The Avs Hockey Podcast

Two Fan's Perspectives on Colorado Avalanche Hockey...and jerseys too.

About Last Night’s #AvsTwitterPsychic

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For almost seven seasons now I have (on my own time and choice) “hosted” a game called #AvsTwitterPsychic on Twitter dot com. It’s a game day tradition that many people were invested in for all of the very best reasons. I don’t hesitate at all in saying that #AvsTwitterPsychic brought out the good in social media.

Things have now became somewhat complicated though. I wanted to reach out to all of you and address this. Last night the Avalanche chose to sponsor and monetize their #AvsTwitterPsychic tweet.

Addressing the social media aspect of things. Is it possible to legally “own” a hashtag? Absolutely not. But we all know who was as close to owning the #AvsTwitterPsychic hashtag as much as it could possibly be owned. It was us, the Colorado Avalanche faithful. We built it up to be something very special. It was something which couldn’t be ignored. #AvsTwitterPsychic even trended nationally on Twitter for some games. I NEVER wanted this to be about me or to be mine. I purposefully and intentionally created it to be ours. We are the people, fans, and friends who I have always lovingly referred to through the years as #TeamAvsPodcast.

Let me make something extremely clear, I had absolutely no idea the Avalanche was going to take what we created together and do what they decided to do with it. This, in no way, feels good, right, or fair. We were left a little blindsided, frustrated, somewhat confused, and definitely disappointed.

Let me also be clear in saying that I don’t feel like I am owed any compensation for anything I’ve done over the years. I chose to do it and have absolutely no regrets. Too much good has come from it.

So, friends, I’m honestly not sure what happens from here. I don’t know if we can “fix” this, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out. What I do know though is how much I appreciate what we’ve created together. It’s obviously very special and it has been a huge sense of pride for me and us. It’s all that I hoped it would become and so much more. Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your time and passion with me and with each other. All of the tweets of support (even from fans who don’t play the game but happily follow along and appreciate all it brings to the Avalanche community on game days) were amazing to read last night. The Avalanche rave about how great their fans are and I would never disagree with that. We simply want the team to be great to us in return. I don’t think that’s too much of an ask.

Here’s to hoping this doesn’t happen again in the future.

Again, you are appreciated, #TeamAvsPodcast.

Thanks for your support and take care,

Jay

Thank You, Carey Price

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Just in case you hadn’t heard yet, Avs rookie forward Mikko Rantanen recorded his first career hat trick last night against the Montreal Canadiens.  I’m pretty sure you knew that already.

I had the fortunate opportunity to watch the last night’s matchup from the fourth row off the ice.  We were just outside the blue line of the zone the Avalanche attacked twice.  I had the chance to see many details I otherwise wouldn’t see in my normal season ticket seats.  (They are on the red line in the first row of the third deck.)  The biggest bonus was watching Carey Price up close and personal and how he chooses to conduct himself on the ice.  There were a couple of things I wanted to write about and share, so here goes…

Example One: After a milestone goal (like a player’s first career hat trick goal) it is customary for a teammate (other than the actual goal scorer) to retrieve the historical puck for the goal scorer’s trophy case, mantel, etc. After Rantanen recorded his third tally Nathan MacKinnon went to get the puck for 96.  That was nothing new.  Here’s where things get good though.  After the goal, Carey Price picked up the puck in his glove.  Linesman Lonnie Cameron skated in and was ready to do what he does, get the puck and trade it out for a new fresh puck or get ready for the ensuing faceoff at center ice or whatever else.  Carey Price looked right passed Cameron and held his glove directly out to MacKinnon so he could get the puck for his teammate.  MacKinnon said something nice to Price, gave Price a stick tap on the rear, and we’re ready for more hockey.  Check out the video below.  This is the good hockey stuff.

Example Two: The Avalanche ended last night’s game on the penalty kill.  As the last few seconds ticked off the clock the Avalanche cleared the puck all the way down the ice and the final horn sounded.  I continued to watch Carey Price as the puck laid on his stick.  He could have done a few things with that puck that I wouldn’t have been surprised by.  One, flip it harmlessly (or angrily) down the ice (at no one in particular.)  Or two, just leave the puck where it was.  It had obviously been a long game for Price and the rest of his team.  I didn’t really have a third option in my head, but Price unexpectedly showed me one.  He picked up the puck with his blocker hand and flipped it over the glass to a young Canadiens fan who was sitting behind the net.  That was a very cool (and in my opinion) the best option.

Carey Price has had some recent issues (including punching/spearing people with his blocker more than a few times), but last night he really impressed me.  He showed class, professionalism, patience, leadership, and how players can be ambassadors for the game of hockey, even when things aren’t going well for them and their team.  I have a huge passion for the game and I really didn’t need any more reasons to love it more going into last night’s game.  I, however, left Pepsi Center feeling good about an Avalanche victory and even better about the game itself.

So thank you, Carey Price.  You made an impression upon an “opposing” fan last night.  Thanks for reminding me what the game, and sports, can be all about.  It won’t be forgotten, for all of the very best reasons, anytime soon.

Let’s Go Avs (and Carey Price when he’s not playing the Avs)

Matt Duchene from Peter Forsberg

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Matt Duchene’s eventual game-winning early third period goal against the Dallas Stars brought back some happy memories for some long-time Colorado Avalanche fans yesterday afternoon.  Duchene had tried this move many, many times before.  This was the first time it was successful (at least that I can remember.)

Here’s Duchene’s tally:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/WMj6ik8Q3is[/youtube]

Every time he’s tried that move I think of someone else though….

If we asked Duchene about his strategy there (knowing he was a fan of the Avalanche growing up) I’m sure he would eventually bring up the name of a recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee we Avs fans are pretty fond of.  He actually does just that here.  Check out the similarities, including the bottom hand off the stick to protect the puck.  Peter Forsberg, take it away.

Goal against the Oilers: http://safeshare.tv/w/fPyIfIfwMQ

Goal against the Wild: http://safeshare.tv/w/UvNnTiYISI

Good to know I’m not the only one who thinks this way when we see Duchene try this move too:

Great minds think (and tweet) alike Dario.  Nice.

So ultimately an assist can’t officially be given to Peter Forsberg on Matt Duchene’s goal, but it was plenty close enough.

Let’s Go Avs.

***Links to the original YouTube videos linked above are here and here.  Watch both in their entirety.  They are glorious.

#AvsChat, Join us!

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Hey there Avs fans!  I was looking for a way for Avs fans to get even more interaction and connections on Twitter and based on my past experiences with Twitter chats I thought I would give it a go.  Twitter chats are a great way for people with similar interests and passions (Colorado Avalanche hockey for example) to have a live conversation as well as have the chance to connect with other fans you otherwise may not have met.  I will be more than happy to moderate this chat.  I have already created a handful of questions which will be used to guide the first conversation/chat we have.

If you have never participated in a chat on Twitter they go a little something like this.  The hashtag is the key to the whole thing.  A moderator posts questions while participants chime in.  All tweets during this chat should include the hashtag (#AvsChat) so people who aren’t following each other can see each other’s tweets.  Participants can follow the hashtag by clicking on the hashtag on their mobile device, but it’s way simpler to use a tool like TweetDeck or TweetChat  on an actual computer to follow along.  As the moderator, I will post questions with a Q1, Q2,  Q3, etc. format.  Chatters then reply using the A1, A2, A3, etc. format so it’s simple to see which question participants are referring to.  Twitter chats, overall, are pretty simple and very powerful!

I am looking to get this going soon and am hoping to have a couple of #AvsChats before the regular season begins.  The only thing I need from those of you that this sounds interesting to is what day/time of day that would generally work best for you to participate.  I’m thinking the chat will take about an hour total.  If you would please take literally 15 seconds and fill out the form below I will get the very first #AvsChat scheduled here in the near future.

Thanks again for your interest and stay connected to The AHP’s Twitter and Facebook feeds for when the first of hopefully many #AvsChats will happen!