Random Thoughts: Hockey is Back, Carter Savoie, Mighty Ducks, and more

Could you have ever imagined that we’re already midway through December and more or less locked down again? I would have never believed you if you had told me that this was the type of content that I’d be writing in the final month of the year, and still a month out from the start of the 2021 NHL season.

This past week, reports started firing on Twitter that the NHL and players had agreed on the money side of their return-to-play plan, and that January 13th was the targetted date for the show to get back on the road. All-in-all, it was a welcomed announcement to come out after the months of uncertainty that we’ve already been living through. That said until I get to see @Connor McDavid do Connor McDavid things again, I’ll remain at least a little bit skeptical that this snowball will get to roll on given the alarming rate of COVID numbers that we’re seeing around the continent. From a practical standpoint, without a special exception from the government*, how are NHL teams in Alberta supposed to play hockey if we’re not allowed to gather indoors? I mean, I know things change enough by the day let alone making a bet on what happens a month from now, but the idea of having the start date pushed back even further is something that I’ve been thinking about. At the end of the day, this stupid pandemic still has too much control over our lives and it’s made me overly pessimistic. That said, the NHL also seems to be in line for an early dose of COVID-19 vaccines so maybe I’m just spending time worrying about further delays for nothing.

If we’re actually going to get a 56-game season in before the Olympics kick-off, my guess is that the NHL schedule is going to be as compressed and interesting as we’ve ever seen. We already know that the NHL has looked at the idea of baseball-like series as opposed to the single match games that we’re used to, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that gets laid out on the calendar, especially with everyone’s games being played within the division. As an example, if you have to get eight games in against the Flames done before the season is over and you’re an owner pushing for minimized expenses, would it make sense to have three Battles of Alberta over the course of five nights? How about four games over the course of a week? Too many? I’m just thinking about a way that the teams could minimize their expenses and reducing the amount that their chartered planes are flying in and out of town has to be on the list, right?

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very excited about what’s been happening so far this season with Carter Savoie at the University of Denver. While I already know that this torrid pace won’t go on all year, it’s not hard to be impressed by the way Savoie has been able to fill the net so far in his first handful of NCAA games. As I post this, Savoie has already scored six goals and eight points in five games for the Pioneers, and has shown that his lightning-quick release is going to be a handful for college goaltenders, which is exciting for Oilers fans to watch as he starts his journey towards the NHL. Put another way, I don’t know if I can remember another fourth-round pick that’s caused this much hype around these parts, and while there’s undoubtedly a long way to go before he even turns pro, the way he’s starting his NCAA career is something to behold and get excited about. Here’s hoping this heater he’s on will last for a while because it’s been a lot of fun to watch him do his thing.

Wednesday on Twitter, Ian Mendes asked his followers about whether or not fans would mind if private companies sponsored the divisions for the upcoming NHL season. I don’t know about you guys, but I fall within the vast majority of the respondents as I really could not care less about division sponsorship if it meant that I’m able to watch the Oilers play. Hell, I would say the same thing about putting ads on jerseys or helmets. If it means that the NHL can get back on the ice, then what do I care if there’s a small corporate logo on the front of the jersey as they do in the NBA?

Earlier this week, a 1979 Gretzky O-Pee-Chee Gem Mint rookie card sold for $1.29 million, according to Heritage Auctions, and it’s the first-ever time that a hockey card has broken the $1 million plateau. The auction house declared that this is only one of two Gretzky cards from this O-Pee-Chee set to get a perfect Gem Mint 10 from the Professional Sports Authenticator grading service. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds excellent. Even though it’s been more than 20 years since Wayne Gretzky retired from hockey, it’s pretty amazing to see his career still making the level of impact all these years later.

I don’t know how many people reading this are 90s kids like me, but this new Mighty Ducks trailer that came out this week was a nice little taste of nostalgia for me. For a veteran of the 90s versions of the series, I don’t know that this one could ever be better than Mighty Ducks 2, but I like that kids will have a fun and silly hockey movie series to watch and relate to. I remember the first time I saw Russ Tyler fire a knuckle puck and trying to see if it was anywhere close to possible the next time I had hockey practice. Who knows what kind of weird moments this new version of the franchise will have but I hope there are a couple of trick shots or something that gets new fans to love the game the way I did.