A whole new kind of game

For all the hype that's going into tonight's all-star game, someone sure better deliver. I dropped by the BEC for morning skate today, and even members of the grounds crew were grumbling amongst each other, saying things like "so they're really playing against the all-stars?" and "is that even fair?" (I sure hope the latter was referring to the Eagles, not the all-stars).

From all of the interviews I've heard and the couple of folks I've talked to, it sounds like no one really knows what to expect when the puck drops tonight. Is it going to be a typical all-star game until someone throws the first check? Is it going to be rough-and-tumble right off the bat? Surely there are too many skill guys out there to play an overly physical game -- right?

One thing I do have to say is that my hat's off to the Eagles organization for the time and effort they have put into this couple of days. The Fort Collins Marriott was definitely buzzing during the banquet last night, and the BEC looks pretty amazing. I really hope that anyone who watches the game has a chance to see the video introduction that they put together, as well.

And then there are the uniforms. The duds for both teams look really sharp, the CHL side especially. The Eagles also managed to equip players with full all-star gear too, including color-matched gloves and helmets (see photo). About my only real issue is with the logo -- I think they could've done a lot more with it, or at minimum made it just a tad bit smaller. Still, I don't remember the all-star jerseys every looking as good as they do.

Unfortunately for me, the batteries in my recorder died before I could find Aaron MacInnis at the banquet. What I did manage to get, however, was a fun little interview with Phil Pritchard, the keeper of the Stanley Cup, who is busy making visits to each of pro hockey's all-star festivites. Pritchard, who has been travelling with the cup for 21 years now, had this to say:

Q: You said you've been doing this for 21 years now. How did you come into this job in the first place?

A: Well my wife always says that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time -- but for a hockey fan, which I am and always have been, I was at the right spot at the right time. I took a sports administration course at school and interned and volunteered and in 1988, there I was taking the Cup out for the very first time to a minor hockey event in New Market, Ontario.

Q: What are some of your favorite or most memorable experiences with the Cup?

A: Well every year during the Stanley Cup finals when you present it on the ice is phenomenal. It's pandemonium, it's wild, it's crazy, it's an experience of a lifetime. But when you get the opportunities to travel with the guys, to take it home to their mom and dad, whether it's in Northern Canada or Massachusetts or Siberia like we did last year with Pavel Datsyuk, or the Czech Republic with Hasek -- Teemu Selanne had a sauna party in Helsinki. It's all neat but it means so much to the guys because they're worked their lives towards winning it. For me to be a part of that is pretty special, so every one of them is pretty special in a way.

Q: How many days out of the year do you spend travelling with the Cup?

A: I'm probably on the road 150-plus days, or something like that

Q: What does your wife think of that?

A: (laughs) Well she knows that I'm a hockey fan. It's a neat thing -- we've got three kids and they're at the age now where they think it's pretty cool what their dad does so that's a good thing for any parent. I have my sons playing hockey so hockey's part of our family now, so it's a part of our life at work, play and rest. I just have to convert her into a hockey fan and bring her out to some of these places

Q: Do you think you might have a family legacy? Maybe have one of your kids taking care of the Cup?

A: That'd be neat, but it would be even better if I could present it to my son one day. You know, every dad probably says that, so I'm just happy that my life's spent loving the game.