Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: Mike Babcock Scared, Brian Burke, and NHL Expansion

As of 5:00 PM on Sunday afternoon you would think the Dallas Stars took the weekend off to relax before getting their minds right for the long upcoming season ahead. You can’t really blame them, but it makes the process of compiling links together for an even moderately interesting post challenging. Thanks guys.

The Dallas Stars have begun shipping season tickets to season ticket holders at some point in the recent past. Reddit’s r/DallasStars has an imgur link with pictures of what the package looks like this year.

Several other images are included in that link. Give it a click.

****

I love Mike DadBabClock. I realize I probably shouldn’t, but when you listen to him talk it’s difficult not to respect him. He told the Toronto Sun that coaching the Maple Leafs “scares the crap out of you, to be honest with you. And so, that gets you on your toes and gets you dialed in.”

That should make Maple Leaf fans feel confident about the upcoming season.

Fortunately for them he’s a better coach than a hype man. The article goes on and he spells out how he views the team looking:

“We want to be a team that comes to training camp well-prepared,” he said. “We want to establish a structure and a strong work ethic. We’re going to build that through the exhibition schedule. We want to be a team that gets better every day. That’s my expectation. Are there going to be ups and downs? There always are. But to me, we are going to be very process-oriented and try to get better.

“As far as how we handle ourselves off the ice, it’s going to be about how we handle ourselves period. And to that end, we’re going to be pros.

“What does a pro do? I think a lot of people on the outside think a pro is someone who gets a salary, gets paid. To me, that has nothing to do with it. To me, a pro is someone who lives it. You sleep it. You eat it. You train it. You lift it. You practise it. To me, when you do that, you don’t get in your own way and you give yourself the best chance to be the best you can be.

A lot of that is coach speak. but it’s directed coach speak. It’s clear, concise, and to the point. Babcock goes on to state just how important that is:

“I’m a big believer in no tip-toeing. It doesn’t matter what position you have in the company, you don’t tip-toe around people. You tell him the truth each and every day. It’s been great with Lou and Shanny. We’ve had a lot of great discussions. And, for that matter, Kyle Dubas, Mark Hunter, Brandon Pridham. They’re all excellent people.

For all his hockey knowledge, the ability to communicate that knowledge honestly is what makes him great. The Leafs are lucky to have him, and all it cost them was Monopoly money that doesn’t even count against the cap.

***

Would you like to own the Pittsburgh Penguins? A group of Philadelphia Flyers fans would. They’ve set up a GoFundMe campaign to make it happen. They’re inching closer to their goal….inching…slowly…

Good luck guys. Fortunately, whatever money they raise that doesn’t go to buying the Penguins (lol) will be used for charity:

You can find us at http:// www.orangeandblackpack.com or on Facebook and Twitter. In the very likely event we do not raise the money required to purchase the Penguins franchise, 100% of the money we have raised will be donated to Flyers Wives charities. Information on who Flyers Wives charities supports can be found here: http://flyers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=105354

****

Brian Burke was the marshal of Sunday’s Gay Pride Parade in Calgary. He was interviewed before the event and shared some interesting insights into sexuality in the NHL. Among the thoughts were thoughts about what kind of difference the You Can Play project has made:

The You Can Play project co-started with your son Patrick, is it making a difference?

Basically, You Can Play says, ‘If you’re good enough to play, you can play on my team.’

It’s a powerful message and I know it has saved lives. I know for a fact it has empowered kids to tell their parents they’re gay because I get mail from these kids.

I got a wonderful letter from a dad in Ontario who said he was driving his son back to university and the son said, ‘Pull over at this liquor store’ – which the dad thought was odd because his son didn’t drink. He pulled over and the son said, ‘Dad, I’m gay.’ And the dad said, ‘I didn’t know what to say. But if [being supportive] was good enough for Brian Burke, it is good enough for me.’

****

The NHL Expansion process is now past arbitrary phase III, What does that mean? I don’t know, but both Quebec City and Las Vegas have passed on through. Expansion still isn’t guaranteed (lol), but both cities appear to be making an impression.. Seattle made some arena news too.

****

And finally, this week we will announce the winner of the ticket giveaway, plan for shirt number two, and tingle with anticipation as training camp is within sight.

Happy Labor Day.

Talking Points