Hull Yes!

Can't you feel the excitement building as training camps are about to open and the season's start is just a little over a month away? I can and it's great to see that some of the players like the irrepressible Brett Hull have kept their quotable selves in fine shape during the loooooong off-season.

"This is not my 'Farewell Tour,' " he told the Republic. "Now, in a month or two, you can talk to Gretz, and maybe he'll tell you that it is my 'Farewell Tour'."

It remains to be seen though if Brett's on-ice game is as in good shape as his off-ice game.

Emrick No?
OLN also recently announced the hiring of Mike "Doc" Emrick as the lead play-by-play announcer for the coming NHL season. I know a lot of people are very happy with his hiring but I"m not one of them. Mike Chen on his blog sums up the misgivings I and I guess a few others have.

Emrick is plenty knowledgeable but something about his style just bugs me. He's a bit melodramatic and has a very odd, stilted delivery to his play-by-play which just rubs me the wrong way.

Hey, I wish Mike the best, nothing personal, he just wasn't my #1 pick. I'm hoping OLN will be a bit more creative and bold in the hiring of the rest of the crew they assemble for the upcoming telecasts.