Oh What A Bloggerific Morning!

While most of my Saturdays are spent sleeping in, this Saturday I was up bright and early and heading downtown for Blogger Day. The Atlanta Thrashers had invited me and some other bloggers to watch morning skate and interview Anthony Stewart!


Little and Bergfors. Don't work too hard Bergie, you'll be scratched tonight anyway.



Toby defies physics.



Buff in deep thought of the wonder of his stick.



Captain Ladd and Burmistrov wait for their turn in the drills.



Torchetti works with the guys on the faceoff. This is a welcome sight after the Carolina game when we lost a lot of faceoffs to the worst faceoff team in the league.



Then I noticed Stewart and Kane having a discussion.



Kane pleads his case, Stewie isn't convinced.



The older, wiser Stewie tries to convince Kaner.



Kaner ain't buying it.



I wonder what they are discussing?



Stewie: Come on, Getting Pucks Deep is the best Thrashers blog.
Kaner: No way, there are lots better what about....
Stewie: No that's all stats and numbers, I like to be entertained. I like pictures.
Kaner: Well what about that new blog...
Stewie: No way. GPD is OG! That blog's just a rip off.



Looks like they'll never settle this!



What better way to finish than a little Oduya?!?


Watching morning skate was super cool because just a few rows back was Doc Emerick. I got to meet Doc last season, but didn't really get the chance to speak with him this time. It was still cool to see him though.


After morning skate we went back into the locker room area and waited to talk with Anthony Stewart. This blogger day wasn't as heavily attended as others, possibly due to cold temps and Christmas being right around the corner. For what ever reason, it was easier to get a chance to questions Stewie. I actually got to go first!
My question for him was about the success he found this year. A little background on Stewie, he and his brother, Avalanche forward Chris Stewart, grew up in a large family that struggled to make ends meet, let alone play hockey. Growing up, Anthony was the stud hockey player having a phenomenal junior career. A #1 draft pick (25th overall) by the Florida Panthers in 2005, his career hadn't quite gone as many thought. I was a little nervous and it of course didn't sound this good, but my question was "After having a sensational junior career and being a #1 draft pick, your road back to the NHL was a struggle bouncing between the NHL and the AHL. What has helped you find your niche and be able to play as well as you have this season?" Anthony answered detailing how he had rededicated himself to his game. He lived and trained with his brother and LA King, Wade Simmonds over the Summer. He also spoke of being given an opportunity and running with it. I told him I was glad he was able to find his way back and he was playing great!


I then asked him about his large family and asked if they to come down to see him play much. He said they did and when they couldn't, they all had the Center Ice package and all watched on tv. He joked about probably having to get a lot of tickets for the family when they Thrashers played in Toronto as he has a lot of family there.


My last question was a more fun question. I told him "I hate to bring up your brother as I want to focus on you for this interview, but I have both of you guys on my fantasy team...How is Chris' hand?" He laughed and said it was coming along and that I should definitely "keep him."


As a bonus, after we interviewed Stewart, the brought out assistant coach, Mike Stothers. We talked about how much better the defense had been playing. I asked him about shot blocking and we joked about how Toby plays big for a little guy.

It was a great way to spend the morning!