Good Friday = Good Updates

I have searched long and hard for a picture of the mask that Tony Esposito is wearing in the picture to the left. I have never found one, but I do know that this mask is highly unique. With the Chicago Blackhawks honouring their former players as of late, having Tony Esposito come out in his Blackhawks glory - mask and all - gets high marks from me. Rocky Wirtz and the entire Blackhawks organization deserves a gigantic kudos for reaching out to their former stars and bringing back the fans by the thousands in Chicago. Well done, Chicago!

As the title states, there have been some updates done on this blog, as well as some additions. Let's start with the new additions to the Blog section.

Hockey Guy: This is a blog written by current AHL and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Ben Lovejoy. Honestly, it's highly entertaining, and extremely funny. I do have to admit that I appreciate Lovejoy letting us into his life. Seeing how an AHL player's life plays out can be, apparently, pretty entertaining.

Globe and Mail Blog: The Globe and Mail, a national newspaper in Canada, has created an entire section for all its reporters to blog. Led by long-time and award-winning writer Eric Duhatschek, the Globe's writers express themselves candidly while using their professional status to get the inside goods. This blog is highly-informative.

USHL Blog: The USHL Blog has player profiles and USHL news in one place. Personally, I find there isn't enough coverage of the minor and junior leagues, so I'm always happy when I find one that is as comprehensive and intelligent as this blog is. If you have any interest in the USHL, I suggest clicking on the link.

Updates: There have also been some updates on HBIC.

Starting with patch updates, I have added the Bob Gainey retirement patch to the Montreal section of the Patch It Up articles. I've also added the Brian Leetch retirement patch that the Rangers wore this season. You can find them both on Part Three of the articles.

Also, Mike Wall of the Lake Erie Monsters in the AHL has decided that he'd look better as a Transformer. His mask is Optimus Prime's head.

I've also added images of the Transformers-inspired mask that Kari Lehtonen is creating. Lehtonen is all about pop culture on his masks, and his Transformers mask is no exception, as seen on the left side and right side.

You can see all the Hollywood-inspired masks by clicking here.

Random Items: I have discovered some stuff that should be exposed for everyone to see.

Jagr's mullet is worse than Barry Melrose's mullet. How did the Penguins let him go for so long with out telling him to fix his hair? A small animal could have lived in there. I guess when a player wins the Art Ross trophy, you let him have his way.

This might be my favorite picture from the entire year. I love the way these jerseys look when hung together.

If anyone can name every mascot in this picture by name without Googling them, you might be a bigger hockey nerd than I am. By the way, I love Youppi. He's the only mascot to have successfully cross into another sport. Montreal, again, shows why they might be the best franchise of all-time.

The Dallas Stars make a mockery of their Icegirls. Pink fashion jerseys? Whoever came up with this idea should be fired immediately, quartered and drawn, and shot. The Icegirls work for the team. Let them wear the team's colours!

I don't know how many people saw the story a few weeks ago, but the Penguins-Flyers game was delayed due to the zamboni breaking down. Apparently, there was a transmission problem. I'd say that's a safe bet, considering that there was more transmission fluid on the ice than in the zamboni.

Hockey has appeared in many places, but there are some places where you rarely see it. The Canadian $5 bill has a quote from Le Chandail on it, as well as imagery of children playing hockey. Le Chandail is a story about how a young child from Montreal begs his parents to get him a Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater only to receive the hated Toronto Maple Leafs hockey sweater. The fact that this appears on our currency shows how deeply-rooted the game of hockey is in our society.

Sweden's postal service has never really caught my eye before, but I was impressed to find out that Peter Forsberg has been honoured with a stamp. Following Sweden's goal medal for hockey during the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, Forsberg's shootout, gold-medal winning goal was memorialized on a stamp. Here's the actual video of the goal:

I don't understand Swedish, but that goal is Forsberg's legacy.

Lastly, we all know that Zdeno Chara is hockey's tallest player. However, do you know who the smallest is? If you suggested New Jersey Devils' Brian Gionta, you'd be right. This image shows the tale of the tape. Gionta wears size-5 skates? There are peewee players that wear bigger skates than him!

Ok, that's all the updates and fun stuff for today. I have a pile of stuff to get done, so if you have any questions or comments, leave them below.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!