Patrick Kane

This sweet set of hands may not be enough to earn Kane “Goal of the Year” honors, thanks to previous performances from Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene, but he does appear to be a front-runner for “Shootout Goal of the Year.”  Sorry Bertuzzi.

There are a number of players that are also having great first years, so let us take a look at some of them

1. Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets) – Mason is enjoying a career year thus far, and is a front runner for the Calder trophy, with Martin Brodeur out for an extended period of time he may have a chance at the Vezina trophy as well.  Steve Mason has carried the team on his shoulders, as injuries have depleted the Blue Jackets roster, they have stayed competitive thanks to Mason’s great goaltending.

His numbers are pretty good considering he is playing in Columbus, here is how they stack up, a 16-10-1 record with a 1.61GAA and .936 save percentage.  He is making approximately 26 saves per contest and has 6 shutouts already this season, very impressive.

2. Bryan Little (Atlanta Thrashers) - Bryan Little may be a name that few people have heard before, the reason is because he plays for the Atlanta Thrashers.  He is quietly having a terrific season, through 42 games, Little has notched 20 goals and 13 assists, he has a -2 rating which is not bad considering where he plays, 7 of those goals have come on the power play and he has tallied 3 game winning goals. He is reaping the benefits of playing alongside Slava Kozlov and should have an increased role next season.



3. Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins) - The 6-4, 220lb power forward is one of the main reasons the Boston Bruins sit atop the Eastern Conference.  His feisty play coupled with his nose for the net allows him to blend in nicely on a line with Phil Kessell. Lucic has 11 goals, 15 assists and is a +16 already this season, he also has 84 penalty minutes and is not afraid to drop the gloves when his team is in need of a momentum swing.  This guy will be a fixture on the wing for a long time for the Bruins, his game really marvels that of Boston legend Cam Neely.



4. (St. Louis Blues) - We knew this kid was going to be something special when he played for Sweden at the World Juniors, who knew it would have happened so quickly. Berglund is your prototypical center, has has size, speed and a set of great hands, he has maturity beyond his years as this is evident in his +13 rating.  He has contributed an even 14 goals and 14 assists on arguably the worst team in the league.  The Blues are grateful to have selected Berglund and he will be their No.1 center for years to come.



5. Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks) – Kris Versteeg is flying right below everyones radar, the Balckhawks have a plethera of young talent and Versteeg is right up there among them.  In 41 games this year he has registered 13 goals, 4 on the power play, 2 short handed and 2 game winners. He has 23 helpers and a +16 rating, that gives him 36 points on the season second on the team behind only Patrick Kane. That is quite impressive considering Chicago is a playoff contender and may possibly make a Stanley Cup run.

A fantastic idea, so I wondered why back in Toronto the Leafs never had this?

Let me correct myself, the Leafs actually do have an ice crew.  They are 45+ year old men who look like penguins as they waddle onto the ice to clean the snow around the nets.  Can you picture it?

The Ice Crew Girls are an eye catcher and pleasant site to watch and they are desperately needed in Toronto.

This past New Years Day during the 2009 Winter Classic, the Chicago Blackhawks unveiled to the world their Ice Crew Girls.  A definite A+ for pouting on a great event and I think they have the hottest Ice Crew Girls in the NHL.

But for some odd reason, not every NHL team has these Ice Crew Girls.  The Thrashers, Blackhawks, Hurricanes, Stars, Islanders, Flyers, Ducks, Senators, and Penguins are some of the teams in the NHL who have these cheerleaders present at their home games.

So Garry Bettman, if your reading this, you should make it mandatory that every team in the NHL have Ice Crew Girls for the 2010-2011 season.  All the other big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NCAA all have cheerleaders, now it’s the NHL’s turn.

Don’t you think this would be another great way to market the game and attract a younger and more exciting type of crowd?

Even if I didn’t like watching the game of hockey I would probably go just to drink beer and watch the Ice Crew Girls.  Wouldn’t you?

Take a look here at other Ice Crew Girls around the league.