Good News to Share

You may have noticed the lack of crutches and a return to the bench for Andrew this week.  He went to the surgeon Thursday and got an excellent report.  His recovery is ahead of schedule.  He hopes to return to the ice in early May, and can attend camps in the summer.  If he continues to progress as he has, he will have a normal 2nd year of PeeWees.   A good part of his speedy recovery, apart from his youth has been his good spirits and determination to return to the game he loves.  He continues to work hard at his rehab, but he has also benefitted tremendously by his continued support of his friends and teammates.  They have kept him included in the team, the locker room activities and everything else.  We wanted to thank you all again for your support, the generous baskets and gifts, and the concern of the team parents, manager and coaches.  Bad things happen sometimes, but with good support you can come away better for the experience. 

Thanks again, 

-Vinnie, Denise and Andrew

 

Thinking about next year?

Follow the link for a chance to preview the 2008-2009 program 

http://jrtitans.wordpress.com/titan-2008-2009-information/

 

Another reminder

Austin missed Sunday’s game and his roller hockey sched.  He took a spill while working on his stride during an open ice session.  With new skates, he hit a rut and his stop took him forward pushing his head to the boards.  After a trip to the hospital, medical exam, pictures of his cranium, a headache, and day off of school, he is better.  But its a reminder.  Protect your head on the ice.  The coaches (some who skate really slowly) wear them.  USA Hockey mandates it for coaches on the ice.  Why?  They don’t have contact? Its simple.  The ice is both slippery and hard, people bump into each other, or accidentally lose control.  “The bigger you are, the harder you fall” is a true adage, and unfortunately, unlike the highly supervised game situations, where everyone is looking out for loose chinstraps or hanging mouthpieces, in a more causal setting, people get hurt regularly.

So, playing pond hockey?, Rolling down the cul-de-sac on your bike?,  Showing off your “Michigan” out on the roller rink?  Doin’ a 1080 off the half pipe? Cover your noggin!  You only have one head, and transplants have never proven to work. 

Read about coaches helmets:

 http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php?left_nav=0806&article=helmetpolicy&right_nav=normal 

Every other kind of helmet tips:

http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/helmets.htm

Stay safe!

 

Bauer to leave the NIKE family

Get ready for the end of the swoosh on your stick.  Nike is to spin off its Bauer Hockey franchise after 12 years for $200 million.  Nike thinks they can make better returns elsewhere.  The buyer is an investment firm Kohlberg and a California financier named W. Graeme Roustan who is from Quebec and grew up playing hockey as a kid.  After leaving the game and working for a merger & acquisitions firm, he never lost his love for the ice.  He lobbied for an NHL franchise in San Jose, bought arenas, refrigeration companies and established a “Hockey for the Homeless” a charity in Toronto.  It will take 2 years for all the swooshes to disappear from new equipment, but Bauer (who were first to attach skates directly to boots) will continue on as a premier provider of hockey equipment.  RBK is still hanging on to their CCM investment.

 

What’s Cross Ice?

If you were wondering about the new bumpers splitting the ice at some of the practices, its all about “cross-ice.” Cross Ice is winning fans all over the country. Especially for young players, a single sheet game results in very few touches.  The smaller area makes for more time with the puck per player, better player development, as decisions need to be made quicker and more efficient use of the ice.  As many as 3 consecutive games can be played on one surface.  USA Hockey likes the results so much that they limit Mites full-ice schedules until later in the season, but permit cross ice games from Sept 1.  But its not for 8 year-olds alone.  The benefits go all the way to Bantams.  Read the following on small area hockey:

http://www.wayzatahockey.org/coaches_managers/CrossIce.pdf

 

More on “George” and Composite Sticks in General

By now you all must know that Billy’s stick, affectionately known as George has suffered the fate of many composite sticks.  His broken neck is not uncommon, even without him taking a violent slap shot, or whaking a crossbar.  How may times on TV do you see a 5-5 become a 5-4 plus a guy without a stick beacause it broke in a defensive player’s hand?  (NHL and USA Hockey rules assess a 2:00 penalty for playing with a broken stick).  Players sacrifice durability for the light weight and engergy transfer properties.  Wood sticks also broke when everyone used them (mostly because players also wanted the lightest wood possible).

Having just passed the 30 day warranty period for the Easton, the status of Billy’s significant investment is still unknown at this point.  It may have been a manufaturing defect.  But its possible that an earlier slash, a tough faceoff or slapshot in warm ups damaged the integrity of the fiberglass, and because it is designed to pass energy easily down the shaft, with the damage already done, his one timer was just the way he realized the break.

So who makes these sticks, where do they come from?  Well that depends, but George might be better known as Jorge as Eastons are made in Mexico:  USA Today did the research and wrote an interesting article on the subject:

Mexican workers make more than half of NHL sticks:

Company	NHL share	Manufacturing sites
Easton	45.1%	Tijuana, Mexico
Nike/Bauer	15.7%	Composite sticks made in China, wood ones in Canada
RBK/CCM	13.7%	Composites in China; wood in Canada, Finland
Warrior	11.8%	Tijuana
Sher-Wood	2.3%	Composites, high-end wood, goalie sticks in Canada; most wood-stick production being shifted to Eastern Europe

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/2008-01-10-hockey-sticks-mexico_N.htm

This guy gives good guidance on making that big investment in a stick:

http://hockeymaven.blogspot.com/2007/07/buying-right-hockey-sticks.html

You may also save money by looking in the bargain bins or on-line for last season’s hot stick.  I’m certain if it was good for Jagr last year, its ok for Junior this year at 1/2 price.  Sometimes Dicks Sports and Sports Authority clear out inventory at 90% off as they change over to ’summer sports’.  They sell a lot of lower end sticks but occasionally have more expensive ones.  Used composite sticks have to be suspect because they may have damage you cannot see.  Not to say you can’t buy one used, just don’t spend a lot on it.

You can also buy a box of “woodies” for the price of a high end Easton.  It may be ‘old school’, but will not have a negative effect on your kid’s game.  They may even like being a ‘rebel’.  Skateboard companies have been upset for years as kids have shunned fancy decks for plain wood, to save money and rage ‘against the system’  

Better Hockey Magazine talks about composite sticks and how to fix:

http://www.betterhockeymagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=39

Link to the top repair site for composites ($30, like new)

http://www.srshockey.com/repairsystems.htm

 

Bad Situation, Silver Lining

Andrew was very unlucky Saturday.  His broken femur is not a common hockey injury.  That is where the bad luck ended.  We were blessed  from the minute the accident happened.  The Blizzard parents went out of their way to get us emergency help and to console Andrew’s mom.  The Titan coaches came to the emergency room, as did a few of his team mates.  Then, when we were transferred by ambulance from Hackettstown, it was to one of the best Children’s Trauma Centers around.  At Morristown, our surgeon (which we needed around 11PM Saturday), happened to be a pediatric orthopedic specialist with a sports medicine practice.  Given the late hour, we were very lucky to get her.  She performed a newer type of surgery that while very painful for a while, will not impact his growth, and should allow for a full recovery.

The children’s hospital was great for kids, with lots of distractions like video games and movies for sick children, but these did not really lift his spirits.  Then, just as he was feeling pretty miserable this morning, we were told some guests were coming to the hospital.  Much to Andrew’s amazement, Devils Zach Parise #9, Travis Zajak #19, and John Madden, #11 were coming to the hospital to visit with the sick kids after practice.  Since he broke his leg playing hockey, they had lots to talk about.  The players gave him a signed jersey, some other autograph items and signed his Titan Jersey.  For a half hour he had no pain and a smile on his face.  Now he is home.  We have gotten so many calls, e-mails and well wishes, we are very grateful to our whole Titan family.  Andrew will need a few weeks to be able to leave the house, but after that he hopes to see all of his friends at the rink. 

Andrew and the boys have some fun 

 

Ouch!

Andrew is resting comfortably as I write this. When he left the rink the ambulance took him to Hakettsown Hospital. There he was x-rayed and they decided his femur was badly broken and he needed to go Morristown’s trauma center. The femur is under the thigh, and it is broken just below the hip.

Before he left Hackettstown, Coach Phil came by to check on him as did Coach Price and the Mella family. Chris M and Ryan P. got to see him in the ER, and that helped Andrew feel better.

From there he was moved to an ambulance for another ride to Morristown’s Trauma Center, about 40 minutes away. They have a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery center here.

Everyone was great to us, Titan Families & coaches, the Blizzard Parents, EMTs, Nurses, and Doctors.

Surgery took a little over 3 hours, but appeared to be a success. This is a new type of minimally evasive
surgery for kids his age, who are too old for kid solutions and not big enough for adult treatment.

Rather than a body cast, they put a rod and special pins that protect the growth plates in adolecents through 2 small incisions in the leg. He will not have a cast and they tell us he will be able to get out of bed tomorrow on crutches. He will also have his first Physical Therapy session tomorrow. With no complications he may be home tomorrow night or Monday to start his recovery.

Hockey is finished for a while, but there is no reason he cannot have a full recovery. We were very proud of how brave Andrew was.

We are also very happy with the help and concern from so many good people, including the Blizzard parents. We hope to see you all at the rink soon.

(if someone will email me a summary of this morning’s game, I’ll post it. Good Luck guys!)

 

Costly trip North

The long trip to the mountains of Warren County took more out of us than a few gallons of gas. We started out shorthanded, no Austin, no Jared. Coach got stuck at work in the city. and it did not get better from there.

We scored first on some nice puck movement. Richie from Dave off a long shot from Tim, after the defense used patience. The blizzard came back to score 4 straight as our passes were not connecting, and they were shooting hard and often. Chris could not stop them all. The second period started with Billy having a hurt tailbone which would take him from the game.

The goalie change started with AJ making some monster saves. Then Andrew, who was turning into the zone with the puck got hit, and his momentum carried his raised leg into the sideboards. His leg was broken and he had to be taken to the hospital by the EMTs. shortening an already short bench.

The Blizzard pressed on and picked up another goal, which Frank C. answered with a goal of his own, taking it in from the neutral zone.

It got sloppy from there, penalties on both sides and more good saves by AJ. The boys grabbed one more at the end, to complete the game 6-3. I did not see the last goal but was told it was Connor on a rebound of a Ryan shot. It was a tough game, but the PeeWees never gave up.

 

I resolve to play more pond hockey in ‘08

Want an alternative to the never ending parade of football bowl games? I last counted 32, including the appetizing sounding Chick-fil-A bowl and the ‘prestegious’ Pappajohns.com bowl.

Tomorrow at 1, the NHL brings you their version of pond hockey, an outdoor game at Buffalo, in front of 73,000 hockey fanatics to see Sid the Kid’s Penguins and the Sabres in Ralph Wilson Stadium, normally the Bills home turf, which is temporarily a winter wonderland.   

The last outdoor game at Calgary a few years back was a treat to watch. As an indication of how hot this game is, only 8 sets of seats were available on the Stubhub ticket exchange, yesterday and they were for nosebleed seats. Enjoy from the comfort of your den.

Speaking of pond hockey, it has not been cold enough to get out on any ponds yet this winter. But over the holiday week I had a chance to play some pickup hockey at the rink with my son and some other fathers and sons. Every dad who has criticized their kid’s play should resolve to take the opportunity to skate with them in a game situation. Those circles they skate at practice are really paying dividends. The progress they are making really shows up-close, when they stick-handle right around you.  Last year I was able to knock him off the puck with ease…now I need to work on my skating or he will shortly be blowing me off the ice…

Here’s hoping you keep all of your resolutions, and everyone enjoys a healthy and prosperous New Year.   See you at the rink….or maybe on it.