Welcome back to the NHL world, sports fans!…though I’m sure most of you were always keeping a close eye on the league throughout the Olympics.
Before completely diving back into our Flames discussions, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of our most memorable thoughts regarding these past Olympic games. Personally, there were two things that really stood out for me when I’ll think back on #Sochi2014 Olympics.
The first is a story which CBC covered over the last day or two involving a Canadian speedskater and his chance at the Olympics. For those who haven’t already heard the story by now, Calgary’s Gilmore Junio gave up his spot to race to Denny Morrison, a teammate and friend, who ended up with a silver medal in the 1000m men’s speedskating.
The reason that this story really stood out to me wasn’t so much because of Gilmore’s action(yes it was grand), but more so as a result of the faces and reactions from his parents afterwards. This was their young son, at his first Olympics, who trained for years, flew all the way to Sochi with family and friends, and watched someone else race in his place. While I’m sure there were plenty of mixed emotions regarding his decision, I wondered if I would be able to make such a decision.
The thing is, the Olympics are, in a sense, a “team… sport. We’re all Canadians, and all the athletes want to win for Canada. However, it’s tough to argue that these athletes aren’t also competing for themselves. This is their livelihood. It’s what they do, for the most part, to pay their bills.
When you've committed so much of your time and life to your sport and decided against competing to improve your country’s odds at medaling? That to me is just some other kind of special. Props to Junio and I hope Canada shows their appreciation for his sacrifice.
Secondly, and while not as impressive as the first story, is the feeling I had watching Canada’s gold medal game yesterday morning with family and friends. Despite having a few too many drinks the night before, we all got up, met at my place where my wife made us a nice big breakfast, had Tim Horton’s coffees and sat around the TV to enjoy a great hockey game.
I suppose how you do certain things, and who you experience them with can create memories for individuals in different ways, and yesterday morning despite being hung-over and tired, would end up being a great memory to take back from the games for me.
There are not too many times that I would get up that early with such limited sleep, and have friends over for breakfast, for anything but watching Canadian hockey. Worth every missed hour of sleep.
How about you? What was your best/worst memory from the 2014 Winter games?
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As the playoffs near and the trade deadline also approaches, teams will begin to showcase their players and be a little busier on the phone than usual.
That said, I noticed last night that the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled rookie defenseman Simon Despres and Brian Gibbons Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. While I am not suggesting that these two players were only called up because a trade is near, it is certainly interesting to speculate just that.
The Pens are currently experiencing a few injuries on their backend at the moment, with Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen both said to be out, in addition to Paul Martin recently injuring himself during the Olympic games. It appears that of the three, Niskanen shouldn’t miss much if any time at all, however. Martin was not put in a cast and could be out for a short period, while Letang's return is very questionable, and not likely to be any time soon.
The reason I brought it up is because Simon Despres was one of the players who I’ve been keeping an eye on, in terms of his recent play in the AHL and also when he may be called up again. Despres was one player who I had mentioned a few weeks ago that the Calgary Flames are likely to show interest in when discussing trade proposals. I know wonder, aside from that fact that there are injuries to deal with, if the Pens aren’t also showcasing the young defenseman as teams call and inquire on him.
For those who haven’t heard much about him yet, Despres is a 22 year old, 6-foot-4, 220-pound native of Laval, Quebec who was selected 30th overall in 2009 by the Penguins. Since being selected, Simon has played a total of 69 games with Pittsburgh, registering 15 points and 42 PIM. Playing with the Wilkes-Barres in the AHL, Despres has registered 22 points and a +18 rating in 34 games.
The large defenseman is quite mobile on his skates and moves the puck well. He has the ability to play a strong physical game, but is not one to showcase this side of his game over his skating and puck moving abilities. Despres is projected as a top four defenseman who will likely be entrusted with all situations of the game and could be a very nice asset to pick up for Calgary.
What are your thoughts?