Behind the Green

There's no doubt that if you're a Vancouver Canucks fan in the 2011 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, there's one detail that you would like to be different.  You may have also noticed two guys in green body suits near the opponents' penalty box at Canucks home games.  For the first time ever, you get to see the Canucks' run in that year through the eyes of one of the Green Men.

Behind the Green is a fairly short, yet riveting look through the eyes of Ryan Sullivan, who was "Sully" of the Green Men.  The story tells of the duo's beginnings ("Force" is the other half of the Green Men), which began with a chance encounter between the two guys (not in green bodysuits) at a class in BCIT.  A few internships and an aborted mission to dress as the Green Men at a Seattle Seahawks game later, the Green Men were born.  However, even after the initial success at a game against the Nashville Predators, the road wasn't exactly a smooth one for the duo, as they learned the hard way about business dealings and the difficulties in keeping the act from growing stale.  Many trials and tribulations were had, and it almost ended before it had a chance to really hit the ground.  There were the highs (their first appearance in the playoffs in 2010) and the lows (seeing the momentum deflate after that series loss against Chicago), and certainly, there were times when it seemed that fame would be fleeting, if not for an incident involving the Toronto Maple Leafs and waffles being thrown on the ice.  It was the 2011 playoffs that would catapult the Green Men into North American consciousness, as the duo got to travel for some of the road games and encountered numerous interview requests, while relishing every chance to be out of the suits (as Sullivan says in the book, it can get stuffy in the suits and you have a hard time seeing through them).  The book ends with Sullivan's thoughts on the Vancouver riots that happened after game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Behind the Green is one of the best books written about a couple of fans who got the chance to do what so many of us, as hockey fans, have always wanted to do: be there for our team, wherever they may travel and no matter the result.  As you read the book, there are consequences for every action, and not all of them benefited the Green Men.  As a bonus for anyone who aspires to be in the Journalism field, Sullivan offers a few tips on having some level of success, as he (and "Force") both work in the field when he is not prancing around in a green bodysuit.

You will laugh, you will cry, you will cringe at the thought of doing the worm with a cup on, but you will find Behind the Green to be nothing short of exciting, and "Sully" is there to guide us through life in green.

If you'd like a copy of the book, head to the Behind the Green website.

Peterborough Express: New Name, Same Coverage

As you can tell from the title, I have decided to rename the Peterborough Petes weekly report to something (presumably) less cheesy.

As for the Petes on the ice this week, they made a comeback on Thursday en route to a 3-2 win in the shootout against Belleville at home.  The road portion of the team's week was not so kind, as Barrie proved to be rude hosts in a 4-1 loss.  The Petes continue their road swing, as they hit Windsor on Thursday, Saginaw on Friday, and Plymouth on Saturday.

Winterhawks Weekly: You Win Some, You Lose Some

The Winterhawks' week began on a sour note, as they were thumped 5-2 at home on Monday by Spokane in what was the first of three meetings in one week between the two teams.  Wednesday, they hit the road and lost 5-4 in a shootout at Spokane, which made it four losses in a row for the Winterhawks, though they did manage two points in that streak.  On Friday, the Winterhawks found the win column again, this time, shutting out the Chiefs 3-0 behind a solid effort from Mac Carruth.  On Saturday, the Winterhawks made it two shutouts in a row, as Oliver Bjorkstrand notched a hat trick and Brendan Burke played well in a 7-0 rout of Tri-City in Kennewick, WA.  This coming week, the Winterhawks will have an equally tough task ahead, as they travel to Everett on Tuesday to conclude a Washington road trip, Kamloops comes to town on Wednesday for a game before the Winterhawks travel to Seattle on Friday and the week will conclude with a home game against a rapidly improving Spokane team.

What If: Alexei Yashin Doesn't Hold Out of the 1999-2000 Season

I've done a few of these "What If's" before, and some of them haven't gone as well as I thought they would.  However, in the interest of today's random thought, here is one about Alexei Yashin and if he never held out for the second time in his career.  So, without further ado, here goes (going up to the end of the 2003-04 season):

It is the 1999-2000 season, and Yashin is coming off of his best season yet, scoring 94 points, with 44 of them being goals, and he is in the final year of his current contract with the Senators.  Yashin knows that a big payday is forthcoming, and he wants to do his best.  The Senators win the Northeast Division that year, barely beating their provincial rivals in the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Yashin goes on to break the 100 point mark that year, but is beaten out for the Art Ross Trophy by Jaromir Jagr.  Things are looking good for the Senators...until their first round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Because the Senators had home ice advantage in that series though, the Sens would go on to win in seven tough games, with Yashin being the difference maker.  Their next opponent would be the New Jersey Devils, and despite their offensive talents, the Senators could not solve Martin Brodeur, and go down 4-2.  In the offseason, Yashin asks for big money, and the Senators were unwilling to pay the price tag.  As a result, Yashin leaves for a larger payday in New York and the Rangers while Ottawa is left to scramble for a replacement for Yashin beginning the following season.  The captaincy Yashin left behind is given to Daniel Alfredsson, who puts up decent numbers, but it isn't enough, as Ottawa falls to the seventh seed in the 2000-01 season, where they would get swept by a revenge-minded Maple Leafs team in the first round that year.  Meanwhile, Yashin proves to have a good first year as a Ranger, but for the next five years, he does little of note, as his numbers see a precipitous decline in subsequent years.  Ottawa, needing to fill some holes on their team, dangle Marian Hossa as trade bait, and find a taker in the New York Islanders, who send their first round pick, Zdeno Chara, and Bill Muckalt.  While Hossa becomes a breakout star with the Islanders, even leading them to a Conference Final in 2002, the Senators struggle to find some offense, as evidenced by a couple more one and dones in the playoffs.  However, they find that Chara is a superstar in the making on the blue line, and lock him up to a long term deal.  Meanwhile, that first round pick in 2001 turns out to be Jason Spezza, who would join the team in the 2003-04 season, and while he doesn't have immediate success, there is hope, as he provides a spark late in the season.

New Head Cougar

Following up on yesterday's developments in Prince George, BC, the Cougars have made an announcement that Mark Holick will be taking over the head coaching duties for the Cougars.  Holick comes from Syracuse of the AHL, where he had been head coach for two years, and for the three seasons prior, had a successful run as coach of the Kootenay Ice, compiling a 120-75-0-21 record, something the Cougars desperately need: someone who knows how to win.  Holick's first mission: trying to get some offense out of a team that ranks dead last in the league in goals scored.

Change in Prince George

In the midst of another losing season, the Prince George Cougars have made a change in the coach.  While it is unclear as to who the new coach will be, one thing for sure is that they will have to clean up a mess left by Dean Clark.  An 83-161-5-11 record since April 2009 and only one playoff appearance in three and a half seasons, with an almost certain bleak outlook for this year's playoff picture, were contributing factors in Clark's dismissal.  Currently, the Cougars are dead last in offense, with only 114 goals scored.  Their defense isn't so bad, with 168 goals against, but a lack of offense in Clark's time led to his doom, and trying to attract a goal scorer is going to be no easy task, since Prince George is in the same division as powerhouses in Kelowna and Kamloops.

Meet the Subbans

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today's piece will focus on a set of brothers who are looking to make an impact on the NHL in the coming years.  The picture you see is of the Subbans: (from l to r) Jordan, Pernell Karl (P.K. to everyone in the know), and Malcolm, and they are the sons of parents who had moved to Canada from Jamaica (the father) and Montserrat (the mother).  P.K. is the oldest brother and is already making an impact in the NHL as a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens (though he is currently sitting out while trying to hammer out a restricted free agency deal with the team).  Malcolm is the middle brother of the three, and is currently a goaltender for Belleville of the OHL.  He was drafted in the first round by the Boston Bruins in the 2012 Draft, which should make for an interesting family dinner between P.K. and Malcolm.  Jordan is the youngest of the three, and is a defenseman for Belleville.  He will be eligible for the NHL Draft in 2013.  P.K. is a rising star that is also known for being chirpy, something that players like Steve Ott, Jeremy Roenick, and Chris Chelios did (in Ott's case, is doing) in their careers.  P.K. isn't quite on the level of those three, but the ceiling for his talents is high, and in time, they will catch up to the rest of his game.  Malcolm will likely see time with Providence of the AHL, as the Bruins currently have Tuukka Rask as the starter, and depending on whether Tim Thomas comes back from his one year exile, that could mean Malcolm ends up in the minors to get some time as a starting goaltender.  Boston has decent depth in goal, and having the time to start somewhere is important in the development of a young goaltender.  Just ask Jacob Markstrom in Florida and Robin Lehner in Ottawa.  Jordan is a prospect for the NHL Draft this year, and there is considerable talent ahead of him (he was ranked 81 of the North American skaters), most notably from an African-American defenseman in Seth Jones, who himself is the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones.  Currently, his numbers are comparable to P.K.'s when P.K. was playing in Belleville, but height and weight are reasons for his ranking.