Keeley's Korner - The Hunks of Hockey 2.0

The GetRealHockey Gmail account went crazy after I wrote my first article on the Hunks of Hockey.  Ladies all over the planet emailed me with comments and suggestions so I had  no choice but to hit the laptop and write another edition of the Hunks of Hockey.   

I am here in between all the articles on goals and fights to show the most important part of the beautiful game; the beauty !!!  Sorry boys but us ladies love our favorite players on and off the ice. Who wouldn't love a gorgeous, hockey playing , multi millionaire !!! 

Anyways close your eyes boys and ladies get ready for The Hunks of Hockey 2.0.   Check out the pics of my favorites and don't forget to email me (getrealhockey@gmail.com) with your favorites for the next edition of my column.       

Boston wonderboy Tyler Seguin is only 20 years old, but with his exceptional talent and his killer smile, it’s no wonder he’s already managed to make a name for himself in the league – both on and off the ice. With the amazing shirtless photos from the Bruins Foxwood celebrations a few years ago still being talked about, there’s no doubt that Seguin’s earned his spot on the list. (Plus he saw The Vow – who doesn’t love a guy who can actually admit he’s got a softer side?)

John Tavares has always been exceptional and 200 games into his NHL career and in the middle of what some are calling his ‘break-out’ year, that fact does not seem to be changing soon. With his hockey hair, amazing smile – and, let’s face it, his abs are kind of amazing as well – it’s easy to see why he’s as popular off the ice as he is on it.

Now, Ryan Kesler was covered last time – but after looking around a bit more, more photo’s have come up making it impossible to not put him up here again. In the ESPN Body issue, Kesler took it a step further then his underwear modeling shots and took it all off. There’s nothing to say really but wow; just…wow. 

Anyways, I have to get off to class now.  Hopefully the prof won't mind me day dreaming about the NHL and all those pretty faces.    

- Keeley Ryan

The Bruins and Flyers Are the Teams to Watch at Mid-Season

The NHL has been full of surprises this year. The Habs are on their knees, the Wild are in first, and the Ducks can't seem to buy a winning streak.  Surprises have a way of correcting themselves during the course of a full NHL season. However, real hockey fans are not big on surprises. Real hockey fans who love the game like the dynasties.  They like the teams which deliver day in and day out. Two of those teams are the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins.  These bastions of hockey have seen the likes of Bobby Clarke, Reggie Leach, Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr; play and prosper. The 2011-2012 editions of the Bruins and Flyers are cast in the same dye as their predecessors.  Both teams offer a great product on the ice and watching them play is a treat even if you are not from the East Coast of the US.

Boston is lead by vets like Milan Lucic and youngsters like Tyler Seguin who are ripping up the league with speed and dazzle. The team is balanced like a Swiss clock and they make a formidable opponent for any team on any night.  The plus/minus rating for the Bruins as a whole is historically high and we suspect that they will continue this play all season on their way to a repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.  Just like the Flyers, Blackhawks and Wild; the Bruins play team hockey.  The one difference for the Bruins is that they tasted victory last year and the chemistry still exists for the repeat.

Philadelphia is built in the same image as the Bruins. They are young , strong, and skilled. Claude Giroux is quickly ascending as one of the top snipers in the league and guys like Couturier can't be far behind.  We think the Flyers will challenge this year and they could be crowned champs in the not too distant future.  I have seen a game in Philadelphia.  The intensity in the building is palatable and often it translates into an extra player when the hometown Flyers play.  This is even more evident at playoff time.  Anyway you cut, the Flyers are one of the soundest teams in the NHL.  If Jagr and Giroux stay healthy and produce at playoff time; an upside surprise is always possible. 

Bruins Should be the New Spelling for Dynasty

The Bruins are on a tear of historic proportions.  The Stanley Cup champions have not lost in regulation time in the last 14 games.  The boys from Bean town crushed the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday which showed the entire NHL that they are intent on repeating as league champions.  The complete turnaround from the disastrous start to the 2011-2012 campaign is complete for Boston.  Claude Julien's squad is firing on all cylinders.  The offense is scary good and Tim Thomas is playing like he is  in the post season.  To every teams chagrin, Boston's back up netminder (Tuukka Rask) is playing as well as Thomas.

The effort on scoring has made all the difference for the Bruins in November's run.  Goals are flying past the opposition at an amazing rate and the Bruins team dominates the league leaders in plus/minus.  Tyler Seguin is the king of plus/minus in the NHL and he is proving to be the number one hope for a Bruins powerhouse going forward 5-10 years.   There is a real winning psychology in Boston.  The Red Sox and Patriots led the way for years and now it looks like the Bruins are ready to the mantle from those two great sports franchises.  Boston is fast becoming the center of the hockey world and the real reason for the resounding success is that everyone on the Bruins plays for the guy next to him.  These guys are the epitome of team play and other NHL squads should be paying attention.

There is no guarantee that Boston will keep up this pace for the rest of the season but we are sure they will rise to the occasion come playoff time and send opponents packing.  The Bruins look great for the Cup this year and many years to come.  These guys could gel as one of the best NHL teams since the glory days of the Detroit red Wings.  Detroit was a great team but these guys could become better.  Time will tell but we like the odds.

Shootout Hockey Gives the Bruins and Habs a Notch in the Victory Column

Shootout hockey is the great equalizer.  Winning a game is always better than the old fashion ties.  Shootouts build character for NHL squads since they have to play to the bitter end.  Shootout hockey allowed one team to extend their massive winning streak last night and another to comeback when fans assumed they were done.

The Bruins winning streak extended one more game to ten last night with a 4-3 shootout win over the Sabres.  The Boston Beast is on the loose in the NHL and they are crushing opponents left, right and center. The Sabres were out for revenge for the Bruins hit on Ryan Miller but they were unable to contain the offensive monster called "Bruins Hockey".  The Sabres had led this affair 2-0 but quickly faded as the Bruins started to pound away led by the likes of Tyler Seguin. The game was intense but the outcomes seemed to never been in question.  Benoit Pouliot scored the winner for the Bs and they look ready to extend the streak to 11 after disposing of the Sabres.  This team looks and feels like a repeat winner of the Stanley Cup.  They are just too strong and too committed.   

The Habs also picked up a win in a shootout by an identical 4-3 score. Veteran Brian Gionta scored the winner for Montreal as the Hurricanes fell yet again.  The Habs were in the familiar position of having to come from behind but this victory tasted a little different.  Getting the winner from Gionta is a good sign and hopefully the goal from Lars Eller is a sign of things to come.  The Habs have been run through the injury grinder and every win is a testament to team play.  If they get offense across the board and grow the kddie corp defense ; they could surprise with a few more victories than losses.  This team is rebuilding on the fly and you got to respect that if you are a true hockey fan.  GO HABS GO !!  and good luck.    

BRUINS = HOCKEY = CHARACTER

Hats off to the Boston Bruins for another victory ; their ninth in a row. The Bs walked into Montreal and found a way to beat the Canadiens 1-0 despite having only 18 shots on goal against a very hot Carey Price. These guys are quickly becoming the talk of the NHL.  The team had been in disarray till mid October but they have turned the ship around and have shot back into contention for Lord Stanley's Cup.  This hockey team is playing like a machine and it looks right now like they could keep up the pace for quite some time.  Momentum is beautiful thing and the Bruins have momo on their side.

When they need to; the Bruins can fill the net with pucks.  They proved that with a recent 6-0 blowout of the New York Islanders.  They can also win the close ones  as evidenced by the squeaker against the Habs . This winning habit after the early season nosedive is a sign of character.  Boston has got character in spades and the rest of the NHL needs to be paying attention.

The team is loaded with vets like Bergeron, Thomas, and Chara  and augmented by the youth of guys like Horton and Seguin.  This squad is scary, talented.  Their goal differential is insane.  Right now they are playing heads above all the others and its only a matter of time before they reach the top spot in the NHL. We think the scare is over in Boston and a repeat could be in the card.  Beantown is used to winners.  They have seen recent dynasties with the Red Sox and Patriots and it looks like the Bruins could join that club.  We salute the Bruins for showing Boston and the NHL that hockey is a character game and a team effort.  Good luck guys; you have earned your time in the sun.

The NHL’s top performers of the 2011 season thus far!

The NHL season has finally gotten underway, and each team has played around a handful of games now, so let’s take a look at who the top performers have been in the first few weeks.

1) Phil Kessel (TOR) - 3 GP, 5 Goals, 3 assists, 8 points, & +7!

Without question Phil Kessel has been the NHL’s top performer so far this season.  He ranks 1^st in the league in goals, points, game winning goals and plus/minus! What’s most impressive has been his consistency, as he has points in all 3 of the Leafs games, and has points on 8 of Toronto’s 11 goals this season! If that isn’t dominance then I don’t know what is. Kessel has 5 goals in his last 2 games, 2 of which happened to be game winners. He is showing why despite being highly criticized the past few seasons (Ex: Ovechkin laughing at him at the all-star game) he has still managed to score 98 goals during the past 3 years. He has done all of that without having a legitimate #1 center during his entire stint in Toronto. Although he still doesn’t have a #1 center, Kessel has been a completely different player since the arrival of Lupul in the Beauchemin trade as the 2 have great chemistry together. What has impressed me most about Kessel so far this season, isn’t even the scoring, it’s his all-around game. We all knew he was a sniper, but this year he has been playing physical, been great in all 3 zones, and has shown a knack at creating plays by passing not just shooting like in the past! If Kessel continues to play like this, Toronto fans will quickly forget about Tyler Seguin!

2) John Tavares (NYI) - 4 GP, 5 G’s, 3 A’s, 8 pts, +4

Tavares started off slow with 0 points in his 1^st 2 games, causing his coach to publicly call him out. However, since then has been on absolute fire. In his last 2 games, he has 8 points despite the Islanders only scoring 9 goals over those 2 games. Tavares is the biggest reason why the Islanders have beat both the Lightning and Rangers back to back. He is finally beginning to show why he was the #1 overall pick, and is starting to show that he could carry a team. The sky is the limit for this kid! Another player who deserves mention from the Islanders is PA Parenteau! Parenteau has 7 points in 4 games, and is a very impressive +5. He came out of nowhere last year to score 53 points, and after his hot start to this year, he is definitely here to stay.

3) Thomas Vanek (BUF) – 4 GP, 4 G’s, 3 A’s, 7 pts, + 1

Vanek has followed up his bounce back season last year with a phenomenal start to this season! He has been a driving force in the great start for the Sabres as they are establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the East after some great free agent pickups. But Vanek has done his best to show that despite all the new pickups, he is still the most dangerous weapon on the Sabres. If Vanek has had any question marks about him in his career it would be his consistency, yet this year he has a point in every single game, so that’s a great sign for Sabres fans, and Vanek’s owners when it comes to fantasy.

Honorable mention

Luke Adam (BUF) – 4 GP, 3 G’s, 3 A’s, 6 pts, +2

Adam has come out of nowhere this season, and in my opinion, because of that has been even more impressive than teammate Vanek. Adam has 3 multi-point games already this year, and his 6 points has already surpassed his 4 pts in 19 games last year as a rookie! There is no questioning that he is the most improved Sabre, and gives them another top-6 forward! If he is available in your fantasy league, jump all over him, because he shows no signs of slowing down!

Vinny Prospal (CBJ) – 5 GP, 3 G’s, 2 A’s, 5 pts, +1If I asked you before the season started, ater 5 games who would be leading the Blue Jackets in scoring, what would you answer? Rick Nash? Maybe Jeff Carter? Nope, neither of them. Instead it is Vinny Prospal, who is clearly benefitting from riding shotgun with the 2 superstars! The acquisition of Prospal went largely unnoticed, but is already beginning to pay dividends. Once again if he is available in your fantasy leagues, pick him up now, because as long as he is on that line, he has tremendous value!

Tyler Seguin (BOS) – 5 GP, 3 G’s, 2 A’s, 5 points, +1.

For all the hype that surrounded Seguin last season, he really didn’t do all that much. He looked great in a few games including one dominant playoff game, but was invisible for much of the rest of the season. That has definitely not been the case this season, as Seguin has points in 4 of 5 games so far! He has been playing a lot harder, and giving it his all on every single shift, which is allowing his to showcase the talent that made him the 2^nd choice overall. So not only has his game become more consistent, but even more importantly to his production is that the Bruins are showing faith in him. Boston has put Seguin on the top line and surrounded him with 2 of the Bruins best players in Lucic and Horton, giving the youngster every chance to succeed.

There were obviously many more players who have had great starts to the year, but offensively these are the players that stood out the most to me! Let’s see which ones could keep it up, and which other players could get it going and end up on this list next time!

Grant Robinson (@thesportsgrind)

www.grantrobinson.podbean.com