressed up as a Japanese Geisha for reasons unknown. My mother was a hairdresser. They never judged, accepted everyone and taught me much the same.

Brendan Burke came out to his team mates, many of whom probably didn’t come from families like mine, but grew up in towns like the one I did, small, country and undeniably close minded. He had listened to years and years of chirping centered around insults to ones sexuality, the perceived ultimate in insults if  locker room trash talk was any indication. It had lead to him quitting playing in his final years of high school, unable to bear the talk, the degradation of his self. Still he came out, running the risk of loosing the trust and friendship of the hockey brotherhood he had found as a student manager at Miami-Ohio.

Not only did he come out to his hockey team, he came out to a father that is widely regarded as a prototype of masculinity in an already masculine sport. He takes a risk, at loosing a family that so many of us could never consider making. He takes a risk at rejection and shame that would send so many of us cowering and preferring to hide ourselves rather than run those risks. Instead, he finds acceptance grounded in the common sense belief that someones worth goes far beyond their sexual orientation, that persons value cannot be measured by who they love but by how they live.

The media jumps on this story, of the famous father’s acceptance of his son, the overwhelming acceptance of the hockey community to something still so taboo and suddenly Brendan Burke is everywhere, and everyone? Everyone is okay.

When Brendan Burke came out everyone heard about it. Thousands of hockey players across the country, across the world suddenly had a little bit of light they may not have had before. If Brian Burke can be okay with it, if a college hockey team can, maybe my coach, my team mates, friends and family can too.

Brendan Burke wanted to end the pattern of homophobia that was endemic to hockey and other sports. He wanted it to be okay for anyone to be who they were and to not feel shame for that, to be free to live how they wished without fear of loosing the sport and friends that meant so much. It is a goal, a dream many of us share, and in his memory, many of us will continue to carry on.

Your courage in stepping forward so publicly will serve as inspiration to many and the message you came forward with of acceptance will be remembered and carried forward. You were one of the firsts, but you will not be the last.

Rest in Peace, Brendan.

“Christmas” (noun) – a day of the year that falls one day before the World Junior Hockey Championship officially starts.

I fell in love with World Juniors during the lock out. I’d only been around hockey for a few years at that point and with internet game streaming practically non-existent at this point (I really only found most of it last season) I listened to a lot of OHL hockey on the internet radio. Then world juniors came along, Patrice Bergeron was playing (I had a bit of a 16 year old school girl crush on the young frenchie) and I was hooked. Ever since then, every year World Juniors has become part of my hockey life.

Here’s a look at a few of my favourite moments of the World Juniors in the last few years.

The First Year

The first year I discovered WJC was that of the lockout. That year, the team that took the ice was as close to a dream team as one could imagine. Of a team of 22, 16 are currently in the NHL, and the majority of those are dominant players. The team had two current NHL captains, numerous NHL assistant captains, team scoring leaders, league scoring leaders, all-stars, trophy nominees and winners and that’s just the Canadian side of the equation. Throw in the pairing of Ovechkin and Malkin and you’ve got a match up a lot of hockey fans would give their eye teeth to see again.

The 2005 Gold Medal Game

Whilst knowing the score and having celebrated like a wild fan (I had worked so someone had brought the score into work for me), it was a month and a half after the tournament ended and the “non-alcoholic champagne” was popped that I finally saw that game. To this date I’ve seen the game upwards of 60 times with the tape itself having actually started to loose its colour. My favourite moment of the game, forever immortalised by the screamings of Pierre McGuire was what is now known as the “Double Dion”, the moment Phanuef clears out two russians to set the line of Crosby-Perry-Bergeron off on an almost clear 3 – 0. The goal, the whole play itself is still one of my favourite moments in hockey. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can do the entire call from memory.

Stefan Legein

I have a little love affair with Stefan Legein. He’s funny as hell, cute and incredibly endearing with his chirpy, chippy and hard nosed style of play. Hell, I even have an entire blog post to him and his youtube highlights (here). It was the World Juniors that many of us not entirely obsessed with Jr Hockey first got to meet Mr Legein, and really it was probably the first time many got to see his endearing personality shine as the camera’s of a nation (or atleast TSN’s) fell on him. And I mean, anyway, who doesn’t love watching a ecstatic, shaving cream covered hockey boy half pounce a TV personality?  I’m pretty sure TSN, or James Cybulski atleast has a crush on the kid.

The Battle between PK Subban and Jonathan Tavares

PK Subban was badass. PK Subban was a brash, trash talking little d-man with a hell of a lot of swagger and a style of play that reflected all of this (even if Pat Quinn wasn’t a fan of the “Subbi-do” Spinorama). Best of all PK Subban was everything that the shy, seemingly personality-less Jonathan Tavares wasn’t. Until you put them in the same room. You put PK and JT in the same interview and you ended up with some hilarious stuff from the boys. Who loves Mariah Carey? Those boys do (“She’s decent. You can’t be dissing Mariah like that”.) Such gems also include “PK. You’re the toughest guy I know with your gloves on.” and a snipping match in a group interview as Thomas Hickey and Zach Boychuk stare confusedly at the pair. The two interviews are here and here

Going to Ottawa

In my travels last year, I was fortunate enough to end up in Ottawa for Christmas / New Years and got to experience the World Juniors first hand. It may have only been Canada v Germany and a bit of a one sided game but to me it was heaven. I turned up with my sign, my Team Canada hoodie and glitter flag cheek decals and for that night, I was truly as close to being Canadian as you can get without that whole pesky citizenship thing. I helped pass the flag, got to cheer and holler and even occasionally yelled random abuse when I felt the need arose.

2009 Canada / USA – New Years Eve Game

Despite the intense love I have for the 2005 Gold Medal Game, the 2009 Canada / USA match is quite possibly my favourite WJC game. It had everything. It had the underdog attacking and the favourite making a come back. It had passion, drama and a lot of fire and bad blood between the teams. It had jr team mates, room mates pitted against each other, both fighting for supremacy and the free pass through to the semi-finals.  So many times since then, I have gone back and watched that game. I even tried to tonight, only to discover that HockeyStreams.com, my savior for hockey archives has finally taken down some of its old streams. Heartbreak.

It’s Boxing Day here, which means that very shortly it’ll be Boxing Day in Canada and once again the fun will begin. Which member of the team will I end up crushing on this year after some amazing play, hilarious interview or endearing moment?

I can’t wait to find out!

See you at 6am Australian time, Team Canada. In the mix for six!

P.S. Team Finland. I no longer shall be supporting you as you cut my friend and Silvertip, Rasmus Rissanen (formally known as Finland to me). I do not like this.

I love the entry draft. All those fresh faced young hockey players, surrounded by their family and friends and still fill of hopes and dreams that GM’s and the real world are just waiting to crush.

My most recent favourite draft moments involve Brian Burke, whether it be watching his soul being crushed as the Kings draft Brayden Schenn and ending his Schenn and Schenn dreams, or the steely glee as he in turn crushes Bryan Murray’s dreams of drafting Nazem Kadri, with a simple “well we’re going to take him”, the draft holds a lot of excitement for those of us who love the jr leagues, and gossiping about what our team’s futures holds.

But what governs the draft?

Article 8.1 sets out that the draft shall be held in June every league year at a date determined by the commissioner. Each draft (8.2) shall consist of 7 rounds, and each of those rounds shall consist of the same number of selections as there shall be clubs in the following league year.

8.3 sets out the guidelines for compensatory draft picks obtained from a loss of a draft pick (they are different rules for loss of a Group III Free agent), requiring that the additional number of picks shall not exceed the number of clubs in the league the following year. The right to a compensatory pick arises if they lose rights to an unsigned draft choice, who was drafted in the first round. This loss of rights cannot arise if the loss is due to their own failure to tender a Bona Fide Offer.

The pick they are granted shall be of the same numerical choice as before but in the 2^nd round of the entry draft which immediately follows the date a which the loss of rights occur. A recent example of this was the Phoneix Coyotes and the loss of Blake Wheeler. Whilst the Coyotes made a legitmate Bona Fide Offer to Wheeler, they failed to retain his services on contract (as he wished to run off somewhere other than Phoenix as a FA) and were awarded the 5^th pick in the 2^nd round as their compensation.

All players 18 years and older are eligible for claim in an entry draft UNLESS:

• They are already on a reserve list of a club.
• They have been claimed in two prior entry drafts.
• They have previously played in the NHL and have since become a FA.
• Is older than 21 and has played in North America for minimum 1 year between 18 – 20 (a free agent).
• Is older than 22 and has not played in North America (a free agent).

8.5 or the order in which the draft is run

The rules that determine the order of selection are dictated by the league. These rules are valid as long as they do not give any club a greater or smaller chance of obtaining rights in a certain player. If any changes are to be made to the process, the NHL must notify the NHLPA by March 1 in the year of the draft to which changes are proposed to take affect.

Currently those rules can be found here

8.6 or how long you retain rights in a player.

Drafting, as everyone knows, gives a team exclusive rights of negotiation for the services of the player.

Initially a club retains exclusive negotiation rights to a player for a period of one year. If the club makes a Bona Fide Offer to the player  before or on June 1 of the year following the draft these negotiation rights will be extended to the second June 1 following the draft.

However, if the player is drafted at 20, his services not retained and he renters at age 22, the drafting club shall only acquire these exclusive negotiations rights for 1 year only unless the player is acquired from a club outside north America.

Realistically however, the retainment of player rights is dependent on several factors including whether they are a major junior or college player, their age and the year they leave either of these fields.

Drafted out of Major Junior

A club shall retain the exclusive negotiating rights until the 4^th June 1 after his intial draft selection of a player drafted at 18 who ceases to play in the major juniors in the first year after being drafted.

If the player ceases to play in his second season after being drafted, if the club hs tendered a Bona Fide Offer, they shall retain exclusive rights until the 4^th June 1,

If the player was drafted at 19 and ceases to play in major juniors in the first season after drafting, they shall retain exclusive rights until the 3^rd june 1^st (compared to the 4^th June 1^st if they were 18). This retainment of rights can be extended to a 4^th year if a BFO is made prior to the 1 June of the third year.

Other than these specific examples, ceasing to play in Jr’s shall have no impact on a club’s right of exclusive negotiation.

Drafted out of College or with Intention to go to College

If you’re 18 or 19 and a bona fide college student AT the time of your selection, or you become one within the next year after your selection (so say you’re kyle turris and you get drafted then go to college the next year where you excel in sports such as beer pong) and you remain a Bona Fide College Student through until the graduation of your college class, the club that drafts you shall retain exclusive rights until the august 15^th following the graduation of your college class. Because of NCAA guidelines, no Bona Fide Offer of a contract is required to retain this rights.

However, if you do not remain a college student through to the end of your graduation, the team shall retain rights until the 4^th June 1 following your intial selection. Once again, no BFO is required.

However if you are drafted at 18 or 19, and receive a BFO, and then become a college student before the 2^nd June 1, if that player remains through to graduation,  exclusive rights will extend until the august 15^th following their graduation from college.  Once again though, if they fail to remain at college through to graduation, the rights shall be retained until the 4^th June following initial selection.

If you draft a player who’s 20 or older and a Bona Fida College student, the club shall retain exclusive rights until the 2^nd June 1 following drafting. However, if on the 2^nd June 1 the player is still in college, the club shall retain those rights until the August 15^th of the year he leaves college, regardless if he has left at or prior to graduation.

8.6 (D) or so What is a Bona Fide Offer??

According to 8.6(d) a bona fide offer is an offer for a standard player contract for a period corresponding with the players age (9.1(b)), which commences at the start of the next league season, offers atleast a minimum paragraph 1 salary (s11.12) and remains open to the player to accept for atleast 30 days after the offer.

8.7 or what age means.

In the first two years after being drafted, an 18 year old who is signed to an SPC must be offered to the club he was drafted from (by the club he who drafted him) before he can be loaned to another.

In the first season after being drafted at 19 (or if they reach their 19^th birthday between September 16 and December 31 the year of the draft) the rule as above applies.

However, during the 18 and 19 year old seasons, IF the picks junior team is no longer in competition he may be loaned to a clubs minor league team provided they have been listed on their eligibility list (the AHL Clear Day List).

8.8 or yes we can trade your rights.

Any right of negotiation is completely transferable to another club by standard assignment without any requirement for waiver.

8.9 or Are you Eligible?

To play in the league you must either be drafted into the league, or be ineligible for drafting under 8.4.

These ineligibilities are:

• That you were older than 20, had played in North America in the prior season and had signed a standard player contract between the last draft and the NHL season’s commencement. Eg. Signed as an undrafted free agent.
• That you were under 20, had played the prior season in North America, and had signed an SPC between the last draft and the NHL Season’s commencement. However if you were on a try-out the date for signing is the first day of the NHL Season.
• That you were older than 22, played hockey outside North America last season, and signed an SPC between the draft and the NHL Season. This is what we call the Europeans take longer for us to figure out they’re there and good rule.

8.10 or so how old are you by Draft standards?

To the CBA 18 is  if you turn 18 between 1 Jan proceeding the draft and September 15 after the draft.

To the CBA to be 19 you must reach your 19^th birthday no later than September 15 the year of the draft.

20, 21 and 22 are all “ages reached prior or on” December 31 of the draft year.

8.11 or letting the NHLPA get to you early.

The NHLPA is entitled to attend and hold a closed and private meeting of players at any pre-draft combine the NHL shall hold. Awesome! It starts early

Article 1 – Definitions.

Definitions! I love definitions sections of legislation and agreements. For a lack of a better description, and with points awarded for complete obviousness of the term, definitions define what certain teams.  Such definition is really essentially, particularly when they get in the hands of shifty lawyers, who like to suggest certain interpretations of a term to suit their goals. The CBA definitions section enlightens with such pearls as:

“League” or “NHL” refers to the National Hockey League.

“All-Star Game” means the hockey game so designated by the NHL in which All-Star Players play.

However, as not to make light completely of the definitions system, which as I said actually serves a very useful function there are many useful definitions contained within the agreement. A useful examples of this include “European Player” which affects draft exceptions on the basis of having not played in North America and being above a certain age; or a “Free Agent” which is the umbrella term which breaks down into “Restricted Free Agent” and “Unrestricted Free Agent” all defined.

Article 2 -  Recognition

Article 2 of the CBA sets  forth the NHL’s recognition of the NHLPA and its role as the exclusive bargaining representative (for player contracts, conflicts between the league and players and arbitrations) of all present and future NHL players. The recognition however does not prevent a player either representing themselves or being represented by an individually certified agent when it is consistent with the agreement.

2.2 also allows the NHLPA to hold meetings at any time provided the timing is approved by teams and doesn’t interfere with the general play and business of the teams and league. It does however require that approval not be unreasonably withheld.

Article 3- Duration of Agreement

3.1 (a) of the agreement retroactively applies the CBA to run from 14^th of September 2004, the date at which the lockout started. Under this article, the current CBA shall run until 12 am September 15, 2011. (all times in the CBA are considered New York time, on the basis of the league’s offices, unless otherwise indicated). However, after this date, it can be renewed continuously on a year b y year basis, and will be done so until written notice to terminate the agreement is provided  more than 120 days prior to the ending of the current agreement term.

However 3.1(b) allows the NHLPA to terminate prior to 2011, with the first possible date having already passed at September 15 2009. Once again, this termination is contingent on written notice of termination 120 days prior to the agreements end / extension date as above.

Importantly, 3.2 indicates that the agreement of the CBA is binding upon the NHL, the NHLPA, all member clubs and all its minions , uh Players!

Article 4 – Union Security and Check Off

Article 4 basically sets out procedural rules of the NHLPA in relation to player membership and due. Every player has a right and option to join or not join the  NHLPA but regardless of membership everyone is liable to the same payment of an “annual service fee” or “periodic dues” (essentially the terms just differentiate depending on membership). The section (at 4.2) further allows the each individual Club to deduct the dues owed from a players salary if they have been voluntarily authorized and allowed to do so, and pay those dues on to the NHLPA. If this deduction does not conform with NHLPA by laws, the NHLPA will indemnify the NHL club for the costs incurred.

Article 5 – Management Rights

Article 5 sets out the rights each NHL club and the league itself has in regard to the management of their club. At any time, a team shall be able to direct and control their team, and from time to time determine where, how and under what circumstances their team shall continue to operate, be suspended, continued, sold or moved.

This section also provides the basis for the NHL’s right to determine the rules by which the game is played.

Article 6 – NHLPA Agent Certification

Article 6.1. grants exclusive rights of negotiation with an NHL Club to either a Player or to a Certified NHLPA Agent. No other person may enter into negotiations with an NHL club. In order to enable this to be carried out proficiently, 6.1 also lists the procedural rules (such as how often to update, the information to be contained within) which govern the Certified Agent List held by the NHL and provided by the NHLPA.

These rights are then furthered at 6.2 by declaring that NO SPC (Standard Player Contract) may be entered into, and that the NHL will not register or approve any SPC in which a player was not represented by themselves or an NHLPA Certified Agent.

Indemnification the NHL from any costs incurred from a claim made, or a judgment incurred n the basis of their refusal to negotiate with a NON-Certified NHLPA Agent as allowed under the CBA, falls to the NHLPA to cover the costs.

Further procedural rules regarding the Certification Program are added at 6.4 and 6.5 covering the provision of the Agent Certification Program to the NHL within 7 days of the signing of the agreement, as well as that notice of any material changes to the program must be made to the league atleast 60 days prior to the date of change.

Article 7 – No Strike, No Discrimination and Other Undertakings.

A key component I guess in preventing any disgruntled fractions of the League rearing their ugly heads in a way that would prevent league business from being carried out, 7.1 prevents the NHLPA or any of its players from authorizing, encouraging or engaging in any work stoppages, slowdowns or other concerted efforts to interfere with the activities of an individual club or league during this CBA. Declines to play or practice due to picketing or labour disputes are included in this.

7.2 inserts a general discrimination clause that you really see in many contracts or agreements now days, as they are often required by legislation of the relevant countries.

Last but in no means least, we get to 7.3, which prevents any player under a current SPC from negotiating with another club prior to the ending of the SPC. Think of this like, the rule that prevents Brian Burke from chasing down the Sedin twins prior to July 1^st!

And that’s it for the first segment of Naked Shootout: A Stripped Down look at the CBA!

The CBA is the bible of the hockey business. It governs how we acquire players, what we can do with them, how much we can pay them, how we can construct and run our teams, and the finicky procedural rules we must adhere to.

The number of fans however, that completely, or even reasonably understand the finer details of the CBA,  is minimal. Reading the CBA is a daunting task. I know this. I’ve read it twice (I’m sick like that) .

To save you the trouble however, I’ve read it again for you and this time I’m breaking it down, Article by Article.

So here I present! Naked Shootout: A Stripped Down Look at the CBA

Well I present it sometime soon..

To celebrate the occasion, my geekiness and excitement about the game I’d made a sign on the Cal-Train out from San Francisco with my friend. A knock off of the ever so popular mastercard commercial it read:

Plane Tickets from Australia $3,000.

Two Tickets to the Sharks Game: $100.

Saying I saw JR Play : Priceless.

Pre-game saw me standing against the glass with my friends, in awe as I was finally seeing all these players I’d watched for years on my tiny computer screen in front of me. Whilst I was busy staring off in awe, someone skated over and elbowed JR, pointing in my direction. My friend who had been watching, pointed it out as he came barrelling past the first time, grinned spun around a second time and stopped, tapped the sign through the glass and winked. I then let out the most un-dignified squeel in existence.

Two days later, I found myself in the Sharks locker room, a guest of Randy Hahn, the Sharks Commentator as he introduced me around. Roenick was barreling around the room, heading out the door when Randy called him over. “You had the sign”. I just about fell over and instead nodded mutely and possibly blushed.

For the next few minutes, I chatted to Roenick about hockey, how the sport was developing in Australia and how I had found such a love for the sport and ended up in the Sharks Locker room. He talked about always wanting to come down, about maybe doing something to help the sport here and in that moment I became an even bigger fan for the man that was already a legend for both his play and personality. Later in the day, I passed him again in a hallway and was greated, despite being in the middle of preparing for a game, with a hair tousel, a wink and a “G’Day Australia”.

During that nights pre-game skate, I stood behind several small children, and when JR skidded to a stop and waved to me through the glass the kids nearly fell over with suprise. I nodded back, pointing at the kids and within moments several pucks came flipping over into their hands. I wasn’t sure whose grin was bigger at that time, mine with appreciation for a hockey player’s understanding of what small things can mean, or the kids for getting their hands on a puck directly from one of the games greats.  T

Since then, I’ve exchanged an email or two with the man himself and definatley some day I hope to get him down here. I’m going up for the Board of Directors of the Australian Ice Hockey League shortly, and organising hopefully an international friendly, or atleast a tournment to open our rink and getting the greeat man down here would be something I’d love to do.

But until that time, and for a long time I”m sure, I will remember JR as one of the classiest and nicest hockey players I’ve ever met.

(I also have an exam on Private International Law in 3 hours so better STUDY)

Now, I’m not big fan of the shoot out for one reason and one reason only. As someone who plays goal, the fact that an entire game comes down to the individual performance of a goaltender in a one on one situation, resting an outcome on their shoulders, seems rather cruel punishment to me.

In a team sport like hockey, where the team is valued above any individual performance, it seems at odds to institute such a decider that removes that element from the game and turn the outcome into something determined by a skills contest (as Brynna puts it). Whilst Jeff thinks the whole game is a Skills contest (and that’s another enitre argument) on this point he raises a good question. If the shoot out is essentially an extension of the penalty shot, how is a penalty shot any different when it comes to  removing a team from a game and placing the pressure on the goalies shoulders?

On this point, in my oh so humble opinion I believe, the penalty shot lacks the finality aspect (except in Overtime as he pointed out, by this time I, in an incredible display of maturity, was sticking my tongue out at the screen in frustration) of a shoot out as well as being a result of the team’s actions in that moment. A penalty shot arises from the mistake of a team during a game, whether that be blowing a coverage to allow a one on one, pulling the player down and if converted to a goal, the game continues allowing the team as a unit to atone for their mistakes through further play.

Whilst the penalty shot and the shoot out attempt are essentially the same thing, identical in every way of performance, the purpose, that of punishing the offending team or determining a winner or loser are essentially different.

However, honestly? The Shootout, as I pointed out to both Brynna and Jeff, and they agreed with me on, isn’t going anywhere. It has become part of our game whether we admit it or not and as long as the NHL believe it adds attraction to the sport and makes their standings life easier it will remain. The shoot out will forever remain one of  things that whilst incredibly frustrating to the old school hockey fan is an exercise in futility to complain about.

Admittedly, you’d make a lot less of us hate it if, like we have down here in the AIHL, a 3 – 2 – 1 situation was instituted to balance out the value awarded to games that end in pure wins, SO wins and losses. That’s a whole new argument though.

P.S. My favourite hockey player is absolute money in the SO, so I don’t mind that part even.

P.S.S. Brynna hates the shoot out and would like it gone.

Legein’s most known for being the kid that, when faced with making the jump from the OHL to the AHL, instead chose to walk away from the game, having burn out at barely 20. Since then, and thankfully, for many of us who are fans of the Oakville forward’s in your face, tear your helmet from your head (as exhibited below) style of play, Legein has returned to the game, and now graces Syracuse, Columbus and a town near you with his wickedly quick sense of humor.

Three of my favourite moments of Stefan Legein.

1. Vintage Gino Reda.  Legein, resplendent with stick tape mustache interviews a very young and awkward 17 year old Jonathan Tavares, and amongst other things calls him a liar in hilariously honest fashion.

2.I’m pretty sure TSN and James Cybulski have a little bit of a man crush on Stefan, as exhibited by this entire video they made on just how funny they find him.

3. Who is going to hang a cigar out of their mouth, wave a gold medal and make out with the side of a tv presenters (of the same genders) face on national television, all the while covered in shaving cream? Stefan Legein that’s who.

It’s been all over the news lately. You can’t miss it. We’re talking about Georges Laraque and the whole Octane 7.0 drama.

Whilst I fail completely as a feminist and don’t have an issue with the scantily clad women in the advert, ones whom compared to recent Dallas Stars Ice Girls videos, are almost conservatively dressed, the main drama has arisen out of a breach of Article 25.1 of the CBA.

As everyone’s now had pointed out to them (and I had pink sharpied in my copy of the CBA) not only do you need to let your  team know what you’re up to in regards to endorsements and sponsorship, but you, in accordance with 25.1 you also can’t as part of endorsement or sponsorship be assocaited with an alcoholic beverage, the exception to this being malt based beverages such as beer.

On HNIC tonight, Kelly Hrudey suggested that by not allowing players to endorse an alcoholic beverage the NHL is essentially promoting a double standard. This double standard, in his opinion, is evidence by the fact  we see arena’s plastered with beer advertising and that a beer company, Molson, even owns an NHL franchise. With all due respect Mr Hrudey as someone with far more knowledge and a far better job than myself, beer advertising is treated differently to alcohol advertising in respect of  allowences by the CBA and if the product had been a malt-based beverage as allowed by the CBA, this situation would not have arisen.

Though Laraque may not have read his contract beyond the figures of how much he was making, you would expect that every NHL agent should and would have an indepth knowledge of the CBA and how its articles and clauses affect their clients. In this instance, the issue is raised : Why did Laraque’s agent not pick up on the problem arising from such an endorsement? I, as a 20 year old Australian fan (albiet one with 3/4′s of a law degree and a rather working knowledge of the CBA), am aware of such a clause.

The main issue however, that this whole debacle brings back to the spotlight is that of the place of alcohol sponsorship in sport. Whilst the NHL already effectively limits sponsorships to that of beer companies, with beer itself being portrayed as essentially an integral and timeless part of the hockey experience (it even got its on page in A Canadian Saturday Night by Andrew Podnieks), should alcohol sponsorship in anyway be allowed, especially due to the prevalance of alcohol related violence?

I know here in Australia the issue was raised recently, and when numbers were released, it was clearly evident that without alcohol sponsorship, nearly ever single Australian sport would suffer substantially to the point where the growth and development of sports in the country would inevitably start to regress. Whilst Australian sport is much more dependent in the absence of tv rights and with smaller markets and population, it is hard to believe the effect would not be substantial. A prime example of this is the recent Molson Giver 5 Commercials. It would not be hard to speculate that the cumulative donation total from such a campaign would be enough to fund the Olympic campaigns for several  smaller winter sports.

In my opinion, junior hockey is where the real issue lies. In a league where, atleast in America, none of the athletes, and in Canada, a large portion of the athletes, are below legal drinking ages alcohol sponsorship is rampant. Whilst there is the possibility that no  financial alternative is available, particularly in the current economic climate, questions have to be raised about the wiseness of such advertising choices, particlury with the high number of minds open to this negative influence both on the ice and in the stands.

Possibly the most disturbing, and if a fault of the economic climate (due to a lack of alternative options) , saddening examples of this lies in a WHL arena, where no less than 16 ads for alcoholic beverages are present. These ads look down upon on a team of young impressionable boys who last season lost one of their own, a teammate, to alcohol poisoning just two days after his 19th birthday.

Where do we draw the line here between the business reality that without sponsorship and the money it brings that enables JR and other leagues to run and the morality argument that the promotion of alcohol through sports advertising contributes  to curren social problems caused by underage and exessive drinking as well as alcohol fueled violence?

With recent moves in the NCAA to drastically cut back or remove alcohol advertising from venues and sports broadcasts what’s stopping hockey?

Our love affair has been an ongoing one. Besides the Mighty Ducks and Red Wings (loves which occured through accident and peer pressure), you were one of my first hockey loves. You were there for me as a scrawny 15 year old, yelling at the inanimate  box score as Philadelphia dispatched you from the playoffs in the second round, in what turns out to be the last time we saw you there.

Now Brian Burke’s taken the helm and the HMAS Leafs seems to be finding its way back on course, or so it seemed.

The pre-season brought glimpses of hope to Leafs Nation.  Several come from behind victories and victories in their own rights, dominating displays of pugnaciousness and truculence as Burke had promised and fans actually started to believe it’d all turn around.

Count me as one of those people. This “new” version of the Toronto Maple Leafs had me excited, eager even for the new season.

Turns out? Let down. Complete and utter let down and failure. So far atleast.

However, being a doomsayer less than 5 games in is totally naff a fact that the TSN staff don’t seem to understand. In fact, the TSN staff were already asking if the Maple leafs defence were overhyped 20 minutes into the first game of the season, and within two games, had already created a full blown goaltending controversey.

So you haven’t won a game yet. So you’re sitting in absolute last place in the league. So your fans are already once again alternately calling for a lynch mob or like you, pinning their hopes on a scruffy, monosyllabic painfully shy Wisconsin kid (FYI that’s Phil Kessel if you live under a rock, and haven’t ever witnessed him give an interivew).

Find a goalie who can keep it together. Get your defence to remember what defence is. Find some forwards (maybe that College should get a go again).

And really?

It’ll all be okay Toronto. It’ll all be okay.

And if it isn’t? Well… what’s new?