UN-Selfish Sniper: The Evolution of Ilya Kovalchuk

When Ilya Kovalchuk was drafted 1st overall by the Atlanta Thrashers, there was some debate about whether that was the right choice, given Jason Spezza was also there for the taking. Both the Senators and Thrashers (up until this year) are probably quite happy with the way things turned out, with both players putting up huge numbers in the big league.
Early in his career, I was not a fan of Kovy, because I labeled him as being a stereotypical ego-driven superstar. I remember when the Thrashers made the playoffs for the first time, and he was average at best (in 4 games, 2 points, -1 rating and 19 penalty minutes!). During one game when the opposition was not only gaining the neutral zone but entering the Thrashers zone at full force, Kovalchuk lazily skated to the bench on an ill-timed line change. I was disgusted. Then there's this incident between him and Crosby (given, Crosby was not without fault for being a huge whiner here, but the finger point was a little much for my taste).



Over the years however, Kovalchuk has in my opinion, evolved into a mature, classy leader. I don't love Kovalchuk, as there are still parts of his game that don't make him a complete package (inconsistent back-checking, occasional floater). But I like him a lot. As he entered his early and mid-twenties, he started standing up for himself, and not taking any crap from anybody. He turned into a decent fighter, someone his teammates could rally around.



But last week, during a game against Montreal, Kovy solidified my respect for him when he unselfishly opted to not pad his stats by scoring an empty net goal (though he easily could have), but instead dropped the puck for Brian Rolston. This gave Rolston a prime opportunity to score his 700th NHL point, which he did. Kovy then proceeded to immediately grab the puck, and with a huge smile, passed it to Rolston on the bench.

http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2010/03/post_12.html

It's plays like that that I absolutely love, and that teammates love. Kovalchuk seems to be fitting in well in New Jersey, and he has turned into a dangerous combination of incredibly gifted offensive talent and focused leader. Well done sir, you're one hell of a hockey player.

Canada produces amazing music

The Vancouver Olympics seem a distant memory, but a great memory at that. After Sidney Crosby had scored the Golden Goal and my jubilation had tapered off, I thought to myself "This is great, our country produces the best hockey players in the world." But I also started thinking that there have got to be other exports of ours that we can be equally as proud of. Well there are: Comedians (Jim Carrey, John Candy, Phil Hartman, Russell Peters etc...), Actors (Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Christiansen, Kim Cattrall etc...) and female beauties (Rachel McAdams, Neve Campbell, Elisha Cuthbert etc...). But last night it dawned on me...
Canada produces some of the best music in the world. While the U.S. and the U.K. are often looked at as tops in terms of music production, I believe we can go toe to toe with any country in the world, those two included.
I saw Charlettown, P.E.I.'s Two Hours Traffic rock Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario last night and wow, are they good. Snappy, catchy, hooky, poppy, use whatever word you want to use to describe their quick tunes, point is: they're great. Check out "Noisemaker" or "Stuck for the Summer", and if they're not stuck in your head within two listens, you're not human and I'm scared of you. But other than that, they have deeply emotional songs like "Stolen Earrings" and "Drop Alcohol" that prove these guys are on to something serious. Give this a listen:


Before the show, I had a short conversation with lead singer Liam Corcoran where he divulged "It seems like we've gotten a following overnight, but in reality, we've been doing this for 7 years. Hitting the pavement hard, and now people are FINALLY starting to appreciate us." There are a lot of terrible bands out there, geography unimportant. So when I hear a small D.I.Y. band that I truly believe have something special, I have no problem passionately conveying that. And turns out a lot of them are from Canada. But D.I.Y. or not, Canada produces important, relevant, influential music, and has for a while. From Ron Sexsmith to Michael Buble, from Arcade Fire to Alexisonfire, from Broken Social Scene to Wintersleep, we export a lot of amazing talent in many different fields. Stand up and be proud Canada! (It should be noted we make some horrible television though...anything starring Brent Butt as an example)

Repeat offenders: My 5 most hated hockey players

*Honourable Mention: Steve Ott

Mike Modano said he was embarrassed to be a part of the Stars after this game. 'Nuff said.



5. Jarkko Ruutu
Not only is he one of the ugliest players in the league, but he's a diver, and cheapshots are right up his alley. Way to target Kovy's knee completely unnecessarily. Granted, Chris Simon stomping on Ruutu's ankle was a tad extreme, but there's a reason he did it.



4. You're tough Carcillo, REAL tough. Clearly had Gaborik in his sights from the top of the circle and rips him away from the crowd. And Carcillo loves celebrating his own fights by throwing up his arms in celebration to the crowd. Clear sign of a total jerk



3. Steve Downie

This little punk entered the league by leaving his feet like he was competing in a high jump competition. It's sickening to watch, and that's far from the last time he's been dirty. He's a slasher, a slew-foot artist, and suckerpunched Jason Blake for no reason. ZERO respect for this scumbag.



2. Matt Cooke

The reason I made this list is because Cooke's hit on Savard was utterly distasteful. Watch the video: knee knee knee, headshot, headshot headshot. Get out of the league, you don't belong.



1. Sean Avery

If you love hockey as much as I do, you shouldn't like/support Sean Avery. He's everything that's wrong with the game. If you like Avery, I don't want to be your friend. He's a human joke. And my most hated thing in hockey by far...turtling. Ooooooooooh that gets me mad. You shove Kariya into the boards, you back it up.