Today is Wayne Gretzky’s birthday. Have a great one!
And my blog on nhl.com has been updated. More after the jump.
Around the NHL in 90 days
One of the greatest privileges of blogging on nhl.com is the feedback I get from you. You don’t always agree with me, and you don’t always seem to understand me, but somehow, we always seem to understand each other’s passion for the game.
It’s quite remarkable that people that are so different and come from different backgrounds and cultures, that cheer for different teams and players, and paint their faces in different colors, still unite in the understanding of the game.
And then of course, there are the emails that open up doors I didn’t even know existed. These stories of people doing things in, with and around the game just amaze me, and inspire me.
Like The Art of Ice Hockey blog that I mentioned earlier. Not in a million years did I think that you could write about hockey from an aesthetic point of view.
Last week, a former hockey prodigy gave out a poetry collection in Sweden. It’s called “Sudden Death.”
And today I got an email from Brad Baker: “I thought you might be interested in the NHL exploits of a mate of mine called Chris MacLean.”
Brad’s from Australia. Getting email from a hockey fan in Australia alone is pretty cool, but the story got even cooler when Brad went on:
“He is part way through a road trip around North America, stopping in each city that hosts an NHL team. That’s 30 cities, 30 games. So far he has watched four games and traveled more than 4,000 kilometers.”
And that’s 4,000 kilometers – by car (slightly over 2,485 miles).
A native Nova Scotian, Chris has lived in Australia for about seven years, and I guess he just couldn’t hold himself back anymore so he packed his bags and went on a road trip in early January.
Brad’s game count was a bit off, as Chris details his trip so far on his – what else? – blog like this:
Games watched: 8
Kilometers driven: 9,145 (5,683 miles)
Total days traveled: 24
Fight count: 2
Shootouts: 3
Next game: Dallas, Jan. 26th
His tour will end in Montreal on April 3 when the Canadiens welcome the Bruins.
As Chris puts it in his blog: “When it’s all said and done, I’ll have watched 30 games in 91 days, traveled over 25,000 km and never want to get into a car again!”
I know a lot of people who would like to do the same thing, if not watching hockey – I know I can’t convince my wife to follow me on a trip like that – then with something else. And still, very few do it.
Let Chris be your inspiration as well, and keep an eye on that Australian Canadian hockey traveler in your city. Because, maybe next time it’s you.