Puck Drop 2010 and it's festivities.

Puck Drop 2010 has come and past, but it had it's moments. The day long event gave fans a chance to see their favorites in action on the first day of training camp while also letting them finally see the new jerseys that were coming out today. I'm pretty sure everyone left the arena happy as I know that I did. I think I am just eagerly awaiting for the real season to begin and it was nice to catch a glimpse of some hockey again.

The practice squad was the first group that was on the ice and consisted of guys like Vanek, Rivet, Montador, and others. The practice squad was out on the ice for about an hour and a half; just practicing a few drills and other miscellaneous things. I was impressed with a few guys especially during the drill where you had to battle the puck of of someone. Vanek was going all out against a few guys and I hope that has to do with him being in amazing shape this season.

At 11:45, each Sabre was announced and came out one after another in the home, away, and third jerseys respectively. It was neat to watch them skate around in the new garments. It's going to take time to get used to the style (especially the cross stitch on the numbers), but I think that I'll be able to come to love the look. I definitely like the shade of blue used for the jerseys. I can't wait until they wear them during a game. Those are going to look super flashy on the ice.

After the unveiling, they had a scrimmage go on. Sekera ended up going to the penalty box twice, while Connolly, Stafford, Foligno, and another rookie who I can't think of at the moment were also in there. Unfortunately, I don't remember who scored either but there were some sweet goals at both ends. For the shootout, Myers almost killed Leggio as he actually had to jump over the poor guy in the net. Ennis had an extremely nice goal that went top shelf while Pominville scored his only goal this season. Just kidding - at least I hope. Team White ended up winning the entire scrimmage.

There's a practice tomorrow which I'm attending so if you happen to see me, feel free to stop and say hello! You can't miss the girl with bushy hair and a Vanek jersey.

Of secrets and benching.

Toni Lydman is pretty much ready to make a comeback on the ice, and what's going on? He is being benched because of how the play of Andrej Sekera has been impressive at most the past few games. Really? Really? While I have nothing against Reggie in the slightest, Toni has not played for the past ten games. He is one of our most consistent shotblockers on this team, for the record. Unfortunately, if the Sabres took Tyler out of the lineup then the fans would go nuts and probably burn down the arena. So stupid. All I'm saying is he better be playing on Saturday when Tamara and I go to Ottawa.

In slightly better news, Thomas updated his blog today and said something very interesting:

Hi folks, sorry to have kept you waiting, but there was a lot going on in the last month. First the injury, then… But, no, that’s still a secret. You’ll get to know soon enough.

Any guesses with what the big news might be? I think I may know but I'm not sharing my thoughts because knowing me, I'll be wrong and feel like a total idiot.

Also, over the summer he had coached a team called the ITR26ers. How cute is it that 26 is in the name? Aww. I also think that he's the part owner of the team too, and they ended up winning an entire tournament that happened in Minnesota. They have a website here if you want to check it out. I think it's awesome of him to dedicate his time like that to a team already, and he's still pretty young.

Daniel Paille, you depress me.

First things first, I got an email from Mike, the owner of a new website named NHL Snipers. He has a pretty good idea about how hockey bloggers can become more acquainted with each other. I've put the link to his website on my sidebar too, so if you want, you can check it out whenever you'd like to.

I can't believe that the last we've seen of Sekera was on January 14th, when the Sabres had faced the Blackhawks. That seems like a long time ago. I don't even remember how he was injured, to be honest. Sabres.com is telling me he was tangled up, but how it happened is not fresh within my mind. Lindy thinks that he's not exactly ready to come back yet, but Andrej thinks that he is. Lindy isn't the guy injured, but if he was my coach, I would listen to him and not come back until he said I should be ready to go. Still doesn't mean it wouldn't be awesome to see him back on the ice tomorrow!

I guess Derek is not going to take Thomas' spot next to Timmy and Drew, and I am pretty disappointed. Then again, the Sabres do not have a lot of depth at center as it is. I don't blame Lindy for not keeping Derek on the left side there. We need our centers to be centers and win faceoffs, make the little plays, etc. etc. I just hope Yo-Yo can play well alongside Timmy and Drew. He sure can't take Thomas' place, but he can still try.

Now, I was listening to Daniel Paille's interview from after practice this morning, and I thought it sounded very depressing. Just hearing about how he feels about his play this year wasn't lovely to listen to. He even looked sad and lost, like a lost puppydog. I sure hope that he'll be able to get back on his game...after being scratched for a bit, he deserves to get on some sort of roll. I hate seeing anyone on this team benched/scratched, but sometimes it's needed to light a fire under some butts.