Week one of the 2009-10 season is nearly in the books. In the span of that week, the team had over 100 players show up to camp with an opening night barbecue, a couple days of practices, the Neely Cup, and tomorrow, the preseason game against Seattle. In the midst of all this, the coaching staff and scouts have been putting in long nights evaluating players and making tough decisions about who will stay.
So yeah, just another week at the office.
Everyone is looking forward to hitting the ice tomorrow against an actual opponent, with both teams primarily playing their 15 and 16 year-olds in what will amount to a Futures Game. Tickets are only $10 apiece, regardless of section.
One thing to keep in mind tomorrow will be the parking situation. The UFC event at the Rose Garden gets underway at 4:45, and it’s a safe bet that all the nearby parking lots will be full by the time our game starts at 7 p.m.
While it will be another month before the team’s next home game, we’ll be keeping fans apprised both at winterhawks.com and in this space of what’s going on with the team with regular news and features through the preseason, with recaps from the road games in Everett and Tri-Cities.
And with that, 2009-10 is underway…
If you’re looking for some updates from the first few days of training camp, Andy’s been keeping some notes that you can check out over at his blog. The team makes the first round of cuts tonight, and from there will split into four team to compete in the Neely Cup. Tomorrow on winterhawks.com we’ll have the four rosters and a schedule. Don’t forget, the Neely Cup games are free and will run daily at 3 and 4:45 p.m. at the Coliseum.
The Neely Cup will be a great opportunity for fans to see the young players, as will the exhibition game on Saturday against Seattle, which will heavily feature both teams’ 15 and 16 year-olds. This week over at the main site we’re featuring some of the players you will likely see that night. Yesterday it was defenseman Josh Hanson and today we take a look at top overall draft pick Derrick Pouliot.
In addition, we’ve been unveiling the names of the Neely Cup teams daily, and the latest honoree is Brent Peterson. The other two teams we’ve revealed have been named in honor of Jeff Bandura and Tony Currie, and the final team name will be released tomorrow.
Well, the new-look winterhawks.com is up and running. As the site grows you can expect lots of video features, articles, news updates and much more. We went for a clean, user-friendly look and style, and we hope you enjoy the new site.
Along with launching a new Web site, there’s been quite a bit going on the last few days, not the least of which is the opening of training camp with over 100 players in town getting put through their paces. If you need a hockey fix, you can come down to the Coliseum in the morning to watch practices, and check out some intra-squad scrimmages in the afternoon.
Speaking of intra-squad games, later this week you can check out the inaugural Neely Cup. After the initial round of cuts, the Hawks will split into four teams and play a round robin tournament. Each team will be named after a prominent Winterhawks alumnus (the names will change each year). This year we’re focusing on the inaugural 1976-77 Winterhawks team, and so far we’ve announced two teams: Team Bandura, in recognition of Jeff Bandura, the team’s first NHL draft pick, and Tony Currie, the leading scorer of the 1976-77 team. We’ll be announcing the final two names tomorrow and Wednesday.
Games run Wednesday through Friday at 3 p.m. and 4:45, and all games are open and free to the public, so make sure you come down and check them out.
Of course, it’s hard to believe but our first preseason game is Saturday against Seattle, and it will be a Futures Games, with the two teams primarily playing their 15 and 16 year-olds. Tickets are just $10, so make sure you come down and see the young guys.
Filed under: Winterhawks
I know I said updates would be spotty, but I won’t leave you hanging forever. Here’s a quick update on Hawks goings-on.
-Thanks to everyone who came out to Monday’s alumni association golf tournament. We had a full house and it was a great event benefitting a great cause. The tournament’s winners were the team led by Assistant GM/Assistant Coach Travis Green.
We had a great turnout from our alumni, with Paul Gaustad, Steve Konowalchuk, Brent Peterson, Brandon Dubinsky, Brendan Mikkelson, Mike Funk, Dan Da Silva, Grant Sasser, Marty Standish, Jason McBain and many others showing up. The guys seemed to be having a great time catching up, and it would probably be a safe bet we’ll be seeing them again at future tournaments.
-From the foreshadowing department: we’re anticipating announcing a “big” signing today or tomorrow.
-Unbelievably, training camp is just 10 days away. The guys report next Saturday, August 22, and hit the ice the following day. Training camp will include a new wrinkle this year that fans might enjoy, so keep an eye out for an announcement about that.
-With the start of training camp will also come the launch of the new-look winterhawks.com (barring technical issues of course). We’re getting to the end of the process, and every day it seems new challenges present themselves. A co-worker likened the last days before a website launch to the last days before a wedding, and the analogy certainly applies. Well, except for an inebriated relative showing up and making an inappropriate speech. Hopefully.
Make sure you tune in to John Canzano’s radio show on 95.5 The Game today at 4:45 to hear a live interview with Brandon Dubinsky, who’ s coming back to Portland this weekend for Monday’s golf tournament.
We’ll also have some alumni doing other media appearances this weekend, and I’ll have some more info on those tomorrow or Friday.
Speaking of alumni, Darrell May has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, the same team Kurtis Mucha made an emergency appearance for late last season. Hawks fans will remember May for making hockey history with the Hawks when he scored three straight overtime goals.
In addition, yesterday it was announced that Brad Ross had been selected to Team Canada’s entry in the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament later this month. It’s a tremendous honor for Ross, and we’ll keep you updated on his progress in the tournament.
On another note, expect blog posts to be sporadic over the next few weeks (as if they weren’t already). For one, the flow of news will be a little slow until training camp starts on the 23rd, but for another, much of my Internet attention over the next few weeks will be devoted to getting the new winterhawks.com site launched, which we’re anticipating happening sometime during the week of August 17.
As an apology for my impending disappearances, please accept this link to the Arcade Fire performing “Wake Up” live with David Bowie. Isn’t almost time for a new Arcade Fire album? Come on guys…
The Winterhawks’ fourth round pick in the bantam draft this week was center A.J. Michaelson from Minnesota. He’s been drawing raves as a 14 year-old playing high school hockey against players two or three years older than him.
Well, you can see some footage of Michaelson for yourself right here. He’s number 19 in the black jersey.
Over the weekend the Winterhawks held auditions for their first-ever dance team, the Rosebuds, with over 60 dancers showing up hoping for a spot on the team.
After a rigorous two-day audition process, the judges have narrowed it down and selected the team. The members of the first edition of the Rosebuds will be unveiled this afternoon at winterhawks.com. Make sure you check out the site later to see who the winners are.
The Hawks' Nest 