So NHL 11, the new hockey game by EA Sports, has been officially released to the world as of … right… now. If you’re like me, you either pre-ordered it weeks ago (like last year) or are planning to pick it up today at Best Buy immediately after work. Over the past decade, I’ve bought the game religiously on the first day of its release. And at first play every year, I’ll pick up the controller, sit through the opening credits, love the new gameplay and then get childishly furious at one of the minor details that are off. You know, like the rosters will be wrong (i.e.- Nicklas Backstrom’s on Brynäs IF of the Swedish Elite League but not on Washington), Green Day will be on the soundtrack (ugh), or the PA Announcer repeatedly mispronounces Alexander Semin’s name (the really, really wrong way).

Anyways, if you share in my excitement, let’s try something fun this year, shall we? If you’re going into the store and buying the game today, I encourage all of you to take pictures and tell us all about your first experience with the game in the comments below or on the hashtag #RMNBNHL11. And please, please complain about any minor thing that’s off. Like we’re a bunch of pedantic beta testers.

Let’s see how this goes, but try and make me proud. I’ll even give a free t-shirt to somebody if they come up with something truly epic. Like submitting a photo of yourself doing the hot stick celebration with the game box or checking the GameStop employee over the counter. Game on!

Above, please check out CSN Washington’s brand-new promo for the Washington Capitals upcoming season entitled “The Race For The Cup.” The commercial, which is inspired by the movie Inception, features clips of Alex Ovechkin cross-checking Brooks Orpik, John Erskine knocking out Chris Thorburn, & Bruce Boudreau leaping maybe 4 inches. If this doesn’t get you excited for the Caps Home Opener – which is now only 33 days away – I’m not sure what will.

And just as a friendly reminder, make sure to keep your schedule clear Friday, September 10th at 10am. That’s when individual tickets go on sale for the Capitals upcoming season. Let’s be honest with ourselves, we all know that every home game this season is going to sell out. So make sure to cancel that friday business meeting first thing tomorrow morning or you’ll be sorry!

Sunday per Champion.ru, Washington Capitals Superstar Alex Ovechkin and recently-signed New Jersey Devil Ilya Kovalchuk held a charity hockey game at Sokolniki Arena in downtown Moscow. The reason? To raise money for the children affected by the terrible wildfires in Russia this summer. The high-scoring match ended in a 13-13 tie and raised 13,870,000 ruble or $451,900 American Dollars for the children’s fund.

Both teams were filled with past and present Russian Hockey Legends including on Team Kovlachuk: Evgeni Malkin, 2-time Stanley Cup Champion Vyacheslav Fetisov, and Dominik Hasek. Meanwhile Team Ovechkin featured Nikolai Zherdev and Vladimir Myshkin. Also, many Russian political figures participated in the game who were spread across both rosters.

Several famous Russian celebrities also showed up to support the game. The most notable of such was Leonid Yakubovich, host of the Russian Version of the “Wheel of Fortune.” Leonid is generally considered the most well-known television personality in the country. You can actually see him posing in a photo (center) with Alex’s Dad, Mikhail Ovechkin (right), below.

Three 15 minute periods were played in the charity game and both “Kapitans” fared well: Ovechkin managed to score two goals while Ilya Kovalchuk had a hat trick. At the end of the third period, Team Ovechkin “won” 9-7. However, since it is customary that charity games in Russia always end in a tie, the teams agreed to have a fourth period. The game-tying goal was eventually scored by Evgeni Malkin.

Naturally, the final score of the game was secondary to the reason for the event in the first place. Over 15,000 people have died in Russia this summer from the heat-wave and its subsequent wildfires and smog. And we here at RMNB couldn’t be more proud of Ovi for putting his celebrity to good use and bringing so many influential people together. The money raised will ultimately make a huge difference in the lives of others who have suffered through an unimaginable tragedy.

Additional Photos

Video

If you’d like to read up more about the match and see some post-game quotes from the players, check out Alex Ovetjkin’s brilliant recap.

Russian fans are very, very passionate about hockey. If you need proof, look no further than the buildup for the upcoming KHL game between heated-rivals Avangard Omsk and Vityaz Chekhov. Avangard’s best player is former DC malcontent Jaromir Jagr, while Vityaz – known more for its boxing than hockey skill – has former Caps Brandon Sugden, Chris Simon, and Darcy Verot filling out their ranks.

The team’s beefs with each other have been simmering for a while now, stemming from one sad event. During the 2008-09 KHL season, Avangard’s Alexei Cherepanov passed out on the bench during a game against Vityaz in Chekhov. He later died. The cause of his death filled headlines in Russia for years, with both teams getting their fair share of the blame. Wikipedia’s wordy explanation is the most fair:

Cherepanov died in Chekhov, Russia on October 13, 2008 after collapsing on the bench during a Kontinental Hockey League game with his club Avangard Omsk against Vityaz Chekhov. There was 2:55 minutes left in the game. He played a shift with teammate Jaromír Jágr, and the two were talking on the bench shortly after they left the ice, when he suddenly collapsed. After being attended to on the bench, he was carried to the dressing room where he was revived for several brief moments before finally being rushed to an intensive care unit, but it was too late. The ambulance that is normally at all games had already departed and had to be called back; doctors arrived on the scene a full 15 minutes after Cherepanov collapsed, and the battery on the defibrillator used to attempt to shock Cherepanov’s heart back to life was drained. It took approximately 20 minutes to get him to a hospital. While in the care of Chekhov doctors, he was again resuscitated briefly on two occasions. He woke up for another 2 minutes, only to collapse again. Before ultimately dying 2 hours later in the 2nd City Chekhov Hospital. Reports say that the ambulance didn’t have a defibrillator and andrenalin shots with them and that heart massage didn’t help. They still were able to start the heart 5 times and after one of them Cherepanov even got conscious and recognized his teammates, but then his heart stopped again.

The exact cause of his death was originally a cause of dispute, with a regional investigator citing he was diagnosed with chronic ischemia, but medical professionals and league sources stated it was caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Russian lawmakers said the following day that there would be investigations of negligence on the part of the responding paramedics, with the possibility of a criminal investigation being opened as well.

On December 29, 2008, Russian investigators revealed that he suffered from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and that he should not have been playing professional hockey, however this has been disputed by the NHL after Cherepanov’s testing at the NHL Combine. The federal Investigative Committee also announced that a chemical analysis of Cherepanov’s blood and urine samples allowed experts to conclude “that for several months Alexei Cherepanov engaged in doping.” Official sources have stated the banned substance taken was nikethamide, a stimulant, and that it had been taken 3 hours prior to the game in which he died. A report by the Investigative Committee stated that “It is impossible to determine how and with what aim this medicine was administered.” The same report also revealed that Cherepanov was not doping but was instead using cordiaminum probably used to treat his condition. As of 2009, nobody has been charged relating to the death of Cherepanov, however the President, General Manager, as well as a team doctor for Avangard Omsk have all been suspended from the KHL indefinitely. Another Avangard doctor was suspended for 2 years, and the president of the host team Vityaz was suspended from the league indefinitely over health related complaints.

In the teams’ first meeting since the Cherepanov death in the 2008-09 season, the game was cancelled four minutes in by officials when a mega-fight broke out. Over 600+ penalty minutes were given to the players.

Here is video of the brawl from the KHL show “Golevaya Peredacha.” If you speak english, you should fast-forward to the 1:05 mark:

Even the gentlemanly Jagr was forced into fighting:

On September 23rd, the two teams will meet again. It should be interesting.   A YouTube video uploaded by a newly registered user calling himself to MrXtort has stirred up some controversy. I first noticed the video Friday on Sports.ru’s website.

The translation of the type in the video is as followed:

4th home game [of the season for Vityaz]. 9/23. They’ll come to Podolsk [now Vityaz plays in Podolsk, not in Chekhov]. [Avangard logo]. They killed Alexei Cherepanov (newspaper titles about Cherepanov and doping in the background) and tried to blame… VITYAZ! 9th of January 2009. They wrecked the game in Chekhov after Bardin’s [Avangard GM] command… Because he needed to ‘compen$ate’ cansellation of his lifetime suspension [he was suspended during the investigation of Cherepanov's death, but was later discharged]. CORRUPTION, COWARDICE, MEANNESS, DIRT. Enemies are near our gates! HATRED, FURY, REVENGE. All of these for them! 24 inglorious bastards! [photos of Avangard players and GM] 9/23/10. Vityaz – Avangard. 7PM. Blood on the ice.

The most interesting question is who actually made this video? Yeah, the video says it was made by Vityaz fans, but I’ve heard they don’t have guys who are experts in video editing. Some say it’s Avangard fans who want to give their team a reason to fight. But I, a proud Avangard supporter, don’t believe that theory. My opinion is that this was made by some third-party fans (Dynamo, maybe) who hate both teams and want to see them fight.

No matter who is behind it, this is one of the fiercest rivalries in sports, a blood-soaked hatred that makes any Caps-Pens beef look timid.  We’ll be following this story as it develops. What do you make of it?

In part two of our Q/A with Andrew Gordon (part one can be read here), Gordo discusses his favorite NHL players and teams as a kid, if he reads blogs or newspaper articles about himself and what he did on his day with the Calder Cup this year. Mixed in is also a question submitted from a 9 year old reader, Cody, who asks Gordo what he thinks it would take for him to make it to the NHL someday.

In conclusion, all of us here at RMNB hope that you have enjoyed Andrew’s insightful responses to your questions over the past two days and his blogging throughout the Calder Cup Finals. Please join us in wishing him good luck for the upcoming season and a successful training camp. With that said, let’s get started with our first question.

Bill C. asks, “Andrew, who was your favorite player as a kid growing up and why?”

Thanks for the question, Bill. As a kid growing up I had all kinds of guys I really looked up to. When I became old enough to really follow hockey and understand the game, it was the 1992-93 season and I was 8 years old. This may have been the year that hockey took over my life, as my favorite team (brace yourself people…and I apologize in advance) the Montreal Canadians won the Stanley Cup and Teemu Selanne scored 76 goals on his way to a record-setting rookie season. Seeing as my father grew up in Winnipeg, the Jets were the other team I followed closely. So Teemu became my instant favorite. My father and I actually went to see a game in Winnipeg that season where the Jets faced Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Although I don’t remember all the details of the game (aside from Seleane getting two goals), I remember being amazed by the stadium and the fact that the guys on the ice were real live NHL players! In the same room as me! It was a day I hope I never forget.

As I grew older (and Seleane got traded from the Jets to the Ducks), I grew fond of various different players. I always loved the character guys who were known as all around players and were more than just pure skill guys. I liked Kirk Muller, Cam Neely, Trevor Linden and Steve Yzerman to name a few. I always believed that there is a big difference between the kind of player you want to have on your team, and the kind of player you need on your team. Teams need leaders. Guys with guts. I wanted to be a player that is known for performing when the chips are down the way these guys were. I watched them carefully and learned how much every game and every shift seemed to mean to them. The way they played the game inspired those around them. It wasn’t because of their ability; It was because of their attitude and determination. Guys with skills and character were always my favorite players growing up instead of the guys constantly in the spotlight.

Meghan H. of The Hockey Chronicles asks, “Gordo, now that you’ve written for a blog, I feel we should ask if you (as some Caps prospects, e.g. Dmitry Kugryshev, have been known to in the past) read blogs and other internet news sources about yourself? Or do you prefer, like many people, to keep away from them (and their often negative) opinions?

Hi Meghan! I personally will read something here and there, but pretty much only if I stumble across it. I will never go buy a newspaper to see what somebody said about me. In all honesty though, I find it’s better to leave the media to the fans and worry about what’s going on inside the dressing room. No matter what you read, I feel it can do you no good as a player. If you read all kinds of good press about yourself, you might start to feel like you’re something special. Your habits might change, even just a little bit, and that can be enough to change your focus. Every player at some point is written about and glorified as a sure thing to play in the NHL. This just isn’t a reality. People in the media write articles so people will read them. They are not always that useful. I repeat, they are written for the interest of readers. Any topic that might get people’s attention is worth writing about. When articles are written about a team as a whole, the writers are sending the band wagon rolling down a hill with hopes of people jumping on. If you are winning, the team is great and all mighty. If they are losing, everybody becomes an armchair GM with a million things they would do differently. None of it matters to anybody in the dressing room.

As an individual player, you will never please everybody. Your style of play and what you bring to a team will never be recognized by fans and media officials the way it can be realized and appreciated by your teammates. If someone writes an article or posts something online about me that is negative, it will mean absolutely nothing. It won’t change the way I play, my attitude, work ethic, goals, dreams or any other aspect of my life whatsoever. At the end of the day it’s an article. It will be recycled in two days and forgotten about anyway, no matter if it’s good or bad. I always think about the people who write those negative comments or articles. 99.99% of the media that I have encountered have never played at this (or any) high level of hockey, so they don’t really know what it’s like out there on the ice. For an example, let’s say a defenseman tries to clear the puck and turns it over for a goal and the team loses as a result. The media has the right to talk about what a miserable play he made and how bad he has been playing for weeks, blah blah blah. Nobody at the game day media buffet could do any better. Yet they have the power to critique based on speculation as opposed to experience. Hockey is a game that can be learned, but without playing it you will never fully understand what it’s like. In my mind all that matters is what the players and coaches have to say.

Overall, I’m not afraid to read what’s written, but I understand what it is that I’m reading. Good or bad it always comes in one ear and out the other. It’s always nice to hear or see people saying nice things about you, don’t get me wrong. But I’m interested in what can help me make the NHL. Not a writer’s opinion of my personal play or that of my team. The media is an incredibly valuable means of exposing the game to fans and keeping people attached to hockey, but to me as a player, it has no direct benefit.

Bev asks, “Andrew, what did you end up doing the day you had the Calder Cup this year?

There's more photos of Gordo with the cup on his Facebook Page. Friend him. RMNB promises he'll instantly become the coolest guy you know on there.

Bev, this year when I had the Calder Cup, my family had a little get together that we probably should have had last year but didn’t. Last summer, I had the Calder Cup just long enough to take a few pictures (which you can see on my facebook page) around my parent’s house and a nearby Nova Scotia Beach. Then I brought it over to Andrew Joudrey’s place where he in turn had a little open house. Friends and family members were welcome to drop by to take some pictures and see the trophy up close. This year we did something similar at our house. My mother did a wonderful job of organizing food and drinks for everyone on extremely short notice, then we had the majority of the neighborhood drop by to share a nice summer evening with the Cup. This included some close friends, neighbors and a couple old coaches from my minor hockey days. Nothing too crazy, but a fun get together with many of the people who have watched me grow up and helped raise me into the player and person that I am today. The next morning I handed it over to Andrew Joudrey yet again, and I haven’t seen it since!

Cody B. writes, “Andrew-I am 9 years old and learning to play hockey. I eat, sleep, and drink it. I started by learning to skate this summer, in a clinic at my local rink, and have signed up for the Jr. Bears Inhouse Clinic. For my age, do you have any advice to keep me focused on my dream of becoming a professional hockey player? I am looking forward to seeing you this year at the Bear’s games. Thank you for your time.”

Cody, my advice would be to have fun and don’t let anybody push you but yourself. Hockey is a fun game. Even now I get all kinds of comments on how I always look like I’m having fun on the ice. The secret is…I am! My dad always tells the story of when I was about six years old and we were driving to or from a hockey practice (I can’t remember which). In the car, dad was giving me some instruction on what I had to do to become a better hockey player. You know, how to work harder, focus on what I was doing, and so on. I don’t remember this happening, but he tells me at one point I just interrupted him and said something along the lines of “Lay off dad! I’m just a kid trying to have fun!” That was the end of it. My dad never pushed me or instructed me again. From then on after practice or games he would ask me “Did you have fun today?” and based on my response we would move forward from there. Hockey was always the most fun activity I could possible do, because I only played it when I wanted to (which was a lot). I was never forced to go to hockey schools unless I asked for it. I never had to go work out unless it was my idea. By having fun and getting better on my own, I never lost that same love of the game I developed when I was 5-6 years old. You can love hockey as much as you do now, if you always enjoy it on your own time.

My second piece of advice I’ll pass on was something I was told many times in my career: ALWAYS find a way to get better. Understand that you can always get better. No matter how many goals you score or points you get or championships you win, there is always room to improve your game. There are millions of kids playing hockey around the world and if you work harder at getting better than all of them, you up your chances of becoming a professional player! Every player on earth can always become a better skater, a harder more accurate shooter, and physically stronger on his/her skates. There is an old quote that was posted in the weight room in St. Cloud where I went to college that bluntly said “When you’re done getting better, you’re done.” I feel that one is pretty self-explanatory.

My last piece of advice would be to dream bigger than anybody can see possible. You said you dream about being a professional hockey player. That’s a good start. When you close your eyes at night, don’t just see yourself as a pro, but one playing in the NHL. Being a superstar. Playing in NHL all-star games. Representing your country at the World Championships. See yourself winning the Olympics. Hoisting the Stanley Cup. Being the Captain of your favorite team. Winning scoring titles and MVP awards. Dream anything you can possibly think of! The more you think about it now, the easier it will be to achieve later. Never be afraid to talk about your dreams either. Share them with people and have them on your mind every day. I’m 24 years old and I still dream about all the same stuff. This reminds me of another quote I remember reading in the dressing room of my Midget AAA team in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. It said, “A dream is like a chauffeur. It will take you exactly where you want to go.”

Inimitable V Cristina asks, “Gordo, you are very humble and appreciative of your fans. If your career keeps taking off and you end up being the big shot you’re going to be in the NHL, how do you think it would change you?”

I believe that if I ever make the NHL full time, it wouldn’t change me as a person at all. No matter where I’m playing, I’m still the small town guy from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia, with parents I respect and a big sister I look up to. I’m honestly flattered and amazed that people have any interest in me at all! In reality, we hockey players are just normal guys. Everybody in the world has a million things they are good at. I was just fortunate enough to have hockey be one of mine. I’m not going to act differently because of it. I have never seen anybody walk around acting like a jerk to people because they are the best parallel parker in the world. I see hockey in that same light. Hockey is something I am good at. It doesn’t define me as a person. It’s a part of my life like everything else I do.

I think being humble is something that comes from my sister. We have always got along extremely well, but when I was young, sometimes I would start to feel like I was a pretty cool guy. She would always be the first to remind me that I was in no way better than anybody else just because I played hockey. There is an image of a prototypical hockey player in my head that I’m sure everyone reading this can imagine. My sister was not going to allow me to become that. I still thank her to this day! As for appreciating fans, I feel it’s simple. Without them we have nothing at all! How could you not appreciate hockey fans? You are the ones that make playing hockey so enjoyable. Nobody in the world enjoys playing in an empty stadium, and I find having a big crowd allows me to play better. Perhaps that’s why we won 24 in a row at home last year? The fans bring energy to the arena and it gives us an extra push that you can’t get anywhere else. I always appreciate that!

There are always days however (predominantly after losing), where I don’t want to talk to anybody. I don’t want to sign autographs or talk about what happened on the ice moments before. But that’s part of the job. People are there because they want to talk to me, so I’m always happy to oblige them in a short conversation, especially if there are kids involved. I remember when I was a kid asking for pictures, sticks and autographs and the feelings I would get when a player would spend a little time talking with me. I have some really good pictures and memories of Alex Tanguay and me together when he was playing Junior for the Halifax Mooseheads. My peewee team won a practice with the Mooseheads and after scoring a shootout goal I mimicked his signature celebration. Immediately he rushed over, grabbed me and began to hassle me for stealing his moves. I remember being so excited that he was paying me this extra attention, and now I am someone who can make people feel just the way I did that day. In my line of work I am in a position to brighten people’s day just by saying hello and remembering a face. I feel I wouldn’t be respecting what I have been given if I didn’t do at least that.

Well guys, I hope I managed to somewhat answer your questions amongst my ramblings! Looking back, I think some of them dragged on a bit. But it’s much harder to explain some of these things in writing. I could do a much better job in person. If you see me on the street don’t be afraid to say hello.

Thanks again for your time! See you in D.C in a few days!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

A few weeks ago while the blog took a week hiatus, we asked if any of you had questions for player-turned-blogger Andrew Gordon. And boy did you! Tonight we present to you the first five answers out of the ten best questions we received. Also, make sure to check out the photos in this entry. They are from Game 6 of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals where the Hershey Bears celebrated the franchise’s 11th AHL Championship. The photos are from Gordo’s digital camera that he had on the ice. Take it away, Andrew!

Hi, everyone! Looks like this will be my last blog of the summer. Training camp is right around the corner, and once that hits my focus will be on hockey, not writing! I’m going to try to answer all these questions as best I can, but keep in mind some of them would take me forever to fully explain, so I’ll try to cover as much ground as I can without making this a complete yawner of a read. Thanks for reading!

tfirey asks, “Gordo: I have a lot of questions about how pro athletes train (as it’s a world that I’ll never know — alas!). Can you tell us what you do in your workouts? Are any exercises hockey-specific, as opposed to standard endurance and strength-building? How does your routine change throughout the year?”

Thanks for the question, tfirey.  All players have different things they like to do to prepare for upcoming seasons. It’s kind of a trial-and-error thing. The majority of us have had trainers growing up, in junior, in college, and at various pro levels.  They each have their own philosophies and training methods to get a player to the optimum level of fitness.

Over time I have taken a program (created by Caps strength coach Mark Nemish) and tweaked it here and there to make it more customized to my needs and what I feel allows me to be at my best going into camp. I take the base program and add my favorite exercises from past experience and use them to round out my off-season training. For me, this means sticking strictly to the weight program, and modifying the work away from the gym.

Over the course of the summer, we spend a lot of time on the track doing different running intervals, sprints, and plyometric exercises, as well as running and jumping uphill and riding the stationary bike. This is where I find I really get better. Anybody can walk into a weight room and lift a lot of weight, but pushing yourself through 12 x 300 meter sprints with hardly enough time to catch your breath between reps is just as much of a mental workout as it is physical. The track is where I train myself to push harder when I don’t have anything left. It’s where you learn how much you actually have to give, and what kind of character you have. Quitting is easy, but its overcoming those moments when you want to quit that make you a better player.

When it comes to hockey-specific training, there are thousands of different exercises that train your body to move the way we do all winter. Most of which involve your hips, groin, and core. There are lots of ab exercises that build strength in twisting motions. This is relevant when a player is shooting, passing, and turning sharply on the ice. Very rarely does a player lie on his back and do a crunch during a game, so we don’t do them in the gym. We also do a lot of lunging and lateral squatting. These simulate a skating stride and will strengthen the groin muscles and hips that are used to extend your legs as far as you can reach, as well as the power to push and recover your foot back under you. The faster you can stride and recover, the more strides you can fire off in a short period of time, the faster you get to that loose puck. Simple!

As the summer rolls on, the work out goes through various phases. Each phase has a different emphasis that leads you into the next phase. Early on, the workouts are lower intensity and are made to build up a strength base before you get into the next stage, where things step up a notch. Some phases have full body days, some phases are split into upper-body and lower-body days. As much as the phases vary, they all revolve around a lot of leg work. Without strong legs a player would have a trouble keeping balance, taking hits, winning puck battles, and virtually every other aspect of the game. If I were to get into all the different leg exercises and why we do them, I would be writing a book, not a blog. However, I will say the common denominator is power. The objective of every rep in every set all summer is to generate as much power as possible. Hockey is an explosive game filled with quick puck races and short bursts of strength. Being explosive through your first few strides gets you up to top speed faster and puts you in position to win those battles.

Throughout the year, many of us try to train to maintain the work we have put in all summer. In the American League we rarely play mid-week games, so it is easy to push yourself through a hard workout on Tuesday and Wednesday (Mondays are usually off), then give yourself Thursday to recover before we start another weekend full of hockey on Friday. In all three of my seasons in Hershey, we have always had good, hard-working guys. A lot of us will try to do something every day to get better, whether it’s a full work out, a cool-down bike ride, and a stretch or just a little ab work. I feel if I do a little something each day, it will result in a higher level of fitness over the course of the season that I might not have had if I allowed myself to leave the rink after the ice session was over. Small things in the gym add up over time just like everything else. As the playoffs draw closer, I pretty much stop lifting weights and spend all my time getting ready for the next game. I don’t want to be expending energy on working out, so I do everything based on rest and recovery.

FireFly asks, “Andrew- What do you do on your days off to relax and distract yourself from hockey during the season?”

Good question, FireFly.  To relax in my off days I really don’t do much! Hershey is a wonderful town to play hockey in, but away from the rink there isn’t much for us to do. I usually have a book on the go, and I see movies every now and then, but over the last couple years (thanks to the influence of my former roommate Dean Arsene) I have taken a serious interest in cooking and nutrition. I will watch a lot of the Food Network and see if any recipes catch my eye. Some days I find something new, some I don’t, but in either case I’m at the grocery store every day, most days multiple times. These trips can sometimes take an hour or more, and may only result in me picking up two or three items. I’m always looking for new products or ingredients to use or reading labels and checking nutritional information. Being an athlete by profession, my body is my business. The season can really break your body down if you don’t take care of it, so I try to make sure I’m putting as much good food in me as I can …and if I can find a way to make it delicious, that’s even better!

In a normal week, Monday is usually the only real “off day”, and I spend most of it sleeping or just laying on the couch watching TV. After playing three games in three nights, the last thing I want to do is set my alarm and have a hectic day. Through the week there are always things to do if you are interested though. The Hershey Bears as an organization are very active in the community. We have autograph sessions, public appearances, school readings, and hospital visits quite regularly, so it’s nice to get out around the city and help a charitable cause whenever you can.

Meg S. asks, “Andrew, do you stick to a pretty strict diet during the season, or are you burning so many calories that anything goes? Any guilty pleasures (food-wise) you can’t give up during the season?”

Thanks, Meg S.; this is another one of those questions where I could go on for days! I don’t have a strict diet that I follow or count calories or anything like that. I just make sure I’m eating good food and a balanced diet, and that way portion size is never an issue. Nobody has ever been deemed unhealthy for eating too much broccoli. My diet, like my workout regimen, is something I have established through a 24-year trial-and-error effort. I know what I need to eat the day before a game, the day of a game, and immediately after a game to make sure I can be at my best the next day, so the vast majority of my weekly meals revolve around when and where we are playing. In a standard week, I only have about two or three days where I get to try new things or make some of my favorite foods.

I have found there are three levels of nutrition that I go through. There is my “break level”, where I’m taking my two weeks off after the season ends. This is a wonderful time of year. I will eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and as much as I want without thinking twice. This is a guilt-free two weeks, where I can stuff my face knowing I have 3+ months of hard training before camp, then 8-9 months of grueling season after that where I do almost nothing but focus on hockey.

Second comes the gray area I’ll call “mid-level nutrition”. Here I’m eating 95% good healthy food, but I’ll let myself slide a bit and have a few meals here and there that wouldn’t fit into a Weight Watchers program. This might mean bacon and eggs for breakfast one day. Or a Philly cheese steak for lunch. Having a couple “cheat” meals a week make them that much more enjoyable.  I know I’m not supposed to be eating the stuff, but every now and then I just have to take pleasure in some forbidden fruit order to keep my sanity. This is where I find myself many times during the season where healthy food just doesn’t look good anymore, and all I keep thinking about is how much I want to eat some grease! On a Sunday after a road game, I’ll look over the menu and splurge for the pizza or chicken fingers. I’ll treat myself with something other than the normal salad or pasta.

Lastly, there is the “high level nutrition” (which I’m experiencing right now). This is where I’ll eat nothing but the best. When I’m gearing up for playoffs, training camp, or even just a weekend of games that I know is going to be exhausting, I will flip the switch and discipline myself to avoid anything that could have a negative impact on my body. After a couple weeks of this, I don’t crave the grease or the sweets anymore. They almost look bad to me. Once I commit to eating completely healthy, any “cheat” meal sets me back to square one, and I will geel guilty and ashamed of myself for allowing myself to slip. My discipline breeds a deeper discipline that helps me avoid the bad and stick to the good.

As for guilty pleasures, I have a couple, but I keep them pretty much in check, partially because my favorite food isn’t really available during the season. My favorite food on earth is lobster. Not just any lobster, real Nova Scotian lobster. In my home town you can take a case of beer down to the docks and trade lobster fisherman the case for as much fresh lobster as you can grab. They are twice as big as anything you see in a grocery store, and taste a hundred times better than anything you can find at the Keg. The issue here lies in the way I like to eat it. In order for me to enjoy a fresh Nova Scotian lobster, I have to dip the meat in (what turns out to be) about a pound of melted butter! That’s not exactly the ideal thing to be eating when I’m trying to train all summer. I usually keep it to two big lobster feeds a year, boy do I make the most of them!

My unavoidable guilty pleasure is gummy candy. I love sour watermelons and have a really tough time walking by a bulk section or through a movie theater without picking some up. They are just too good and I’m rendered defenseless.

Matt Carroll asks, “Hey Gordo! I remember watching you play for the short time you were here in Charleston, S.C. We have loved watching you progress! My question: How do you feel you have progressed in the Caps system, from South Carolina to Hershey? Also, what are you working on now to make the next step to the NHL?”

Matt, first of all, I want to express what a great time I had when I was in South Carolina! The team was great, the coach, trainer and equipment staff were fantastic people to spend time with, and the city was amazing. Obviously, it wasn’t where I wanted to be playing, but whenever I look back at the time I spent there I only have fond memories. Since then, I have progressed into what I see as a fairly well rounded prospect. In my three years in Hershey I have been on every line from first to fourth. I have killed penalties through the season and in the playoffs en route to winning a championship. I have played and produced on the power play and have never really shied away from the corners or the physical side of the game. I think the progression is mostly mental as sometimes it takes a little while for some players (like myself) to acclimatize to their new surroundings.

At every level I have played from minor hockey all the way through ’til now, it has always taken me some time to figure out the game at the new level. Pro was no different. When I first came to Hershey I was on the third or fourth line, not playing many minutes.  When I did, I was playing nervous hockey, afraid to make a mistake. When I went to South Carolina, I remembered what it was like to carry the puck and score goals. I wasn’t nervous. I was having fun again. By the time I returned to Hershey, I was playing more like I was in college, which is what got me to that level in the first place. From then on, I never really looked back. I always knew I could play at that level and be a good player, I just had to figure out the timing and how my game had to adjust in order to contribute to the team’s success. Now that I have established myself in the AHL, I have to go through a similar process in the NHL.

Going into training camp this year, I’m almost taking a reverse approach. In the past, I always wanted to move and play at 100mph. I would skate as fast as I could at all times, pass the puck as soon as I got it or shoot before I was ready, simply because I had it in my head that things had to happen faster in the NHL. Being on the brink of out of control is a hard way to play the game. This year I want to slow my thought process down and get a bit more relaxed and under control. I have thought about it over the summer, and I figure that if I have the same attitude as I possess in Hershey, my game will come over with it. When I’m in Hershey, I work as hard as I can– but at the right times. I’m not afraid to hold the puck and try to make a play. I’m not afraid to make a mistake. I believe I have the ability to play in the NHL if I play my game. Not at somebody else’s pace. So in conclusion, I’m working on my comfort level. In order to be successful I have to be comfortable with my game at the next stage, and I believe if I can prove that my game can adapt to the NHL tempo, I will have a chance to make the team.

Brandee R. asks, “Andrew – Who would your dream linemates be up in Washington?”

Brandee, this question has a few possible answers. Obviously, I would give an arm and a leg to be the right wing on the first line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Who wouldn’t? But I think my style of play is more suited to guys like Brooks Laich. He’s the type of guy who always plays the game hard, honest and simple. He might not beat you with fancy toe drags like Alex Semin, but in the corners and around the net, he is a great player. I have spent some time with Brooks during previous Caps training camps. And I’ve also played a couple of exhibition games on his line. Suffice to say, he is an easy guy to get along with. I like talking a lot with my line mates about plays that just happened the shift before and areas I might be able to improve upon. Brooks seems to be quite similar. He was always talking to me, helping me and explaining things I can do to improve without making me (the guy with one NHL game experience at the time) feel like he was above me. I pick him as one of my dream line mates as much for his personality and character as I do for his athletic ability.

This is where the selection gets tricky. I have noticed that 90% of the forwards in Washington can play both wings, and some dabble at center so I don’t know where to put people on my dream line. If Brooks is playing center and I would be on the right, I would like to play with Tomas Fleischmann. He is a highly skilled guy who can make amazing plays in small areas that 99.9% of people in the stands can’t comprehend. He is another guy I have known since I was a Black Ace in Hershey, so there is also a level of communication with him that I don’t yet have with some of the other guys on the team. Fun Fact: The coincidence here is that this was my exact line at Madison Square Garden in New York where I played my first ever NHL game. Funny!

In my third scenario where Brooks Laich is a left winger and I’m still on the right, I would select Mathieu Perreault at center. I know he hasn’t “officially” made the team yet, but I believe he is the only player form Hershey who has proven himself at the NHL level, and I believe the Caps are looking for a skilled center. I have played with Perry in Hershey for the past two years, and I love his style of play. He has more skill than he knows what to do with, and is a small slippery player who makes plays that very few can. In my experience with him, he allows me to play my game very well. I just get to loose pucks, chip them in his direction, then go back to the net. 9 times out of 10 he will find a way to put that puck on your stick. Not much more you can ask for right?

So…here is the breakdown of my two Washington Capital dream lines.

FLEISCHMANN – LAICH – GORDON or…

LAICH – PERREAULT – GORDON

Both cases involve one highly skilled player, one hard working guy with good size and a known scoring ability…and me. Ha! I’m still trying to figure out what I ring to the table here! Decent writing ability maybe?

We’ll have 5 more questions and answers with Andrew Gordon tomorrow.  Make sure to come back and find out who Andrew’s favorite hockey players were growing up, if he actually reads our blogs, and what he did on his day with the Calder Cup this year. See you then!

Leave Sidney alone!

RMNB is unafraid to plumb the depths of the ethical basement.  When we heard rumors of a scandalous email about Sidney Crosby circulating, we knew we had to get our greasy little fingers on it.  Thanks to our pal Erika, we did, and now we’re not really sure what to do.

Here’s the story:  we first heard about this email from those arse gremlins at the Pensblog (NSFW: language).  Even they, despite deliberately living in Pittsburgh and rooting for the Penguins, were wise enough to call it nonsense.   Without mincing words, this is fiction.

Here’s the email message in question:

The Pittsburgh Penguins and their PR team are a bunch of criminals. They are using Bot software and they are dropping malicious cookies and hacking the computers of hockey fans to control what the world sees about Sidney Crosby. I had a malicious cookie in my computer that is a browser hijack and the only search term I recognized was Sidney Crosby’s name. The rest are women’s names and the names of escort services. His PR team hangs out on web boards for hockey lovers promoting him without disclosing who they are which is illegal. When I confronted them about the browser hijack file they hacked my computer and destroyed my personal files and my business files. They are criminals who think that everyone else in the world should pay a consequence for Sidney Crosby’s indiscretions. Crosby is a somatic narcissist and in the words of his own PR firm ” a PR nightmare waiting to happen worse than Tiger Woods because he is a drunk who makes heavy use of escort services” If you doubt me I will send you or anybody else a copy of the hijack file. I printed it out

(NOTE:  This message has been edited to remove identifying information.)

There’s an abundance of unfounded and easily disproven allegations in here– enough that we’re comfortable dismissing the whole thing outright.   So instead, let’s analyze the exact nature of Teh Crazy.

I showed the message to a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who knows nothing about hockey or malware.  After delivering the caveat that he is a psychologist and not a mind reader, he provided this response:

Sounds like Paranoid Schizophrenia.  Possibly Paranoid Personality Disorder. But it sounds like the author is delusional, which usually doesn’t occur with personality disorders.

The main difference though between Mental Illness and Personality Disorders is that a mental illness has “active-phases” whereas personality disorders are pervasive and basically life-long.  Without knowing her history this differential diagnosis is difficult.

Paranoid Schizophrenia is really different from other forms of Schizophrenia in that it doesn’t have that salient crazy s%$& like disorganized speech or behavior and flat or inappropriate affect. They are usually intelligent, well organized, stable people that have “active-phases” of paranoid delusions.

Now, if we’re talking delusions we have to differentiate that from a Delusional Disorder (probably Persecutory type) which are “non-bizarre”, plausible delusions such as police surveillance or something. Also, hallucinations are usually not present with delusional disorder. Well, visual and auditory are usually not present.

So, basically those are the 3 possible things going on here as far as I can see.

We know the author believes that the Penguins PR team is out to get him or her.  We know that the author believes Sidney Crosby is up to some naughty stuff.   But what about classifying him as a somatic narcissist?

To me it says, that the author has done his or her psychology homework. Although Narcissism is well known in society the qualifier “somatic” is not. How else would the author know that without doing some research? Which also leads me to believe that he or she has had some experiences herself with psychologists/psychiatrists hence why she felt the need to read up on mental health issues.

Perhaps the author felt scorned by Crosby in some way (this would be delusional of course since she has probably had no actual interaction with him) and identifying him as having a mental illness would be classic projection. “I’m not the crazy one! He is!”

Now let’s all take a deep breath.  No one takes this message seriously.  If the author of this message is truly unwell, then there’s probably no malice in it.  We can enjoy the story because the thought of Sidney Crosby as some kind of deviant lothario is a riot (Is he bringing girls back to Mario’s basement?  Does Mario’s wife Nathalie mind?) and because conspiracy theories are fun.

But there’s a real human being behind this, and that person is in pain.

And I bet you thought we were gonna make fun of it.

Oh look! It’s another adorable promo. This time featuring everyone’s favorite Caveman Captain, Alex Ovechkin. In the above clip, Ovechkin joins the Capital One Vikings on the ice to help prepare customers for the end of the Chevy Chase Bank name. I’m not sure how checking a viking through the glass is gonna help me with said transition, but boy am I entertained. And God, Ovi’s gap-toothed smile at the end there connects with my inner bro-ness in a way some of you will never understand.

Anyways, let us know what you think of Sasha’s acting chops in the comments below! I’m sure we all agree this is Oscar worthy material, no?

S/T to Wyshynski and long-time RMNB reader Michelle (Thanks!)

“Is it October yet?” takes a back seat to “Is it Draft Day yet?” for us Fantasy Hockey poolies. We eagerly wait to draft Ovechkin or any other Capitals our forwards, defensemen and goaltenders and trash talk our way to victory! However, one player’s value seems to be fairly uncertain: Alexander Semin. ESPN has him ranked as the 8th best player overall for your fantasy team, while Yahoo’s Puck Daddy ranks him 33rd. We here at RMNB try to answer the most important question facing you on draft day: What is Semin worth in fantasy hockey?

Coming up with a draft list for a fantasy hockey league takes planning and some tempered expectations. If you give-in to impulses, you’ll find yourself in trouble. And by the end of the draft, make sure you have drafted well enough to get quality players at each position. If not, you will be on the outside looking in come playoff time.

The league you are playing in will determine a large part of the value. For instance, most leagues count goals, assists and points – categories which Semin performs well in year after year. If your league also counts Power Play Points and/or shots on goal then Semin’s value could increase depending on roster sizes and number of teams in the league. However, being ranked 8th or 33rd leaves a lot of room for error, so let’s see if we can narrow that down a bit.

We will use stats from the last three years to determine Sasha’s initial value and then make some projections for age/linemates/playing time to determine where he could rank in league that uses the following structure:

• “Snake draft” format
• 10 Teams
• Roster of C,C,LW,LW,RW,RW,D,D,D,D,G,G + 8 bench players
• Skater categories of: Goals, Assists, Points, Plus/Minus, PIMs
• Goalie categories of: Wins, Save %, GAA % and Shutouts

If you’re thinking: Semin cleans up in most of those categories you are correct, which is why when we look at the Top 15 rankings below we side more with ESPN than Yahoo’s ranking:

Semin comes out ahead of some other high profile skaters, such as Ilya Kovalchuk (who may be playing in the KHL) and reigning Hart Trophy Winner Henrik Sedin. He even ranks higher than Steven Stamkos and Zack Parise. Now you see why it is called fantasy hockey.

Whether he is taken 8th or 33rd in your draft one thing is for certain: With Ovechkin, Backstrom and Greenlife52 in the Top 10, expect Alex Semin to make a major impact to any fantasy squad in 2010-11. And maybe the Capitals too.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

A full week after his first appearance on Russian radio this summer, Alex Ovechkin made his second appearance on the radio station Mayak, Saturday.  Ovi spoke with Regina Sevostyanova and their conversation covered a variety of topics including Russia’s failure at the Vancouver Olympics, how the Russian National Team should respond in Sochi, and the dreaded smoking scandal.

Below the fold, we translated the Sports.ru article which did a transcription of the interview.

Alex Ovechkin: “I don’t think our World Championship team was better than the one in the Olympics. But even if one version of the team was better than another, it doesn’t mean the first will win. Coincidence, they scored, we didn’t. Everyone wants to win. No, the result of the Olympics and World Championships aren’t haunting my dreams. I try to forget such moments.”

“I reacted positively to the contract extensions of [Russian coaches] Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin. If we’re looking towards Sochi, we need to do some preparation and we need to think about what we should do and how. What we need to take from the [gold medal-winning] Canadians is this: After the Torino Olympics ended, they began scouting the players they would face in Vancouver. And it worked. We must look to the best. The match with the Canadians, of course, is the most fundamental. It’s like dessert after a good dinner.” [Ed Note: Russian sayings are the best..]

“The National Team has a backbone, which is created by the coaches. Those guys are the leaders, the players team always need. Sometimes coaches choose players who are less talented, but can create a hard-working atmosphere. We need them, too. Every player on the team, including the coaches, completely trust and understand each other.”

“In regards to the story about smoking during the World Championships, I can say that everybody has their own life and does what they feel they should do. In America, for example, you can drink and smoke — you just have to provide the result. We didn’t get the job done in Germany, we were only second. But if you saw how hard we fought, you can’t say we lost due to that story. It’s ravings. People who publish this kind of stuff, don’t care for the Russian Team. They are traitors in my opinion.”

TJ of Alex Ovetjkin also found some more interesting Ovechkin quotes from the same show. In his translation Ovi talks about if he has a Facebook, which famous people he’d like to meet, and if he would ever run for public office. Check it out.