Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag each Monday during the 2005-06 NHL season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a question into the Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
I’m a webmaster for the Polish fan page about the Avs: . What do you think about new players in Colorado like Patrice Brisebois, Pierre Turgeon, Andrew Brunette, Brad May, etc., especially after their performances during camp and preseason? Can I translate your opinion into Polish and write it on my site? (If you answer me, of course.) Greetings from Poland!
— Waldemar Krystians, Zielona Góra, Poland
Waldemar – Why, of course. It is an honor to have the Mailbag translated into Polish for all hockey-loving Poles to read.
A Polish fan page for the Avalanche – now I’ve about seen it all.
I find it surprising that you want opinions on the players you asked for, but didn’t mention the only Polish player on the team – Wojtek Wolski. I know he didn’t live there long, but is there a following for him there?
Anyway, I think Brisebois has been decent so far. He’s a good passer and handles the puck well on the power play. He has made a few noticeable turnovers in his own end and isn’t so fleet afoot. But he’s not a bad guy to have around. Turgeon has been hit and miss so far. He was good against Dallas and Calgary last week, not so good against Edmonton and Nashville. Brunette has not gotten off to a great start, which is surprising given how well he played in the preseason and that he started the season on the first line.
May has not played at all this season, so can’t give any good opinions on him yet. But he is not the villain some people make him out to be. He’s a friendly guy and his teammates do like him.
All the best to those in Poland!
For years, Avalanche fans in Idaho could watch the team dozens of times per season on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. Now there is no TV. Will that change? Can you please make it change?
— Rob Thornberry, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Rob – You overestimate the power of my pen. I wish I had a say in what goes on television, in a lot of different areas, and what doesn’t. First thing I’d do is wipe out the show “Gilmore Girls.” My god, is it awful. My wife, Heidi, is addicted to it, and hands-down it’s the worst show I’ve ever seen, and I’d seen a lot of bad TV before that.
OK, that feels better.
About the Avs in Idaho. Well, I assume you don’t get Altitude there. Sorry. I’m not sure when they’ll be available in the greater Idaho Falls area, but I’m sure enough of your complaints, sent to the Avs and/or Altitude, might help you get it. As the saying goes: Call your cable company. Good luck.
Adrian – Love the Mailbag. Do you think the NHL had any idea that scoring would be up as much as it is so far this season when the league implemented the changes? Before the lockout, the league claimed it didn’t want to tinker too much with the game. Do you think the league “overtinkered” perhaps to save the game after the lockout? Thanks!
— Patrick Moore, Denver
Patrick – Well, I think the NHL is surprised how much scoring is up. I mean, as of last Monday it was up 45 percent, which . Not only that, comebacks are way up, as was evidenced by Wednesday’s Nashville comeback victory over the Avs.
I don’t think there was too much tinkering. I think it was just about right. The only thing I don’t like is the schedule changes, with as many divisional games. I’m from back East, and I know I like to see the Eastern teams come through Denver. Now, you get one division from the Eastern Conference per season playing here, and that’s it. That’s not enough.
Hey, Adrian. In looking at the Avs schedule, why is it that the Avs by the end of November will have played Edmonton five times and Vancouver six times? Is this just a coincidence? If the Avs are not on their game early, they could find themselves well behind in the Northwest standings and, more importantly, behind in the head-to-head tiebreaker! Thanks.
— Scott Roth, Ogden, Utah
Scott – True, these first two months are really critical to the Avs. All these divisional games, and each one of them is a “four point” game. They’re huge.
Why is it they play so much so soon? Good question. They have to play their eight games at some point, so, really, there isn’t much time at any point this season when they won’t be playing someone from the Northwest before long. But that is surprising to have so many like this against a certain opponent. They play Vancouver twice in a row – at home – soon. That’s never happened to the Avs in a regular season.
Dear Mr. Dater: What do you make of the new rules on interference? I kind of like old-time hockey, and this is really confusing to me. I’m not sure that it makes the game better, only faster and more enjoyable to watch. So what do you think, esteemed scribe?
— Toe Blake, Charlestown, Pa.
Toe – Come on now, is that your real name, or are you pulling a fast one on the Mailbag?
Well, you just said it makes it faster and more enjoyable to watch. Isn’t that a good thing? Doesn’t that, by definition, make it “better?”
Anybody who likes the NHL style of the last five years, tell you what: You must also like to read corporate accounting reports, or, better yet, like to watch the “Gilmore Girls.” The NHL of the recent past was a colossal bore to watch. Every game was 2-1 or 3-2, and there was absolutely no creativity at all to the game.
I like the new game a lot. No more rodeo on ice, no more packing it in with a 2-1 lead, no more clogged neutral zone. These new rules are like a giant bottle of Drano that has unclogged the ice. And praise be to that.
I already miss the “thank you, thank you, thank you” calls!
— Sabra Anckner, Denver
Sabra – You’re referring, of course, to the call after big Avalanche goals by former TV announcer John Kelly, who is now in St. Louis.
John and I became pretty good friends over the years, and he was a solid play-by-play man. His dad was a legend in the business, and he has carried on the legacy, along with brother Dan, who is broadcasting some NHL games on HDNet, the new venture by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Tune in to Blues broadcasts for your “thank you, thank you, thank you” fix. Doug McLeod is the new Avs announcer, and he’s a good guy, too.
After the last hockey season, pre-lockout, the Avs had signed Vincent Damphousse. Some websites still have him on the Avs roster; others show him retired. I have not heard or read anything from the Avs. Is he retired? If not, where is he playing this season?
— Eric, Centennial
Eric – Yes, he is retired. I’m surprised he did retire, because he played so well in the Sharks’ most recent playoff run. But he did. Might have been a money thing with him, but I’m not sure. Or, maybe the lockout kind of sapped his desire for the game. He was on the NHL Players Association executive committee, so maybe he just got burned out from all the drama around the negotiating table.
I’m curious. Is it as the Avalanche front office maintains, that only about 100 season-ticket holders did not renew and there’s still a waiting list for tickets as in past years? If that’s true, then why am I hearing ads for season-ticket sales on the radio? (By the way, I’m apparently one of the 100 former season-ticket holders, though suspiciously enough I know of at least three others who are now former season-ticket holders in my section alone.) Do we know the real story?
— Michael Robuck, Golden
Michael – I wrote a story last week about the ticket situation with the Avs, which raised a lot of hackles with the team. Apparently, Pierre Lacroix went on the radio and said I should be writing movies instead of hockey. Hey, Pierre, I wish! I wrote a screenplay a couple years ago and it didn’t sell (although it got looked at in Hollywood by a few producers, plug, plug). Alas, I’m still a hockey writer, and having a good time with it.
But I think the deal is this: Yes, there are more tickets available than previous years. In the story, I addressed the waiting-list issue, which a will fill you in rather than me repeating it all.
Look, they got a late start in their usual ticket-selling campaign because of the lockout. So, it’s not fair to throw the Avs under the bus for perhaps not having as many sold as before. But I didn’t notice many empty seats the first two games at the Pepsi Center. There were some, even in the upper bowl, but the team announced a sellout each time. So, I don’t have access to their private books, but I think they still have a big ticket base – although perhaps it’s not the toughest ticket in the world like it used to be.
Goalies use No. 1 because, in the early days, they were put in lineup order. Goalie 1. Defensemen 2-5. Forwards 6 and up. As teams expanded, goalies went to numbers that had 1’s in it, like 31 and 41.
— Nick Boukas, Evergreen
Nick – See, I knew some expert out there would notify the Mailbag on this issue, which was raised last week. Really, I had no idea, but your explanation makes sense.
Isn’t this just one big happy community, or what? I’m getting goose bumps here. It’s such a Three Musketeers attitude here. We all play for the logo on the front of the Mailbag sweater here, not the name on the back.
Adrian Dater has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. To drop a question into his Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
