Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueSo draft night was slated to take place at Eastside Mario's in Bayers Lake. We had a reservation for 6:30 in the Celaro Brothers Room, as we did last year.
So we get there and they say, Oh we have a party going on right now. They won't be done at 7:00, which is when we have you coming in, so we will give you a table then. 10 guys around a table in the middle of the busy restaurant...
So, we had to go someone place else.
So, DON'T TAKE YOUR FAMILY TO Eastside Mario's FOLKS!!! We have 72 players in the league and they have family and friends i am sure. I want them to know that we made the reservation and they admitted that this was their problem. They didn't seem to care about our needs and made no offers to fix or address things. Pretty poor.
So we went off to the Second Cup and had the place to ourselves for the night of excitement.
After the confusion subsided, the captains went to work choosing their teams.
First up was Dave Cooper and the Hackers. The number 1 pick for this season was Adam "The Wizard" Schellenberg. Adam was a rookie last season but he won the scoring race quite easily. he would have looked good on any team in the league.
Next up was Johann Tienhaara and the Slayers. Johann too Corey "The Story" McGuigan. Coery could have been the first pick as well. He is one of the best players in the league and it came as no surprise that he went second.
Third pick went to Rob Tyrrell and the Fire. To everyone's surprise, he chose Marty "the party" Kane. This is the first time that Tyrrell and Kane have played together in the league. Kane was surprised to learn of his fate. We asked Kane what he thought about the choice. "yea, I was a bit surprised. The Rhino and I haven't had a "warm fuzzy kind of feeling" relationship in the league, so I was shocked to say the least, but I am looking forward at fostering that relationship into a championship. I just hope he has deep pockets, because I expect to be remunerated in donairs this season."
Fourth pick went to the Chill and Keven Pittman took longtime veteran Matt "The Hat" Clarke. Clarkey as some of his fans call him, is a pretty solid two way player. No slouch at all and he is worthy of a first round ranking.
Next up were the Bulldogs. Adam Secord broke his usual "I'm picking my buddies first" tactics and decided he was going for a winning team as well as a fun team. Secord chose Mark "The Spark" McGuigan. Mark is a run and gun guy who has great passing skills and is deadly around the net. He is a great first rounder.
In 6th spot were the Sabres. Rob Pittman chose Trevor "the Ghost" McGuigan. Trevor earned his nick name in the finales last season when he would appear out of no where to score goals. he single handedly gave the Titans the win last season and it was great to see him rewarded for his efforts.
The 7th pick went to the new captain of the Titans, Nick "Oscar" Meyers. Known as "the hotdog" by his team mates, Nick chose Alex "The Rock" Gale, named after his homeland of Newfoundland. Alex is a power forward if ever there was one. He is in his third season in the league and already has a championship ring...well, we don't give out rings...but you know what i mean.
Rounding out the first round were the Lynx and Matt "The Bulletproof" Monk took Chris "ThGuy Who I Can Never Think Of a Good Nick Name" McKinnon. Chris, or the creep as the rest of the keepers in the league call him, is a top goalie in the HFHL. he has reminded everyone on numerous occasions that he hold the career best GA in the league. We asked Chris what he thought of being chosen in the first round for the first time in his career. "You know I have the best GA in the league eh?" Oh brother... :-)
So that was the start...but you ain't heard nothing yet.
After all the teams had been chosen, something that has happened just a few times took place. The flood gates opened and the trades started coming. GM after Gm on the phone wheeling and dealing trying to sure up their teams.
A total of 16 players changed hands. This is unheard of. We could hardly keep teach of the moves.
In the end, or if it has in fact ended, things settled long enough for the guys to contact their teams and let them know the good, bad and the ugly...and man, there was some of both going on.
So we will not go into details on the rest of the draft, but we will say that if you think you were the last guy picked, you're wrong...I was! Ha!
The regular season starts tomorrow night and the quest for the coveted HFHL Cup will begin. We want to welcome the new and old alike, and we are talking about age as well.
A couple of reminders. No composite sticks. No wooden sticks. Sticks must either be ABS or have the plastic strip in the bottom. This is the law as dictated by the gym.
The league wants to remind everyone that violence is not acceptable or tolerated. We expect people play hard and have fun, but no stupid stuff guys. We have and a great league and we will keep it that way.
three penalties and you are out. If you fight...you are done here. Your captains will remind you of some of the odd rules like our coveted yet feared "Windmill" rule.
So, good luck and stay cool!
This is Billy Concarney saying so long and remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...except bears and cougars...they will kill you..
be well folks!