Hey, the Coyotes are having a rookie camp!
Oh my sweet lizards, the Canadians are going to go with four alternates and no captain?
Every single player that got hurt, that finished last year in the dog house, or had a down year is "pumped and ready to go," and "feeling like I'm in the top shape of my career."
NHL.Com's lead story is about Seth Jones and his Mom!
To be honest, the best thing going on right now is that Phil Kessel commercial.
Yes, it's true. The lead up to the pre-season is excruciating. In the summer, it's actually easier to put up with the lack of hockey because it's expected. But, once you head into September - you pick up your copy of the NHL game, you do your first fantasy draft - and then you wait.
And then you wait some more.
And then some guy tries to tell you for the one billionth time why Johnathan Toews is better than Crosby or Ovechkin, as if it's even possible to perform enough defense and/or intangibles to overcome a roughly 40 point difference in point year-to-year (in the case of Crosby) or close to double the amount of goals in the case of Ovechkin. (And hey, what do I know, you might be right. Scream Minus 35 at me until you're blue in the face, I just don't care.)
Then you try to pretend you give any kind of a crap about rookie camps. But you can't do it, because rookie camps are good for coaches, I guess, and not much else. Maybe they are good for hockey-starved maniacs, of which I am one, but I doubt it.
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see some real hockey, there is just absolutely nothing I can contribute to a conversation about who should be the captain of any team. Might as well get into a high-strung debate about assistant coaches or P.A announcers.
But hey - that's just me. Don't let me stop you from obsessing over the insignificant. It's all good. I just want to watch some hockey, even if it is pre-season.
But Jimmy, Why don't you like the rookie camps?
Well, I think they are probably a good tool for the coaches, and if I could go watch one of the games, I would, just to see some hockey, but they aren't worth analyzing. I mean, what can I learn about Max Domi from watching him play a bunch of kids he better be way better than? I'd rather hold off making any judgments from rookie camp and wait to see how people do against other NHL players - where we might learn something.
But that's September. Or at least the first three weeks of it. The Coyotes open real camp tomorrow where, according to their website, they will have physicals and medicals and media day. By the beard of Zeus, I just absolutely cannot wait to see who got fat.
Hopefully you realize that that sentence was supposed to be just absolutely dripping with sarcasm. And, hey, did he really just say "it's all good"? Yup, it turns out I am starting to talk just like my 14 year old daughter - and the pre-pre-season is actually really good bonding for us because it's the one time of year we think the same amount of things are "lame".
On Monday there is a real game against the Kings, which although not televised will be the first step towards something tangible and worth getting up for. But then, next Wednesday, 4pm Mountain Time, the Coyotes will play the Flames in the first game you can actually see. That should be exciting.
Well, actually it shouldn't be, but after the summer, the pre-pre-season and the endless debates about nothing, a pre-season game will feel like a playoff game. At least until about the third period when you'll realize you don't care about the pre-season either and can't wait till the Jets come to town on Thursday October 9th.
Still, ultimately, even though it's a little slow right now, I am getting more excited for the season by the day, and I have a hockey pool to do on Saturday - feel free to leave me any tips or advice you might have in the comments section - it's just a straight points draft, 15 players, no positional requirements, no goalies.
Thanks for reading.