When the two of us watched the Blackhawks Championship DVD, we both went in with low expectations. It’s impossible for a hour long documentary to accurately capture what 8 months felt like.
For me, my big disappointment laid in the fact that they decided to reduce the regular season into three games (the two Finland games and the 5-0 comeback against Calgary) and a montage of goal celebrations. I know it wouldn’t be prudent to waste 10 minutes on showing some key regular season wins but where would the harm have been in showing big plays or big goals that helped contribute wins.
Now I know they show the big three goals from this past season: Toews against Nashville, Versteeg against Columbus, and Kane against Minnesota, but there was room for so much more. And it would have been more enjoyable to watch than Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith rubbing helmets multiple times.
For my partner, his big complaint came at the end. When Patrick Kane scores the game-winning goal, not once is John Weideman and Troy Murray’s radio call played. You’d think that probably be something Hawk fans would like to watch in real time over and over again. Instead, all we’re subjected to is a generic call from Jim Hughson from the TSN crew as Patrick Kane gets undressed at center ice.
Those were our two big problems with it and maybe it’s a little frugal, but whatever. The most entertaining parts of the movie came in the extras (That’s never a good sign). For that, we’re going bullet points:
- The entire Sopel family look like they could be extras from ‘House of a 1000 Corpses’. During the extra on-ice celebration (only found on the Blu-Ray, fyi), the Sopel family lines up for a family shot and the image still haunts my dreams.
- Also seen during the extra on-ice celebration, Rocky Wirtz finds Scotty Bowman and says something along the lines of “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us.” But I thought we’ve been told countless times that Scotty doesn’t do anything and is merely someone the brain trust bounces ideas off? Riiiiiiggghhtt.
- During the extra locker room footage, Dustin Byfuglien is singing along with some rap song. The entertaining part of that is they included audio in that segment for all of three seconds. Oh, those nasty censors.
- Patrick Kane and his ‘famous’ cousin in the locker room. Glad they felt the need to include that.
- When Joel Quenneville gets doused in champagne, you see his glorious chest hair right through his white dress shirt. It’s like a wet t-shirt contest, only awful. Unless you’re into middle-aged men who don’t manscape.
- Patrick Sharp tells Andrew Ladd that Soupy told him they’ll never have to pay for a drink in Chicago again. Everyone around the vicinity roars in laughter and it reminds of when someone says something that’s a thousand times funnier when you’re hammered. Which probably explains why everyone was laughing so hard.
- Special runner-up in that category is when some players ask Quenneville if he was nervous and he replies with “Not as nervous as you were.”
- Tomas Kopecky screaming like a girl any time a camera within 12 feet of him.
- Brian Campbell shaving some random black dude’s beard in the locker room.
- John Madden’s horrendously awful white-boy dance.
I think that’s all. Perhaps the most important thing this film shows, though, is that it proves Patrick Kane was sober for at least 15 minutes this off-season.
–After a ton of rumors over the past week, the Blackhawks and Nick Leddy agreed to contract terms. His entry-level deal is three years for $2.87 million. Before the speculation gets the best of everyone, let me point out a few things.
First of all, it was said from when the Hawks acquired Leddy in Feburary that scouts were not impressed with the way Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia was developing him. This just proves those claims to be true.
Secondly, I don’t care what Stan Bowman said about him during the Prospects Camp, he’s not one step away from playing with the Blackhawks. Bowman’s excitement over Leddy has led some to believe that he’s on some sort of fast track. Sorry to burst that bubble, but again, this just goes back to the Hawks not wanting Lucia to stall Leddy’s progression anymore than he has.
Third, guys with junior eligibility don’t skip out on those years to play in the AHL. Without getting too technical, the OHL, WHL, and QJMHL are simply better training grounds for teenagers than the AHL.
If Leddy doesn’t make the Hawks out of training camp -which he won’t- then his next step will be somewhere in the CHL. People seem to conveniently forget that when Patrick Kane was drafted, if he didn’t make the Hawks, he was headed back to the London Knights, not the Rockford IceHogs. Leddy will do the same, either with a junior team that drafted his rights a year ago or as a free agent signing.
So don’t order those Nick Leddy IceHog jerseys just yet.