Well, my resume is in to the Phoenix Coyotes, but, unfortunately, the position has been filled. (Find the previous NHL Jobs post here) They were nice on the phone, which seem like the image the Coyotes project. Nice on the phone.

I guess we should take a look around the leagues, and see what else are out there.

Wow, mascot handler. What more could a person ask for in life? Sure, this is a necessary position, but who wants to stand next to the mascot, thinking, “Hey, I should be in that suit.” All you get to do is kick kids away from the mascot. At least that’s what I assume from this Yes/No question:

1. YES/NO I enjoy working with children.

Ummm….. No? I’m no good at these. If you are considering a new career with the Monarchs, just remember, this position has a pay rate of $30 per game. For 40 games. Wow.

The Monarchs are looking to fill many positions, so scroll around. Some of the Yes/No questions they will ask you:
1. YES/NO I perform well under pressure. (Game Assistant)
1. YES/NO I am outgoing and friendly (Game Night Promotions Team) If you think that guy at intermission throws t-shirts like a girl, show him whose boss.
1. YES/NO I am able to work 30-40 games (Merchandise Asst.)

Director of Business Operations – San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

This looks like the catch all, does everything job. Everything business wise. I think the mascot job is still open.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

There’s a whole lot of other things underneath, but I stopped reading. I must be overqualified, because I have more than a minimum of knowledge, skills and abilities. Sorry, guys, not for me.
Listed directly below that is a listing for Part-time Receptionist – Dallas Stars (Dallas, TX). I just find that strange.

Senior Vice President of Arena Business and Operations – Boston Bruins/TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA) This is more like it. Running the (TD Banknorth) Garden sound kick ass. How many times have Bruins fans have ranted that they could run that building better. How often has the conversation of how the (TD Banknorth) Gardens could be better been brought up in the bars of Boston. I think I am their man. Run the Garden, sure. Why not? It would be like everyday was my Christmas. But that stupid Yes/No question pops up:

1. Yes/No: I have at least ten (10) years management experience in all facets of arena operations and service.

I’d have to do a little fudging here. But the short answer, no. But how much could that matter?

Other Jobs:

Titans Ice Girls – Trenton Titans (Trenton, NJ) – There aren’t any Yes/No questions, but I can think of one that is pretty important

Athletic Trainer – Texas Wildcatters (Beaumont, TX)

Equipment Manager – Fresno Falcons (Fresno, CA)

This isn’t a hockey job, but bares mention.:

VERIZON SPORTS COMPLEX BOBSLED BRAKEMAN
This is for the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid, NY. Sure, it’s not hockey, but what could be cooler at the bar? “What do I do? I’m a Bobsled Brakeman. Get me another beer.” What could be cooler? Well, mascot. That would be pretty cool.

Today, I’m up early going off to work, a few things over the next few days. Today, I have nothing, so I’ll point you a little around the web.

If you want some good hockey stories, go to Eyes on the Prize. Gretzky, Desjardins, and 5 great (and not so great) hockey moments. Get over there, and scroll down a bit.

Remember the jerseys I mocked up? Well, it’s taken a turn for the silly, over at Waiting for Stanley. They also have a caption contest, and competition is heating up early. Scroll around, they update a lot.

What happened to Hasek last season? Find out at Kukla’s Korner. George gives you the details. It’s interesting reading.

If you are wondering what happened to Henrik Zetterburg’s wrist, find out at Kukla’s and Behind the Jersey.

Me? I got nothing. Well, that’s not true.

Tag Board

Scroll down just a little and find the latest addition to JAHL. Put in your name, and a message. You don’t have to put in an email or URL. It doesn’t auto refresh, it has a limited amount of messages, and does not save messages. Comments are for comments, this is just for a short chat. This is just a test, to see what I think. If I like it, I can do an upgrade which has more features (including auto refresh, for a more chat-like experience). Give it a shot. See what you think. It could be pretty cool, like for opening night.

Update: The tagboard seems to be having problems in Firefox (FF pushes the board to the left, making the sidebar do strange things). I’m trying to solve the problem, as I like the board so far. If you are having problems, could you try opening my blog in IE, and tell me what happens? It would go a long way to solving the issue. Thanks

One of the most kick a$$ jerseys I have:

Moscow Dynamo. Jersey made by ??????? This was a steal on ebay. Can you imagine paying under $100 dollars for a jersey of this beauty? The most comfortable jersey I have, this was an ebay find from after the lost season. Once the hockey in Europe and Russia wrapped up, a lot of jerseys found their way to North America. There’s probably a fascinating story of espionage, intrigue, contacts, drinking and violence behind getting these jerseys out of their maiden countries, but I will never hear it. No matter, one man’s workload is another man’s ebay find. And what an amazing find she it.

I have always loved the look of the European jerseys, with their patches and ads all over them, while at the same time, not wanting such a thing to find it’s way to our rinks. It probably stems back to elementary school, when cool patches on jean jackets made you cool. No matter that these crests came from a box of cereal, or with a Hot Wheels car, or sent away for with boxtops. What is so cool about collecting boxtops? Nothing, that’s what, even though everybody knew what you had to do to get that patch. You rotted out your teeth, and that was cool. Get it sewn on your jean jacket and strut around, showing off that X-wing fighter, or that you rode a Huffy. That was bad a$$. Who cared if it had a banana seat, it got you around, and you looked cool doing it. Don’t laugh, if they could, they would use them in the Tour de France. Of course, that jean jacket could only fit for so long (one year? More?), and got retired to the closet. But hockey jerseys, they are meant to fit big, and I don’t plan on getting that big (unless I have too many burritos). Hockey jerseys are forever.

Worn normally the BMW markings get folded over, but probably look pretty cool with pads underneath.

Some of the logos on this jersey are patches, and some are sublimated. Such as, the name, Stimorol, Dynamo logo, Mentos logos, Zepter logo(sleeve), and winged logos are all patches. The numbers (all), BMW logo, Samsung logo, and the Russian writing I can’t translate is sublimated. Why? I know that this jersey went through at least one change in design, to satisfy the needs of the sponsors. What those needs were, I don’t know, but was most likely to do with who got more prominent display with relation to the dollar figure spent. Since the jersey number is sublimated, I would guess that there are some unused jerseys somewhere with some odd numbers.

So, Who’s jersey is this?

Um…his. In my travels, I can’t find the paperwork from this jersey. I can’t remember the guys name. I know, I suck, but I don’t plan on selling these things, I wear them. How can you not. This thing is so comfortable, it’s like wearing the softest blanket you own. So, as I seem to do, if anyone has any info (ie, can read Russian), your help would be greatly appreciated.

Although, I am pretty sure that says ‘Fresh Maker.’

UPDATE: Doogie2K gave me some info in the comments about the jersey. Here it is:

The name is “Vyshedkevich.”

Another sponsor is “BARKLI” (Barkley?).Also, the text under the #34 is
“Olympic System”. Dunno if that’s a company, or a league promotion, or what.

Thanks for the help, D2K. If anyone wants to chime in on the jerseys, let me know in the comments.

Right now, I’m looking for a job. I have a job, of sorts, but it’s much more on call than I like, and I’m used to a different sort of responsibility and stability level. So this seems like a good time to look around the Hockey job boards and see what’s out there. I may not be qualified, but a man can dream.

Ice Technician – Columbus Blue Jackets/Nationwide Arena (Columbus, OH)

Have you ever wanted to drive the Zamboni? Or be the guy who walks the bowels of the rink, making sure the compressors are working? This is for you. Nationwide (if you haven’t been) is really nice. Really nice. State of the art facilities here. Remember though, it’s two rinks, so you may have a bigger workload than you expect. From the NHL Job Board:

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Yes/No: Do you have at least one year of full time experience at an ice facility in a position related to ice maintenance?

2. Yes/No: Do you have experience installing ice?

3. Yes/No: Do you have experience resurfacing ice?

Yes or No? I suck at those. OK. Next:

Manager, Public Relations – Madison Square Garden Networks (New York, NY)

MSG has a PR department? Who knew?

Director of Business Operations – San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

Just like the beginning of Swingers, you can be the guy behind the guy behind the guy. But they have those pesky yes or now questions:

1. Yes/No: I have 2 years previous experience as director of hockey

2. Yes/No: I have a bachelors degree in marketing or sports management

Crap. What’s a guy gotta do? Next!!!!

Mascot – San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio, TX)

This one gets the entire listing posted here:

Performs as the Hockey Mascot “T-Bone” for 45+ home Hockey games as well as back-up for Coyote and Silver Fox Mascot community appearances. Develop and implement skits and videos to provide high quality family entertainment. Must have good skating abilities and creative public entertainment background

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Do you have 2 years mascot performance experience?

2. Are you a proficient ice skater?

3. Do you have a flexible work schedule to include nights & weekends?

If only I had 2 years previous mascot experience, this blog would take on a whole new feel.

Here is the only one I am remotely qualified for (and it’s pretty remote):

Coordinator of Broadcasting/New Media – Phoenix Coyotes (Phoenix, AZ)

The only thing I’m not up on is the video editing, but I am pretty qualified in all the audio related parts, and most of the video knowledge. How cool would that be? That would also mean being around Panger. I may actually have to submit a resume for that one. At least it would make for another good post.

A few other jobs out there in hockey:

The CHL is looking for On Ice Officials
The Kalamazoo Wings are looking for an equipment manager
So are the Rockford IceHogs

If you are looking for a job, and have always wanted to work in hockey, check out these links to the various job boards:
NHL AHL ECHL CHL UHL USHL

Sorry, Canadians, I couldn’t find any job boards for the Canadian Hockey League (For those who don’t know, that’s the Junior system in Canada)

New jersey posting for Friday next

UPDATE: The job with the Coyotes is filled. But I am still sending a resume.

I would be really bad at marketing the NHL. I mean, I think about hockey a lot (too much to be healthy, but don’t tell anyone), but I don’t think I could come up with much that would bring hockey to the public.
For instance:

NHL: Three letters from baseball.

Your momma loves the NHL so much, she’s got Jeremy Roenick on speed dial.

NHL: wanna make something of it?

NHL: Bring me the head of Ron Tugnutt (a personal favorite)

NHL: lockout tested, mother approved.

See, nothing there. I do think I would be good in the one job in marketing they could have used last year. They guy who tells the NHL, “No.” Aside from the asinine “My NHL” campaign, we got the “My Stanley Cup,” featuring players from both final teams. Really, Chris, is it your Stanley Cup? Dumb, dumb, dumb. How about Roenick doing a “My Skate Sharpening,” or Legace doing, “My Therapist Session?” Jesus, people. Didn’t they have a whole lockout to think of something, even if they didn’t have time to use the players by the time they got a deal?

For some reason, my RSS feed reader picked up this article, about the NHL hiring the marketing firm for the 2004-2005 season. Here’s an excerpt:

“The relaunch of the league is in some ways similar to the launch of a movie, so we think our effort to come back with Conductor in a big, powerful and cinematic way is very appropriate,” he said.

Kind of makes the “My NHL” ads and the “movie” (all the ads strung together to make one stupid storyline) a more understandable move. They hired a dumb ass company to do a dumb ass job. And that company fulfilled their dumb ass vision. I don’t know if the NHL are continuing to use them this year, but I hope not. What will we be enticed with next? NHL 2: Attack of the Sedin Clones?

Actually, I do think I have a good one. Samuel L. Jackson, standing on the ice, just looks into the camera, and says, “We got mother f#$@ing hockey players on a mother f$#@ing plane.” That will put some butts in some seats.

With the Avalanche appearing seven times. For those in Colorado, you will most likely give a collective shrug. But for those of us who may not be in state, it is an excellent setup. Also, there are no Vancouver (Damn Dirty) Canucks games, which makes me do a dance of happiness (Canadians don’t need OLN, as they have the CBC). Here are the Avs dates.

Oct 4th Dallas at Colorado (Opening Night!!!)
Nov 20th Colorado at Dallas
Jan 9th Detroit at Colorado
Jan 15th Colorado at San Jose
Jan 30th Nashville at Colorado
Feb 13th Anaheim at Colorado
Mar 6th Colorado at Boston

What will OLN bring to next season. With as much as they improved this past season, I’m hoping for big things. That is, if the announcers can stay on topic.

NBC also has it’s schedule out , and it has three Avs games, and no Van-who?-ver. Here they are:

Jan 28th Colorado at Detroit
Feb 11th Colorado at Dallas
Mar 4th Colorado at Detroit

Three nationally televised games between Detroit and Colorado. See, somebody tell Bettman that rivalries are not something you can coax. Just because we play Minnesota eight times doesn’t mean we can work up the same bile for them as for the Wings. Of course, some of that has been muted of late, but don’t tell OLN or NBC that, or they might show more Panthers vs. Chicago games. Slow news day indeed.

The CBC and TSN have both released their schedules today. The Canadian viewing public gets the sheer pleasure of watching the Avs 5 times on TSN, and 7 times on the CBC. How lucky are they?

Also, today is the 18 year anniversary of the Gretzky trade from Edmonton to L.A. For some reading about it, go to Eyes On The Prize, with individual links to part 1, part 2, and part 3. Read it, it’s worth it. At minimum, read part one. Part 3 gets pretty deep.

Too early for this sort of thing? Sure! But, you know, the news isn’t coming in hard and fast, so you got to do something. Also, with the Pepsi Center surrounded by fencing and barricades for the Denver Grand Prix, focus has shifted quite a bit around here.

So here are things the Avs need to do next season. No particular order, some may expire:

1) Svatos signs and plays 70 games minimum
Let’s be honest. We don’t need another Forsberg right now, we need another Sakic. Missing the last 21 games of the season and all of the playoffs didn’t help his cause, nor the Avs’. He’s good, but he has his downside. Right now, he has to show a little longevity. (Or how about missing 78 games in 2003-04 with a shoulder injury?)

2) Hejduk needs to step up.
Bad season last year, get back to normal this year. Nuff said.

3) Build on what you have.
Don’t look to who you need next trade deadline. The money is spent, the room isn’t there. Work with what you have opening night, make that a contender.

4) Who’s your third goalie?
Vitaly Kolesnik came in to stop the bleeding at the right time. But he’s gone (quietly signing in Russia for next year), so who’s it going to be?

5) Get ready to take your farm system seriously.
The Avs share an AHL affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes. Why? Who knows. It doesn’t really speak to the teams depth. They dropped the Hershey Bears before last season (who Washington picked up. Oh, yeah, and won the Calder Cup), and signed on with the Canes in Lowell. That arangement moves to Albany next season, and it’s still a bad deal. Why? There’s only so many games to go around. How do you squeeze enough game time in for your goalies, much less anybody else? Colorado needs to figure out that the farm system is important in the post cap era. We can’t just buy a player when we need them anymore. And renting one at the trade deadline isn’t going to be easy, either.

6) Turgeon and Brisebois, just retire or something.
Look, guys, it’s been fun, and hey, nobody expected you to be Forsberg or Foote last year, but we didn’t expect you to be that… whatever that was last season. Just face it. We need you to step up, or step out. Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares which. You are very replaceable. Don’t do us any favors.

7) Jose Hilton….Jeez, where to start?
I swear, if he’s out partying in LoDo, I will call The Mountain daily, and ask where the commitment is. He’s got some serious work to do. He better do it. Strengthen that glove hand, and not just 12 OZ. at a time.

Lower ticket prices.
This won’t help the Avs get to the playoffs, but it will help me get there. I’m frickin broke right now, I can’t afford you guys. I don’t want to turn this into a Rocky Mountain Rage (CHL) blog. Looks like the TV will be my friend this year. I’d rather get center ice, and be able to see a replay once in a while. This would also help the “sellout streak.” (why could I always get a single seat ticket the day of the game?)

This list is incomplete. Help me fill it in. Comments section is open.

If you’ve been reading this lately, you know that Alanah at VCOE hates burritos. Sad, isn’t it? Why she hates them, I have no idea. Something must have happened to traumatize her. Poor Alanah (If she gets to accuse me of being a Canucks fan, this is a small slight).

Since I was hungry last night, I went for more Avs support food. And I took the camera. Find the pictures here.

(or click on the small pics to go to the Hockey Photos page)

Do I feel silly defending burritos and blimps? Yes. Absolutely. But it’s got to be done. Is this stupid as hell? You bet. But I’ve done stupider things (see item #2 here). This is not about flying burritos, it’s about the Avs. And, to me, it’s damn funny.

I promise some Avs and hockey talk soon. There just isn’t much going on, so I’m amusing myself, and hopefully some others. Really, hockey talk. Soon.

Photos after the jump

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Ah, jerseys from the lockout. So much stuff, so little money. There was a thread on The Ice Block a while back about whether or not lockout jerseys are cool or not. To that, I say, yeah, they’re cool:

HKM Zvolen is a Slovakian team (for those who don’t know). During the lockout, they took on a few NHLers, including Michal Handzus and Richard Zednik. Another they took, was Vladimir Orszagh.

Orszagh had a strange trip last year. Due to transfer agreement issues, he was “stuck” in Europe, playing for Lulea HF (Ingmar, any help here?). Finally something was ironed out, and he got back to the NHL. According to TSN, he was picked up as a UFA by Phoenix, signed a 2 year contract, then picked up on waivers by St. Louis the next day. ????????? Help me here. That seems really stupid. What was that about?

It would be foolish of me to say I know a lot about HKM Zvolen. What I do remember is how incredible the Slovak fans were at the World Cup of Hockey. They danced, cheered, sang, shouted, whistled, and the US fans? They waited to be told to make some noise. It was incredible.

There are no patches on this game-worn jersey, everything is sublimated. As an owner of a rink in Rhode Island told me, “It’s amazing what they can do with sublimation.” Dude was a former Whaler, so I am not going to disagree. Last time I was in RI, the rink had caught fire, and was still under repairs.

This is a standout jersey to me. It’s just beautiful. Just the team logo on the front makes people stop and look. You can see them at games, as you pass in the halls. They look at you as you pass, wondering what it is you’re wearing. I like to think it’s with a little jealousy.

So far, with 6 jerseys posted (if you include the birthday jerseys), that part of my blog’s title has been established. But what about the Hockey Love part? Simple.

I Love Hockey.

Yes, that seems simple enough, but that’s not all there is to it. A lot of fans I have met love their team first, and not much else second. Not even the game. They just love their team. I found that attitude in plenty of places, but the most telling was in Philadelphia, PA, where a bartender told me, “We don’t care about hockey, unless it’s the Flyers.” I don’t know how he got his statistics, so don’t go yelling at me about it. You can go tell him yourselves. If you want to know what bar he works at, you can ask. He did put the SCF on the TV for us, though.

As for me, I love hockey first, my teams second. I can go to a game, and be thoroughly entertained, and that means by just about any game. I don’t really need a stake in the outcome, just two teams going at it. If I don’t care who wins, I’ll pull for the home team. Chances are, I’ll see something at a game I have never seen before. I put a list of places I saw games last season here, at what I hope to be a side blog for my hockey travels, and only a few were boring. And those were REALLY boring, if I was bored.

In fact, there are only three teams I don’t like, but if you have to ask, keep reading. They will pop up as I go along. And, if I have a chance, I’ll go see these teams play, but you can bet I’ll wear the opposing teams jersey if I have it..

Also, if you didn’t know (which I didn’t until after I have come up with the title), Mitch Hedberg, the excellent and late comedian from Minnesota, did some spots for the Atlanta Thrashers, called Hockey Love. I think Mitch was one of the funniest comedians out there, and love his work. Even so, I didn’t care for the ads too much. They didn’t seem like hockey to me. Still, how cool is it that the Thrashers got him to do these? Now, these are owned and copywriten by the Thrashers, and I don’t know if I could put them up here, but they aren’t too hard to find, like if you searched on google for hockey love Mitch Hedberg, you might find them at some fan site.

Hockey kicks my a$$ all the time. The more I find out, the more fascinated I am with it. The good, the bad, the stupid. The business, the sport, the skill, all of it. The more I watch, the more I see. and the more I enjoy.

That’s hockey love. If you have some hockey love, spread it. It’s the summer of hockey love.