Bird is an idea thief. I told him I was going to write my next ‘On the Farm’ with a theme of giving thanks, and he goes and does it on the main page himself, as if it was HIS idea! The nerve of some people….that’s okay, I’ll get even with him in 407, I’ll just make a few more comments about scrawny goalies….

Anyway, with the Pack trailing their big brothers in the Rangers in production for this year, fans in Hartford have to search far and wide for things to be thankful for as he near the one quarter mark on the season. The team isn’t doing that well, we have lost most of our ‘character’ players, and there is a revolving door between the locker room and the bench each night as we are still carrying too many vets. However, in an effort to spur us on to a higher level of pride in our team (and cut down on my bar bill at the same time), I present to you a list of reasons to be thankful for the Pack:

1) Rico Fata. Rico came to us off the waiver wire from Calgary, then survived waivers as he moved down to Hartford. In his first 6 games, he has scored 4 goals and demonstrated that he has a whole additional gear beyond that of most players. This kid can fly, and since he has been down with us, he has added hitting and defense to his repertoire. Drafted the same year as Manny Malholtra, the 21 year old Fata could be an excellent addition to any line that needs some speed up the wings. We had better not make the same mistake Calgary did and let this one slip away.

2) Martin Richter. I remember Martin from last year – he played one game, then decided he was going home to Finland if he wasn’t going to play for the Rangers. I saw that one game, though, and was very upset that he left – he was a good, tough blueliner who took care of his own end. He came back this year and had a stronger camp, and has decided to stay – he is part of the second defensive line, alternating between Peter Smrek and Sylvain Lefebrve. He looks mild mannered, but hits everything in sight – hard. He stays at home and clears the crease (our goalies have that Mike Richter rebound thing going on) and does not permit anyone to camp in front. Reminds me of... hmmm….who was it…. oh yeah, Tomas Kloucek. Nice to know there’s another one coming up in the system, isn’t there? Although older than Tomas, he’s only 23.

3 and 4) Johan Holmqvist and Jason Labarbera. This is a nice, workable pair of goalies for a team that likes to have two guys to share the load. Both of them have seen time in New York (last year’s amazing goalie roulette paraded everyone but JF Labbe through the crease in MSG) and both are good, but can use more seasoning in the minors. Labarbera is 21, and Holmqvist is 23, and both appear to be liked and respected by their teammates. Both are steady in net, with occasional flashes of brilliance that thrill the crowd. Given that we allow a huge number of shots in true Ranger tradition – both have made almost 200 saves in 7 games each - the fact that both have save percentages above 0.900 is impressive. Although neither one is a candidate to take over the number one spot in New York, either would do us proud as a backup if the need arose.

5) Terry Virtue. Terry is a workhorse, a vet who simply doesn’t give up. He plays dirty, nasty hockey, and loves it. During warm-ups, he parks himself at the blueline and trash talks with anyone who will listen. You can actually see him getting under their skin, as guys skate away in a huff, and he leans back and smiles. Last year, he was so determined to single handedly rescue the Pack from self-destruction that he stayed on the ice the last 10 minutes of game 5, even while bleeding from the face. The ref and linesmen, knowing what was good for them, didn’t even try to usher him to the bench. Terry is one of the very few character guys on our team this year, one who loves hockey so much that he played in a professional roller hockey league one year as he struggled to find a team. At 31, Terry is hardly a prospect for the Rangers, but we would be proud to have him close out his career as a player in Hartford. When our assistant coach was called away to a family funeral, Terry was the unofficial stand-in, as identified by the kids on the team. His official transformation when he is ready, would be wonderful to see.

Okay, enough of the soft-focus sweetness, time to return to the natural state of snide bitchiness. Here are some things that I am thankful for that aren’t so nice to say….

6) The retirement of Todd Hall. Todd played one game and sat another dozen as a healthy scratch to begin this year, before showing humility and grace – and retiring from the team. Todd was 28 or so, played defense and wing, and was a regular winner of the team’s seventh player award. However, I find it rather telling that the highlight footage they used of him for the video centered around a clip of him – get this – skating backwards. Todd is a local boy, a nice person, and the Pack organization has enthusiastically encouraged him to ‘stay involved.’ I’m just glad it’s off the ice.

7) The new-found ability to count to six. Six is the magic number of vets we can play each night, and we began the season with waaaaay too many of them. This meant we sat guys every night, regardless of skill or how they had been playing, simply to keep us under the limit. Since then, players have been moved up, down, or away, and the number has dropped. At the moment, our vets are Virtue, Gagnon, Grosek, Smyth, Lefebrve, Dawe, Myrvold, and Gernander takes the exemption. As soon as Lefebvre gets traded, we can actually play whoever deserves the ice time each night, not just who is young enough to do so.

8) The Charlotte Checkers. Finally, management is starting to move players around in ways that make sense. Someone need a wake up call in New York? Send them to Hartford. Someone in Hartford need a clue? Send them to Charlotte. This was a lot more fun when my friend Jaime worked for the airline we use, because I got the inside story on who was headed where (and when they thought they were coming back, poor kids). Wes Jarvis and Chris Gosselin need to get skating legs back before rejoining the team? Charlotte. Matty Kinch needs to go somewhere to figure out what defensemen are supposed to do? Charlotte. Brandon Dietrich is down there too, as well as Captain Dave Deurden, and I concede that is the right place for both of them for now. Goalie Scott Meyer is the only mystery to me, but the insanely high number of shots he faces there each night is surely going to keep him in shape. Not to mention all those penalty shots.

9) Appreciation for season ticket holders. This was a sore point last year, as MSG (which owns the Pack and all its proceeds) seemed to go out of its way to irritate its loyal fans. For example, the guaranteed win night. If the team loses, you redeem your ticket for one to the next game. Of course, if you are a season ticket holder, you already HAVE a ticket for the next game, this is kind of useless. This year, they are having a raffle of sorts each night, during which they announce a season ticket holder of the game, who gets a big prize pack. Not a huge thing, but it’s a nice start. Now, if only Pack season ticket holders got discounts on Ranger tickets….

And finally….

10) The Rangers. Stay with me on this one for a second – A parent team that is winning, that is full of exciting players who are adored by the media, inspires the kids to work that much harder. Also, as the Rangers have taken baby steps towards bringing up more kids, it is a huge serving of pride to see our boys on ESPN – Mike York, Dale Purinton, Tomas Kloucek, and Manny Malholtra all came through Hartford en route to New York. Everyone was talking excitedly at the game last night about Mikael Sammuelsson, who had impressed thoroughly in his 8 game stay in Hartford this year. Jeff Toms, Michal Grosek (who came down, went up, came down, and will surely go back up again), and Steve Mckenna spent time with us. Kids like Mike Mottau, Richard Scott, Peter Smrek, Rico Fata, and Barrett Heisten have been up to New York and are back with us now, but we have confidence they will not be with us for long. Now that the Rangers are doing well, friends from all over the country are seeing our boys on TV for the first time, and I get calls from people wanting to know more about Tomas or Mikael. It’s a very, very proud time for us in Hartford, to see our kids doing so well. Please take care of them for us, and let us know when you are ready for the rest.

Thank you,

Heather

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