Monday, February 29, 2016

I Found Some Baby Pictures of Hockey Players (Just kidding... old photos)

For some reason, earlier today, I looked up Carey Price and I found some old photos of him. I thought it would be cool to find some older photos of other hockey players and share them. (Most of them are recognisable, but I will still put who it is)
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Baby Willy Baby (Tom Wilson)

Baby Pricey (Carey Price)
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Matt Niskanen

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Karl Alzner (the traitor.. Look! He's wearing a Leafs sweater)

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Brooks Laich

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TJ Oshie

Jonathan Toews (Karate Kid)

(More) Jonathan Toews

Tyler Seguin

Alex Ovechkin

(More) Alex Ovechkin

Patrick Kane ( he looks so different!)

Sidney Crosby (literally Sid the Kid)

(More) Carey Price (Just can't get enough of him)

Moar Pricey!

Last one...

P.K. Subban

More PK

Erik Karlsson

Henrik and Daniel Sedin

More of the Twins

Connor McDavid

Okay, that's it for today! I hope you liked this post. If I can get 10 views on it I will do a "Baby Photos of Hockey Players, part 2" post so you can enjoy more kid photos. Have a good day!

Brooks Laich is now a Toronto Maple Leaf

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In another heartbreaking, wretched NHL trade, Brooks Laich, Washington D.C.'s longest-tenured athlete, is no longer a Capital. He is a Leaf, after being a faithful, amazing Capital for 12 years, ever since I was only three years old. Boo.

The Capitals traded away Laich, Connor Carrick, and a second-round pick for Daniel Winnik and a fifth-round pick. In my opinion, the Capitals are trading away their future, as they now do not have any first- or second-round picks for the next draft. On top of that, the Leafs are winning more in this trade because they get better players. 

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“Daniel is a versatile player who plays with grit and can be used in all situations,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “This move enables us to add some depth to our forward group and balances our lineup. We would like to thank Brooks for all of his contributions to our organization over the past 10 years. Brooks is a true professional and we wish him all the best in the future.”

The only problem with Laich is that after health complications (injury to the groin) in 2011, he never was the player he had been before and became a fourth-line centre on the Capitals, never again living up to his $4.5 million cap hit. Winnik is much cheaper and by acquiring him and getting rid of Laich's contract, the Capitals have gained $2.2 million in cap space. Still, the trade is heartbreaking, for a multitude of reasons.

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The Wawota, Saskatchewan native was a fan favourite in Washington for many reasons. Right after the Capitals' devastating first-round playoff exit in the 2010 playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens, two female Capitals fans were stranded on the side of the road with a messed-up tire. Although the team had just lost and it was clear Laich was going through a tough time, he stopped by the side of the road to fix the tire for them, immediately making their days. 

Not only that, but his shenanigans with Michael Latta and Tom Wilson about an Instagram follow were hilarious, with Wilson and Latta leaving comments on his Instagram posts begging for a follow multiple times. Laich had a drone from his fiancee Julianne Hough, and he used it for another hobby of his, film-making, where he filmed several scenes when he had time and used time-lapse on them. I thought it was pretty amazing. He was going to get married to Julianne this August, but I guess, sadly, us Caps fans will not see it.

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He even made this hilarious video telling fans five things every man should know how to do:


On his last days in Washington, Laich and Hough, along with TJ Oshie and his wife Lauren, went to a Carrie Underwood concert all together. Laich, my man. This is even worse than losing Eric Fehr and Joel Ward in the offseason. Brooksie, you will be missed. If the Capitals get their Stanley Cup win this year, it will be bittersweet, as D.C.'s longest-tenured athlete and most faithful player, who has been with the Capitals starting from the 2004 rebuild and is the last remaining piece of Peter Bondra, is now gone. Good luck with your new team, Brooksie, and we hope to have you back in a Capitals uniform soon.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Julianne Hough Needs Your Help Picking Out a Wedding Dress!


This post is a bit outdated and may have almost nothing to do with hockey, but Brooks Laich has asked Julianne Hough to marry him this coming August, after proposing to her in August of 2015. So, on her blog, Julianne has started asking fans to help her pick out her wedding dress: http://juliannehough.com/whats-my-bridal-style/. She has picked five different styles of dressed and is asking for your help. Here, I will analyse each one and pick my favourite, and then you guys - let me know in the comments. I don't think she has picked out the exact dressed; these are just a brief overview of each style.

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Here are the five dress styles, as described on her website:

1. The Romantic Bride

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In my opinion, this dress is lovely. It is very old-fashioned, and would look good on Julianne, considering she is average size. I love the lace accents on it, and the high neckline means she won't have to spend too much money on a necklace. This one is perfect; however, the earrings she picked along with it are not the greatest, to be honest, although I love the hair feather fascinator that she picked to go with it. 

2. The Boho Bride

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This one does proud to Julianne's roots. She is Californian and this dress does represent that. However, I wouldn't wear this one as a wedding dress, because it isn't the traditional white and is a bit too old for her. This one would be appropriate for an older woman's wedding, such as someone over the age of 40. Another downside to this one is that it would only look good on someone with long, blonde hair and blue eyes, and her hair is fairly short right now (and I like it better that way). Also, the headband she picked along with it would suit a cruise ship dinner night more than a wedding.

3. The Classic Bride

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This dress, along with Romantic, is another of my favourites. It is beautiful simple, and timeless. The skirt is flowy, and paired along with a white lace jacket, it would look lovely. It screams old-fashioned and pretty, and is a dress that has been worn over and over by people of many different generations.

4. The Non-Traditional Bride

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This one is another of my favourites. The bodice on the top is very simple, and would look wonderful when paired with the right necklace, and the headband she has chosen to wear along with it would look very girly. This one speaks innocence and youth, and the detail in the skirt is beautiful and gorgeous. If it were my wedding, I would absolutely pick this one.

5. The Chic Bride

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For the record, I do not like this one at all. It is much too grown-up, and the style is one that came out very, very recently. It is not classic and not traditional. I personally, would not even look at this one if I were in a wedding store. It is very minimalist and probably cheaper, but guessing she is Julianne Hough after all, I'm sure she can afford something better.

So, in conclusion, my favourite is the non-traditional, followed closely by classic and romantic. These three styles are classics and are timeless, and are incredibly pretty and would suit a young bride such as Julianne. Good luck to her and Mr. Laich in the coming years! I hope to be able to announce a coming wedding soon.

~Tia the Wedding Whiz 

Stop Jumping on the PK Subban Hate Bandwagon




Yeah, we all get it. The 2015-16 Montreal Canadiens may not make the playoffs. Their core players "aren't producing," they have a terrible offence, etc., etc. Andrei Markov keeps making turnovers... but PK Subban is even worse. But guess what? You're wrong.
PK leads the Habs in points, with 46, and in assists, with 41. He is a defenceman. When he leads an entire team in these two categories, it must either mean that (1) he is an incredible player, or (2) his team is terrible at offence. To be honest, both of these play a factor. But PK is probably the Habs' most important player aside from Carey Price, and he electrifies games and makes them watchable, even when the Habs are losing. He is a fan favourite, and has done better things off the ice than on it.
Off the ice, PK shines in the spotlight. I remember a few summers age when, while everyone else actually used a bucket of water and ice to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, PK hired a whole truck full of water and ice, sat in a lawn chair in the middle of a main street in Toronto, and had the truck pour a river of water and ice over him. It was the funniest thing I ever watched.
Not only that, but he overflows with charitable acts himself (pun intended). Once, he donated $10,000 to the Montreal Children's Hospital, as well as hosted a Christmas part there, where he bought presents for all the children. Not only that, but once he hit a boy with a puck on accident, and took time after to meet the boy and his family. For these acts, PK shines on and off the ice.
So I don't understand... just because Michel Therrien threw PK under the bus unfairly, while leaving David Desharnais, who has done nothing productive, to keep doing what he is doing, everyone starts hating on PK. Leave him alone! He is one of the Habs' best players, on and off the ice.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, NHL All-Star


I know this is coming a bit late, but right after the All-Stars, I wasn't able to write this, so here it comes. This year, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals were voted into the All-Star Game. Indeed, it was well-deserved for all of them, as well as for Coach Barry Trotz, who got to coach the Metropolitan Division. It was the first All-Star appearance for Backstrom and Holtby, who more than deserved it  
However, in a storybook ending, Russian superstar Ovechkin decided not to play in Nashville, and by luck, the next star on the list was none other than his fellow countryman and teammate Kuznetsov. 23-year-old Kuznetsov had 2 goals in a losing effort by the Metropolitan Division. 
Another positive from the All-Stars was John Scott. After being voted in by the fans as a way of making fun of him, Gary Bettman and his minions conducted a trade that took Scott from Arizona to Montreal, where he was waived to play for the St. John, Montreal's AHL affiliate. In other words that meant he couldn't play in the game. After he wrote a Player's Tribune article and everyone accused Bettman of plotting to keep Scott out of the All-Star, Bettman allowed him to play, but made him wear a special jersey as humiliation. However, Scott rose above it all, scoring two goals to lead the Pacific Division to a championship and getting named MVP. What a happy ending. 


Wednesday, February 3, 2016

What is "Yeast Mode"? Artemi Panarin's Play Has Your Answers...


Artemi Panarin had been expected to become one of the greater Chicago players when he came to the NHL this season to play with the Blackhawks, yet they didn't know where he would fit in with the roster. Little did they know that he would form an amazing chemistry with Patrick Kane to make up a formidable second line for Chicago.

This is the story of two games against the Penguins, who have three of the NHL's best players in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel. Yet, Panarin managed to overcome them all.

In early January, Chicago had a home and home series against Pittsburgh. In both of these games, Chicago won -- thanks to the Breadman, as Panarin's teammates call him.

Panarin's first impression on the Penguins - lighting the lamp behind Marc-Andre Fleury with a slapshot in the second period to make it 1-0 Blackhawks. Jonathan Toews would add one and the Penguins would tie the game before it went into overtime. 

Overtime was the defining moment for the Breadman, The Blackhawks were passing, passing, passing, and the Penguins just couldn't keep up. Kane threw the puck to Panarin, Panarin threw it back, and so on. Soon, Kane and Panarin were circling around the Penguin net like eagles waiting to kill a Penguin (pun intended) and then Panarin just threw the puck towards the net. The move was so subtle, no one noticed that it had gone in, except for Panarin and Kane. The end. 

Game two started out the same way. The Pens couldn't contain the Hawks' second line. Panarin, Kane, and Anisimov were throwing around the puck and the Pens just couldn't get to it. The Penguins were gasping for air, eagerly awaiting a break in play to catch their breaths, but before they could, it was 1-0 Hawks. Panarin had scored. Panarin would also add the game-winner later with a play so surprising that not even the commentators noticed it at first. 

In this way, Artemi Panarin defines "yeast mode" with his outstanding play. The Breadman uses yeast to elevate his team, and hopefully will continue doing so for years to come (pun intended again).