CFN

He has now been chosen to run the team as Owner Geoff Molson pulled the trigger and decided to hire Mr. Bergevin over leading candidate Pierre McGuire.

It’s an interesting pic.   Mr. Bergevin is being labelled a really nice guy.  He’s never been a GM coming  over from Chicago where he had just become Assistant GM under the Bowman’s.

Listening to Tony Marinaro (one of the best broadcasters in Canada at this time in either English, French, or Italian) talk about the decision I have a hunch that he isn’t excited about the choice and frankly neither am I.

I’m not upset.  It’s not a mistake.  It’s safe.  The team needs to make some transitional moves and most likely Mr. Bergevin is the best choice for right now and the choice that will work well under the guidance of Serge Savard.

Big topics this morning is Scott Gomez who if the team is patient will be tradable to a team needed to reach the Salary cap floor or can be sent to Europe and have his cap hit buried.  No need to do a buy out and penalize the team unless the new agreement has a clause that allows to dump contracts.

But there are far larger question marks on this team as there is no real core design and of course the choice of head coach should dictate the new direction of the team.

Montreal has some great assets; not too many great contracts and cap issues should always be a concern.   They also have the number 3 draft pick which should have an immediate impact.

There’s no reason to go into rebuild mode.   The Habs need to do into design mode and carve the roster to the goals of the new GM and new coach.

It should be a very interesting off season for Canadiens fans.

You can post your comments below.

CFN

Sid’s gotta learn the rules of fighting though if he’s going to take shots at players.  It’s also hugely not fair for him to even try to fight at this point because any player that gives him the beating that he occasionally deserves would be blamed for possibly concussing him out of the NHL.    Chris Letang’s fight was wild and the boy can fight!

Vancouver had their last Sedin knocked down in a clean hit from Kings Captain Dustin Brown that led to Alex Burrows instigating a fight against Anze Kopitar.   Again, not much of a fight; more of self defense for Kopitar.   The Kings took a 3-0 series lead as Jonathan Quick kicked out 41 shots to record a shut out.

Dustin Brown scored his fourth of the play offs.   Roberto Luongo was not in net.  It’d be hard to see him back in Vancouver next year, even with his contract if the Nucks are swept in 4 which is what most likely will happen.

Nashville took a 2-1 series lead after beating the Wings 3-2.  Weber, Klein, and former Hab Sergei Kostitsyn notched the goals for the Preds who are looking like a mighty strong team especially with Pekka Rinne showing why he got the big contract.

Florida evened their series with a 4-2 win over New Jersey.   It was a tame match compared to the others with Stephen Weiss scoring two for the Panthers.

Philadelphia humiliated the Penguins as they take a 3-0 series lead beating the Penguins 8-4 in a penalty filled match.  Claude Giroux really has raised his stock, not only fighting Crosby and earning a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, but lighting up the scoreboard during this series.

Jaromir Jagr quietly picked up 3 assists in the game; Briere, Talbot and Read each scored two goal and Ilya Bryzgalov, while giving up four goals, shut the door down after the first period.

Next up, the Rangers in Ottawa, Boston at Washington, and the Blues at San Jose.

What do you think Hockey Fans?  Are you enjoying the scrapping in round one of the play offs?

CFN

The manner in which Carkner displayed that sent a loud message.   Moments later is was game winning goal scorer Chris Neil’s turn, and this time Brian Boyle actually dropped the gloves and tangled with Neil who was one assist away from a Gordie Howe Hat Trick!

The Rangers kept targeting the Sens star players though with Captain Daniel Alfredsson going down after a brutal head shot.

The series is tied at one now and heading to Ottawa.

Washington defeated Boston in double overtime, but with only one assist between Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin there have to be grave concerns in Cap land.   Boston out shot Washington 44-39 before losing 2-1.

Patrick Sharp scored with 6 seconds left in the game to tie things up before Chicago evened their series with Phoenix with a 4-3 OT win.   They out shot the Yotes 50-33.   Antoine Vermette scored twice for Phoenix who nearly jumped to a 2-0 series lead.

Jaroslav Halak had to leave the game with an injury, but Brian Elliot, already injury bitten himself not only finished the game, but finished the Shut out as the Blues beat the Sharks 3-0 to even their series.

What do you think Hockey Fans?  How long does Carkner get and are you happy with the Play Offs so far?  You can post your comment below.

CFN

Brayden Schenn had a strong night going +2 and leading the Flyers with 3 points with a goal and two assists.  Jaromir Jagr had an assist for Philly with his 15 minutes on the ice.  Sniper James Neal recorded six shots on net with zero points.  Jakub Voracek scored the winner in OT.  After a shaky start Ilya Bryzgalov shut the door on the Penguins not giving up a goal after the first period.

LA also neutralized Home Ice advantage stunning the Canucks with a 4-2 victory while out shooting them 39-26 in Vancouver.   The Nucks were playing with only one Sedin.   Roberto Luongo started in net for Vancouver, but it was LA leading the way in all three periods with bad boys Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and even Dustin Penner, who scored the winner, notching points.

Two 3rd period goals sealed the deal.

Nashville defeated Detroit to start their series.  Gabriel Bourque and Paul Gaustad were the goal scorers as Nashville held off the Wings who out shot the Preds 37-26 but couldn’t figure out how to get by Pekka Rinne enough times to be victorious.   Former Hab Frankie Bouillon notched an assist and was plus 2 for the night.   Hal Gill was scratched because of injury.

The action continues tonight with 4 more series starting!

CFN

As a life long Habs fan it’s anti-climactic with the team off to play golf.

I’m rooting for Ottawa, but like their start to this year’s season, I don’t think there are many high expectations of the team in the play offs.

Fail for Nail Lottery Chances

1) Columbus 48% chance of the number one pick.

2) Edmonton 18.8%

3) Montreal 14%

4) NY Islanders 10%

5) Toronto 8%

Teams can move up to a max of five slots and drop a max of one.    So Hab fans can hope for number one, but the worst they’ll can get is 4th.

If they don’t get a chance at one of the two big Russians Tomas Hertl would be a great wing to compliment Tomas Plekanec and of course PK Subban’s little bro Malcolm is the top ranked goalie…

Play Off Picks!

Here are my fearless predictions for the 1st Round of the Play Offs.

NY Rangers hosting Ottawa Senators:    The Sens really surprised hockey fans this year.  Just about everything worked for the Sens whose gritty style allowed skilled players Spezza and Karlsson to blossom.   The Rangers though are the real deal.   Though Ottawa preferred a match up with the Rangers than Bruins I’m picking the Rangers in Six.

Vancouver vs LA:    Everything says Vancouver except that feeling in my gut.  LA has all the tools, but it’s a question of heart and head?  Can the two former Flyers get their act together and show they it was a mistake for Philly to dump them?    This series has the promise of one of the better ones to watch or be a total dud.   Vancouver is not bullet proof especially if Luongo isn’t on his game.  Either Nucks in 5 or Kings in 7.

Boston vs Washington:   Alex Ovechkin has a ton to proove.  Anything short of a show stopping performance in this round and his captaincy should end as his performance since the C was put on his jersey has not been Ovechkin like.  Likewise Mr. Semin.     The odds are against Washington as Boston is a strong deep team.   Tomas Vokoun is playing for a contract though…..   Bruins in 5.

St.Louis vs San Jose:  Joe Thornton…play offs….  Halak….. Blues in 6

Florida vs New Jersey:  Dale Tallon deserves a lot of credit for rebuilding the Panthers and getting them to the Play Offs.  New Jersey as a lot of talented Veterans who haven’t been there in awhile and this may be Marty Brodeur’s last kick at the can.   Joisy in 5

Phoenix vs Chicago:  This is the best possible match up for Chicago.  Phoenix can always surprise, but I’d hate to be a Hawk if they lost to the Nordiques Yotes.  Chicago in 6

Penguins vs Flyers:  Wow this series is going to have it all.   Officiating I think will make or break it and Sidney Crosby can’t expect any free passes.   The Pronger-less Flyers still are a good team and Ilya Bryzgalov has a lot to prove.   Pittsburgh in 7

Nashville vs Detroit:  As much as I love Niklas Lidstrom still playing at his age I think Nashville is going to surprise the wings.  Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn were great offensive pick ups and Hal Gill in the Play Offs certainly won’t hurt either.   This is all or nothing for Nashville.   Preds in 6.

So hockey fans, what are your fearless predictions.   Post yours below!

CFN

Not a typical Leaf season, but one that some think the GM cannot afford and might cost him his job.  Not only that the Leafs aren’t really clear as to whether they are rebuilding or just being the Leafs.    This season will not result in a top draft picks like Montreal who essentially have done the Fail for Nail move quite effectively and who have a core of strong young talent for their next GM to work with.

If success is in the details then Mr. Burke simply missed the boat this season.    His salary heavy team has some issues, but I think it is better, and at a cross roads.

Here is your Maple Leaf Report Card

GM:  Brian Burke (C+) Sometimes the best moves we make are the ones we don’t…   The Connolly move didn’t quite pay off, and asset management wasn’t quite strong this year.   Next year will be a huge challenge for the Leafs as most of their forwards are going UFA at the end of the 2012/13 season.    The team is full of play off contending players, but not Cup contending ones.  That’s a challenge.

Coach:  Randy Carlyle  (NA)   I don’t think it’d be fair to judge Mr. Carlyle for this past season.  He went from one mess in Anaheim to another in Toronto.   Next year is his acid test as the Leafs are good enough to be play off contenders.

Centre -   Toronto is actually very deep up the middle.

Mikhail Grabvoski (B+) The former Hab has matured into a solid 2nd line centre.   Toronto rewarded him with a $5.5 5 year contract which seems a bit much, but the risk was losing him and Grabvoski has been steady for Toronto.

Tyler Bozak  (B) Had his best NHL season after Tim Connolly started the season injured giving Bozak time on the first line.   Made the most of it with nearly 50 points put up and some grit.   Next year is the last at $1.5M so Mr. Bozak will be playing for his next contract.

Tim Connolly (C)  The softish centre’s points total will have slid for the 3rd year in a row.  Not quite what you want on the third line.  it should be interesting to see if Mr. Burke can trade him out in the off season or feels he’s still the number one line’s solution.

Joe Colborne has a really attractive upside.  Size, grit, and can put up some points.  Next year is showtime for Big Joe.   It’s his job to lose at this point.    Dave Steckel was a great pick up as he did the Face Off specialist job and added in some points.

Wingers

Phil Kessel (B+)  Phil did what he’s paid to do; light up the score sheet and having his most productive season.    The closer to play off contention though the season came to the quieter that he became.   With what the franchise gave up for him he has to take his game up another notch come end of the year.

Joffrey Lupal (A-)  Nobody really expected a season like this from Lupal.   A point a game pace with 100+ hits tossed in make for a great season for the oft injured winger.  Next year is contract year for him too.

Clarke MacArthur (C) What was most disturbing about Clarke’s season wasn’t so much the production, but he stopped hitting seeing his total halved.   Another contract to play for next year for him as well.

Nikolai Kulemin  (D)   The season was  total reversal for Kulemin who just never got his scoring going.

Nazim Kadri, Joey Crabb, Matt Fratin all have some value, but are questionable at this point as top six wingers.

Defense

What should be the strength of the Leafs sorta misfired this season and didn’t help concussed James Reimer or any of those filling in for him.

Dion Phaneuf: (B+)  A great season by Phaneuf who put it all together this season.  Production, grit, and health.   The question is if he’s matured and can build on in it in the future?

Jean Michael Liles:   (B-)  One of the weirder moves by Burke was signing Liles to a new long term contract?  Not the most productive or Defensemen or toughest.

Mike Komisarek: (D)   Another half season of mediocrity for the former Hab and his untradable contract.

Luke Schenn:  (B+) I can’t believe there were trade rumors about this Baby Pronger prototype.  250+ hits and has rung up over 20 points in a season at the age of 22.  Definitely a keeper!

Jake Gardiner: (B)  The lithe Gardiner put up 30 points with about 20 minutes per night of play.   Has some upside yet.

Cody Franson: (B)   not sure what the media have against this guy.   He puts up solid numbers.   Somewhere between a 2nd or 3rd pairing D man.

Carl Gunnarson: (C)  The Big Swede didn’t really progress this season; but then there is a big log jam for good quality minutes in Toronto.   He needs to up his game and get to the next level of play.

Goalie

James Reimer: (C-)  The Leafs were relying on Reimer to build on his amazing rookie season, but a concussion and porous Defense led to him having worse numbers than Jonas Gustavsson(C)  who actually played more minutes than Reimer.

Mr. Burke has his work cut out for him.   The status quo doesn’t project out to a visit to the Play Offs for next year.   He does have a lot of parts to play with though so it should not be a boring summer for the Leaf Nation.

What do you think Toronto fans?  You can post your comments below.

CFN

I think it comes down to asset management.  Letting all those UFAs walk a few years ago with almost no return tilted the momentum of the club.   Trading for Scott Gomez didn’t look like a great trade when it went down; but who thought Gomez would be such a wash out?

That trade help attract free agents like Mike Cammaleri and Brian Gionta which led to the Habs closest run to the play offs.

But that play off run may have done more damage than good.   At the end of the day we remember winners, not near winners and some of those 2nd round picks dealt for band aids like Domenic Moore could’ve turned into more PK Subbans.

The future however does look better for the Habs right now than it does for Messers Gainey and Gauthier.

It wasn’t Rejean Houle time in la belle province.    There are some core assets and truly the biggest crime other than bad horse trading was overpaying for talent; but going back to when Mr. Gainey took over what agent wanted a player to go to Montreal?   It should be interesting to see how the marketplace plays out which of course will depend on who Geoff Molson choses to helm this legendary franchise?

Linguistics aren’t an issue as there are two hot players in that hunt.   The dreamers or the sexy choice is power agent Pat Brisson.   Mr. Brisson, a Valleyfield boy knows the ins and outs of contracts as he notched some of the biggest in the game with clients like Sydney Crosby.   Mike Gillis in Vancouver has shown that being an agent and turning GM isn’t the worst formula for success as he’s done a masterful job of manning the Canucks.

I actually would find this an interesting move, but am curious if Mr. Brisson has the stones to deal with all that comes with Montreal.   If he did make the jump and put the Habs back cuddling with Lord Stanley’s Cup he’d own the city and all that comes with creating a cup winner in Montreal.

The dark horse and seemingly least spoken of is Pierre McGuire.    There’s not much that can be said against that choice and Montreal certainly could do worse.      After that come a lot of question marks and cliffs to fall off of.

Report Cards

Owner: Geoff Molson   C      I know.   Not a good grade, but the farce that was allowed to happen this season just should not have occurred.      Cammy, anyone named Andrei,  communications with the media (or non as Montreal management has not responded to our media requests)  The grade would be lower except I really like the fact that the chop to Gauthier included Mr. Gainey and bringing in Serge Savard was just a plain smart hockey move.

GM:   PG –   E  -     There’s just no justification for this season’s decisions.    Ok, it should maybe be a D, but geez this guy just bugged me!

Coach:   Martin/Cunneyworth   C  -   I was never huge on Jacques Martin, but I can’t blame him for trying to run a system with players that don’t fit his system.    While criticized for his early handling of newcomer Erik Cole, I think this is precisely what led to Mr. Cole having such a good season.   Randy deserves something for trying to do the best with the circus he was dropped into.

Centre

Tomas Plekanec :   (B)   –   An extremely valuable centre trapped without wingers.   Whether because of injury, frustration, or just plain goofiness Tomas has cranked out his 20 minutes per night.   He’d probably have 20 more points right now if he’d have had the same support as David Desharnais.

David Desharnais:  (B+)  -   Mr Desharnais got his shot and showed he’s an NHL’er, perhaps even a very good one.    He’s the glue between  two power forwards and made the most of his opportunities.  He’s also a bargain for Montreal playing for $850K next season.

Scott Gomez:  (E) –  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a star player plunge in value like Mr. Gomez?   He gets point for showing some grace under disaster.   He will be traded over the summer to a team needing to make the cap floor as his high cap with low salary will be attractive to a team needing to pad their cap.   I still think he’s a good player, but not in Montreal.

Lars Eller: (C+) – The Great Dane is turning into an almost valuable 3rd line Centre.    The problem is that Montreal had to rely on him for more than that.   I’m not sure he’s a great bang for the buck.  He doesn’t hurt you, but not sure he’ll win you a cup either.

Louis Leblanc: (C)  -   Montreal is really rooting for the young Quebecer, but he doesn’t project much more than a possible improvement over Eller right now.

Wingers

Max Pacioretty:   (A)   –  I don’t think anyone really expected a 30 goal season of this nature from Max after his injury last year.  Some were worried his effective career would be over,  but Mighty Max showed his pedigree.

Erik Cole:  (A) – I’m not sure people expected a season like this from Erik either.   30+ goals, almost no injury time, and some much needed grit and juice.  His nearly 200 hits from a Montreal forward was a rare thing to enjoy as well.

Brian Gionta:  (D)   –  Injury and ineffectiveness led to Captain Gionta’s worst NHL season.   It will be interesting to see if the small 34 year old rebounds next year?

Rene Bourque:  (C-)  -   If his name was Michael Ryder I bet a lot of writers would be trashing Mr. Bourque whose time in Montreal did not endear him to fans.   With a fat $3M+ for 3 more years Montreal may be stuck with him.

Blake Geoffrion:    (NA)   Mr. Geoffrion may get a chance to show he is more than a publicity stunt pulled for the former Hab management next year.

Losing Cammy and Kostitsyn has really left Montreal’s forward corps and as you can see they are in need of a major upgrading.   There were even rumblings of Plekanec wanting out of Montreal.   A strong management statement by Mr. Molson and a couple of good wingers to play with should silence that.

Defense

What a mess!  Markov never got it going this year and frankly with his injury history and lack of play off success is not the key to the future.    Losing Roman Hamrlik really hurt the Habs this year and with the loss of Hal Gill it really is a sign that it will take more than one year to rebuild.

In the meanwhile you have:

Tomas Kaberle: (C)   Mr. Kaberle is what he is; a light weight D man that can get some points and play on the PP.  His contract isn’t great, but it’s not the end of the world for a 40 point D man that turns 35 next year.    40 point D men are not that available in the NHL.

If Markov is available next year that means two point getters.   Good thing the next two Defensemen have some grit!

PK Subban:  Some would suggest that Mr. Subban had some sort of sophmore jinx or that his play was worse in his second full stint in the NHL.   PK is an unusual talent and will one day be the full package if he doesn’t get injured.    Yes he’s yappy; and goofy, but he also brings speed to kill, some sandpaper, and has nearly scored 40 points each of his first two NHL seasons.   He also adds in 100+ hits per year.  Montreal had to give this young man a wagon load of minutes this year with Markov down and chaos ruling the day.

Alex Emelin:  (B)  Wow!   Boom Boom had quite the first NHL year.   200 plus hits and I think he could be a 30+ points D man.    The hope of course is that he’d pair with Markov, but that didn’t work out this year.   It might next year and one of the brightest spots of this season.

Josh Gorges: (B+)  The Heart and Soul of this team.  If Gionta is moved this off season Gorges most likely will be the next Montreal captain.   Coming back from surgery this year he’s played like an iron man while blocking a mass of shots and giving the Habs some stability on Defense.

Yannick Weber/Raphael Diaz:  (C)   The Swiss clones had almost identical seasons.   I think Weber has some upside to him, but didn’t get to prove that this season.   Not a lot of grit to either D man; not a lot of offense.

Jared Tinordi.  The future is getting closer.   Imagine a defense with Tinordi and Emelin?  Works for me!

Goalie

Montreal got its money worth again this season from number 31.   Now they have to figure out how much Carey wants to stay in Montreal.   If the price tag is too high then their best bet is the block buster trade route.

In today’s cap world if you’re going to spend much more than $5M per season on a goalie they better get you a cup and stand on their head doing it.

If Price hopes to net a $7M contract the slope gets mighty slippery especially if the deal is for much more than 3 years.

The new Habs GM will have a great draft pick to start his regime.  The bonus is that if Montreal doesn’t get one of the two stud Russians there is always Tomas Hertl who surely would make Plekanec one happy Hab!  There is also currently a bumper crop of Free Agents available at forward to fill in a spot or two for Montreal.

What do you think Hab Fans?  You can post your comments below.

CFN

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) is proud to announce that there are more Ontario-born players competing in the NHL, AHL, NCAA and CHL this season who played in the OMHA than any other minor hockey organization. Research was conducted by evaluating current rosters of teams in the NHL, AHL, NCAA and CHL and cross-referencing their birthplace with their minor hockey playing career. Some players shared their minor hockey careers between the OMHA and either ALLIANCE Hockey, Greater Toronto Hockey League and/or Ottawa District Hockey Association. Those players are noted in the research.

Anaheim Duck Corey Perry in younger days!

KEY RESULTS

NHL Players Summary - 203 total players

Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) 65 players (32%)

ALLIANCE Hockey (MHAO) 46 players (23%)

Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) 45 players (22%)

Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA) 26 players (13%)

Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) 11 players (5%)

Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) 10 players (5%)

95/203 (47%) – NHL Players played in at least one season in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association

 NHL Prospects Summary - 182 total players

Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) 74 players (41%)

Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) 48 players (26%)

ALLIANCE Hockey (MHAO) 36 players (20%)

Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA) 15 players (8%)

Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) 5 players (3%)

Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) 4 players (2%)

89/182 (48%) – NHL Prospect Players played in at least one season in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association

Click the link to see a list of current NHL Players from Ontario.

NHL_ONTARIO_PLAYERS_MARCH_2012

About the Ontario Minor Hockey Association

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association, founded in 1935, is the largest minor hockey association in the world and oversees a

participant base of 300,000 consisting of players, coaches, trainers, officials, hockey volunteers and parents across the

province. The OMHA has 246 active member minor hockey associations and annually coordinates 45 leagues and

approximately 600 development clinics throughout Ontario. For more information, visit www.omha.net.

CFN

The movie Goon, finishing first at the box office in Canada kinda shows where this nation’s hockey sense and feelings lie.

The Leafs have the most loyal fans in Hockeydom.  The Leaf nation stayed loyal during the dreadful Harold Ballard years, and now in the Burke era the results have been similar.

In Mr. Burke’s fourth season at the helm the team sniffed at the play off door only to skid out of contention.

The firing of Mr. Burke’s chosen coach, Ron Wilson, and hiring of his former coach in Anaheim, Randy Carlyle spurred on the right to the heart attack by Grapes, that the Leafs don’t have a single Ontario homey on the Major league roster in spite of so many NHL’ers being from the province.

Mr. Cherry pulled the Nationalism card; a powerful one when it comes to our Nation’s sport.   Hockey is one of the things that brings Canada together.   With the NHL being so American Centric it can touch nerves.    With the failure of several US franchises to gain the support and fervor apparent in Canadian markets is it a wonder why more people don’t voice out like Mr. Cherry?

Phoenix is still draining league coffers, and several other US franchises suffer while cities like Quebec wait for a team and Billionaires line up to put a second Toronto area team in place.

Why on earth would Mr. Burke ever try to get Don Cherry fired?  There are going to be a lot of guys choking back tears and pulling on a beer the day Don hangs up his suit and leaves Hockey Night in Canada.     We should be embracing and enjoying our institutions, and yes, Donald S Cherry is a Canadian institution instead of letting some American Hockey wannabee dictate to us how hockey should be run in its homeland.

Jamie Gilcig – Editor – The Cornwall Free News

CFN

The OMHA and Roberts launched the challenge at the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre at the Fitness Institute in North York, Ontario. The contest details are published in the March 2012 issue of Hometown Hockey Magazine, the OMHA’s membership magazine, which is arriving at members’ homes this week. Hometown Hockey goes out to 100,000 family households and is read by 340,000 players and families each issue. The magazine is also available online www.hometownhockey.com and the contest details online at www.hometownhockey.com/garyroberts.

OMHA players on participating teams will follow and track their healthy eating over a 10 week period starting on March 1st, earning points for their good eating and discipline. Players that earn a minimum of 500 points will have their names entered into a draw and there are three prizes: the grand prize winner will receive a prize for their entire team, including a day of education and training with the former NHLer at the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre at the Fitness Institute in North York, Ontario, and a nutrition seminar led by Roberts and Nature’s Emporium. Their day at the centre will also be the subject of a feature in Hometown Hockey Magazine, and they’ll walk away from the event wearing free OMHA gear.

Roberts, a graduate of the OMHA’s Whitby Wildcats, had a great NHL career that almost ended at the age of the 30 when he suffered a broken neck. He turned to exercise and diet to heal and surprised many with a comeback that saw him play another 12 years. He’s now an expert in the areas of sports training and nutrition. Now he advises some NHL current stars including OMHA graduate Steven Stamkos on nutrition so they optimize what their body can do on the ice.

“Players want to compete hard on the ice to chase that NHL dream,” Roberts said. “Healthy eating plays a huge role in building a body that can compete harder and faster. There are foods that will give a player a natural edge to do more, both on the ice and in life.”

To help players and their families put together a menu plan, Roberts and Hometown Hockey have published the Gary Roberts Grocery List and Recipe Book along with videos on preparing meals which can be found at www.hometownhockey.com/garyroberts.

“We are thrilled to have Gary’s commitment and expertise to help our players eat and be healthier,” said the OMHA President Joyce Junker. “The players who compete will develop healthier lifestyles, and that’s why we are running this competition. We want all of our players to be healthy, and to enjoy playing hockey the rest of their lives. We hope the lessons learned from this competition will benefit our players and families in the years ahead.”

This contest is only open to players from teams that are in the OMHA.

There are three team prizes in the contest.

Grand prize winner and his or her team receive:

• ·         An entire day at the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre, located within the Fitness Institute in North York Ont.
• ·         A seminar on nutrition led by Gary Roberts and Nature’s Emporium
• ·         A Question and Answer Session with Gary
• ·         A workout with Gary and his master trainers.

◦    Including a dynamic Warmup, Workout and Cool-down

• ·         Post workout meal prepared Nature’s Emporium
• ·         Feature in a future OMHA Hometown Hockey magazine
• ·         Up to 25 OMHA T-shirts

Second place prize includes:

• ·         Autographed Leafs 7 GR jersey
• ·         Nike Workout Package, with shirt, shorts, shoes, socks, gym bag bottle and hat
• ·         Nature’s Emporium High Performance prize pack of non perishable health related snack and meal items

Third Place Prize includes:

Autographed Leafs 7 GR jersey

OMHA T-shirt and Hoodie

About the Ontario Minor Hockey Association
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association, founded in 1935, is the largest minor hockey association in the world and oversees a participant base of 300,000 consisting of players, coaches, trainers, officials, hockey volunteers and parents across the province. The OMHA has 246 active member minor hockey associations and annually coordinates 45 leagues and approximately 600 development clinics throughout Ontario. Current OMHA alumni playing in the NHL include 2012 all star game players Steven Stamkos (player-association) Markham, James Neal (Whitby), Corey Perry (Peterborough), Cody Hodgson (Markham), Brian Campbell (Strathroy), Dan Girardi (Welland), Brian Elliott (York Simcoe), Tyler Seguin (Whitby) and Matt Read (Ingersoll).

About Gary Roberts

Gary Roberts is a 23 year NHL veteran, Stanley Cup winner and OMHA Alumnus (Whitby MHA).  Gary is a leader in High Performance Training & Nutrition for professional, junior and youth athletes.  The Gary Roberts High Performance Centre is located in the Fitness Institute,www.fitnessinstitute.com.