Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Optimus Prime]

A trivia question in a bar in Mantitoba. Who was the second best player on a Shattuck St. Mary's team in the early part of the 21st Century,
after Rene Bourque......

Sid Crosby, He was there only briefly, enrolling as a sophomore in 2002-03.

Proper order, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews by a mile.... Zack Parise happen to be born in the US (Minnesota), make no mistake his NHL great Canadian father is part of that superlative Canadian pedigree. His father JP Parise now works in their hockey program. If you can't play Jr. hockey in Canada, this Minnesota Prep school is reasonable alternative. I like Zack's game, he is good hockey player, great genes as Rene Bourque is good a Alberta boy, folks shipped him to St. Mary's for a season or two.

Crosby is an overrated pussy who was gifted a championship. End of story. Now he'll take his rightful place as a footnote in hockey history. He's a fucking trivia question.

Someone has obviously had too much "Super Bowl" cheer, sleep it off OT.

[madootra]

The right guy answered the trivia question properly! WTG, OP! ;-)

[Tony G]

I believe I answered it first. :-)

[Rob F]

It's official---Red Wings vs. Maple Leafs at The Big House on Jan. 1st, 2013:

http://www.freep.com/article/20120208/SPORTS05/120208026/winter-classic-nhl-reveals

I'm likely to go, but only if Michigan's Bowl Game isn't the same day (obviously impossible to know this far in advance).

What is almost equally intriguing to me is that The Great Lakes Invitational Tournament will be also played outdoors earlier the same week, at Comerica Park. This year, U of M, msu, and Michigan Tech will be joined by WMU, with the outdoor rink at Comerica also being used for a variety of other games, including a Legends game between alumni of the Red Wings and Leafs, an AHL game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies, and some OHL and High School hockey games.

Maybe next winter we'll have some real winter weather (something that's been lacking most of this winter in Michigan) to accommodate all these outdoor winter events, eh?

[Hannibal]

Meh.

It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. Ann Arbor will be the smalllest city that has hosted one of these, and there might be some pretty big infrastructure issues. Will the golf course be open if it snows? Plus, it's the first Winter Classic to be hosted in an area where college football is a bigger attraction for the day. It's also, by far, the largest stadium to host one of these. The quality of the hockey played during these games generally sucks (and so does the TV coverage), and I wonder how much longer the novelty will last.

[lineygoblue]

I dunno, Hanni. You give all those Canadians a reason to come over and watch an outside game involving their Maple Leafs, and they're liable to fill the joint ...

Seriously, though? I doubt that it will get the numbers that the Michigan hockey game got, but I think they'll get somewhere in the 70 - 80K range ...

[Tony G]

Plus, it's the first Winter Classic to be hosted in an area where college football is a bigger attraction for the day.

In the greater metro Detroit area the Wings have a bigger base than the Wolverines (IMHO) Of course if Spartie is playing on Jan 1 that could hurt the gate also

[Hannibal]

I'm not sure about the relative size of the fan bases. One thing to remember though is that it's just one regular season game out of 82. Lots of reasons to stay home, and few reasons to go besides the novelty. It was a success in Chicago, but you could take a train to that game, the city is larger, college football isn't as big, and the novelty was a lot newer. Plus, there was more of a charm factor to the Blackhawks playing at Wrigley field than there would be to a couple of pro teams playing at Michigan Stadium.

This will be an interesting experiment.

[Tony G]

Ah but it's not 1 out of 82. It's once in a lifetime to see a pro hockey game outside in your town. This is even rarer than Michigan getting a good bowl for the last 4 years.

[Optimus Prime]

The University will be closed over the holiday, attendees will park at U of Mfparking lots on campus. No golf course parking, it will be closed.

[lineygoblue]

Yeah, and Pioneer will probably be under about 12" of snow as well.

[Tony G]

Unless we get another one like this year and they may be swimming in the rink

[Optimus Prime]

Obviously the ice is mechanically frozen not natural and it will be covered.

Extreme temperature spikes or heavy rain will be the only serious problems, low percentage, scheduled over two days, 1st or 2nd weather permitting.

Great venue exposure for Michigan Stadium so I say yes, but in general modern NHL games should never be played outdoors.

I'd love to attend as a onetime deal but hard to leave sunny south Florida in January to return to the gulag-cold North.

[geo weidl]

Estimate to date is 50,000 Leaf fans from TO to Windsor(not including the ones from the Metro area) to attend. At Comerica, two OHL games to be played, Windsor/Saginaw and London/Plymouth. Any mention of ticket prices?

[WingsFan]