Last week during Prospect Camp, the Oilers top prospects took some time away from the rink to try their hand at batting practice with the Edmonton Capitals. The boys were split into four groups and each had two turns at bat before rotating out to the field. It was fun to watch as each of the guys took their turn at bat. Magnus Paajarvi was so funny as he took his first turn at bat, he called out to the pitcher, "Please be nice to me!" as everyone in hear-shot laughed out loud. Let's just say it's a good thing he's a great hockey player! When the next guy took his turn in the cage, Oilers exec, Kevin Lowe pulled Paajarvi aside and gave him a couple of pointers on stance and swing and Paajarvi's next time at bat went much, much better!
Taylor Hall took a few swings at bat and after missing the first couple of balls, managed to hit a decent ball that went about mid-field as his team-mates applauded his efforts. Jordan Eberle seemed a little nervous with his first attempt in the batter's cage, but seemed to have fun after the first few balls were pitched. For the most part, the Oilers prospects seemed to just go out and have fun with the experience and walked away with an appreciation of what pro ball is all about.
Of course being the hockey crazed city that Edmonton is, there was a huge media showing at this event. Many of the players including Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi were surrounded by the media after each turn at bat and asked a variety of questions ranging from how they felt about batting practice to how things were going at the development camp. The boys seemed to handle the pressure well as they all seemed very relaxed and at ease as they enjoyed the hot July day. This was supposed to be a media only event, but once again being the hockey crazed city that Edmonton is, a couple of fans managed to find out that Taylor Hall was in the building and decided to show up in hopes of getting an autograph. They were quickly escorted out of the ball park, but waited patiently outside for Hall to come out. They were still sitting on the bench across the street from Telus Field when I came out and they pounced on me right away asking if Hall was still inside. I hope all their waiting paid off!
As the event wound down, I couldn't help but over hear part of a conversation between Jordan Eberle and Kevin Lowe where Lowe asked Eberle if he would be interested in staying with a family in Edmonton this fall, where Eberle responded he'd be fine with that. HUMMM, could this be a sign that at least two if not all three of the top three prospects stand a really good chance of making the squad this season???? Only time will tell!
It was a really great afternoon as the weather was warm, the boys seemed to have fun and I was amazed at how close they let the media get to the boys. I managed to get some pics of Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi. Check out the Pipestone Flyer's facebook page where I'll post some pics of the guys at Telus Field!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
FUELED UP FOR CASTROL RACEWAY
This weekend Castrol Raceways will be hosting one of their biggest events of the summer, the River Cree Rockey Mountian Nitro Jam Nationals from June 25-27.
This event features the largest selection of cars and racings biggest stars. Castrol Raceway has become one of the leaders in racing and entertainment in Canada with this being a feature qualifying event.
Yesterday I sat down and chatted with Mitch King, one of North America's top racers. This down to earth guy invited me to come to the track and hang out with his pit crew over the weekend, so I'll definately be taking advantage of that. In my conversation with Kimberly Reeves, Castrol Raceway owner, she has invited me to take a whirl in a tow car while I'm at the track! To put this into perspective, these vehicles will be going from 0-300 mph in less than 5 seconds! This is so cool! I told Kimberly I'd be more than willing to get a bird's eye view of what a car driver experiences! So watch upcoming issues of the Pipestone Flyer and the paper's website for an HD Video of my experience in the car! This is one of those opportunities that you just don't turn down and I'm very excited to share it with you!
Until then....
Nadine
This event features the largest selection of cars and racings biggest stars. Castrol Raceway has become one of the leaders in racing and entertainment in Canada with this being a feature qualifying event.
Yesterday I sat down and chatted with Mitch King, one of North America's top racers. This down to earth guy invited me to come to the track and hang out with his pit crew over the weekend, so I'll definately be taking advantage of that. In my conversation with Kimberly Reeves, Castrol Raceway owner, she has invited me to take a whirl in a tow car while I'm at the track! To put this into perspective, these vehicles will be going from 0-300 mph in less than 5 seconds! This is so cool! I told Kimberly I'd be more than willing to get a bird's eye view of what a car driver experiences! So watch upcoming issues of the Pipestone Flyer and the paper's website for an HD Video of my experience in the car! This is one of those opportunities that you just don't turn down and I'm very excited to share it with you!
Until then....
Nadine
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Jimmie Snow visits Leduc/Edmonton Rush's Leduc Connection
Last night Jimmie Snow, son of Country Hall of Famer, Hank Snow visited Leduc Alliance Church to share his story of faith through music and story. The Pipestone Flyer's publisher Ted Okkerse was one of three special guest performers. Ted performed several country gospel songs and despite threatening to toss rotten tomates at him if he "sucked" I didn't have to target the tomatos at him, much to his delight. In fact Ted did so well, it brought a tear to the eye of his lovely wife. Way to go Ted. Even though Country Gospel isn't normally my cup of tea, it was a superb concert. Jimmie's wife Sheri is a complete doll and we really connected! The full story of the concert will be in NEXT week's issue!
This morning I went to the Leduc Recreation Centre as the Edmonton Rush made a major announcement with their new connection with the City of Leduc. Full details will appear in THIS week's issue. After the press conference, though I was able to catch up with the President of the Edmonton Rush who was more than willing to give back to the kids of Leduc as he offered up Season Seats for the upcoming Rush season which begins in January. He generously has donated seats for the Leduc Atom Roughnecks Tournament in early December! Which I think is absolutely fabulous. So you might want to check out the tourny to bid on the tickets as they also announced a major trade in the NLL receiving one of the league's leading scorers. The staff of the Edmonton Rush are excited about some of the off season moves they have made this year and are excited about the upcoming season. Check out the Rush as they begin Training Camp at the LRC on Dec. 5!
One more little tidbit of info to share with you is the MNP Riggers Food Drive. The team will be accepting non-parishable food items and cash for the Leduc & District Food Bank as well as items for Santa's Helpers at the Nov. 25, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 home games. MNP Riggers fans are encouraged to bring their donations for the Food Bank and Santa's Helpers organizations as we enter the Christmas Season and consider helping those less fortunate than us!
Until next time.....
Nadine
This morning I went to the Leduc Recreation Centre as the Edmonton Rush made a major announcement with their new connection with the City of Leduc. Full details will appear in THIS week's issue. After the press conference, though I was able to catch up with the President of the Edmonton Rush who was more than willing to give back to the kids of Leduc as he offered up Season Seats for the upcoming Rush season which begins in January. He generously has donated seats for the Leduc Atom Roughnecks Tournament in early December! Which I think is absolutely fabulous. So you might want to check out the tourny to bid on the tickets as they also announced a major trade in the NLL receiving one of the league's leading scorers. The staff of the Edmonton Rush are excited about some of the off season moves they have made this year and are excited about the upcoming season. Check out the Rush as they begin Training Camp at the LRC on Dec. 5!
One more little tidbit of info to share with you is the MNP Riggers Food Drive. The team will be accepting non-parishable food items and cash for the Leduc & District Food Bank as well as items for Santa's Helpers at the Nov. 25, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 home games. MNP Riggers fans are encouraged to bring their donations for the Food Bank and Santa's Helpers organizations as we enter the Christmas Season and consider helping those less fortunate than us!
Until next time.....
Nadine
Friday, October 30, 2009
Excitement at the Oilers Game
When blogging, I usually try and keep things related to work, like an exciting MNP Riggers game or a cool experience with the Edmonton Oil Kings, but this week I want to talk about last night's Oilers game!
October is usually set aside for the NHL's campaign to fight cancer, so last night the Oilers ladies were on hand to sell Retro Oilers Scarfs in support of cancer research. Excitedly, yes--I'm geek, I entered Rexall with money in hand to buy not one, but three scarfs with the hopes of getting a "cool" autographed Oilers card. I wasn't disappointed as I got an autographed Laddy Smid and an Andrew Cogliano with two of three scarfs. The third card is yet to be revealed as it belongs to my friend Ken who couldn't be at last night's game and it is only fair to let him discover who's card he got!
Oiler fans were excited with the boys performance in the first period as the Oilers took a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission and eventually taking a 5-1 lead over Detroit. Not a team to be taken lightly, it was far from boring as Detroit came back to eventually tie the game at 5 forcing overtime before losing to Edmonton in the shoot-out. As if that wasn't enough excitement for Oilers fans, there was more action off the ice that caught at least my section's attention. Sitting next to me was a guy raised in England, but now living in Edmonton who is a passionate Oilers fan. Sitting behind him was an almost equally passionate Red Wings fan. He cheered, chirped, and well, let's be honest, he was down right obnoxious as he chanted "Oilers Suck!" which was a little more than my "neighbor" could handle as he stood up and took a swing at the obnoxious Red Wings fan.
The altercation lasted only a couple of moments, but seemed to last far longer than that as it seemed forever before anyone came to break it up. The ushers eventually had security escort the passionate Oiler fan out of the building, but by that time, things had settled down. Apparently, according to his friend, in England violence in the stands at sporting events is normal and expected if opposing fans get under your skin to the point at times of serious injury. And that's just the fans! It just goes to show you never know what's going to happen at a hockey game. After the the Three Stars were announced and the Oilers saluted their fans from centre ice, people stoped to ask us what happened as they exited the building. Wow, it was definately a wild ride at the Oilers game!
In work related "news" the Leduc MNP Riggers will host the Beaumont Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at 4:00, come check out this battle of Leduc County!
Until next time.....
October is usually set aside for the NHL's campaign to fight cancer, so last night the Oilers ladies were on hand to sell Retro Oilers Scarfs in support of cancer research. Excitedly, yes--I'm geek, I entered Rexall with money in hand to buy not one, but three scarfs with the hopes of getting a "cool" autographed Oilers card. I wasn't disappointed as I got an autographed Laddy Smid and an Andrew Cogliano with two of three scarfs. The third card is yet to be revealed as it belongs to my friend Ken who couldn't be at last night's game and it is only fair to let him discover who's card he got!
Oiler fans were excited with the boys performance in the first period as the Oilers took a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission and eventually taking a 5-1 lead over Detroit. Not a team to be taken lightly, it was far from boring as Detroit came back to eventually tie the game at 5 forcing overtime before losing to Edmonton in the shoot-out. As if that wasn't enough excitement for Oilers fans, there was more action off the ice that caught at least my section's attention. Sitting next to me was a guy raised in England, but now living in Edmonton who is a passionate Oilers fan. Sitting behind him was an almost equally passionate Red Wings fan. He cheered, chirped, and well, let's be honest, he was down right obnoxious as he chanted "Oilers Suck!" which was a little more than my "neighbor" could handle as he stood up and took a swing at the obnoxious Red Wings fan.
The altercation lasted only a couple of moments, but seemed to last far longer than that as it seemed forever before anyone came to break it up. The ushers eventually had security escort the passionate Oiler fan out of the building, but by that time, things had settled down. Apparently, according to his friend, in England violence in the stands at sporting events is normal and expected if opposing fans get under your skin to the point at times of serious injury. And that's just the fans! It just goes to show you never know what's going to happen at a hockey game. After the the Three Stars were announced and the Oilers saluted their fans from centre ice, people stoped to ask us what happened as they exited the building. Wow, it was definately a wild ride at the Oilers game!
In work related "news" the Leduc MNP Riggers will host the Beaumont Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at 4:00, come check out this battle of Leduc County!
Until next time.....
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Oil Kings win in shoot-out
Tonight the Oil Kings host the Swift Current Broncos in the second of four meetings for the two teams this season. In an intense, physical battle both teams played well with the the best player on the ice coming through for the home team. Despite the game being tied at two after regulation, the Oil Kings back-up netminder was up to the task making 43 saves on the night forcing extra time.
Overtime solved nothing as the two teams went to a shoot-out. The Oil Kings' best player on the ice came through and held on as Edmonton Oil Kings' Cam Lanigan stoned the Swift Current Broncos Justin Dowling to hold on for the 3-2 victory. Lanigan's 43 saves in the first 65 minutes and two in the shootout recorded his third win in as many starts. After the game Lanigan said "We've got a good thing going here, I've got confidence in the team and they have trust in me now. I'm not looking too far down the road but it is definitely easier to play with confidence."
The Pipestone Flyer was asked to select the Three Stars of the game. Cam Lanigan was the FIRST STAR with 40+ saves and shoot-out win. Oil Kings forward Brett Breitkreuz was a force to be reckoned with all night with a couple of scoring opportunities, hitting anything that moved and a couple of fights to defend his teammates being named the SECOND STAR. The THIRD STAR of the night was awarded to Justin Dowling of Swift Current. He set up teammate, Mike Brown to put the Broncos on the scoreboard and would have had a couple of his own goals if it wasn't for the excellent play of Lanigan. He was an offensive threat all night long.
It was definately an experience to be asked to pick the stars of the night, making me pay a little closer attention to who stuck out playing well. Good practice as I'll be picking the Player of the Game at the Riggers game tomorrow afternoon in Leduc.
Overtime solved nothing as the two teams went to a shoot-out. The Oil Kings' best player on the ice came through and held on as Edmonton Oil Kings' Cam Lanigan stoned the Swift Current Broncos Justin Dowling to hold on for the 3-2 victory. Lanigan's 43 saves in the first 65 minutes and two in the shootout recorded his third win in as many starts. After the game Lanigan said "We've got a good thing going here, I've got confidence in the team and they have trust in me now. I'm not looking too far down the road but it is definitely easier to play with confidence."
The Pipestone Flyer was asked to select the Three Stars of the game. Cam Lanigan was the FIRST STAR with 40+ saves and shoot-out win. Oil Kings forward Brett Breitkreuz was a force to be reckoned with all night with a couple of scoring opportunities, hitting anything that moved and a couple of fights to defend his teammates being named the SECOND STAR. The THIRD STAR of the night was awarded to Justin Dowling of Swift Current. He set up teammate, Mike Brown to put the Broncos on the scoreboard and would have had a couple of his own goals if it wasn't for the excellent play of Lanigan. He was an offensive threat all night long.
It was definately an experience to be asked to pick the stars of the night, making me pay a little closer attention to who stuck out playing well. Good practice as I'll be picking the Player of the Game at the Riggers game tomorrow afternoon in Leduc.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Riggers first home game
The Riggers began their season with a convincing win at home against rivals the Wetaskiwin Icemen. The game was filled with action from start to finish, including lots of goals for the home team (8 in total) and a few fights. It was Junior B action at it's best. For those of you who did not know, I've been known to sit in on a few Riggers executive meetings and was asked to sit in the visitors penalty box for the second half of the game. It was actually fun seeing a few repeat visitors to the box. All things considered, they were a great group of guys. We chatted about the Riggers/Icemen game and even talked a little Oilers hockey as well. Go Figure! LOL! Anyway it was good to be back at the rink watching the Riggers in action. Thier next home game is Friday night at 8:30 as they host the Edmonton Royals. Come on out and check it out!
Until next time....
Until next time....
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Rigger set to begin their season
Hey Riggers Fans,
The Home Opener for the 2009/2010 will be at the Sobey's Arena at the Leduc Recreation Centre on Friday, Sept. 18. Come out to enjoy a BBQ and check out this year's team. This game will be against league rivals, the Wetaskiwin Icemen, which is always a good match up. This game is sponsored by Leduc Co-op.
Game admission is only $5 per person, so bring all your family and friends. Watch for our new website which will be up running soon. Special features will include a lot of fun quizes and comments from the players! I'll keep you posted when it's up and running!
Until then, GO RIGGERS GO!
The Home Opener for the 2009/2010 will be at the Sobey's Arena at the Leduc Recreation Centre on Friday, Sept. 18. Come out to enjoy a BBQ and check out this year's team. This game will be against league rivals, the Wetaskiwin Icemen, which is always a good match up. This game is sponsored by Leduc Co-op.
Game admission is only $5 per person, so bring all your family and friends. Watch for our new website which will be up running soon. Special features will include a lot of fun quizes and comments from the players! I'll keep you posted when it's up and running!
Until then, GO RIGGERS GO!
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