It’s the last day of SBN’s use of Chorus. Let’s sing it out.
Happy Monday! We’re back.
This is very likely the last thing I will ever write using the Chorus software that’s used throughout the SBN-osphere, and set us on our WordPress based future.
Incidentally, all of the sites that survived and went independent? They went WordPress first. Even now in it’s current state, SBN-NHL innovates.
Either way, the Summer Showcase has finished up, and it’s clear; Jimmy Hagens might be the real deal. Will Zellers definitely needs a little extra time and will hopefully find a new groove playing with North Dakota, but that’s fine. Both acquitted themselves marvelously to the summer stage and I hope they both get the chance to go to the World Juniors this year. Canada did in fact got their act together enough to beat the States, and Finland got one over on Sweden in a convincing game. Really not looking forward to Rimpinen being a mainline NHLer in like two or three years.
Away from Boston; USA Today (!!) went and published a wild expose on the overwhelming control the Dallas Stars have lorded over youth hockey in the state of Texas on Friday; the Stars as it turns out have been strongarming players and rink owners for years (if they don’t just own the rinks outright) and have been doing some real shady shit to keep complaints down and have largely stacked the Texas Amateur Hockey Association with employees of the Stars.
This is hardly new; local teams tend to press their thumb on the scales of their local youth programs, and in some cases it’s probably a good shot in the arm for the local NHL, AHL, Major Junior team to try and give a little help for local programs in non-traditional markets; give a little money, pay for some gear, clear some ice time for the Under-10 program, that’s all good; great even. The way some of the western conference squads are going about it where they are essentially thee only game in town? In some cases for an city, or even an entire state? That’s a little newer for the sport. Many of them are often extremely cash-strapped organizations that are competing directly against Football, Baseball, Soccer, and Basketball. The embrace of the local NHL team would, should, and often is a major boon for a great many programs, and if they can set up a network of support across the state? even better. But the minute you become a dictator of icetime, if any criticism is responded to with bans, threats, and not sitting down with the families and hashing shit out because they are your customers in hostile, unfamiliar territory for the sport like the Stars have?
That’s going a step and half too far.