Posted by In the US of A, Thanksgiving weekend is the traditional start of the holiday season (despite certain retailers who begin their Christmas ads on Labor Day). Too often lost in the onslaught of ads, circulars, commercials and Black Friday store riots is the original reason that Abraham Lincoln established this holiday: to be grateful and give thanks for what we have. With that in mind, here are a few things that, as an Avalanche watcher, I appreciate:
-The success of the Avalanche. As someone who suffered with/enjoyed the NHL Colorado Rockies from 1976 thru 1982, it has been a pleasure to watch one of the NHL’s better teams for most of the last 14 years.
-The fans that come out game after game. The Avs attendance woes have been well-documented, but the hard core fans that do show up are loyal and supportive.
-The Avs players that work hard. After the malaise and disinterest shown by many players in previous seasons, the play of David Jones, T.J. Galiardi, Ryan O’Reilly, Matt Duchene, among others, is a refreshing change.
-Tyler Arnason playing in Russia. (see previous paragraph).
-Craig Anderson in goal. His 2.71 goals-against average and .914 saves percentage, vs. Peter Budaj’s 4.30 and .855, explain it all.
-Mike Haynes and Peter McNab, the Avalanche TV announcing team. Two of the best in the business, and two great guys as well.
-The 2010 Winter Olympics being played in Vancouver. Live hockey on TV, and much less travel wear-and-tear on the players.
-Nights when I can find the Avalanche radio post-game show (it has been on at least three stations with little notice of the change) and hear it’s fading signal all the way home from the game, about 11 miles.
-The new 3rd jerseys. While they are not great, I am thankful that they aren’t hideous.
NOTE – NHL 3rd jerseys can be hit or miss. An example of a good one is the Chicago Blackhawks. Examples of bad ones include, but are not limited to, Boo Boo Bear from the Boston Bruins and Burger King from the L.A. Kings. (How the Kings missed a promotional tie-in with BK I’ll never know).
-Finally, I’m most thankful that we have pro hockey in Denver at all. After the very minor league Denver Rangers slunk out of town in 1989, local fans were without pro hockey of any kind until 1994 when the
IHL Denver Grizzlies began play. The Avalanche came to Denver a year later, giving Colorado fans the chance to again enjoy the NHL, the best hockey in the world.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
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Hey Bruce, thanks for the positive note about Mike Haynes and Peter McNab. The two guy ARE great and take too much flak in this town as homers.
Great write-up, Bruce. You hit the nail on the head about the hard-work of the young kids listed above. They’ve got some blue-chippers that should be clad in burgundy for years to come. Still waiting for Stastny and Wolski to take that next step to the elite level (I can see them as a dynamic duo akin to Datsyuk and Zetterberg of the hated Wings, but Paul and Wojtek aren’t there at this point), but there’s been plenty to be pleased with thus far this season.