Revisiting the 2003 NHL Draft

Today has been a rather slow day, and being that I would like to have something to fill this space, well, here I am.

This evening, I have flipped through the old NHL rags that I have kept through the years and happened upon the preview for the 2003-2004 season.  Going through these things is fun for me because it offers a retrospective of who was favored that year, but the most fun I have is leafing through to see who the teams picked in the draft and the prospects they had in the system.

So, to offer some perspective and hindsight on the 2003 offseason, here are a few picks from the 2003 Draft, with the player and the position in which they were drafted along with how they panned out.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins)


Being a number one draft pick is hard, especially for a goaltender.  More often than not, the best goaltenders are the ones not drafted in the first round.  Fleury isn't an elite goaltender, but he does have a Stanley Cup and a gold medal (as a third-stringer) to his name.  More consistency is all he needs to be elite.

5. Thomas Vanek (Buffalo Sabres)


Of the top five, he has been considered the best pick.  Consistent 30-goal scorer for a team that always seems to struggle for offense.

9. Dion Phaneuf (Calgary Flames)


Early on, it looked like he would be the next big superstar on the blue line.  However, he struggled and essentially played his way out of Calgary.  He has found new life in Toronto, and is now the team's captain.  If I root for the Maple Leafs this year, it will be because of Phaneuf.

12. Hugh Jessiman (New York Rangers)


The highest drafted bust of the year's draft, it marked the Rangers' inability to field a competitive team despite paying the most for players.  They could have had Dustin Brown (13th overall), Zach Parise (17th overall), or Mike Richards (24th overall).

23. Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks)


When the Vancouver Canucks look back at this draft, they can say that they did a good job in picking someone who is part of the team's current plan.  Selke finalist and important part of the USA Olympic team this year, he parlayed that into being the cover boy for NHL2K11.

30. Shawn Belle (St. Louis Blues)


The last pick of the first round, he has also been unable to find a niche in the NHL.  Was traded to the Dallas Stars while still in the Blues' minor league system and has bounced around in the minors.

Chicago Powerfest 2008

In keeping the theme of having an autobiography ready for when I need it, today is another trip into the way back (though not too far back) time machine.  Today is about Chicago Powerfest 2008, otherwise known as the "Metal weekend to end all Metal weekends (so far)."

The weekend began Thursday morning when the group I was travelling with came to pick me up for the road trip to Chicago, or thereabouts.  The trip began about an hour or so late because of what will be known as the slowest person in the world to get ready being herself.  The eight hour trip went through northern Missouri without many problems.  We stopped for the first break at the Iowa border because that energy drink I had before leaving the house decided to come at me with a vengeance.  The trip through Iowa had a few covering the noses because of the numerous cow farms and quite possibly the most "Kum and Go" stores ever (make your own joke here).  Illinois was smooth sailing except for when we got closer to Mokena, where the hotel and the Powerfest were located.  We made it to the hotel about 5:30 PM, and took a brief rest before heading across the street for some White Castle.  If you want to know why we didn't drive down to the venue, it would be because it would be a folly to do so when the venue is literally across the street from the hotel.  After eating, we headed to the venue for Pagan Fest, which was the unofficial kickoff show for Chicago Powerfest.

Since I don't want to be rewriting the review for the weekend's show, here is the review, as written a few days after the CPF weekend:

Pagan Fest was the kickoff show and it all started with local act Earthen. They were okay, but they could afford some more work, which will come with experience, as they are relatively new to the scene. Eluveitie was next and the music from the albums translated well live, with Your Gaulish War being the highlight of the set. Tyr was next and it seemed that their set was too short, despite having played six or seven songs. Even so, it was still a good set. Turisas, face paint and all, took the stage and played some favorites such as Battle Metal and To Holmgard and Beyond. Ensiferum looked ready for war, taking the stage in kilts. They put on a great show, with One More Magic Potion being one of the highlights. Overall, the Pagan Fest bands all got pretty good crowd reactions and I hope it happens again here in the States.


Friday was the official start of Chicago Powerfest. Opening act Arise and Ruin are your run of the mill metalcore band, and other than the vocalist mentioning Iced Earth in between one of the songs, it showed by the lack of crowd reaction. Local act Ion Vein was next and they were breaking in a new vocalist in Allen James. They were actually pretty good, even with James' idiosyncratic quirks onstage. A few assclowns in the crowd obviously didn't take too well to those, with profanities coming from them. One of the members fired back with the double bird. Before I go on, I'd like to say that it's okay to boo, but it's not okay to be firing obscenities at the band while they are onstage. Back to the show, Epicurean was next and they were the definition of average, with the clean vocals coming out a little flat. A Life Once Lost was next, and no one cared. The vocalist didn't help himself by responding to the boos directed towards the band by telling them to "Shut the fuck up!" In this instance, the crowd was just booing. A word to the vocalist for A Life Once Lost, it's just boos. Show some mental toughness and be a professional. Iced Earth wrapped up the day's festivities with some old favorites such as Dark Saga, Burning Times, and Iced Earth. Matt Barlow didn't miss a beat in his return to the band, and they easily got the biggest cheers for the evening.


Saturday saw Chaoswave and Autumn Offering cancel and Sacred Dawn open the evening's festivities. Unfortunately, due to a pain in the ass traffic jam, lunch at Kuma's Corner, and a stop at Metal Haven, I missed their set. I made it in time for Twelfth Gate, and they put on a pretty good set, with some powerful metal accented by the vocals. Suidakra was next, and on the surface, they seem better suited for Pagan Fest. However, their set drew some pretty good crowd reaction and they seemed genuinely happy to be playing at the show. As for their music, it was pretty good, but I will have to pick up some of their CDs though. Darkane is one of the most underrated bands in the melodic death metal scene. One of their first shows in a few years, the band showed no signs of rust. I wish they would have played Layers of Lies, but you can't go wrong with Innocence Gone, Organic Canvas, and Chaos vs. Order. After an hour of trying to get set up, Testament took the stage. If you have never seen Testament live, you are missing out. Playing old favorites such as Into the Pit and Practice What You Preach, they even threw in some newer material such as More Than Meets the Eye from the new album Formation of Damnation. Chuck Billy and crew are definitely back and better than ever.


The trip back home began at 11 AM Sunday and went through Illinois through the St. Louis route, which meant no cow pastures this time.  Fortunately, we didn't go through St. Louis itself, which meant the risk of getting shot was reduced just for that.  We made it back to our respective homes at about 8 PM, putting an end to the weekend and the road trips that went with it.

So, what did I learn?  Well, getting lost trying to find your way back onto the highway in Chicago can be bad, especially if there is the adventurous driver in the midst.  Also, Mokena is a bad place to try and get drunk because there aren't many places to pick up beer and if there is, those who don't know where to get it are out of luck, and the Pearl Room beer sucks.  Oh, and modesty can pay off (See picture), so there.

Living For Metal 2004-2010 (?)

Today marks the official passing of Living For Metal webzine, although the 'zine had been done a while before that.  When it shut its doors for the last time is irrelevant, though, as in its existence, it brought a unique take on the music webzine.  It provided a set up similar to Metal Archives, in that it had a list of bands.  It also had the usual fare when it came to webzines (reviews and interviews with bands).  Staff members were among the most knowledgeable, and given that the heads of the 'zine are computer nerds (and I mean that with the utmost respect), computer knowledge was just as important as metal music knowledge.

So, what does this all have to do with me?  Well, from March of 2007 to March of 2009 (unofficially the last entry I made for the website, which was an interview with Woods of Ypres, which I posted on this blog earlier), Living For Metal was where I called home as a metal journalist.  Yes, the Metal Psalter portion began in April 2008, which would mean that the two overlapped, but it was Living For Metal that I began to really carve out a niche for myself.  Yes, Metal Coven was where it all began, but things really took off at Living For Metal.  And one could say that Living For Metal brings people together, as four of the members, including myself, had a get together at ProgPower VIII in the Fall of 2007.

In closing, Living For Metal had a good run when it existed, and I am better off for having been a part of that run.  However, it would have not been possible if someone hadn't come along and asked if I wanted to contribute to the webzine.  Best of luck to everyone who called Living For Metal their website home and may they move onward to even better things.

Battlelore interview from 2008

With the silent passing of a former webzine that I wrote for in Living For Metal, I would like to first, give thanks to Barry and Jessica Van Beek for giving me an opportunity to contribute to their part of the metal world and to Jodi Michael, for whom this chance would have not been possible otherwise.  An obituary for Living For Metal will be written soon, so stay tuned.  This bit of sadness had me thinking about some of the interviews that have been posted on the website, and since I managed to save a few interviews, I will be posting some of them here as they were on LFM.  Today's interview is with Battlelore keyboardist Maria and it was originally posted in November of 2008.

Peter Santellan: It was only last year when Battlelore came out with Evernight, an album that is seen as a breakout of sorts for the band.  In relation to the new album The Last Alliance, were the expectations higher for the album than on any of the previous albums?

Maria: I don't know what others expected of us, we don't really care about stuff like that. I think that our own expectations were quite high since we all were really much into making music and inspired and happy about writing new songs - and I have to say that the end result has fulfilled and exceeded our expectations! The Last Alliance is, in my opinion, the best of Battlelore so far, so I couldn't have expected anything more. I suppose others may have expected something, but our song writing always comes from the heart, we don't really think about anything but the music.  I guess that's stupid, but that's how we are, hehehe.

PS: The Last Alliance features production work from Dan Swanö, who is one of the more well-known producers in metal music.  How did the band get in contact with him and what did he bring to the band's sound?

Maria: Actually, one of Tomi's (Mykkänen, vocalist) friends told him that Dan was starting to work with his Unisound studio again, mixing and mastering albums, and told

Tomi that he should contact Dan. Well, that's what he did - and Dan Swanö turned out to be a great fellow, totally into this project and agreed to take this task. He did mention that mixing us was like mixing 156 death metal bands at the same time.

He created the perfect sound for The Last Alliance - he put the vocals and orchestrations further front and the guitars a bit back, without losing the guitar groove. Also, he managed to create the kind of sound that was perfect for the atmosphere of the album and of the whole Battlelore sound.  So he did a great job and I'm sure we'd be more than happy to work with him again!

PS: Who did the cover art for the album and what concept, if any, does it convey?

Maria: Ingo Römling, a German artist, did the cover art for The Last Alliance. He created the sort of "tribal" tree for the digipack cover and painted the warrior for the booklet.

With the glowing ring and evil look, it is Sauron - very suitable, considering even

the name of the album, which refers to the great war.

PS: Given that the band has shot a video for the previous two efforts, Third Age of the Sun and Evernight, is there a possibility of a video for one of the songs off of The Last Alliance?

Maria: We have actually already shot a video for the song Third Immortal. The video should be ready in about two weeks or so, so you won't have to wait much longer!

PS: Seemingly, the vocals, male and female, are getting better at working together.  How much of that can be attributed to having a set lineup and are there any other factors?

Maria: I guess you have a point there - the fact that Tomi and Kaisa have been working together for the last three albums has given them both the opportunity to learn from each other and learn to work together a bit more. I also think that with time, Tomi has found himself and his place, using the clean vocals as well as the great growling. He has actually proven to be quite a genius when it comes to making clean vocal lines!

PS: In support of Evernight, Battlelore performed at the Metal Female Voices Festival last year.  For those who may not know, what is the MFVF and where is it normally held?

Maria: The Metal Female Voices Festival is a Belgian festival that celebrates metal bands with female singers. I don't know if it's always been at the Oktoberhalle in Wieze, Belgium, but that's where it's been for the past year and will be in 2008 as well. It's a great festival for metal fans, featuring loads and loads of bands with their female singers and a great party!

PS: Are there any plans for future shows in support of The Last Alliance?

Maria: We have been touring Finland starting from August and towards October, and in November we'll go on a European tour under the banner "The Finnish Fire Tour" with our fellow Finns Korpiklaani, Falchion and Kivimetsän Druidi. It'll feature 24 shows in 10 different countries in Europe, so we're really looking forward to it!  It'll be a blast touring with these great fellows, partying and playing music all night long!

PS: Any words of wisdom that you would like to impart on anyone reading this?

Maria: As I feel I'm the perfect person to say something wise (sarcasm, party of one), I'd just like to say listen to the album, come and see our shows and have a few beers with us! There's nothing better than the distinctive taste of hangover in your mouth and head (and neck) in the morning, after a great music performance and party the night before! Just enjoy life and the music it brings you! (Works the other way around, also.)

Red Wings-Avalanche Rivalry

In the mid-90's, a nasty rivalry was born in the National Hockey League.  The setting was Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals and the Colorado Avalanche were up 3-2 in the series against the Detroit Red Wings.  The hit that sparked a rivalry for the next few years happened in this game when the Avalanche's Claude Lemieux hit the Red Wings' Kris Draper from behind.   The hit sent Draper face first into the dasher boards where the players' benches were and left him with a litany of injuries in the face, as well as a concussion.  After the game, Draper's teammate at the time Dino Ciccarelli was quoted as saying, "I can't believe that I shook that son of a bitch's hand," in reference to the tradition of shaking hands after a series in which the Red Wings shook hands with Avalanche players, including Lemieux.  Lemieux was suspended for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, a series that Colorado swept to gain their first of two Stanley Cups.

In 1997, in the first meeting between the two teams since the Lemieux hit, there were numerous brawls in the game, which is most memorable for the teams' respective goaltenders Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon duking it out at center ice.  This was just the beginning, as in subsequent meetings, the teams would continue to let the bad blood spill, which included another brawl of the goaltenders, only that it was Roy vs. Chris Osgood.

Looking back on this rivalry, which can still happen at any time, this wasn't the searing hate filled rivalry that the Battle of Alberta (Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames) was, nor was it near the levels of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, but the Avalanche and Red Wings rivalry set a new standard for being downright bloody.  And like the rivalries before it, there was a Stanley Cup berth on the line more often than not.

A special video that defines this rivalry is included for today, and features highlights of the infamous game in March of 1997:

The Rocky Mountain Mask

Did you know that Patrick Roy wasn't the first goaltender when the Colorado Avalanche came into existence when they moved from Quebec in 1995?  What's that?  You already knew that?  Okay, then I bet you don't know who was the team's first goaltender.  You don't know?  The answer to that is the masked gentleman you see in the picture above: Jocelyn Thibault.

The first round draft pick of the Quebec Nordiques in 1993, he had a fairly solid tenure in Quebec when the team moved to Colorado after the 1995 season.  He only played a handful of games for the Avalanche in the team's first season before getting traded to Montreal as part of the Patrick Roy deal.  Everyone knows what happened to the Avs that year, but Thibault carved out a decent, if not spectacular career for himself.  He spent time in Montreal, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo in addition to the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise.  He will forever be linked to the Patrick Roy trade, which seems unfair at times, given that there wasn't going to be many that could replace what Roy brought to Montreal.

Today's mask is from the Colorado Avalanche part of Thibault's career, and even though he only saw action for a couple of months with the team, the mask brought out the essence of the Rocky Mountains that the team calls home.  Unfortunately, this was the best picture I could find, so if anyone has a better picture, tell me about it.

Lady Liberty

Today's mask is about the epitome of America...and the New York Rangers.  Looking at the mask in the picture, there is no better depiction of the red, white, and blue than the Mike Richter Lady Liberty mask.

This mask first gained recognition during the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, when Richter's Rangers won the Stanley Cup, thus ending a 54 year drought for the Rangers.  Richter would later go on to backstop the United States hockey team to gold in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and silver in the 2002 Olympic games.  Injuries later in his career would ultimately derail his career, but his play when the games mattered most combined with the Lady Liberty mask are synonymous with both the Rangers and United States hockey.  How much so for the Rangers?  It was the inspiration for the Rangers' third jerseys in the late 90's to early 2000's.