Keep those comments coming!
I guess the other way to prove it is by turning out nearly 6400 strong for opening night (Friday’s official attendance was 6397). And most other nights, for that matter. But all I can say is…wow! I’m already overwhelmed by the number of comments. But don’t stop! This is great and the whole idea is to be interactive in here.
A couple of quick things I wanted to address as we prepare for Game 2 Sunday in Guelph. First, Dick in Woodstock…should we stop the bus en route to London on October 16th and take you down for a tilt at the JLC? I’m sure the town is thrilled to be watching native son Cody Sol here in Kitchener.
Marc, consider your greetings passed on to Don!
And Philip, I have to let you know that the “tribute” to Gary Doyle is all on me. It’s part of the reason I was quite rightly teased for the opening ceremonies going on too long. I kept it as short as I could but I wanted Gary to have the chance to hear what he meant to all of you. That was all unscripted, though. I didn’t want it to leak out and have Gary try to nix it. The bottom line is that he was and continues to be a consummate professional and he offered me so much support and guidance over the years that I wanted to thank him publicly. It’s not too often that someone in our business actually lends a hand to the people that might one day try to fill their shoes. But Gary did that, treating me like family, to be honest (right down to the wisecracks). But again, that was all me trying to give Gary some much-deserved applause (at least in my mind). As for the team, ask anyone who attended the year-end banquet last year and they’ll tell you that Gary was given a personalized jersey and a nice little winter vacation he and his lovely wife can enjoy. Those gifts came from the team and I’m not telling tales out of school by reporting that here. I wanted to clear the air on that, though. I’m just hoping the team lets me back on a mic at ice-level sometime. They might..but with a leash.
Looking forward to this afternoon’s game in Guelph! The Storm should be in a foul mood after getting hammered in Owen Sound 8-1 last night. The Rangers will be rested and buoyed by the return of Andrew Crescenzi from Leafs camp. How cool is it that he got the contract offer as an undrafted invitee to the camp? Good for him. He played about 8 minutes in a Leafs loss last night, by the way. Speaking of returnees, Taylor Beck could be back in the Storm line-up today. He’s on his way back from Nashville.
Oh, and Jeff Skinner had the lone Hurricanes goal in a 1-0 win last night over Atlanta. We’re keeping our eye on that Skinner kid.
