October is here. Thank God! I never have waited so long for a month. Tonight our new Portland Pirates will be taking the ice against a new league. I call it a new league because they have no idea what our Pirates are going to do to them. I hope they are expecting last year's team. This year we've got it all. We've got scoring, we've got defense, we've got enforcers, and yes,(ok, Art, here you go...) we've got goaltending. I'm not sure what year it is according to the Chinese, but this is the Year of the Pirates.
This is the Year of the Full Civic Center. We've got a great team...I think. The fickle will be there by December if all goes as planned.
The Year of the Healthy Peluso. 32 goals should come off his stick, as long as Mike doesn't get hurt.
The Year of Baumer proving why he was drafted when he was. I'll say it until I'm blue, he's better than Witt.
The Year of Whitfield playing to potential and making the Bruins look stupid. Harry couldn't sign him, but he's playing here. Trent at his best is such an impact. Usually he just lollygags around. Once in a while, watch him. He'll dazzle you.
The Year of Serge Fortin seeing his son make quite an impact as a hockey player professionally. Serge is the only father that I can recall that posted messages of interest at Crow's Nest. We know Serge's commitment, let's see JF's!
The Year of Volchkov. This is his year. It has to be. If not, I do believe the Russian mafia has a couple of open posts.
The Year to Forget Former Goons. We've got Jason Shmyr and recently assigned Jamie Huscroft. Let Downey, Stock and Laitre get cheap now. These guys are heavyweights, future crowd favorites, killers.
The Year of Boileau not being minus beyond belief. He's proven he's a good, and I'm not saying great, but a good defenseman. If he's going anywhere, he's got to work on his DEFENSE. The ridiculous - has got to go.
The Year of Barrie Moore proving he's more than a minor leaguer. With all he went through in Buffalo and Edmonton, he deserves a shot(for some reason, I'm a Barrie Moore fan).
The Year of "The Banger". Watch Dwight Parris closely. He hits anything that moves with an opposition's jersey. He'll stand up for himself and his teammates. He's so solid on defense, he should be called up, unless, of course, you think Joe Reekie is a good defenseman.
The Year of Trevor Halverson showing he doesn't need a natural on the other wing(JP) or someone else starting the real battles(Bennie25). Trevor, aside from being an absolute A+ guy, has more skills than we give him credit for these days.
The Year or Half Year or Quarter Year or 10 games of, Tezikov. This kid is so good, we probably won't see him very long. They traded Juneau for him(along with some junk) last season. Then again, the B's traded Juneau and got Al "19 games in a Boston jersey" Iafrate also. Let's hope Juneau gave more this time.
The Year of the Great Coaches. Mark Kumpel did a great job last year with 2 teams, 2 styles and one crappy team. This year, Glen Hanlon is here. If anything that Iron Mike said sank in, there will be no slackers around here. Hanlon seems like a nice guy, but I'm sure on the bench and at practice, he gets things done.
The Year of Who is Deciantas? He did it in lesser leagues, let's see him prove it here.
The Year of Better Music. Bad Moon Rising is fine. YMCA is fun for some people, so is the Chicken Dance. No more Green Acres 10 times a period, no more Addam's Family 20 times a period, no more "Day-O" 40 times period, and no more Ozzy at all. We need music to get us going. We want to be pumped, so do the players. Give us music that will get us rocking!
The Year of the Coverage. Call 6, 8, and 13. These boys are going to be the talk of the town. They cover the SeaDogs like Baltimore covers the Orioles. Let's get them covering the Pirates like Calgary covers the Flames.
The Year of Goaltending. Get rid of Brochu, he's too old, he knows he'll never make it to the Show. Put the kids in net. They've got the fire. If we're facing Giguere, Damphousse, Garon, Pelletier, Whitmore, Biron, and Aubin, we'll need someone to stop the pucks here.
The Year of Mr. Defense. Steve Poapst does it all. He is all about community, family, and hockey(not in any specific order). Is there anyone more consistent?
The Year of The Captain. Kent Hulst is the ultimate Captain. The time has come to say fair is fair and give this workhorse his due.
It's now October. Let the games begin. The Pirates, in my HUMBLE opinion, are going to be a great team this year. Not saying that as a season ticket holder, but saying that as a hockey fan.
The Year of The Hip. The Tragically Hip are a Canadian rock band that exemplifies hockey. If you like hockey, you'll love The Hip. Any group that writes a song about Bill Barilko is serious. Oops, I almost forgot, they also include Robert Gordon in one of their songs. If they've got #4 in a song, you've got to love them.
We'll see you at the rink.
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