Hockey thoughts

In an effort to fulfill today's obligations, I will write about something that came up yesterday. No movie today, as I have yet to catch up on a lot of music reviews. Today is a time to talk hockey, and as many who have read some of my musings since I started this blog know, I am a hockey fan. There is more to that, though. For instance, the team that I grew up rooting for as a child was the Edmonton Oilers, who at the time that I gained my first exposure to the sport, were in the post-Wayne Gretzky era. But it isn't about me as much as it is about those who have followed their dreams of being a professional hockey player, whether it is in the NHL, the KHL (Russian League), the Swedish league, or any other European league. However, those dreams have to start somewhere, or at least, have a place to develop.

I live in Kansas City, which would explain a couple of articles about how hockey in Kansas City hasn't thrived. For all of the failures that have happened in Kansas City, and this goes for sports in general, not just hockey, there have been some successes, however long ago they are now. Most people know about the Royals baseball team winning it all in 1985 and the Chiefs winning it all in 1970, and I am sure many people who follow baseball know about the Monarchs in the old Negro Leagues and their run of success. What most people don't know is that hockey did have a fairly lengthy life span in Kansas City in the 1990's.

The longest tenured hockey team that existed in Kansas City was the Blades, who played in the International Hockey league from 1990 to 2002, when the league folded and the team was not retained when the owners at the time decided to move the Grand Rapids Griffins to the AHL. In the time that the team existed, they were the primary farm team for the San Jose Sharks for about five years and were the farm team of the Vancouver Canucks in their final year of existence.

In contrast, let's look at a team that despite never having a professional hockey team, has seen hockey thrive for many years. I'm sure you're asking what that first picture has to do with hockey. That would be the mascot for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. And yes, that logo on the mascot's jersey does look a lot like the Chicago Blackhawks' logo. Some history: the team has been in existence since 1976, when the team moved from Edmonton to Portland and the team switched its name from the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Portland Winter Hawks. Since then, the team name was modified to be one word. While the team is not as well known as say, the Calgary Hitmen or the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Winterhawks have had their fair share of players that would become NHL stars. Among the most notable players that have seen considerable success include Mike Vernon, Glen Wesley, Marian Hossa, and Mark Messier.

The common thread that both the Blades in the early 1990's and the Winterhawks have is that when you go to a game for either team, years from now, someone that hits the ice for that team will likely be in the NHL and who knows, maybe that player becomes the next Sidney Crosby.