Goodbye Jason Williams, hello Clay Wilson

Apparently the Thrash vets demanding Kovy be given the C inspired D-wad to do something beyond picking up Waverly from the Preds. Earlier today, J-Willy (not to be confused with J-Willy of Carolina) was traded to the Columbus Blow Jobs for Clay Wilson, and a pick this summer.

Clay Wilson - D
6'3", 195#, Shoots L
DOB: 4/83
Drafted: N/A

NHL Stats:
GP: 12
G: 1
A: 2
P: 3
PIM: 2


............

I'm not really sure what to say to this.

The B's keep winning; Atlanta Spirit sucks

And really, thank god about the B's, because if they'd lost to Habsy and his cult, I'd be distraught.

Here's the awesome front page of NHL.com - Z being the lead story!

So here's Stu talking about his throw-down, which I thought was awesome. Way to step up and fill in for Luc!

And here's the fight, along with the rest of the highlights. Hopefully including Timmy popping Andrei Kostitsyn or whoever the hell it was that banged Ward into the glass:



ETA: Here's Timmy taking out Andrei:



I think Timmy is my new hero. And I think ALL goalies should start banging more players. You want to make the game more exciting? LET THE GOALIES HIT!!!

Now for those of you who still come here for Kari and/or Thrasher stuff... I'm breaking up with the Thrashers until the organisation gets its head out of its ass and starts running the team like, I dunno, A FUCKING NHL HOCKEY TEAM, and not, let's say, a beer league run by a bunch of cokeheaded drunks who love to sit around and talk about the good old days when they were relevant. You know what would help the team a lot? A GOALIE COACH. IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. SINCE EVERY OTHER TEAM IN THE NHL HAS ONE YOU FUCKING LOSERS. Marting Brodeur, arguably the best goalie of this generation, HAS A GOALTENDING COACH. You can't expect ANYONE to get better at what they're naturally good at, without coaching in guidance. You get to the NHL the same way you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice. And that practice, learning, and improvement has to continue. Which it won't, without proper coaching. Way to go, Atlanta Spirit, you cheap bastards. You have now become the model for how NOT to run an NHL team.

And I have a bunch of pictures of Mistah Lehtonen from Casino Night, but I've gotta be real with you here. He's miserable in every fucking picture. Every smile is forced, I have not seen one photo of him yet where he's actually looking at the camera, and has a real smile. So I'm not posting them. I'm not spreading the misery around for all to see. You my faithful readers, are smart smart people. If you want to see them, I'm sure you can find them on ye ol' Intarwebs.

No wait, I lied, because I wanted to show this one picture, because (A) It's the closest Kari comes to a real smile, and (B) this is the most awkwardly uncomfortable photo I have ever seen in my life. And I've seen and been in many. But this photo could not be any more forced (photo courtesy TammyMoose):

It looks lovely at first glance. A very nice photo of the Johan Hedberg and Kari Lehtonen, the team's beloved (?) goaltending tandem. And then you start reading the body language, and it all unravels verrrrrrry quickly.

Get it together Atlanta Spirit. If you don't know how to run a fucking hockey team, I'll buy it off you for $50 and some BBQ ribs. Because I am about 1,000,000% certain that I could do a better job of owning a team than this group of don't-give-a-fucks. You know how? I'D HIRE A FUCKING GOALIE COACH TO START!

Anyway, B's are flipflopping at the top with the Sharks, who need to go on a damned losing skid already, Luc might be back for the next game (fingers crossed!), Bergie's skating again and feeling good (toes crossed!), and playing with Marc Savard appears to make ANYONE look good.

Tonight is the first Thrash game since that clusterfuck on ice that was the Kittens game. If there's a time for redemption, and a team against which to find it, that time is now, and that team is the Sens. Get it done, boys.

Gather round my loves, it's picture time!

B's pull a sweet win over the Sens (I rather enjoyed how the B's toyed with their emotions, letting them think they MIGHT have a chance to win, then RIPPED all hope out of their hands with the Savard goal!) and was the first team to reach 30 wins this season, having done it in 42 games. Well played, Bruins, well played indeed! Kari got his 1st shutty of the year, 12th of his career, Jimmy Slats had possibly his best game of the year, and holy shit the Thrashers potted 4 goals, and played some damned good defence. Slap my ass and call me Charlie! Although someone, perhaps Valabik as he seems to have learnt and settled down a bit, should take Boults aside and have a word with him about how to pick your battles.

Anyway, moving on, moving on. Look. Teh pictures! So pretty! If ANYONE has a photo of Savvy doing the glove pump up towards the crowd after his goal, I will be your best friend forever, and talk about how amazing you are to my crowd of 9 faithful readers, and then they too will love you! Oh and also, check out this great article on the B's!

As always, pics resize to 1024 etc etc etc. Don't you guys know this by now??

Goal!

Another goal!

 

Goal love!

More goal love!

And even MORE!

This team scores a lot...

Thorty puts it to Neiler

Smoosh

Smash

And POW!
I love that Z's laughing at Fish.

---

Kärrrrrrrrrrrppä!

Army thought he could fly... or something?

Russian/American goal love. I love this game!

I THINK Boults is trying to hug Oyster.

Save

Save

Another...

Y uno mas

Man it's like all this guy did all night was stop pucks!

.... oh wait.

Photos: B's and Thrash (+lots)

I fell a little behind in the picture gathering lately. My bad. Does anyone even care? Probably not, but regardless, here's some pictures from the past few Bruins and Thrashers games.

Mike Ryder tries to score on Kari Lehtonen

Valabik wonders if he should just fall on Kessel

 

Marc Savard and Ilya Kovalchuk: Former teammates battling

 

Lucic keeps his eyes on the puck, even as he's being crushed

Post game goalie love

Post-game goalie belly bump (much greater than goalie love!)

Haggard Moose sighting in urban Toronto

Savvy scores on the Flower

And celebrates a bit hysterically.

Then "checks" Orpik.

Marty St Pierre scores his first Bruins goal,
and his first shorthanded NHL goal!
(SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINT!)

Saint and Savvy goal love, Malkin's dejected glide.

Tim Thomas uses the force.

Timmy also keeps his eyes on the puck,
even when Malkin's about to mount him like a pony.

And two pictures of Milan Lucic's fight with Tim Wallace, from my girl L:

Kari juuuuust misses the poke check, and Samsanov
scored a beauty while falling. Proof that if you
just throw it at the net, good things happen.

Hainsey and Walker crash into the boards, view 1

Hainsey and Walker crash into the boards, view 2

Kari also uses the force. And his shoulder.

Joey Crabb on his knees

Despite last night being Zach Bogosian's 1st game back after missing 28 with a broken leg, I haven't found a single photo of him yet. So here's a picture of a shirtless cowboy that looks a lot like him:

Happy new year, everyone!

Q&A w/Perrsy (AKA: I LOVE YOU BEN!!!)

Ben interviewed Perrsy!!! Ben interviewed Perrsy!!! I'm sure you already saw it on the main site but I DON'T CARE because you know I love me some Perrsy! GO CATS GO!!

Also, let me go on record as saying that I don't think we could have a better captain this season than Eric. He is a natural born leader and I think DW/JA are out of their friggin' minds if they think there's anyone else on the team besides Johan who would be a better leader. That said...

Forward Eric Perrin's 45 point performance was one of the bright spots of the 2007-08 season for many Thrashers fans and the Laval, Quebec native wasted no time in endearing himself to fans and teammates alike as he became an indispensable utility player in his first season in Atlanta, playing all forward positions and on both special teams. The 32-year-old led all NHL players in short-handed assists (8) and points (10) and worked himself into the shootout rotation by the end of the season, scoring on 50% of his chances. With a persistently positive outlook and an unwavering work ethic Perrin will be leaned on this season to provide leadership on a younger looking Thrashers squad. He took some time out of his weekend to speak to [Ben] about his summer in the Montreal area and his take on the upcoming season.

Q. Rumor has it you've been hitting the ice with Thrashers prospects Angelo Esposito and Danick Paquette up in Quebec. Is there any truth to that?
A. Yes, I did skate with them. It's true.

Q. Was this your first time meeting them?
A. Well, I worked out with Angelo last summer as well. This was the first time for me to see Danick on the ice though. They both looked good from the little bit I saw. I had to come back early to Atlanta for my daughter to go to school, so I only skated one time with those two guys. We did skate together on a line though, and it's kind of funny because you don't see a lot of Atlanta Thrashers up there and then we had three guys in Thrashers uniforms. It was funny to see.

Q. What were your overall impressions of them?
A. They're both in great shape and I got to talk a little bit to both of them. They're excited about coming to training camp. Angelo's situation is a little different because he's been to a camp already and for him it's not a new thing but for Danick it's his first. He just got drafted (in the third round, 64th overall). From what I saw they're both really excited to get started. Danick got a taste of the NHL with the draft and prospect camp but with him getting sick he didn't get to do much. He was really disappointed about that and is looking forward to getting back on the ice with the guys.

Q. Do you think it will help them out to have another Quebec-born player in camp with them?
A. Yeah, I think it will be good for them to have me around. I think they're both planning on coming in early. I know Angelo is. It's always easier to have guys from the neighborhood to help them out and talk to. I'm an older guy and I think they'll feel a little bit more comfortable knowing that they do know somebody. I know that whenever I've been somewhere where I knew somebody I felt a little bit better.

Q. Aside from working out what have you been up to this summer? Have you been keeping busy?
A. My summer has been pretty busy. We bought a house in Montreal so I've been dealing with that. Then I did two weeks in New York and Pennsylvania at Bob Hartley's hockey camps. We've been trying to enjoy ourselves. That and lots of working out and spending time with family.

Q. When I spoke to you at the end of the season you said you were excited to be staying with the Thrashers because it was going to be the first summer of your career that you didn't have to move. What made you go out and buy a house?
A. Yeah, you're right, but we went and bought a house anyway. We had a good reason though. We were in a condo about an hour north of Montreal and everybody works out close to Laval (a suburb to the east of downtown Montreal), so it was a pain in the butt to go and work out every day. So I decided to buy a house closer to the workout facility. We work out and then we skate right after so it's a great setup. It was so long though, and it took time away from my family.

Q. Were there many other NHL players working out with you?
A. Yeah- it was a big group. Pascal Dupuis is always there. Andre Roy. JP Dumont. We got Steve Begin, Ian Laperriere, Matthew Darche from Tampa. Then there are some European players who have played in the NHL, and some other guys. Ramzi Abid, Alex Burrows from Vancouver, Martin Lapointe, Patrice Brisebois. It's a big good group of guys. It's a high caliber of players and the workouts are intense. Usually I'm up there longer and closer to training camp but now with my daughter in school I was back here in Atlanta earlier.

Q. Is it an exciting time around the house having her starting school?
A. It is. Last year we got here here later because we didn't know what we were doing with our house and things like that, so she started school a bit late. That was kindergarten though. Now she's off to first grade and it's exciting.

Q. Here's your random question of the interview. Given that so many Canadian Olympic athletes tend to be from Quebec, are there any that you know (aside from hockey players)?
A. Yeah- Alexandre Despatie the diver is from Laval. My sister knows him. When you're from a town like Laval all of the athletes know each. It's one big community. He's a really good guy and he just missed the gold (he won silver in men's 3m springboard). He's awesome. He's so good. He's the only one that I really know though.

Q. Shifting gears, what are your feelings heading into this season?
A. The feeling heading into the season is always good no matter what happened the year before. You're always excited about starting again, you know? Especially how we ended last year. I think teams like us are even more excited to start. It was a long time to be off and it was a disappointing season. Now we all want to redeem ourselves and start new. I think we're all excited. For us the key is that we have a new blood. New everything. There's going to be an adjustment period for everyone but I think we all feel good about how close of a team we're going to be. We're going to have to rely on each other. We'll be tight and back each other up. That's how we're going to get our wins this year I think. Grinding them out but sticking together. That's going to be our motto in a way I think.

Q. Does the loss of a guy like Marian Hossa open up doors for other players to take on bigger roles?
A. For sure. Sometimes it's all a mental thing. When you have a guy like Hoss there you're thinking "Well Hossa is good for one or two, or for setting a couple up." It's easy to have that mindset, and when he's gone you start thinking- "It's going to be me. I'm going to do it." If everybody starts getting that mentality that it's going to be their night and that they're going to chip in then everyone elevates their game. Everyone has to raise their game when you lose a guy like him and when you lose that many goals, but sometimes it can be a good thing for some guys. There are guys who have an opportunity to elevate their game and they'll get a chance to get in those situations. Sometimes you just need that chance.

Q. Having spent your summer in Montreal where hockey talk never really stops I'm sure you've seen what has been written about the Thrashers. How do you respond to people that aren't giving the team a chance?
A. It's the story of my life, being an underdog. I enjoy it. You have to take it as a challenge and that's how you have to respond to it. You have to get mad about it and say "It's up to us to show them that they were wrong." Last summer everyone had the Montreal Canadiens to be out of the playoffs and look what they did. First in the Eastern Conference. That's the mindset we have to take. That's how I feel. That can be us.

Interview by Ben Wright.

Coach for ATL? Arbitration for Fleury, Malone walking?

Thrashers interested in Sullivan

Lightning assistant coach Mike Sullivan said Friday that the Thrashers have asked to speak to him regarding their head coaching position, and he will pursue that opportunity. Sullivan said Atlanta GM Don Waddell on Thursday requested permission to speak to him from Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster.

"I have not spoken with Don in person," Sullivan said. "We have exchanged voice mails."

Sullivan, 40, has been with the Lightning one season and got high marks from players for his communication and technical skills. He worked with the defense and the penalty kill. Sullivan said he took the Tampa Bay job with the understanding that he eventually wanted a head coaching job. He previously coached the Bruins from 2003-06.

That the Lightning fired coach John Tortorella, and apparently is close to naming Barry Melrose the new coach (but not until after the draft), obviously made Sullivan's situation tenuous. He has one year left on his Tampa Bay contract.

"A great experience to have worked with Torts," Sullivan said. "It was an invaluable learning experience."

"I want to be a head coach," Sullivan added. "In the absence of that opportunity, there's not another guy I would want to work for than Torts. I'm certainly grateful to him."

---

Pens file for arbitration with Fleury

PITTSBURGH - The Penguins made certain goalie Marc-Andre Fleury won't become a restricted free agent July 1, choosing to offer salary arbitration to one of the key players of their Stanley Cup playoff run.

The filing on Friday allows the Penguins to retain Fleury's rights to negotiate a multi-year contract in advance of arbitration hearings, which are scheduled from July 20 until Aug. 4. A hearing won't be held if a contract is worked out before then.

If Fleury had become a restricted free agent, an opposing club potentially could have offered the former No. 1 draft pick such a lucrative contract the Penguins might not have been able to match it because of salary-cap restrictions.

"By filing for salary arbitration, it gives us extra time to continue to negotiate a contract with Marc-Andre," general manager Ray Shero said. "As a result of the filing, Penguins fans are assured that Marc-Andre will be under contract to our club for next season. Marc-Andre has done a tremendous job for us. We remain committed to negotiating a contract with him in the near future."

The 23-year-old Fleury helped lead the Penguins to the 2008 Eastern Conference championship and a berth in the Stanley Cup final against Detroit.

"We understand that Pittsburgh filed for arbitration today with regard to Marc-Andre, which is their right under the CBA," said Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh. "We remain committed towards negotiating a long-term contract with Pittsburgh and will continue working with Penguins management towards that goal."

Fleury was 14-6 with a 1.97 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and three shutouts during the playoffs.

Ryan Malone to Columbus?

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Ryan Malone is not going to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless the Penguins significantly up their offer. It's looking more and more like the Penguins will get Evgeni Malkin signed to a contract extension and be able to keep right winger Marian Hossa. That will show Malone to the door.

An NHL source said that Malone has been low-balled twice by the Penguins and is ready to leave July 1 as an unrestricted free agent. Malone's rights could be traded before that day, of course, and the Blue Jackets are a likely destination.

The source said the Penguins have already made the Blue Jackets an offer for Malone's rights. Not sure what the offer was, or if the Blue Jackets are still contemplating it. But this could go down pretty quick, folks.

Malone would definitely be happy to play for the Blue Jackets, a source said.

Interesting assessment of the team

From profantasysports.com:

After mortgaging the farm to make the playoffs for the first time in 2006-07, the Thrashers actually took a step backward in 2007-08 after a slow start led to the early season firing of coach Bob Hartley. GM Don Waddell assumed the reigns behind the bench and did a good job, but a lengthy and unsuccessful contract negotiation with Marian Hossa, a lack of depth on defense, and a lack of secondary scoring were too much to overcome. Ilya Kovalchuk and rookie Tobias Enstrom were two bright spots for the Thrashers and the trade of Marian Hossa brought back some much-needed assets to the organization.

Returning Nucleus

Ilya Kovalchuk remains a top-10 fantasy option on the wing, despite the fact that he does not have a premier centerman to play with. Tobias Enstrom slowed down in the second half, but he looks like he has the skills to be able to repeat his performance in 2008-09. Newly acquired Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong add some depth at forward, but are in the same boat as Todd White, Eric Perrin and Slava Kozlov as 40-60 points fantasy players. Veteran Niclas Havelid returns on defense but will not be able to put up more than 25-30 points. Goalie Kari Lehtonen should still be considered one of the best young goalies in the league, but until the Thrashers surround him with help on defense his numbers will not reflect his true talent.

Departures

Center Bobby Holik is a UFA and likely will not re-sign. Mark Recchi, who put up respectable numbers for the Thrashers last season is also a UFA but has expressed a desire to remain in Atlanta. Backup goaltender Johan Hedberg has likely played his last game in Atlanta.

Prospects

After trading away prospects and draft picks over the last few seasons, the Thrashers cupboard is bare. Bryan Little, who played in 48 games last season with the Thrashers and had 16 points remains their top prospect, but he is still a few years away from making an impact. Angelo Esposito, once considered a can't miss prospect appears to be sinking faster than the Titanic in terms of his overall development and AHL star Brett Sterling may be running out of chances if he can't translate his scoring touch to the NHL. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec looks to have the backup spot after fairing well in the AHL and could get in a lot of action next season with behind an injury-prone Kari Lehtonen

Draft

The Thrashers have the third pick in the draft and although they need help in almost every area, a stud on defense is their most pressing need after trading away Braydon Coburn to the Flyers at the 2006-07 deadline. Two of OHL standouts Drew Doughty, Zach Bogasian or Alex Pietrangelo will still be available, and one will be the likely choice. The Thrashers also have a late-first round pick as part of the Marian Hossa trade and may also use that pick to build up there defense.

Needs

Where to start. The Thrashers finished 30^th in goals-against last season, and definitely need help on defense to help goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Two top-four d-men should be their first priority. The Thrashers also cannot rely on just Ilya Kovalchuk for offense and should try to land a top-centerman to keep Kovalchuk happy, as he is set to become a UFA at the end of the 2008-09 season. With plenty of cap space available, the Thrashers also need a top-six winger to help make up for a declining Slava Kozlov and the loss of Marian Hossa.

Roto's post-mortem on the Thrash

I don't know how many of my 4 faithful readers have fantasy teams. I can tell you I do not, for the second year running. Mostly because I have a knack for picking the guys who plan on tanking the year. But were I to do fantasy again, I'd totally check out RotoWire because they are the place to monitor your players. That said, here's their (well, theirs, RotoTimes', whomever's) end of season assessment. V interesting.

Atlanta Thrashers (34-40-8), 14th place

FORWARDS

Like the Lightning, Atlanta is team with a couple of snipers surrounded by filler. The best of the bunch, Ilya Kovalchuk, bounced back from a relatively lackluster year last season to record 52 goals (second in the league behind Alexander Ovechkin) and 87 points. His 52 goals matched a career high he set in '05-06, while his point total was at least 20 better than the next best forward on the team.

Despite Kovalchuk's excellent numbers, his linemates seemed to take a big step backwards this year. Marian Hossa had his worst season in six years, managing just 26 goals and 56 points in 60 games as a Thrasher (a far cry from the 43 goals and 100 points he gathered last year) before being dealt to the Penguins. Similarly, Slava Kozlov seemingly stepped into an elevator shaft this season: after recording 71 points in '05-06 and 80 points in '06-07, he managed just 17 goals and 41 points in '07-08. While it's possible this drastic reduction in production is an aberration, it may represent a natural decline in play due to his advanced age (36 years old).

Speaking of older guys, Mark Recchi was waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins early in the year and was claimed by Atlanta with the hopes he could provide some secondary scoring. He ended up finishing third on the team in terms of points (48) and tied for fourth in goals (14) in 72 games played. While the return on investment wasn't a bad one, it's probable Recchi will be in line for retirement in the offseason with this being the final year of his contract.

The only other forward of fantasy value this season was Eric Perrin. The former Lightning player scored 12 goals and 45 points altogether while providing an offensive threat on the PK, scoring two goals and team-leading 10 short-handed points.

DEFENSEMEN

Probably the best part of the year from a Thrashers perspective was the emergence of rookie blueliner Tobias Enstrom. The young Swede stepped right into the NHL, leading the Thrashers in terms of ice-time per game (including an impressive 5:44 of PP time per game) as well as scoring from the back-end (5g-33a-38pts). The diminutive former 8th-round pick is a significant find for an organization that has had problems successfully developing prospects the last few years. Expect him to be the clear cut number one defensemen on the team going forward.

In contrast, the descent of Alexei Zhitnik into fantasy oblivion was very bad news for Atlanta. Zhitnik was acquired for first-round pick Braydon Coburn last year at the deadline and was expected to be significant presence on the back-end for the club. Instead, Coburn went on to be a top-two defenseman for Philadelphia this season while Zhitnik turned into a very expensive anchor for Atlanta. He garnered just three goals and eight points in 65 games and was frequently a healthy scratch by March. The 36-year-old veteran has one more year left on his contract at 3.5 million and is a good candidate to be bought out or sent to the minors thanks to his rather steep decline and hefty price-tag

GOALIES

Kari Lehtonen was billed as the goalie of the future when he was taken second overall in the 2002 entry draft. Unfortunately, he has yet to deliver on that promise, primarily due to a string of injuries. He played just 48 games this year thanks to a wonky groin, and won just 17 of them. His underlying stats were actually pretty decent, however, particularly his .916 save percentage (15th best in the league) which suggests Atlanta faithful have something to look forward to if the team can ever shore up it's defensive depth (and/or if Lehtonen can ever stay healthy).

FANTASY MVP: Ilya Kolvachuk
FANTASY FLOP: Slava Kozlov

One day I'll post my thoughts on the first round. But probably not til the 1st round is over.

Let's Go Bruins!

Kari speaks (to Craig)! And an ETA

Lehtonen: We’re extremely lucky

By Craig Custance | Friday, January 4, 2008, 12:43 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Packed house this morning with first-place Carolina in town. Don Waddell took one look at all the video cameras at his morning presser, and cracked, “Is college football over with?” But we’re hitting the second half and the Thrashers are in position to make a run at it. First the lineup changes for tonight: Kari Lehtonen is in goal, like he said he’d be yesterday. I talked to him for awhile on Thursday, then didn’t use any of it in today’s coverage. Let me look real quick and see if he said anything you might be interested in… Yeah, there’s some pretty good stuff here.

Lehtonen on the home stand: “It’s huge. We’re extremely lucky, I would say. The way we’ve been playing to be in a situation where we still have a great chance to be on top of our division. Of course it’s good to have a home stretch now, I really hope we can make it the same kind of home stand we did last time. We played very well.”

Lehtonen on the Thrashers inconsistency: “It shouldn’t be like that. When we do things great, it kind of slips away from us. We start trying to make it all pretty and we get into trouble. I think we’re all playing better lately and that’s a good sign.”

Lehtonen on the goalie rotation for the second half: “As a goalie, we have to make it easy for the coaches to decide. That means we have to play well and that’s the biggest thing. I know if I play well, I’m going to play a lot. It’s just up to me to produce and do it. It’s a fair game, I would say.”

Alright, enough Kari out-takes. The only changes in the lines will be Kevin Doell centering the fourth line with Chris Thorburn and Brad Larsen. The team is optimistic that Eric Boulton’s sprained knee will only keep him out a week. He’s been around the team, and seems to be walking alright, so that’s a positive. Haven’t seen Jim Slater however, as his illness is keeping him out of the loop. They’re keeping a tight lid on Slates’ situation, other than saying it’s day to day.

---

ETA: New best friend pkwaldrop reports that the Canes dropped the hammer on surfer boy Johnny Grahame, and sent him packing to... Albany? Amherst? Somewhere up north that begins with an A and has no surfing. My heart breaks for the guy. But that means it'll be Kari v Cam. Prodigy v Prodigy. This could bode well. I better not get held at work with all these deadlines because if I miss puck drop, I might cry.

Thrashers and kids - redefining "cute"

Blatantly ripped from the Thrashers website, but so god damned cute, it was impossible to resist.

The Thrashers hosted a special Home for the Holidays party on Monday, 10 December, at Phillips Arena for 75 children for the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, and SafeHouse Outreach. Please click either of the links if you would like to volunteer your services, or even make a donation. Every little bit helps!

All photos by Colby Kidd.

Popovic has a laugh while his new buddy eyes his sugary treat.

Nic Havelid demonstrates his cupcake skillz.

Boulton sees what you did there.

Kovy scores on Kozzie, something you'll probably never read again.

Who knows what's going on? But Kovy's smiling, so all is right with the world.

Kari: What? Oh, I couldn't possibly have another bite... Well okay. But just one!

Ex: Dude! I made a cupcake! With a face! How cool am I?
Cute kid: You're nuts, bro. You gonna eat that?

White explains the secrets of cupcake decorating.

Perrsy makes friends every-damned-where he goes.

Shortly after this photo, one kid nailed Slats in the head with the dodgeball, à la Calvin & Hobbes. Sadly, there are no photos.

Heddy and Tobi show off their Ikea-inspired minimalistic cookie decorating skills.