Contrails – September 4th edition

 

 

We are still trying to deal with the recent loss of Rick Rypien and with the feelings still far too fresh in our minds comes another horrible tragedy. Our condolences from the Nation’s go out to Wade Belak’s family, friends, and former teammates. It truly has been a horrible and cruel summer for the hockey fraternity.

Here are some recent articles you may have missed from the past two weeks from the MSM, blogosphere, and some out of market podcasts featuring Winnipeg Jets content.

It was a busy couple of weeks in Edmonton as two radio stations are fighting for market share, and they are using sports and more specifically hockey to do it. As a result there were a couple of excellent interviews with Kevin Cheveldayoff, the GM of the Winnipeg Jets. He talked about Rypien and the huge task involved in taking over a team and hitting the ground running. The Mark Spector Podcast from his new show on the Team 1260 is available here. The Oilers now Podcast is MIA but if you can find it’s a great listen. There was also an excellent interview on Oilers now with Dennis Beyak, the new voice of the Jets. He touched on the bittersweet events of the day.

Moving over to the MSM, there have been some great pieces in the Winnipeg Free Press and The Winnipeg Sun. Here are a couple of feature articles for your reading enjoyment. Gary Lawless (who maybe the hardest working guy in the Peg) talked about the off ice success of the team. He also caught up with many players past and present and tried to gauge their excitement for the upcoming season from both a player and fan perspective. Over at the Sun, they confirmed what I believe all of us knew from the start confirming that Don Cherry will be doing Coaches Corner from the first game in Winnipeg on October 9th.

The blog world has been filling in the gaps nicely with editorial content to help fill the summer void. Matt Eichel who also contributes to Jetsnation continues his series of the top #25 Jets on Winnipeg Jets All Out. It’s a great way to learn about the “bottom end” of the roster players. #19 featured Patrice Cormier who was a second round pick of the New Jersey Devils. Corey Pronman at Hockey Prospectus gives us his take on the top 10 prospects. Be warned, the Jets do not have the greatest junior depth in the league.

Everyone knows it will be easier to buy a ticket for a Jets game when they are on the road. Here is a look at the top 10 destination games according to Dave at Illegal Curve. And finally, do you ever wonder what the top 5 goalies are in Jets history? Fire & Ice have their list up. Ever wonder why the Jets never competed for the Stanley Cup? Same list…

Happy reading!