A Birth And A Rebirth

Yesterday at 1:57 PM, my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Ella. Which makes me Uncle “G”, you don’t have to refer to me as such though. What a great birthday though, 12/12/05.

It’s a new member of our family and I couldn’t be happier for my sister. Of course this means teaching the youth about my favorite sport, Hockey. If we get her in skates now, she has a chance to make the Olympic team in about 16 or 17 years from now. Wishful thinking.

This brings me to the whole point of this post. This is to tell my niece Ella now what the future of the NHL will be like in the ... future. And of course I put it in a letter.

Dear Ella,
You couldn’t have picked a better time to be born. The game of professional hockey is fast, fun and better than it has been in years. Even though I know your mother is a Penguins fan, I hope you will take into consideration that they suck. You don’t have to be a Pens fan like your mom, and you don’t have to be Caps fan like your uncle. Cheer for Anaheim, they need it.

Anyway, by the time you are old enough to understand the game, these are the changes I foresee in the future of NHL.

1) Back in 2005, we tested this whole keeping the goaltender out of the corners by creating a trapezoid area behind the net where the goaltender was only allowed to touch the puck in that area. Soon NHL officials realized more offense could come with a sharp pass from an experienced goaltender rather than just keeping them in designated areas.

2) When you were born Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were rookies. They were outstanding, and Sid the Kid played in Pittsburgh back then. Ovechkin was traded after the Caps failed to win a Stanley Cup and gone through 5 coaches. But after the lockout, it’s all anyone wanted to talk about, the two rookies, Crosby and Ovechkin.

3) The Nashville Predators had this god awful third jersey that was a mustard color. Thankfully Dijon Mustard makers of America sued the team over patent infringement, and they got rid of them.

4) You may hear about some hockey movies that people will tell you to watch, but there is only one good one: Slapshot from the seventies starring Paul Newman. Miracle is the only other one I consider good, but if anyone tells you about Youngblood, or Mighty Ducks, just know that they suck, and the movies do to.

Well I am sure there will be a lot of changes as you grow older and I will poison your mind about hockey and other things your mother would not approve of. And anytime you want to come to Washington, I will get you a nice warm seat next to me to watch the Caps. Welcome to Earth Ella.

Your Uncle “G”
Garrett

P.S. If you want to be all girly and hang out with my wife and shop that is fine too, but then no personalized jersey for you!

-- Other Notes --

• Jiri Fischer is grateful yet uncertain about his future. Detroit’s own was emotional during his first press conference since collapsing on the bench. I am still pulling for Fischer to make a return to the ice.


• I am starting to believe that the Ottawa Senators are almost unbeatable this year. Why didn’t Colorado start David Aebischer? Is there some kind of goalie problems in Denver?


• Now that the Capitals seem to be getting better and their brand of play is getting more exciting, Brendan Witt and Olaf Kolzig are starting to like D.C. a whole lot better. Even though Olie didn’t say it, Kolzig thought about moving on and ending his career with a Cup contending team. Even the trade rhetoric from Witt has subsided. But is that good news for the Caps?

Discuss amongst yourselves.