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En marge du match de ce soir face aux Hurricanes de la Caroline (cette maudite), nous faisons connaissance avec les blog Canes Country.

Ce dernier ne sont d’ailleurs pas très gentils aujourd’hui, parce qu’ils croient que Jesus Price est sur-évalué.

Nous avons eu une petite discussion avec le fondateur du site, Bubba.

SFC: First of all, are you happy with Sergei Samsonov production?

Canes Country: Last season, everyone was happy with Samsonov.  But so far this season, the results have not been good.  While he shows good effort and excellent puck handling skills, there are little results on the scoresheet to date and his -10 stat is disappointing.  But there are others on the team struggling with offense as well, so he is not alone. 
 

SFC:If the Canes don’t make the playoffs, you’re gonna…

CC: Be disappointed, but not be overly disappointed.  Watching the team so far this season, I will be a bit surprised if they do make the playoffs.  If they don’t, I will be very curious to see the changes the team would make to improve. 
 

SFC: Does Glen Wesley really deserve te see his number retired?

CC: Good question.  From my perspective, I would say yes.  While he might not have been a huge impact player concerning the NHL, he has been very important to the franchise.  He worked very hard within the community to help the game grow here and also helped charities.  Due to his longevity, (20 year career and 16th on the all time NHL most games played list), his dependability, and his popularity, this is probably a wise move for the franchise to make.
SFC: Which Canes player does the rest of the NHL don’t know about, you’re best kept secret?

CC: At this point I will say Brandon Sutter.  (although most have heard about him being knocked out by Doug Weight).  For a rookie player, Sutter has really impressed me with his hockey sense and ability to play defense.  He is one of the team’s best penalty killers and has a good knack on offense.  He also plays with a physical edge which is good for a young player to start out with. 
SFC: Are bloggers allowed in the press box?

CC: No, they usually are not.  They have made an exception for me because I occasionally write for some other publications, but my primary focus is the Canes Country Blog and they seem fine with that.
SFC: Peter Karmanos said that he will be more active in Hurricanes office the year, is it the case?

CC: If he has been more active in the front office, personally I have not seen it.  There has been no publicity about it, (other than his initial proclamation).  So from my viewpoint, I would say no.  
 

SFC: 6 Habs on All-Star starting lineup - good, bad or who gives a ***?

CC: I think it will be great for the Montreal fans and also good for the game of hockey.  It’s nice to see the passion, even if the game is just for fun.

SFC: Best place to watch hockey in Raleigh?

To watch the Hurricanes live, at the RBC Center.
To watch an away game at a bar, at Blincos.
To watch the local university play or the beer leagues, at the Rec Zone.

En marge du match de ce soir, à SFC, on a décidé de se faire de nouveaux amis. Avec notre affabilité légendaire, on a fait un brin de conversation avec un blogueur de Columbus, John du site Light the Lamp.

On en a profité pour lui poser quelques questions sur l’équipe du gros Ken.

À vous, bon match ce soir.

SFC: With all the success he had in the past few games, how come Derick Brassard doesn’t play with Rick Nash?

LTL: A couple of reasons.
 
1. Hitch doesn’t want to expose either Brass or Voracek to the opposition’s top shutdown pairs and checking lines.  He knows if he pairs Nash with Brass the immediate gameplan would be throw everything at that line to shut them down which perhaps Brass isn’t ready for yet and you don’t want to hurt a players confidence.
 
2. Brassard and Voracek have had some unbelievable chemistry and success early on — why mess with a good thing?

SFC: Which Jackets player is your best kept secret?
LTL: Right now its Marc Methot.  He is a rookie playing some unbelievable defensive hockey for the Jackes.  He’s notched 2g, 2a in 8 games and is doing very well in the physical department and has shown suprising ability to rush and move the puck.
 
Honorable mention goes to Andrew Murray.  Murray broke into the league last season after a rash of injuries struck the Jackets.  I like to call this guy “Chevy”.  He’s nothing fancy and he’s not going to be a big point producer but he’s reliable as hell, does all he dirty work and never ever takes a shift off.  The Jackets liked him so much last season that they immediately signed him to a 3 year 1-way deal.  He’s the kind of player that does the little things to win you games.
 
SFC: In Comlubus, are the Jackets popular – can you rank the most popular ones?
LTL: The Jackets had an unbelievable fan base the first 4 years of their existance.  Unfortunately after 7 years of not even coming close to a playoff birth attendance has eroded.  Many believe if the Jackets can actually ice a competitive team the fans will come back in droves and this city will explode in support of this franchise.  For now though they are a very tough sell in this town until they show this city they are serious about a playoff birth.  Should the Jackets miss the playoffs this season they will tie the Washington Capitals for the longest stretch in the history of the NHL to never make the playoffs — most fanbase’s in this league would erode in similar fashion with such a performance.
 
As far as popular players — Nash is the face of the franchise for now.  If you were to ask a casual sports fan in this market to name a Jacket and most could tell you Nash and that’s about it.
 
For fans that follow the team on a regular basis Jared Boll, Pascal Leclaire & Rusty Klesla are popular.  Out of the new faces they year many have warmed up to Commodore and of course the new blood in Voracek and Brassard are exciting a lot fans.

SFC: Are bloggers allowed in the press box during the game?
LTL: I’ve heard of only one occasion where a blogger was allowed into the press box and that was pre-season.  I know I’ve never been invited.

SFC: If we ever get to Columbus, where’s the best place to watch hockey?
LTL: Hands down the “R Bar Arena” is the best hockey bar in town.

SFC: Finish the sentence : Maybe people ignore that, but Rick Nash is a better player than…
LTL: Nikolai Zherdev
 
SFC: Prediction for friday’s game vs Montréal?
LTL: Unfortunately I would have to give the edge to Montreal coming in.  As you know they are 8-1-1 and even more impressive is their record on the road at 4-0.  Really I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses on this squad as they are potent offensivly and a rock defensively plus they’ll be well rested coming in as they haven’t played in nearly a week.  That said I think they’ll get a really good game from the Jackets who are 2-0-2 in their last 4 and have shown a nice offensive flair and signs that their chemistry is starting to come together.  The Jackets also tend to play up and down to their competition — they should be jacked to face an original 6 franchise that they don’t get to see too often.

Pour avoir fréquenté des salles de rédactions et bloguer depuis plus de trois ans, je peux vous dire que parfois, leur travail est assez semblable. Pour un et l’autre, la rigueur n’est pas nécessairement le premier des soucis.

Ce blogue vous en donne une preuve.

“By now, you’ve all heard/read about Washington Capitals forward Alexander Semin’s comments regarding Sidney Crosby from Puck Daddy. It’s the biggest off-ice story this week and has received the attention of bloggers and message board posters around the world.  […]

A funny thing happened though along the way. The mainstream media picked up on it because Sidney Crosby was being slighted. Take out the Crosby comments and it’s just an interview with another Russian hockey player, but diss the league poster boy and that’s headline news.”