"So I tell Carkner, Oh yeah?
Well you don't even know
the basic principle behind
quantum mechanics!"
Only 56 days until the season opener, but who's counting? Probably not the players listed below, because they're too preoccupied catching up on those books they've been wanting to read. Here's the reading list for some of your favorite NHL players and teams from this summer...
Martin St. Louis - The Little Engine that Could
Kyle Wellwood - The Hunger Games, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Who Moved My Cheese?
Brad Richards - Great Expectations
Nikolai Zherdev - The Giving Tree
Vancouver Canucks - A Series of Unfortunate Events
Well it's August, quite possibly the most boring time of the year for hockey fans. I've run out of comedic material so I'm just going to compile a list of the top clean hits from the 2010-2011 NHL season (although I guess some of these could be considered comedic anyways). Let me know if you agree with the rankings / if you disagree with the rankings / if you think I'm missing any big ones / if you enjoy long walks on the beach ... in the comments section below:
11. Marc Staalon Wellwood (Honorable Mention) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4K_gl5ICU#t=00m03s
This hit is impressive when you consider the fact that Wellwood has at least an 100-pound advantage on Staal.
9. Ovechkin on Subban http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fp_Hg9z2rc
Would've been ranked higher, but it wasn't really a hit as much as it was Subban trying to play leap frog.
8. Ballard on Miller (Vancouver Hipcheck #3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqPLIhykXA
At first glance there doesn't appear to be much here, but then you realize it's an open ice hip check. Miller can clearly see Ballard, the boards aren't there to use as leverage, and Ballard still up-ends him.
7. Hamhuis on Murray (Vancouver Hipcheck #2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q599OC7UM-4&feature=related
Douglas Murray is listed as 6'3", 240 lbs. Just sayin'. It should be noted now that this wasn't even Vancouver's best hipcheck of the year.
4. Ballard on McGinn (Vancouver Hipcheck #1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhrtvlVlVJQ
Topping the Vancouver hipcheck rankings. From the crowd's reaction you'd think the game was in Vancouver.
As the summer begins to slowly wind down and training camps continue to near, it's interesting to see how players around the league have been staying in shape. Some have hired personal trainers while others chose to work out with their friends and teammates. With various roles and positions to fill, players have been focusing their attention all summer (for Islanders' players: since last November) on the specific set of skills they are hoping to develop and improve. Here's some insight into what your favorite players/teams have been working on this summer...
Evgeni Malkin
Malkin has reportedly spent his entire summer thus far in Russia, continuing to recover from a nagging knee injury that ended his 2010-2011 prematurely. His workout consists of repeatedly juggling a ball over a hurdle while the Penguins strength coach, Mike Kadar, sits there laughing at the fact that the Penguins are paying him to essentially... do nothing.
Martin St. Louis
Upon seeing the video from Malkin's "training sessions", Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis released footage of his own workout techniques... Tough to tell who has been working harder in the offseason, Malkin or St. Louis...
Pittsburgh Penguins
state-of-the-art training center
Pittsburgh Penguins
While Malkin was over in Russia doing his own thing this summer, the Penguins organization purchased a brand-new, multi-million dollar training facility. Penguins owner Mario Lemieux reported that he specifically installed an additional training apparatus 10 meters above the state-of-the-art training surface for star-forward Sidney Crosby.
Matt Cooke
Practiced his turtling techniques for anytime Evander Kane is on the ice.
Alexander Ovechkin
Strictly followed the Kyle Wellwood diet.
Paul Bissonnette
Focused on strengthening his fingers for his twitter updates while watching the regular season from the Phoenix press box (not hating on the guy, I'd love to make $600,000 a year to watch hockey).
Keith Ballard
Sharpened the defensive subtleties in his game. Tasks included: improving his forward-skating ability for when opposing forwards breeze past him, and learning to forgive your goaltender for allowing a goal.
