JEN:
Excuse me one moment as I step away from the professional editor role for a moment and say...AGHGHHHDUCKSHOCKEYISFINALLYHEREAGHGHAH. Ahem. Now that I got that out of my system, we can move on.
Ok, so it's the preseason and the game isn't televised, but it's important nonetheless. It's during these games that the bubble players must to prove to Randy Carlyle that they are ready to sit at the big kids table for the regular season. As much as we might dote on (or loath) the performances of players in scrimmages and drills, it's how they play in an actual game that counts. The Ducks are going with a mostly newbie lineup, but there will be a couple old guys (Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, and Lubomir Visnovsky) around to lead the way.
During the pre-season last year, we saw first round draft pick Emerson Etem struggle with the speed of the game and the level of physicality brought by the opposition. Yet, at the same time fellow first first rounder Cam Fowler showed us he's not just any 18 year old defenseman. Who will be this years Etem and Fowler?
For those of you attending the game, I'll be there sitting in Row B next to the penalty box with the one and only Earl Sleek from Battle of California. Hopefully we won't catch anything from BizNasty whenever he makes his inevitable trip to the box.
FOWL!