One Year Ago Today

It was year ago today that the NHL returned to Winnipeg and hockey fans of the Manitoba capital, and especially Jets fans of the past, have had their own to watch once again. Sometimes it was joyful, sometimes it was frustrating, but it was always awesome just to cheer on a team in Winnipeg playing in the NHL named the Jets again.

I'm still reeling from the news and am still in party mode about the return.  I can't tell you how happy it made me.  Really.  Even after a full season back in which I threw my hat across the room whenever they took a stupid penalty, got scored on or just generally played bad.
May 31, 2011 will forever be a day in Winnipeg sports history that will remain in infamy.  I say that with no sensationalism intended.  You may have seen the pictures on television of rowdy, passionate Jets fans lining the Portage and Main where it all started 40 years ago with the signing of Bobby Hull and then later, Dale Hawerchuck, breaking into impromptu street hockey games.  That spontaneous reaction was just the beginning of the passion the rest of the hockey world would bare witness to during the 2011/12 NHL season.  This a club of class, talent and yes, again, passion.  That word cannot be reiterated enough.
When True North Sports and Entertainment CEO Mark Chipman stepped up to that podium on that wonderful Tuesday morning and uttered those words that would be remembered in Winnipeg for years to come, "I am excited beyond words to announce our purchase of the Atlanta Thrashers," I teared up.  And again at the draft when he announced the team was indeed going to called the Jets, and yet again when October 9 rolled around and the sold out crowd at the MTS Centre broke the decibel meter before during and after the puck dropped at center ice to make it official.

When the original incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets left for Phoenix in 1996 to become the Coyotes, the reasons were many (a perfect storm of finances, lack of ownership, no self-sustaining arena and a weak Canadian dollar is a term a couple of sports writers accurately chose to describe the awful tragedy that was the Jets 1.0 departure) but with solid ownership, a state-of-the-art arena and a rabid fan base, this team will be here for the long-term and I predict within seven years, a Stanley Cup parade will be planned for Portage Avenue.

The return in pictures:


You see that last guy who smiled tearfully and proudly as he closed his eyes and took it all in?  That was me when my Jets officially returned against the Montreal Canadiens.  Not physically me.  But I mean I knew exactly how that guy felt and what he was thinking, as I suspect so were thousands of other Winnipeg hockey fans did.

Thank you to Mark Chipman and David Thompson for making Winnipeg Jets fans' dreams come true.

Go Jets Go!

Canada Falls to Slovakia in IIHF Semi-Finals

For the third straight year, Canada has failed to medal at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.  This time falling to Slovakia in the quarter-final round, thus making the tournament trip all for not for our supposed Kings of Hockey nation.

Ryan  Getzlaf took a undiciplined and stupid five-minute major and a game misconduct with two minutes left in regulation to allow Slovakia to score for a 4-3 win.  Winnipeg Jets teammates Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd finished the tournament with  four goals, three assists for seven points and one goal, four assists for five points, respectively.

Jim Slater's team USA also lost to Finland in another semi-final, 3-2.  He finished with two goals and one assist for three points.

The St. John's IceCaps have advanced to the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference Final against the top-ranked Norfolk Admirals by defeating the Wilkes-Barrie Scranton Penguins in game seven 3-2 in Eastern Semi-Final on Saturday. 

Kane & Ladd Doing Their Part at World Championship

It seems Winnipeg Jets Evander Kane and captain Andrew Ladd didn't get enough scoring done during the regular season and maybe their disappointing first year in Winnipeg (at least at not making the playoffs) has spurned them on enough to become integrable cogs in the Team Canada machine that has jumped to first place in their group at the IIHF world hockey championship with, as of this writing, a 5-0-1 record (one overtime loss) for 16 points.  Three points are awarded for a win, one point for an overtime loss.  Host team Finland is in second with 12 points.  As for their contributions in the scoring department, Kane three goals and two assists for five points in six games including the winner against Finland, while Ladd has contributed one goal and one assist for two points in six games.

Jets GST member Jim Slater has two goals and an assist for three points for team USA.

Jets Progress at the World Championship

Here's a report via jets.com of the progress of the Winnipeg Jets that are participating at this year's IIHF World Hockey championship.

Burmi Staying Put

Or at least he's not going back to "Mother Russia."  Yesterday a rumor out of Edmonton had Winnipeg Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov headed back to Russia for next season after his NHL entry-level contract expires this summer, accepting an offer from Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Continental Hockey League (KHL) instead of at least a season (or less) of seasoning with the Jets minor-league affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps.  Burmistrov's agent, Mark Gandler said the rumor is not true and the young Russian is expected to re-sign with the Jets and report to training camp next season as expected.