I always try and bring my readers the latest and greatest fun stuff about the Thrashers. Sometimes I'm not privy to certain events, but that's when great hockey friends come into play! Friends of the blog Donna and Mike were lucky enough to get to go to the annual Atlanta Thrashers Charity Golf Tournament. Thanks to Donna's husband's company, they were there as vendors.
Front of the tourney.
Can't have a Thrashers event without DWadd!
The golf carts lined up for the guys.
Each cart had the name of a player on it. This was Pavs' cart.
Mike, Jim Slater and NikAntropov.
Mike and Byfuglien. Buff is a mess drinker.
Woo! Thrash is thirsty!
Mike and Evander Kane.
It's funny seeing 6'7'' Boris Valabik crammed into a golf cart.
Thrash enjoys a fine cigar as well.
Thrash loves Donna!
Radio voice of the Thrashers, Dan Kamal.
Bryan Little is in his cart and ready to go!
Mike and Chris Thorburn. I see Thor is letting the fro grow again.
Mike and Zach Bogosian.
Mike with Toby Enstrom who is looking very stylish. It doesn't look like he got highlights this season.
DWadd with PGA golfer and long time Thrashers season ticket holder, Stewart Cink.
Mike and OndrejPavelec.
Now Boultsie totally looks like the kind of guy who would enjoy a fine cigar.
I'm very jealous of this picture! Mike and our new goalie, Chris Mason.
Good to see Coach Ramsay plans on staying hydrated!
In early 2010, Thrashers fans were wondering what would become of their superstar, IlyaKovalchuk. Though he was swearing he wanted to be a Thrasher for life, fans had their doubts. With no contract signed, Kovy was traded to the Devils. Most fans were happy we didn't over pay for Kovy and they were pleased at what we got in return. I can promise you nobody was as excited as I was.
As soon as I heard Johnny Oduya was coming to Atlanta, I was running around the house screaming! He has one of the coolest names in hockey! I was already a big fan of his when he was with the Devils. I called him "Swedish Hot Chocolate." Ilya WHO?? This is my first picture with Johnny. It's his first night in Atlanta which was also the Valentines Day Puck Surprise. I was lucky enough to be helping the photographer out. When I saw Johnny I totally dorked out. I'm sure he was thinking I was a nut.
Do you think I went immediately and got an Oduya jersey...Oh did I!!!
David Johnny Oduya was born on October 1, 1981, in Stockholm, Sweden. Johnny's Dad, George was a journalist from Kenya who went to Sweden to study. There he met Johnny's mom, Birgitta and fell in love and had two sons.
Though Johnny's older brother Fredrik was drafted in 1993 by the San Jose Sharks, he never played in the NHL making Johnny the first player in the NHL of Kenyan descent. Johnny was a typical little brother, tagging along with Fredrik to the rink. He then followed him into a hockey career.
Johnny had an unusual first job, he was the landscaper at a cemetery. He didn't drive the hearse or dig the graves, but was in charge of mowing the grass , planting trees and other gardening tasks.
Johnny started his hockey career in 1999 with the Hammarby IF of the J20 SuperElit, a junior hockey program in Sweden.
In 2000, Johnny came to North American to play junior hockey in the QMJHL'sMoncton Wildcats and the VictoriavilleTigres.
In the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Johnny was selected in the 7th round (221st overall) by the San Jose Sharks. Instead of going to the NHL, Johnny returned to Sweden, playing for again for the Hammarby IF, this time in the HockeyAllsvenskan league, the second highest level of ice hockey in Sweden.
After spending 2 season with Hammarby, in 2003 Johnny moved up to the Swedish Elite League, playing with Djurgården IF. Johhny spent 2 seasons there, then played with Frolunda for the 2004-05 season.
In 2006, Johnny signed with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent. Johnny made his NHL debut on October 6, 2006 in Carolina. He was one of seven Devils to make their NHL debut that season thanks to an abundance of injuries on the team. Originally Johnny was thought to be a minor league player who would get some time in the NHL due to injuries. When given the chance Johnny showed them what he could do and did well. He was getting major minutes each game. In fact, he played in every Devils game that season except some he missed for an injury of his own. Johnny scored his first NHL goal on December 13...against Atlanta!
During the 2007-08 season, Johnny became a mainstay on the Devils. In his second season with the Devils, Johnny led the team with a career best +27. In only his second season, Johnny appeared in his 100th NHL game, pretty good for someone expected to be a minor league player.
The 2008-09 season was Johnny's third season and a s breakout year offensively as he led Devils' defensemen with seven goals and finished second with 22 assists and 29 points — all career-highs.
After having such a great previous season, Johnny struggled with the Devils in the 2009-10 season before coming to Atlanta. Playing in 40 games, he only scored 4 points . After arriving in Atlanta, Johnny played in 27 games, scoring 9 points.
In 2010 Johnny was named to the Swedish Olympic team. Johnny was excited to play with some of the NHL super stars on the team:
“It’s my first time being on the same team with those guys like Lidstrom, Forsberg and (Daniel) Alfredsson. That’s obviously pretty cool. I’ll get to know those guys a little bit more.”
Some fun stuff about Johnny....he usually goes home to Sweden during the summer. He also likes to go to Spain.
"I go back there in the summers and it's colder than New Jersey, but summertime is great in Stockholm. It's always a special time to go home."
He thinks if a movie was made about him, Denzel Washington would be a good one to play him, but he can't see anyone every making a movie about him.
On his iPod?
"Nowadays everybody has a lot of songs on their iPod, but I don't have that many songs. I try to mix it up, though. The most that I have on there is '90's hip hop, a little bit of '80's stuff and some dance music from Europe."
And as far as his favorite websites:
"My homepage is a Swedish news Web site because that is my Swedish update. I also like YouTube because you can find anything on there."
I'm very excited Johnny came to Atlanta and I can't wait to see him play this season!
After a dismal 2008-09 season, Thrashers fans were looking forward to the draft. It's always fun to see who is going to be the next beacon of hope! Picking 4th overall, the Atlanta Thrashers chose Evander Kane. Fans were excited to see what the kid had at prospect camp.
Kaner didn't exactly dazzle in prospect camp, but fans figured that the coaches had told him "don't kill yourself here, save it for training camp." Kane did impress at training camp and did indeed make the team. Evander suffered an injury to his left foot and missed 16 games, but he had become pretty popular in Blueland.
Then there was this:
With this one punch, Evander was a super star! (in Blueland AND in Boston)
I was lucky enough to be in the building that night, but was at an awkward angle. I do love this picture of Evander skating a way from Cooke laid out on the ice. Lesson learned: don't fuck with a Western Canadian kid in Atlanta named Evander.
Let's take a look at Kaner! Evander was born on August 2, 1991 (happy belated birthday) in Vancouver, BC, to Sheri and Perry Kane. And yes, he was indeed named after boxing super star and Atlanta resident, EvanderHolyfield. Holyfield was a favorite boxer of Kaner's dad and grandfather.
Evander comes from an athletic family. Father Perry played junior hockey as well as trained as an amateur boxer. Mom Sheri was a professional volleyball player.
Evander's sisters are MVPs on their basketball, volleyball and soccer teams. Uncle Kirk Johnson represented Canada in boxing at the 1992 summer Olymics while another uncle, Dwayne Provo, played in the CFL (Canadian Football League) for seven years.
Before focusing on hockey, Evander played several sports himself including baseball, basketball and soccer.
In addition to be talented, Evander's family is something else...large! Though Evander is one of only 3 children, Dad Perry is one of five and his grandfather is one of EIGHTEEN children! No wonder he had so many people at the draft with him!
Evander credits his parents as having the most influence on his career saying:
“It's my parents mostly. They've been with me the whole way from when I was young all the way to where I am now. I owe them a lot of credit, just them supporting me, taking me to practices, paying for all the tournaments, all the plane travel and whatnot. I owe a lot to them. My dad taught me the fundamentals of what it takes -- he really had a big part to do with why I'm a good hockey player. ”
Kaner started skating when he was 4, like all good Canadian kids, but first played organized hockey with the Vancouver Thunderbirds at age eight.
Evander grew up in East Vancouver and attended high school at John Oliver Secondary. At 14, Kane recorded 140 points in 66 games with the bantam North Shore Winter Club.
The next season, Kane scored 54 points to finish fourth in league scoring with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the BC Hockey Major Midget League. (BCMML)
In 2006, Kane was drafted 19th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft by the Vancouver Giants and immediately played eight games for the Giants in the 2006-07 season.
He also suited up for five WHL post-season games, being originally called up for the playoffs after another player got suspended. For the 2007 Memorial Cup, Vancouver was the host city and faced the Medicine Hat Tigers in the championship game. Only 15 at the time, Evander used the Memorial Cup win as a learning experience:
It really helped me a lot going into my 16-year-old year. Being able to play in such a big tournament like that as a 15-year-old was obviously a good accomplishment. Playing with players like Milan Lucic and Brett Festerling, guys like that you get to learn a lot. It all happened pretty quick, but learning from Don (Hay), getting to know him better, him having more confidence in me was a real key to my success.
Also on the 2007 Memorial Cup winning Vancouver Giants...Thrashers prospect Spencer Machacek.
The 2007-08 season was Evander's first full rookie campaign with the Giants. Kane experienced a minor setback as he was forced to miss the start of training camp with a case of mono. He recovered and joined the Giants full-time to tally 24 goals ( 3rd in team scoring) and 41 points in his first WHL season. Finishing tenth in rookie scoring, he was nominated for the Jim Piggot Memorial Trophy, which is the league rookie of the year.
Kane started off the 2008-09 season with a bang, scoring at least a point per game in his first 22 games. Kane was selected to represent the WHL at the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge,(now known as the Subway Super Series) but due to a bruised heal, was unable to play for Team WHL. After recovering, Kane did earn a spot as an injury replacement at the 2009 World Junior Championship where he helped Canada win a Gold Medal. Another highlight of the season, Kane broke the Giants' single-season goals record with his 44th goal. At the end of the season, Evander had scored 96 points (48 goals and 48 assists).
The 2009-10 season was Kaner's rookie season with the Thrashers and I enjoyed watching him immensely. He was part of my favorite line....Kaner, Armstrong and Slater. I can't wait to watch him progress. There is a lot of excitement about Kaner in Blueland!
One thing I'm really hoping is that they will put Kane in the starting line up the first game that the Thrashers travel to Boston. I want to hear them cheer when they announce his name!
Something I noticed when watching videos for this piece....most of the Thrashers fans have only seen the video from the Sports South feed with our commentators. I tried to watch the Pittsburgh feed, but I couldn't stomach their announce team for that long. I actually made it through their version of it and noticed something at the end that is not on the end of our feed. On the end our version, you see Kane sitting in the box. At the end of their version, you see Kane up and banging his stick to salute Cooke being able to leave the ice. What a classy kid! If you can't stomach the P'burgh people, fast forward to second 2:21
I'm a 39 year old rabid hockey fan in Atlanta. I'm originally from Mobile. I've been devastated by the loss of my Thrashers, but I'm trying to keep this blog going. I love to take pictures at hockey games. If you like crappy pictures, puckbunny comments and dumb jokes...you'll love my blog.
