USA Hockey Camp - Day 3 Notes

There are more days than not when it really sucks to be me, but today was not one of them.  I was able to get a pass to the closed practice for Team USA's orientation camp.  After reading about the lines of people seeking autographs and cheering every time Kane touched the puck, I am EXTREMELY grateful I was able to watch the guys in relative peace and quiet.  A few notes on what I witnessed (including some stuff for the women who read this site).

1. I commented more than twice to my friend that I would love to see TJ Oshie on the Blackhawks.  The kid flat out flies. I really loved watching him skate today.  He's without a doubt going to be on the olympic team.  It really sucks how many good, young players St. Louis has on their team. We finally have a team good enough to beat the Red Wings and now we have St. Louis to deal with. Cock balls.

2. Speaking of St. Louis players - ladies, take a good, long look at David Backes.  Holy god is he hot.  At one point he skated right past me as I was walking back to my seat, and I almost ran into a trash can because I was completely staring at him.  I'm pretty sure I would have flashed him if it wasn't 15 degrees in that building.

3. I don't see how Buff makes this team. His skill level was really lacking compared to most of the guys on the ice.  I realize he wasn't in his element participating in a bunch of shooting/passing drills, but I can't see Wilson wanting to take up a roster spot with one guy who sometimes remembers to screen the goalie.

4.  Funny moment during the practice - Tortorella had all of the players line up on the goal line like they were about to skate line sprints (ala Herb Brooks in the movie "Miracle").  When he was about to blow the whistle to have the guys start, he yells out something along the lines of "just kidding!" and all the guys started laughing and tapping their sticks on the ice.  I got a kick out of it.

5. It was really great getting to see the guys goofing around at the end of practice.  Oshie, Backes, Malone, Statsny and Kesler all made a circle and played a hockey version of hackey sack with the puck and their sticks.  All of the forwards participated in different shooting drills (one-timers from the blue line, one-on-one with the goalie, etc) and would give each other cheers whenever a fancy move was made or Thomas or Miller made a good stop.  Some of the defensemen even got involved.  I overheard a bet of some kind being made with Komisarek. He made three shots in a row on Miller and after he missed his fourth, he threw his stick against the boards and said "I'm not buying you guys ANYTHING!" I would love to know where they're eating tonight.

All in all, it was a pretty fun day.  I was hoping for some scrimmage time, but I wasn't really expecting it after the NHL said the players wouldn't be paid if they were injured during olympic practice.  I can't wait for the season to start and get back to spending a few nights a week at the United Center!