#70
Biscuits and Breezers
Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! In this blog we will be talking about the two recent deaths of 2 NHL prospects, ECHL player Pierre Luc- O'Brien retiring, and the Stanley Cup Finals. Starting off with the ECHL. Quite a while ago, long time South Carolina Stingray left wing Pierre - Luc O'Brien announced his retirement from professional hockey. I know this is dated but I felt that I finally had time to tell you all. Pierre was definitely one of my favorite players of all time in the ECHL and for the Stingrays organization. In his last season with the Stingrays, he had 24 goals in 71 games played, 28 assists, 52 TPs, 55 PIMs, and a +/- of 21. He played 2 seasons with the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the BCHL, 4 years at Sacred Heart University in the NCAA serving as assistant captain in his 3rd year and captain his 4th year, games with the Portland Pirates and Iowa Chops in the AHL, 4 seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL, and 1 season with the Fischtown Pinguins in the German2 league. He also is a Kelly Cup Champion. He was a great guy not only on the ice but off the ice as well. He was great with the children and youth of Charleston County and interacted with them quite often. Being from Quebec and speaking his native French, O'Brien was often paired up with Canadian/French native and team mate Maxime LaCroix. This pair gave life and fun to the team. He showed South Carolina and Charleston especially why hockey should be more popular in the south. He wasn't the spokesperson for the Stingrays but the public definitely saw him as one. Pierre - Luc was a great goal scorer and communicated with his team mates very well. He was great in the locker room as well. I am going to have two videos for you from YouTube, one will be his retirement announcement and another is his interview with the junior reporter. These videos definitely show his personality better and it shows what approach he takes to life. Edmonton had Gretzky, Charleston had O'Brien. Thank you for all your time in Charleston Pierre - Luc and you will be dearly missed! Good luck with the rest of your life and your possible future hockey career!
Now we will be talking about the Stanley Cup Finals. With Chicago being the Western Conference Champions after beating the reigning Cup holders L.A. Kings, the Hawks are now facing an Original 6 rival, the Boston Bruins. Of course we all know that Boston went on to be the Eastern Conference Champions after beating the Penguins, but did you know that these rivals have never met in the playoffs? Not even the Original 6 days? Crazy right! Well at least that's what I said. Anyway, the series is currently at 3-2 with Chicago leading. The first game was taken by Chicago after 3 grueling overtimes and multiple chances to score. The end was finally dealt out with a shot on the blue line from Hawks blueliner Michal Rozsival. The puck was passed over to Dave Bolland who took a shot from the far left side of the net to go deep in the bottom pocket but it did not reach there and instead deflected off of Andrew Shaw's shin in between Tuukka Rask's pads. Then in the second game, Boston prevailed with a flick of the wrist from Daniel Paille. Although Patrick Sharp started the scoring in the first period with 8:40 seconds left, Boston kicked things up a notch and decided to go for it. Rask got his third shut out of the playoffs this season with a 2-0 win in Game 3 that was in fact played in Boston. Tuukka has definitely stepped up his game to a more mature level than before and I think that is what's helping the Bruins win so many of their games. When the Bruins won their cup in 2011, Tuukka didn't get as much ice time as he does now and that might be due to the fact that the team had Tim Thomas and wanted to rely on a goalie that they knew had the skills to win a cup. But when Thomas left it was Rask's turn and he stood up to the challenge. Tuukka should be respected for that. He has done fantastic throughout the series. The 2 goals were from Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron. Now in game 4, it was a completely different story. No shut outs, no close calls, no nothing. The final score was 6-5 in, you guessed it, another overtime. Brent Seabrook saved Chicago from a 3 game deficit with his overtime winning goal. Then in game 5, Chicago decides to take things into their own hands and beat Boston 3 - 1. The Hawks had goals from Dave Bolland and two from the certainly unpredictable Patrick Kane. Boston's only goal came from their captain Zdeno Chara. Realistically speaking, Chicago could take home everything in game 6 back in Boston. We will have to see if Boston decides to fight back and force a game 7 or will they relinquish the cup to the Hawks. There hasn't been a playoff series with 3 overtime games since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens vs. L.A. Kings series. I am excited to see where this goes because this is one of the best series I have ever seen. Boston's offensive game is almost flawless and their plays are always followed by a pack of black and yellow jerseys. Chicago's defensive game is definitely paying off for them because that is what's getting them goals.
Now I regret to inform you all of some very tragic news. Two, count it two, NHL prospects were found dead last week. One had supposedly "drowned" in a river in Latvia and the other was found dead in his home in Norway. Oilers prospect Kristians Pelss was the young man who drowned in his hometown of Riga, Latvia. Now authorities of the Riga police department were not sure that the body they had found was in fact Pelss, but with an identification process from his family it was confirmed. A few nights before his body was found, there was a distress call phoned in about a man jumping off the bridge into the river. It was concluded that this man was Kristians but there are other theories that is wasn't him at all. There are stories floating on about murder, stunts gone horribly wrong, or even suicide. From the days he was reported missing until now, there is still an investigation going on to see what caused his untimely death. It wasn't very much like him at all to commit suicide said the family but that can't be ruled out. It is very sad to hear that he passed away only at the age of 20. He will be dearly missed by friends and family, the Oilers fan and organization, and the rest of the hockey family. Another NHL prospect was also found dead this week as well. 23 year old Scott Winkler, a prospect for the Dallas Stars, was found dead in his family's home in Norway. Scott had just graduated from Colorado College where he had played 4 years of college hockey. He was a 3rd round draft pick for the Stars in 2008. On Thursday he was found unresponsive and the cause of death is still unknown. It was quite a shock to many people and he will be missed by many more. This unfortunate situation caused me to think was this a possible act of foul play as well? I certainly hope not. It is very sad to hear of someone's death like this. Both of their deaths really. They were so young and had an entire professional athlete career ahead of them. I feel sorry very deeply for their loved ones because I know the pain of losing a loved one. The hockey and NHL family will miss them very much and will always remember their losses. R.I.P. (Credit to Google Images for the pictures)
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| Kristians Pelss |
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| Scott Winkler |
Now we have come to the "Players of Today" segment! For the "Junior" pick we have Team USA roster member left wing Trey Wilson. For the NHL pick we have Boston Bruins right wing Jaromir Jagr. For the European pick we have AK Bars Kazan KHL left wing Lauris Darzins. Also we have an interview!
Trey is 5 ft 8 in, 175 lbs,and is from Riverside, California. In the 2006-2007 season (sorry I couldn't find any recent stats) he had 1 goal in 24 games played, 4 assists, 5 TPs, and 88 PIMs. Recently, Wilson represented Team USA in the 2013 World Deaf Hockey Championships in Vantaa, Finland. Yes he is deaf but he is one of the best hockey players I have seen. Even better than some players with full hearing. He has played on teams with other players with full hearing and you can not tell the difference. He plays with this passion that I can not describe. I mean it is incredible! Trey plays right along with the other players as if he had no hearing problem at all. He has great puck control and stick handling. His skates make each cut with precision and are very reliable. Now for the interview! Yes I had the great honor and privilege to speak with Trey. The first question I asked him was, "How did it feel to represent Team USA this year?" He answered, "When I got the email from the coach and GM it's saying my name is in the list on the team and I was really excited and it pumped me up. One year earlier I went to Chicago for [tryouts] for a week. I was playing hard and focused and [it] kept me motivated." The next question I had for him was, "During your stay in Vantaa this year, how did you improve your game and what did you learn from your experiences overseas?" He responded, "I feel like my outlook on hockey has changed. Yes I have played for adult leagues, JRA and previous USA team but this time was the first I got to experience this and it was amazing. Just knowing how hard I played in try out to be picked and knowing that all my hard work preparing for this payed off. I learned that there are great deaf teams all over the world and to have the chance in meeting the players and talking to them and getting their experience is something that I will never forget." With that great response I asked Trey, "I know you love to train especially with weights and to get stronger, what keeps you motivated and driven to train the way you do?" He returned, "My motivation is to improve my strength and balance so it gives me better control on the ice. Training will help me with skating allowing me to skate fast and my balance and to gain more muscle to allow me to hit harder and play more aggressive. Also to look good." Awesome response I think! One of the last questions I asked was, "As a left wing, do you think you play more offensively or defensively?" "Definitely offensively." I then asked, "Where do you see yourself in ice hockey in the next 10 years?" Wilson replied, "My dream would be to be a pro or semi pro player or ECHL player. But I see myself trying for more USA teams also. My goal is to become a hockey physical trainer. Hockey is a big part of my life and I will stay involved with it in any way I can." The last question was, "If you had the opportunity, would you ever coach?" His last answer was, "Yes. Definitely. If given the chance I would coach a team." Thank you so much for having this interview with me, I greatly appreciate it! Also to any of you that will read this, make sure to check him out because he is absolutely amazing. He definitely does not let his hearing get in the way of his hockey. His passion about the game is outstanding, his positive attitude influences others around him, and his determination could carry him all the way to the pros. I know I personally am hoping that he reaches for the stars and takes his share. Good luck Trey with Team USA and the rest of your hockey career!
Lauris is 6 ft 3 in, 201 lbs, and is from Riga, Latvia. He was drafted in round 9 268th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. In the 2012 - 2013 season, he had 4 goals in 28 games played, 8 assists, 12 assists, 6 PIMs, and a +/- of 1. He also served as captain of Team Latvia in the World Championships this year. Lauris is very good with the technical workings of the game. He has the mental picture of what should happen and he carries it through. You don't get drafted into the KHL for no reason. Dazins' passes are very good especially his saucer passes. He has great on- ice vision and very quick skates. He is definitely a great leader to his team mates and puts them in the right direction. Even when he doesn't serve as captain, he sets his team on a path that best fits them. He can read and understand the situations at both ends of the ice and asses them that way. I would also have to say that he plays a very hard and fast offensive game. Lauris will make the great checks once in a while but unfortunately he is not known for it. I hope to see more of him in the hockey world and hopefully wearing a Predators jersey. Good luck Lauris with the KHL and your future hockey career!
Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog will be filled with updated hocke y news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't be your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifestyle not just a sport!
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