Memories of January

Just a picture from this last January. Fresh outdoor ice.

FWIW, My 1st Rounds Picks

Caps over Habs in 5.
Devils over Flyers in 5.
Sabres over Bruins in 7.
Pens over Sens in 6.

Sharks over Avs in 4.
Preds over Hawks in 7.
Canucks over Kings in 5.
Wings over Yotes in 6.

The Future: Emerson Etem

Flash forward to June, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher steps up to the podium and says "with the 8th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Minnesota Wild are proud to select Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers."

I would be elated. For one, they don't take the hometown kid, Nick Bjugstad, who would be a complete reach at number 8. Bjugstad may go on to have a great NHL career, but (1) he's not the 8th best player in the draft and (2) he's headed to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the fall, a place where great players go to stagnate.

Etem is a scorer, something the Wild lack. He's a California kid who's going to develop nicely in Medicine Hat for a few years into a Zach Parise-type winger. Having said that, I'm not going to lie here and say I'm a Emerson Etem expert. Truth be told, the main reason I like the kid is because he's got a great hockey name. Emerson Etem, try it.

The Falling Avalanche

Nice play on words, huh? Once thought to be dwellers of the Northwest Division, the Colorado Avalanche shocked the hockey world by quickly climbing to first place to begin the regular season. Rookie sensation Matt Duchene had the Islanders wondering if they picked the right guy, Goaltender Craig Anderson (pictured above with Susan Sarandon) had people thinking Vezina and first year head coach Joe Sacco was a shoo-in for the Jack Adams Trophy. But it was only January.

Teams show their greatness (or lack thereof) in February and March, and that is when the Avalanche showed their true colors. Anderson showed fatigue and started allowing some bad goals. Duchene, also a victim of a long regular season, hasn't been the explosive player he was in November.

The team is tumbling in the standings and is hoping to hang onto 7th or even 8th place in the conference so they can get destroyed by the Sharks in the opening round. Then again, IT IS the Sharks we're talking about here; anything can happen.

Is Colorado a first place team? Clearly the answer is no, but they're not a last place team either. Hope should swell in Denver as the Avalanche are on the upswing. They've got some nice building blocks and hopefully (for them) they'll continue to improve.