Are They Even Trying?

I'm trying to be hopeful for the PWHL's success, and it seems like they have enough money to make the league work in the long term. It's very clear that the players are beyond talented and the action on the ice is worth every penny, so the entertainment value is most certainly there. The problem for this league exists entirely in the boardroom, and it's time for those who are sitting at that boardroom table to figure out how to make the teams far more important to their communities and hockey fans in general because this new round of team names is absolutely awful. In fact, almost as bad as the first six names they rolled out last year.

Let's go through these new names and figure out if they could be better. I'm not going to sugarcoat this: all of them can be better, and I'll offer suggestions as to how they can be better. As it stands, here are the six teams, their logos, and how those names were chosen.

Team: Boston Fleet

Meaning: "The Boston Fleet pays homage to the unified spirit of our people, players, and fans, who move together with speed, strength, and a relentless might to add new legacy to Boston's storied history of resilience."

Why It Doesn't Work: Who comes up with this verbal diarrhea of people, players, and fans moving together with speed, strength, and relentless might? None of that is how I see Boston as a hockey town, and I really struggle to understand how some marketing genius sold this idea. Yes, Boston has a harbour, but it's known for the amount of tea dumped into it, not for a fleet of ships.

What Would Be Better: Boston Aviators. Amelia Earhart embraced women's rights as she ascended to become the the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She was an icon through the 1920s and 1930s in Massachusetts where she taught, fought for women's rights, and pursued aviation interests on a number of fronts.

Potential Logo: A Lockheed 10-E Electra-type airplane on the front, Earhart's plane, with an aviator cap and goggles on the shoulder.

Team: Minnesota Frost

Meaning: "Minnesota Frost celebrates hockey's fierceness and beauty, a timeless Minnesota tradition, bridging generations. Come November, this Championship-winning team will once again take the ice, paying tribute to a people born with skates on our feet."

Why It Doesn't Work: How does "Frost" celebrate anything to do with hockey's fierceness, beauty, tradition in Minnesota, or the generations of people who have played it? How does "Frost" pay any sort of tribute? It's frozen condensation! Who writes this garbage and, worse, who actually believes it?

What Would Be Better: Minnesota Explorers. Ann Bancroft grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota where she became an author, a wilderness instructor, and a gym teacher in Minneapolis. The Ann Bancroft Foundation, founded in 1991, helps individuals and families to go on outdoor adventures, and Bancroft became the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by sled in 1986. In partnering with the Minnesota Wild, the Explorers would fit into the wilderness imagery for which Minnesota is known.

Potential Logo: A map with a large X on it on the front with a toque on the shoulder.

Team: New York Sirens

Meaning: "Inspired by the exhilarating blare of the goal siren, the New York Sirens are an ode to the hustle, rhythm and swagger of NYC. The goal siren is an urgent call to take to the ice and triumph at the speed of sound and New York itself – the city you can't stop but you can always hear coming."

Why It Doesn't Work: Does anyone in the PWHL boardroom know how hockey is played? The goal siren isn't an urgent call to take the ice; it's the sound after a goal was scored - something the New York team didn't do well last year. How are sirens an ode to "hustle, rhythm and swagger" in any way, shape, or form? Aren't sirens heard when a crime has been committed? That's a weird ode.

What Would Be Better: New York Alliance. New York City is made up of five boroughs, and there 65 bridges connecting the people of New York throughout the city. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the more famous bridges in New York City, and it was engineer Emily Warren Roebling who committed more than ten years as chief engineer to complete the bridge after her husband fell ill. While New York may have two baseball teams, two hockey teams, and two football teams, the people of the five boroughs are allies to one another thanks to those bridges and through the play of the Alliance.

Potential Logo: A bridge with a big apple silhouette in the background on the front with an interlocking NYC on the shoulder.

Team: Montreal Victoire

Meaning: "Whether we win or lose, 'Victory' is a state of mind, our primary motivation. The name Victoire will inspire us to reach new heights – for the glory of the team, our sport and for all of Montreal!" By the way, having the meaning of your team name's page go to a 404 page isn't how you want to start your legacy. Maybe they'll fix that?

Why It Doesn't Work: No offence to Montreal, but "victory" is the goal of every team when they take the ice. If Montreal wins, does the Victory earn a victory? How does one earn itself? While I appreciate the effort on the name and logo, it fails in practice.

What Would Be Better: L'Esprit de Montreal. Montreal is its own unique city with a culture unlike any other in North America. That includes the people, the food, the events, the joie de vivre, and history of the city. Because of these traits, the spirit of Montreal lives on through its people and the fans of the Montreal PWHL franchise, and the players embody that spirit every time they take the ice!

Potential Logo: Admittedly, this logo is harder to conceptualize, but I would suggest figuring out a way to incorporate the "E" from Esprit and "M" from Montreal into a working logo. Toss the fleur-de-lis on the shoulders, and we're ready to go.

Team: Ottawa Charge

Meaning: "Inspired by the city's motto "Advance – Ottawa – En Avant", 'Charge' speaks to an electrifying force that pulses through Ottawa's river and streets, through the stands of the arena and on the ice, driving us all only in one direction: forever forward."

Why It Doesn't Work: Who is the ad wizard that came up with "electrifying force that pulses through Ottawa's river and streets"? Ottawa isn't known for how fast it moves, specifically when it comes to government. They're still battling over a downtown arena, and that's been going on for years now. If anything, "Charge" seems to relate to static electricity considering how static the city is. And how does that logo even comes close to relating to "electricifying" in any way? This is a complete failure.

What Would Be Better: Ottawa Conductors. Ottawa's railway system started in 1850, and by 1882 there were connections that reached Montreal and beyond. Bringing the country together was something that Ottawa's rail system did as it expanded quickly after Queen Victoria named the city as the capital of Canada. There's also a legend of an abandoned rail tunnel, complete with a lost train, in LeBreton Flats. Needless to say, there's some history in Ottawa when it comes to railroads. How cool would that angle be at hockey games?

Potential Logo: It wouldn't be hard to create something like the old North Bay Centennials' logo with a conductor's hat hanging off the "C". Throw the a steam train silhouette on the shoulder, and this design works well!

Team: Toronto Sceptres

Meaning: "The Sceptre has forever been a symbol of strength and power, found in courts and palaces, held by Queens and Kings in ceremony. Today, it will be wielded on the ice by Toronto's hockey royalty. The Sceptres embody Toronto's regal history, commanding presence and rich heritage from Queens Quay to Queen Street."

Why It Doesn't Work: It's literally a prop for monarchs and rulers. It would be like the LA Kings changing their name to the LA Crowns or the London Knights changing their name to the London Broad Swords. It doesn't mean anything, it has no tie to the city of Toronto, and Toronto has never had a regal history. This might be the worst name of the six proposed.

What Would Be Better: Toronto Cosmos. Whether the team name evokes memories of Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut and neurologist in space, being a cosmopolitan city for the vast number of women who have found success there from all backgrounds, or because we can cheekily joke that Toronto is the "Centre of the Universe", the Cosmos bring a new identity to the city when one is attempting to reach for the stars. How's that for marketing wizardry?

Potential Logo: Have some fun with some stellar imagery in this one, but there are dozens of different ways this logo could be conceived. Add the space helmet to the shoulder and this jersey would be out of this world!

All of these new names and logos have a much deeper tie to each of the communities in which they're used, and they all represent something or someone from each city's respective history. Each would allow for incredible mascot and imagery opportunities, and they don't sound like they were generated by some AI program who was just being fed "cool hockey team names". Give me something that ties the team to the community when it comes to team names because that has real meaning!

Thoughts? I know you have them after reading this, and I feel like you want to express them. Throw them in the comments and we'll discuss. Maybe you have better names or ideas that should be used - that's entirely possible! Unless you put them in the comments, though, it's hard to know what they are! Start writing, and we'll discuss as the second season of utterly terrible team names gets underway in the PWHL!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

An AIHL Winner!

Do you recognize the goalie to the left? If you've followed U SPORTS men's hockey for the last few seasons, the pads he's wearing are a major giveaway. The Saskatoon native played one game with the Abbotsford Canucks and was an EBUG with the Vancouver Canucks before attending a number of ECHL camps over the last few years, but nothing seemed to stick for the former UBC Thunderbirds netminder. Well, he found his place this season in Australia when the Adelaide Adrenaline inked Rylan Toth to a contract, and he had himself another award-winning campaign as Toth was named as the 2024 Goalie of the Year in the AIHL!

Toth played in 24 games for the Adrenaline this season, finishing with a 6-12-5 record, a 2.92 GAA, a .906 save percentage, and two shutouts. Those numbers may not sound like "Goaltender of the Year" numbers when you look at them, but we need a deeper look here because the numbers at face value admittedly aren't that great. Let's look at those other numbers.

The Adelaide Adrenaline finished this season with a 5-17-2-6 record, so Toth was involved in a lot of those decisions. He was the goalie of record in six of seven games that the Adrenaline won and he helped them earn at least one additional point in five of six extra time losses. Yes, he was in the net for 12 of 17 losses, but considering that goaltending partner Matus Trnka was 0-3-0 with a 2.94 GAA and an .882 save percentage. Clearly, the Adrenaline weren't scoring a lot of goals when one considering both netminders had sub-3.00 GAA, but only won seven games all season long.

The Adrenaline never averaged more than 2.5 goals-per-game this season at any point past April 27, so unless the Adrenaline goalies were allowing one goal or less, the chances of them winning were low. From May 11 forward to the end of the season, the Adrenaline never averaged less than 3.0 goals-against-per-game, but that average never exceeded 4.0 goals-against-per-game all season long. The goaltending was good for the Adrenaline, but they just needed more goal-scoring to back up that puck-stopping.

Where things make a little more sense is when you look at the goalie stats leaderboard. Toth was third-overall in the AIHL for goals-against-average, putting him ahead of 18-game winner Leo Bertein of the Perth Thunder and 11-game winner James Downie of the league-leading Sydney Bears. He finished just 0.11 behind 17-game winner Tatsunoshin Ishida of the Melbourne Ice. It's hard to argue that Toth didn't deserve the award when he faced so much more rubber than Ishida and Bertein yet kept a ton of those pucks out of the net, but we'll continue building the case.

Toth's .906 save percentage puts him fourth-overall in the AIHL behind the men mentioned above - Ishida at .920, Bertein at .914, and Melbourne Mustangs' Logan Flodell at .908. He was one of four goalies who played more than 22 games who finished with a save percentage above .900, and one of six goalies to finish the season with a save percentage above .900. His team finished second-last in points in the AIHL this season, yet Toth being one of the top netminders statistically, again, makes it hard to argue against his case as being the top goaltender.

Of course, if you had watched any Canada West men's hockey a few years ago, you already know how much Toth's goaltending affects a game. Twice, he backstopped the Thunderbirds to a berth at the U Cup National Championship. In 2021-22, he was named as the Canada West Goaltender of the Year and the U SPORTS Goaltender of the Year. His five-year university career saw him finish with a 30-29-7 record, a 2.82 GAA, and a .906 save percentage, but it was his growth as a player that saw him improve from a 2-7-0 rookie campaign in 2017-18 to an 11-5-1 record in 2021-22. In each of his five seasons, he lowered his goals-against average each season as he got better each and every season.

Look, I've thrown a lot of numbers at you to justify Rylan Toth's award this season, but there's one thing that's clear: Rylan makes not-so-good teams much better when he's in the crease. It's hard not to argue how important he was for the Thunderbirds in their successes, and it's pretty clear that the Adelaide Adrenaline may have been much worse off this season without Toth stopping pucks for them. That alone puts him in the conversation for AIHL Goaltender of the Year, and it's pretty clear that his numbers carried him to the top of that discussion.

Congratulations to Rylan Toth on another major accolade in his illustrious career, and here's hoping that a few North American teams come calling this season when they need a goalie. Signing Rylan Toth should be a no-brainer considering his body of work, and it's my hope that we'll see those blue-and-yellow pads in a North American professional league this winter!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Saucy Autumn Posts

If there's one thing of which I use a lot in my kitchen, it's tomato sauce. Whether it be made into a pasta sauce or put on pizza dough or as a dipping option for finger foods, I use a lot of the red sauce. The key for me is that I never buy it; instead, I have containers frozen with homemade sauce in them that are in the freezer awaitng their moment of glory. Some people roll their eyes at me when I tell them I spend the time making tomato sauce because it's quite easy to buy at most grocery stores, but there's something about making the sauce that fills the house with the smell of spices and tomatoes while it cooks. I also think it tastes infinitely better, but that's why I make the sauce out of the Roma tomatoes I grow in my garden every summer! È magnifico!

As I do every year, I bring the tomatoes inside once a good bunch has been picked from the plants, and the process begins. Being that it's September, the autumn haul of garden veggies will pick up soon, but I've been pretty happy with the returns on the tomatoes, rhubarb, peppers, and onions. The beets are looking strong, the potatoes should be a good size as well, and I'm hoping to squeeze a handful of cucumbers off that line after they got a late start to the summer growing season. In the end, I should be set up well for winter once again!

Without further adieu, I present to you Marcella Hazan's recipe from the New York Times as her amazing way to make tomato sauce has just four simple ingredients, yet it tastes so good!

Ingredients

• 2 cups of tomatoes with juice, peeled
• 5 tablespoons of butter
• 1 onion, cut in half and peeled
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt. DON'T OVER-SALT!
2. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.
3. In Marcella's recipe, she recommends discarding the onion, but I like it in there. Wait until the onion becomes translucent and, as above, use a spoon to cut the onion pieces into smaller chunks. When all is said and done, this recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.

In today's day and age, I use an immersion blender to get rid of any larger chunks, but the key to this sauce is allowing it to simmer off the water content to make a nice, thick tomato sauce. Once cooled, it can be transferred to a container and frozen, or stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. If it separates, just heat it a little and give it a stir, but anything requiring a tomato-based sauce will have an exquisite base upon which you can build.

That's what I've spent my day doing, so make good use of those tomatoes before the temperatures start cooling off! I'm hoping for one more round of tomatoes for another batch of sauce, but we'll see what the garden harvest looks like in the coming weeks. For now, I have enough sauce for a few delicious meals once again!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Clear Your Schedules

The boys aren't back in town just yet, but that doesn't mean that Winnipeg Jets fans can't start planning their nights at Canada Life Centre. The Jets released their promotional schedule today, and it seems that there might be a number of nights that Jets fans will flock downtown for some free shwag, some good times, and a few hockey games! Make no mistake that the man to the left will be honoured this season as Connor Hellebuyck is one of the top players in the league - something Jets fans see often - and the Winnipeg Jets will put something in those fans' hands this season to remember Hellebuyck's great season last year. However, there will be a pile of additional nights where fans will go home with something more than (hopefully) a win and a pile of memories from the game!

The full schedule of promotions and theme games can be found here, but there are already a handful I have circled on the calendar based on who is in town and what's being celebrated on those nights. Some of those nights include:

• October 11: home opener vs. Chicago Blackhawks – Canada Life toque giveaway!
• October 18: Hellebuyck Night vs. San Jose Sharks – pennant giveaway to the first 5000 fans!
• January 7: Beat the Winter Blues Night vs. Nashville Predators – Jets cooler bag giveaway to the first 5000 fans!
• March 11: Celebrating Women in Sport vs. New York Rangers

Aside from the fact that "Beat the Winter Blues" Night doesn't feature a game against the St. Louis Blues, these are the games I'd want to attend this season. Make no mistake that there are other nights that I'd be willing to attend as well, but this blogger doesn't have that kind of disposable income to splash across this city. For those who want to see the full schedule graphically, take a peek at the schedule below!

For those wondering, Minnesota gets three promotional nights - Season Ticket Member Appreciation Night on September 21, Child Advocacy Night on October 13, and the annual Holiday Game on December 21. All of Calgary, San Jose, Vancouver, Anaheim, and St. Louis get two promotional game nights each while both Florida-based teams, Columbus, and the New York Rangers are the only Eastern Conference teams visiting on promotional nights. I guess all the divisional games will focus more on hockey and not on promotions this season? We need some sort of noise maker or distraction we can use to get under the opposition's skin!

Whatever the case may be, tickets went on sale today for all games this season, so start planning your winter nights accordingly. Not every game will appeal to all fans, but that's why the promotional schedule helps when trying to decide on which games to see. Maybe your favorite team is in town one night but there's a really fun promotion or giveaway on another night, or maybe there are too many good nights to watch hockey - tough decisions have to be made!

No matter what you decide, get your tickets quickly and we'll see you at Canada Life Centre this season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 624

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, hits another milestone today as we wrap up Season 12 of the show! It's hard to believe that we've done this for twelve years, through a pandemic, through two NHL lockouts, and through various building shutdowns, but twelve years will be in the books tonight when the lads sign off. Obviously, we can't thank UMFM and its loyal listeners enough for welcoming us onto their radios and internet streams, so we'll take some time to thank various people tonight. In short, though, it's been a fun ride as we get set for Season 13 of The Hockey Show tonight at 5:30pm CT! And if this is your first time listening, there's no better time to get in on the fun!

Teebz and Jason will break into the hockey stories by offering their thoughts on the Gaudreau tragedy before getting into Edmonton's dump truck of money for Draisaitl, two PWHL teams get new homes, two more Memorial Cup bids were made, the Ottawa Senators will be on the golf course all year, a European team makes a big ask of their fans, and we'll give our own thanks and show appreciation for everyone who has tuned in at some point over the last twelve years. It's another busy show with lots to discuss, so join Teebz and Jason for Season 12's final show tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason discuss senseless losses, ludicrous money, new homes, new options, sponsorship money, fans' hard-earned money, twelve seasons of madness, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: September 5, 2024: Episode 624

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!