I Hate the Off Season

I honestly do. You know why? Because all the energy I normally expend on the Everblades and the NHL teams I follow has nowhere to go.

It gets more and more bottled up, and next thing you know, I've turned the ECHL history into a handy dandy (technicolor) chart.

You read that right folks.


I turned all 23 years of the leagues history into one (long) chart.

I'm not sure if that makes me crazy or the biggest hockey nerd on Earth. Maybe it's both.

Where was I? Oh yes, the chart tracks the league from the first teams up until the season that's about to start. As the franchise relocates the color is changed. It's pretty interesting to see how many times some teams have changed locations and names. It's also funny to see some of the names. Oh man, Whoopee? The best.



(an easier to read version is here)

It's kind of amazing to see how unstable the ECHL has been at times. I have a little more respect for the league now. It's incredible how they have stuck in there. I also understand why the league seems less than enthusiastic about granting franchises. They have really been burned in the past.

Anyway, one thing is very obvious. The Blades have to make an announcement soon. It's pretty clear I'm going stir crazy.

YouTube Tuesday

Is there really any question that we need Mathieu Roy back?

Jr. Blade Blog: Inside training camp

 The Florida Jr. Blades held training camp last weekend for a few recently-inked players and Jr. Blades hopefuls. Nineteen-year-old forward Jimmy Williams is returning to Florida for his second year in blue and green, and gave fans an inside look on training with the Jr. Blades.

 If you happened to be at Germain Arena recently, you might have been able to get a sneak peek of some Jr. Blades action before the season even starts. This past weekend was the final Jr. Blades tryout and training camp. Last season, we had what many consider to be a successful inaugural season, but those of us returning know that we have unfinished business to attend to.

      The camp consisted of one practice, off ice testing and three scrimmages. Everyone felt anxious and excited, and it was especially noticeable on the faces of players hoping to make the team for the first time. During the practice, everyone was a little rusty and it was pretty obvious. Personally, I felt my skating and stick handling was still pretty fluid, but I just needed to get used to the speed of the game again. For the rest of the summer I plan on being on the ice three times a week. Whether it is teaching younger kids to play, or just getting a game in at open hockey, it should help me stay fresh and eliminate that adjustment period where you have to shake off the rust.

      After taking a beating the first scrimmage of 10-3, my team bounced back to win the second two scrimmages. Everyone on the team settled in, lines started to form and gel and you really got a sense of who was going to stick around for the season. Everybody seemed to enjoy being on the ice, it doesn’t get any better then playing three games on a weekend in the off-season in south Florida.
      The scrimmages were over with, and the camp came to a quiet end. I enjoyed every second of it, joking around in the locker room, seeing old buddies, and even chirping coach a little bit. I look forward to my last season of junior hockey; the bus rides, the chirps, the laughs, all of it. I’ll be trying to soak it all in. 

I think I can speak for everyone on the team when I say we all have the same goal for this year: Bring home a national title.

YouTube Tuesday

Time for some old school Everblades action.



I don't know what I'm more nostalgic about. That old Blades logo or Brad Herauf in a Blades jersey.

The Newest Everblade?

Reports out of France are that the Blades have signed French forward Luc Tardif Jr. The story, in French, can be found here. I'll quote the translated article here though.

"Luc Tardif Jr is still Rouen but not for long. The athletic wing of the France team (1.92 m, 100 kg) income for Dragons de Rouen (Seine-Maritime), in his original club, there are two seasons to stuff yourself with national honors (Magnus Cups, a Cup of France, one League Cup, a champions Trophy), toured the question hexagonal.

So the young man of 26 has signed a contract with FloridaEverblades, a club of the ECHL South Division (East Coast Hockey League), one of the American professional leagues in early October. In the meantime, until the end of September, it remains licensed in Rouen. And of course that it will deceive his possible new team during the camp ..."

His stats from Elite prospects-



A video of him mixing it up with a Danish hockey player in a "friendly" international game-



There hasn't yet been an official announcement from the Blades about him being signed.

Actually, there's been no word from the Blades about anything.

If he is in fact signed by the Blades he looks promising. It's going to be a big adjustment after all those years playing Euro hockey to be dropped into the ECHL and the North American style of hockey, but he looks scrappy, I think he'll be fine.

YouTube Tuesday

Happy Tuesday people! I thought I'd share one of my favorite hockey videos on YouTube with you.

Friday Links

Happy Friday people. We won't have to wait much longer for the Everblades to start signing players. There are only six more days until ECHL teams can start signing players.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Les Boys"

- Coolest cake ever!



- Did you know John Wayne starred in a hockey movie? I couldn't believe it either. The sad thing is, there doesn't seem to be any legitimate copies in print. How sad. There are tons of movie posters out there though.

- The hockey off season has been so boring I've found myself interested in a new sport. Rugby! It's like football only without the padding and protection. The best part? We have a (kind of) local team to cheer for. The great thing is that the Jacksonville Axemen (Jacksonville is more local that Philadelphia), stream all their games for free from their site (it's not a pretty site, but who cares, free sports on the Internet). They play Boston tomorrow at five. Definitely worth a your time I think.

- This is the funnest thing ever. I doubt a baby in that would get any trouble from the other babies. 

- Cue the kitty:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

YouTube Tuesday

Fun fact: I am still upset Steve McJannet retired, and I'm beyond upset that he did not retire as an Everblade.



Yup. That's what the Everblades were missing last season. Perhaps a bring back McJannet campaign is in order...

Friday Links

It's only the start of the off-season and I'm already counting down the days until hockey starts. While we wait, how about some links?

- This certainly doesn't help the waiting, but it is good news... next season's schedule!

- Some big blog news: In about two weeks Jr. Blades forward Jimmy Williams will start posting. I'm really excited about being able to bring you guys a behind the scenes look at the Jr. Blades as well as a little peek into the world of a hockey player.

- By the way, if you're on Twitter you can give Jimmy a follow.

- This post on Cecil "Tiny" Thompson over at Third String Goalie is pretty awesome. I love the old school goalie photos.

- Can it be Friday around here without a hockey themed cake picture? Not at all.



- No hockey themed kitchen (everyone has this right?) is complete without a cutting board made out of recycled hockey sticks.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Seibu Prince Rabbits"

- It's odd, these logo mash-ups look odd, but they're not too hideous.

- Cue the kitty:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Breaking Down The Numbers: Ticket Increases

(Bear with me guys, this is one of my long grumpy, too much time on my hands, posts)

On Tuesday, the Blades released this seasons ticket packages and rates. I was a little confused to see the team claim that purchasing the packages equaled savings. How can you save when the season tickets cost the same as regular day-of prices?

It's simple. You raise the prices on the tickets one to two dollars.

Let me break this down for you. My favorite seats are in the the club rows (second to fourth row) and cost $24 last season. I attended about 25 regular season games (stupid work schedule). That amounts to around $600 in tickets alone (I did get a free seat or two and bought a few nosebleeds on busy nights so I actually paid less). Of course, that's not counting parking or concessions. That also doesn't count the post-season games when there's always an increase in ticket price. Either way, that's a lot of money.

For me, the price increase only means a $50 increase in costs this season if I go to the same amount of games and buy the same seats.

So what if I opt for a ticket passage to save money this season? A full season ticket passage is out of the question because I won't be able to go to all those games and I'm pretty sure I'd have trouble finding someone willing to buy just one seat for the face value of the ticket.

So, maybe I go with the 20 game flex pack options. First, (as usual) the team isn't really clear on what that is. I'm assuming it's like last season when you got vouchers for your section and you took whatever in that range they had. Well, that's $480 for 20. The same price I paid last season for 20 tickets.

Honestly, there really is no savings for me. There is no visible benefit to buying the flex package for me. I'm lucky, I can afford the extra $50 over the course of the season and I know a couple of free seats will come my way through friends and work. With no real perks to the package that would make sense for me it's easier not to go through the hassle.

Obviously, not everyone is like me. What if you can make a majority of the games? What if you decide to be a season ticket holder? What if you, oh I don't know, like the club row too?

Lucky for me, one of my favorite readers, Matt, a season ticket holder, broke down not only his costs, but what his seats and season tickets would cost in the other arenas throughout the ECHL. It really is a thing of beauty and Google was kind enough to convert it so I could embed it right here for you. It really is worth the scroll through guys.



The big takeaway is, in my opinion, this: there are savings to be had in certain sections, just not all of them and not all the ticket packages. It's really up to you.

Me? I'm just going to suck it up. I can't get awesome pictures from the nosebleeds.