Music Recommendation: The Gathering

Music Recommendation: Portishead

Music Recommendation: The Postal Service

Music Recommendation: Trentemoller

Anders Trentemoller is a Danish DJ from Copenhagen. He has been hugely influential in Denmark and even saw his album peak at the number two spot on the Danish Albums chart. He has two albums released including "The Last Resort" in 2006 and "Into the Great Wide Yonder" in 2010. Although both are very different sounding electronica albums, they have both received a lot of attention. Some of his singles include "Miss You", "Moan", "Take Me Into Your Skin", "Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go!!!", and "Sycamore Feeling". Although Trentemoller is not for everyone. He really seperates itself from the mainstream DJ's. I also strongly recommend checking out "Shades of Marble", "Evil Dub", "Go", "Le Champagne", "What Else Is There" and "Sunstroke" if you like his stuff. He really does have a wide range of emotion in his music and can make you find beauty, funk or just something catchy that you want to dance to.

I'm A Nerd: Defence Grid

(picture courtesy of mthec.files.wordpress.com)

Defence Grid: The Awakening is a great single player game. Originally released in February 2008, the graphics aren't the greatest. Still, its the type of game that graphics don't make or break the replay value. If you ever played UMS starcraft you would have basically played the same style of game but if you haven't I will quickly explain. Basically you have an opposing army that walks from point A to point B. Once they get to point B they grab one of your limited "cores" and then try to return it to point A. Although they don't attack you, they are heavily armored and you have to destroy them before all your "cores" are stolen. So, you build various defences that do different levels of damage to different units. For this reason it is called a "Tower defense" game.

Anyways, if you are a hardcore game the 20 levels can be beaten pretty quickly, but at the same time they are very challenging levels for new gamers. The game has very low computer requirements so it can be enjoyed by all while still receiving great reviews from gaming magazine all over the world. The game is only $10 on steam and should give the user a ton of value. The 20 levels can be beaten in several different ways while challenging you with 15 different types of enemies.

April Draft Rankings

(picture courtesy of bleacherreport.com)

I feel like sometimes media use "mock drafts" as ways of picking players based on organizational need rather than BPA. Rather than taking the time to come up with their own opinion on who is the best player overall, they take the easy way out. For this reason, I decided to release my own rankings in addition to the mock draft that I released yesterday. I hope you enjoy, although it might change quite a bit before the draft comes about. I'm not going to lie, I don't have all the information on these kids and in many cases have only seen some of them play a handful of times. As more organizations come out with their reports and the combine comes around I should have a better understanding on the things you don't see on the ice. Anyways, here are the rankings:

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2. Adam Larsson
3. Gabriel Landeskog
4. Sean Couturier
5.Jonathan Huberdeau
6. Dougie Hamilton
7. Ryan Murphy
8. Ryan Strome
9. Mika Zibanejad
10. Duncan Siemens
11. Matt Puempel
12. Sven Baerstchi
13. Nathan Beaulieu
14. Tyler Biggs
15. Mark McNeill
16. Mark Scheifele
17. Joel Armia
18. Jonas Brodin
19. Alexandr Khoklachev
20. Stefan Nosen
21. Scott Mayfield
22. Jamie Oleksiak
23. Dmitri Jaskin
24. Vladislav Namestnikov
25. Zack Phillips
26. Joe Morrow
27. Nicklas Jensen
28. Brandon Saad
29. Tomas Jurco
30. David Musil

You can see the rankings on the right side of the homepage as well.

Thank You Dustin Penner

(picture courtesy of sports.yahoo.com)

Thank You Dustin Penner for getting us a mid first round pick. With Colten Teubert AND a first round pick, Steve Tambelleni is looking pretty smart. The Los Angeles Kings were eliminated last night by the San Jose Sharks and now the Edmonton Oilers have locked down the 19th overall draft pick in this years NHL entry draft. Thats not to say that they draft pick cannot get any better. If any or all of Montreal, Buffalo, or Chicago make it to their respective conference finals the pick will improve. If any of these teams advance to the next round but lose, then they pick will stay where it is now. Here is a great article explaining how the draft actually works. It basically states:

1. That all 14 teams that do not make the playoffs select based on standings.
2. The stanley cup winner picks 30th. The runner up picks 29th.
3. The conference finalists pick 27th and 28th.
4. The regular season division leaders hold the lowest positions.
5. The remaining teams pick based on regular season standings.

After reading redlines report that states that after 20 their is a drop off in the draft.

Music Recommendation: Kaskade

Ryan Raddon or "Kaskade" is an American DJ from Evanston, Illinois. Not to confuse you with the female voacls, but he is definitely a he. He is also married and has a daughter. He does use a wide range of unknown or underrated female vocalists alongside his music. He has a total of 8 albums even though he has only been on the scene since 2001. Although he has released a bunch of albums he is most known for "In the Moment", "Strobelite Seduction", and "Dynasty". His latest album "Dance.Love" has also received a bit of attention. Some of his more popular singles include "I Remember", "Move For Me", "4AM", "Angel On My Shoulder", "Fire In Your New Shoes", "Be Still" and "Dynasty".



I also thought that it was pretty cool that Kaskade remains a member of the mormon religion and part of the LDS church. He served his two year missionary in Japan where he eventually met his future wife. He is also fluent in japanese. Pretty interesting guy.

Music Recommendation: Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki founded his own label "Dim Mak Records" that has released music featuring MSTRKRFT, Bloody Beetroots, and the Klaxons. Still, this california DJ likes to mix other artists and is a huge addition to the club scene all over the world. His most popular songs are with Zuper Blahq (I'm in the house), the Bloody Beetroots (Warp 1.9) as well as with Kid Cudi (Pursuit of happiness). He has also remixed a wide range of artists including Tiga, Good Charlotte, All American Rejects, Drake, Weezer, Bloc Party, and Duran Duran. He has also toured with Calvin Harris and a ton of other big names.

April Mock Draft

(picture courtesy of sports.gunaxin.com)


Well its almost the end of April and I have yet to make an updated mock draft list. I will be releasing a different mock draft for remaining two months. In doing so, it will be pretty apparent who has had a good end to the playoffs, the U-18's as well as the NHL draft combine. It will also change with the NHL playoffs finishing off and changing the draft order in the later rounds. If you missed last months draft rankings you can find them here. I hope this gives a sneak peak at who the BPA available is around your teams selection but still put an emphasis on either short term or long term need. Teams that are closer to winning the cup often tend to focus on the short term need (especially if they feel someone can jump right into the NHL the following year).

1. Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugget-Hopkins
- A player that fills a huge need down the middle. RNH will look stunning setting up Hall every single night. He battles and never gives up on a play. From everything that I've read his hockey sense is something that you just can't pass on. Edmonton loves trading chances and it shows with the number of one goal games that they have had this year. Edmonton has also really turned to the WHL over the past couple of years and had a great chance seeing him play in their own back yard. BPA.

2. Colorado Avalanche: Adam Larsson
- I hear alot of people suggesting that Landeskog should be added because of his tenacity and grit but you just can't pass on Adam Larsson. Sure, he might only turn out to be a number 2 or 3 defenceman but with Erik Johnson already on the backend the leauges worst defence becomes a whole lot better. The had the worst GA's with 288 but had more goals then teams like Nasvhille, Los Angeles, and Montreal this year. Potential franchise defenceman with little downside. BPA.

3. Florida: Gabriel Landeskog
- Although the Panthers would have been happy adding a big, NHL ready center in Sean Couturier they simply won't pass on Landeskog. This was a team lacking leadership, grit and effort some nights. Landeskog will be the future captain of the panthers and add starpower that Florida has never seen before. It will be interesting to see what Ottawa offers to try and grab Lando. BPA.

4. New Jersey Devils: Sean Couturier
- I just have a hard time seeing a team passing on Sean Couturier. The devils are a team that will be looking towards the playoffs next year and he is easily the most NHL ready player left. The devils could go for a player like Ryan Murphy or Dougie Hamilton at this spot but will have a hard time passing on Sean Couturier. Players like Couturier don't grow on trees. BPA.

5. NY Islanders: Jonathan Huberdeau
- With Tavares up front, I could see them drafting the most skilled forward available. Huberdeau usually plays on the wing and could be a dynamic duo for a very long time. He is simply just too good to pass on and the Islanders have the time to let him develop physically. Sure, they need defence but are excited to see Huberdeau drop to them. BPA.

6. Ottawa: Ryan Strome
- Ottawa looks to compliment Jason Spezza by grabbing an amazing number two center in Ryan Strome. He is in Ottawa's back yard and put up the most points of any OHL draft eligible forward. Ottawa is already set with Runbland, Karlsson and Cowen on the backend. Strome is the best forward available at this point. I don't think he will be as successful as teammate Dougie Hamilton but Ottawa has no need for more defence.

7. Atlanta: Dougie Hamilton
- The Thrashers would love to add offence but they can't pass up a big time defenceman in Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton can do it all. He plays an upwards of 40+ minutes. He plays the penalty kill and is pretty much a one man defence. He can produce in all situations and will Bogosian possibly being moved I could see him begin a replacement for Bogo.

8. Columbus: Ryan Murphy
- Columbus adds a powerplay quarterback and will help their transition game. He has had a great U-18 thus far and has the speed to really change the backend of a team. He is easily the BPA at this point and could turn out to be an absolute steal. He dropped a bit due to his size... even though he isn't actually that small. BPA.

9. Boston: Duncan Siemens
- The big bad bruins have a replacement for Zdeno Chara and can help solidfy their defence in front of Tim Thomas. After adding Seguin last year they could be looking for a long term stud on defence. Chara is already 33 and Kaberle is 32. They are also going to need a strong defence when Thomas is on the out. I love this nasty side and think he has burin marked all over him. BPA.

10. Minnesota: Joel Armia
- The wild love their finnish players. He will look great with Granlund and Koivu and is also an impact winger with size. I think that Armia is the type of player to get exposed because he lacks footspeed but if he plays the wild's system he will become a very valuable peice going forward. I don't think he's the BPA but he is a very interesting player. He has sick hands and the size to go with it but I doubt his hockey sense and heart. I'm not saying he doesn't have it, but its not a strong point of his either.

11. Colorado: Mika Zibanejad
- The avs continuing to add some swedish flavour to their team and finally have someone who can replace Stewart. Although he is listed as a center he could be used as a winger at the next level. He hits, scores and will add some much needed energy to their offence. He could turn out to be the next Marian Hossa or just a solid checking third line center. I love that he likes to hit and is GREEEEAT defensively. He has the offence but it will be interesting to see if it translates over. BPA.

12. Carolina: Sven Bartschi
- The canes have used their first pick on CHL players each of the past 8 years. This year will be no different as they take yet another high scoring playoff preformed that was overlooked because of his size. He is arguably the best winger available and has that bite to his game that will make him successful at the NHL level. He can really finish plays and somehow flew under the radar despite putting up 85 points in 66 WHL games this year.

13. Calgary: Mark McNeill
- Calgary is still looking for a center that could play with Jarome Iginla. Once again the flames are able to snag an Edmonton native and address their biggest need. The flames don't have time to wait for their prospects to develop and are already loaded on defence. McNeill could be rushed right into the NHL with his size.

14. Dallas Stars: Nathan Beaulieu
-The stars have been drafting one of two things over the past few years- goal scorers and players that fill an organizational need. Since they already have a plethora of goal scoring wingers in the system, I would suggest that need is once again the main focus. Sure, they could pick Scheifele here if Richards bolt but if he doesn't their most immediate need is another offensive defenceman. The addition of Alex Goligoski the Dallas Stars were able to help their transition game but Goligoski was overused and player a ton of icetime. Beaulieu should take some pressure off Goligoski and help solidify the stars defence.

15. NY Rangers: Matthew Puempel
- The rangers could use some more goal scoring up front and Puempel provides that for them. He could turn out to be the best pure goal scorer in the draft and has a work ethic and attitude that makes everyone around him that much better. He put up great numbers on a Pete's team that looked like it wasn't even going to make the playoffs. His injury could cause some question marks but given that it was his first surgery, I don't see it hurting his draft stock that much.

16. Buffalo Sabres: Tyler Biggs
- The Sabres get bigger up front and add some grit to their game in Tyler Biggs. They are lucky that Biggs falls to them as he could even go inside the top 10 if a team likes him enough. Even though Buffalo is loaded up front the only other player I could see them trying to take on defence would be Jonas Brodin. But Biggs is just too much to pass on.

17. Montreal Canadiens: Mark Scheifele
- Montreal is lucky to grab Scheifele. Bigg centers don't grow on trees and he is certaintly capable of being that. He plays the game like a big guy but still needs to bulk up. He played on a very weak Barrie team but was still able to put up a whole lot of points. His U-18 tournament should also see his stock rise. I would be surprised to see him even go ahead of both Biggs and McNeill on draft day. A small Montreal Canadiens team welcomes his size.

18. Chicago Blackhawks: Alexander Khokhlachev
- The Hawks continue to add some scoring up front. Koko has been great in both the playoffs and the regular season with the Windsor Spitfires. Although a lot of players like Namestnikov more (and their is merit to that), I think they could use a finisher like Khokhlachev more.

19. Edmonton Oilers: Jonas Brodin
Edmonton already has a bunch of tough defenceman on the blueline of the future but lacks a powerplay quarterback. He still has decent size and can see the ice very well. I feel like they could address the size issue with Oleksiak at this point but Tuebert/Peckham/Marincin already bring a lot of size. The oilers could use someone that can help breakout the offence but isn't a smurf. Also his swedish background could help bring in more swedish flavour to the city.


20. Phoenix Coyotes: Nicklas Jensen
- The yotes need offence and haven't strayed away from the danes before. I think Jensen is a steal here and with his combination of size and speed he will be a gamer for the Coyotes. With goals hard to come by for Phoenix his 29 regular seasons and 7 playoff games will be helpful. If Khokhlachev is not taken by the Hawks a couple picks earlier I could see them grabbing him instead.

21. Ottawa Senators: Dmitri Jaskin
Jaskin will look great on Ottawa's future top line with Jason Spezza one day. If he wasn't injured earlier he could have had a chance to break into the top 10 this year. I think he is certainly a book bust prospect with a lot of upside. Ottawa clearly looks to add offence on draft day and with Strome they are set down the middle. They might also look at Saad with this pick but given how fans already think Spezza is lazy... they would probably rip Saad apart for playing like a kitten.

22. Anahiem Ducks: Scott Mayfield
- Although most have Oleksiak much higher then Mayfield, I like Mayfields toughness and ability to stand up for teammates. I think that Anaheim has a lot of puck movement on the back end but could definitely use a project like Mayfield in the system.

23. TampaBay Lightning: Joe Morrow
Tampa is set up front but still needs to build the backend. Morrow will help their transition game and getting the puck on the sticks of the forwards. He has shown that he can do the job on a great portland team so their should be no reason he can't do the same on a great Tampa team.

24. Toronto: Zack Phillips
- Burke trys to grab the center of the future late in the draft. Obviously he would prefer a bigger center like McNeill or Schiefele but both will be long gone before the leafs pick. He is also set on the backend and will probably overlook a guy like Scott Mayfield even though he is totally his type of player. I think they will look for centers and big wingers.

25. Detriot: Vladislav Namestnikov
- Detroit with another steal. They get the hardworking russian that will be given plenty of time to develop.

26. San Jose: Jamieson Oleksiak
- A team in need of more defence can't help but overlook Oleksiak's size even though he remains to be a big project. I think he would be very handy going up against Kopitar, Penner, Simmonds, etc. all the time.

27. Pittsburgh: Brandan Saad
-Big winger might look a whole lot better playing alongside Crosby or Malkin. I think he could go much higer in the draft (10-15) but still question his work ethic and skating.

28. Toronto: Boone Jenner
-Burke continues to add to his group of forwards and could have a future assistant captain on his hands. He is definitely a Burke type player and will add some size and grit to the top 6 forward group in Toronto.

29. Washington: Tomas Jurco
- Washington has never shyed away from talented players and it seems to have worked well thus far. I think that Jurco still needs a lot of time to develop but he will be worth the wait once he is able to play a larger role on his team.

30. Vancouver: Stefan Noesen
- Finall the canucks grab the big, gritty, goal scoring winger with the last pick of the draft. I really like Noesen's game and he could work into their bottom 6 alongside Cody Hogson down the road.

Obviously this is going to be a VERY wide open draft and wouldn't be surprised if some of these players drop into the second round. Just outside the first round are notable players in Rocco Grimaldi, David Musil, Daniel Catenacci, Jonathan Miller, and Ty Rattie.

Music Recommendation: Bloody Beetroots

This Italian Electronica duo is just wicked. I mean seriously, whats not to like about them? They wear black spider man masks (not venom masks) at every show and have a dark electronica side that you can still dance to. So far they only have Romborama as their only album released in 2009 but thats not stopping them. The album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Also, the Bloody Beetroots have a TON of remixes at their disposal. They have remixed Martin Solveig, Goose, Crookers, The Killers, Timbaland, The Chemical Brothers, Benny Benassi, Tiga, The Kills, Metallica, and MSTRKRFT to name a few. They are well known for their songs "Butter", "Warp 1.9", "Dimmakmmunication", "Public Enemy", and "Cornelius". I also really like this song despite not being as popular:

Music Recommendation: Calvin Harris

Adam Richard Wiles or "Calvin Harris" is a scotish born DJ who has made a name for himself despite only releasing two albums. He released "I Created Disco" in 2007 and "Ready For The Weekend" in 2009. His most popular singles for these albums include "Flashback", "I'm Not Alone", "The Girls", "Colours", and "You Used To Hold Me". He has also remixed the "Ting Tings", "Katy Perry", "Mika", "Kelis", "Cutcopy" and "Zuper Blahq" amongst others.

Harris has a highly anticipated album coming out this year with "Awooga" sounding much different then his older stuff. The song was written and produced by himself and could lead into a completely different style. His new style is very club oriented and ventures past his 1980's sounding pop music. It's always cool when he has Bongo's, guitars, and what not. I still think he is one of the best DJ's out their even though he tends to attract a lot of douchebags (much the same way Deadmau5 does). He just finished his show in Vancouver last night and isn't expected to be back in Canada until December 27th when he plays in Calgary.

I'm A Nerd: Titan Quest

(picture courtesy of dorkclub.com)

If you ever played Diablo 2, then you have to play titan quest. TQ is pretty much act for act the same as Diablo except with better graphics. Well, I mean that graphics aren't that great but its certainly better then the choppy graphics from blizzard. Titan Quest gives the gamer the ability to combine professions and customize their skill trees to come up with a unique warrior. Obviously, having this much customization makes the game have a lot of replay value. In addition, the game really challenges you to synergize these skills and become an effective warrior. If you know what you are doing you can blow through the game but if you combine the wrong skills you could spend an unpwards of 90+ hours just trying to get through the three levels of difficulty.

Don't get me wrong though, as fun as this game is it could have been much better. The items are saved to your harddrive so its really easy to cheat and modify items. If you do this the game is pretty much ruined. It also makes trading non-existant. I would also have to say their setup for multiplayer makes it VERY hard to communicate with other players. Also, if you delete the game your character is lost forever. The characters are not saved online. For example, I had a level 55 Templar that could easily make his way through any difficulty but was sadly lost when I reformatted my computer. The templar has 100% block and is pretty much invincible. You can farm bosses and almost put the game to shame. In fact here is a video of what he would have looked like:



Anyways, check out titan quest if you can't wait for the release of Diablo 3. I loved Diablo 2 and liked Titan Quest even more. It will bring back those old school RPG tendancies that you love. Its a fun game that allows you to just kick back, let your character level and gather new gear. You can purchase it though steam for only $14.99 and it tends to go on sale quite a bit as well.

Music Recommendation: The Kooks

This english indie rock band was originally formed in 2004, yet only has two full albums released to date. The Kooks released "Inside In/Inside Out" in 2006 and followed it up with "Konk" in 2008. Their first album is 4x platinum in the United Kingdom while "Konk" is gold. Although they only have two albums they have also released a crazy amount of covers including "MGMT", "Coldplay", "Peter, Bjorn & John", "Gnarls Barkley", "Frank Sinatra", "The Kinks" and "Ace of Base".

Some of their singles include "She Moves in Her Own Way", "Ooh La", "Seaside", "Do You Wanna", "Shine On", "Sway" and "Always where I need to be". They list bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Police and David Bowie as influences. The have also been compared to "The Strokes", "The Artic Monkeys", "The Libertines", "Razorlight" and "The Fratellis".

Food Recommendation: Good Buddy

(picture courtesy of eatingisthehardpart.com)


For anyone who lives in Edmonton and doesn't want to venture out into china town then Good Buddy is for you. If you had a long day you can simply order everything online and end up getting legit chinese food. If you do want to go out they are located on 2059 - 111 Street right next to the sobeys. Just as a heads up do NOT get this restaurant confused with Buddy Wonton right off whyte and on 104 street.

When you order the worst you are going to get is "meh" food but everyone seems to have their favourite that most takeout places can't beat. For starters, their deep fried squid is very good. They also have killer salt and pepper porkchops, honey garlic chicken and special chow mein. All their vegetables are prepared to perfection and always crisp. Their tender beef is great and their Wonton soup is pretty good too. Sure, if might not be the greatest chinese food place but if you are looking for delivery then Good Buddy is the way to go for the quality of food your receive.

Music Recommendation: Smashing Pumpkins

Food Recommendation: Cora

(picture courtesy of albertaretail.blogspot.com)

So if your up for waking up at 6 in the morning and rushing down to the southside for some of the best breakfast in Edmonton then I strongly recommend Cora's. They always load up your plate full of fruit and is simply delicious. If you want a breakfast that reminds you of a feast that you would have with the whole family on those special ocassions then Cora's is a great starting place. They offer a wide range of traditional breakfast meals but manage to improve on every one of them.

Music Recommendation: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This American indie rock band really took off after they opened for "The Strokes" and "The White Stripes". With three albums out already they have released a different sounding album each time but still maintained a constant vibe that has gathered a ton of fans. Their first album "Fever to Tell" sold 750,000 copies and NME rated it as the fifth best album of the decade. Their second album "Show Your Bones" had NME rated it as the second best album of the year and the 32nd best album of the decade. It was nominated for best alternative music album and sold 56,000 copies in its first week. Finally "Its Blitz" continued the trend being constantly rated as one of the best albums of the year. Check out their songs "Gold Lion", "Heads Will Roll", "Maps", "Dragon Queen", and "Kiss, Kiss".

2011 Draft Prospect:: Marcel Noebels

Statistics (2010-2011): Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): 66GP 28G 26A 54P -11

Although the 6'3" 200lbs powerforward Marcel Nobels was passed over in last years draft, I would say that he has a very good call of being drafted in the middle rounds of this years draft. Given that he was on a very weak Seattle team that didn't quite make it to the playoffs, Noebels had a very good year in the WHL. He was second on his team in goals with 28 and was third in team scoring. Given that he played less games and is younger the the two players ahead of him, thats pretty good. Good enough to be second in WHL rookie goal scoring and fifth in points. It's also worth mentioning that he is probably the best 5 on 5 producer on his team since only 7 of his goals were scored on the powerplay. By comparison, tema leading Burke Gallimore has 22 powerplay goals. His -11 is actually pretty good considering that the average rating for his team was around -18.

What I really like about Noebels is that he uses his size well and doesn't shy away from the physical play. I would be pretty happy with Noebels with Edmonton's or Calgary's third round pick in this years draft. For more great information on Marcel Nobels check out nhl.com from a little while back. He finished ranked 49th on CSS's final rankings.

Music Recommendation: Death Cab For Cutie

Death Cab For Cutie is an American Indie Rock band from Bellingham, Washington. They have been around since 1997 and released 6 albums to date. Their latest album "Codes and Keys" will be released May 31st and feature their new single "You Are A Tourist". Some of their more popular singles include "I Will Follow You into the Dark", "Sould Meets Body", "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Grapevine Fires", and "The New Year".

Music Recommendation: White Lies

This english indie rock band have often drawn comparisons to Joy Division, The Killers and Interpol. They have very dark sounding vocals but is still very uplifting. White Lies have released two albums thus far titled "To Lose My Life" and "Ritual". Some of the singles worth checking out include "Death", "To Lose My Life", "Unfinished Business", "Bigger Than Us", "Is Love" and "Streetlights".

I'm A Nerd: Super Meat Boy

Team Meat released this single player game in October, 2010. It pretty much cleaned up for every kind of award for indie games. It has sold over 600,000 copies last I checked and was considered the most challenging game of 2010 according to IGN. It has very simple controls but every move has to be precise or you little meat boy will go slashing into saws. I love that the saws are all covered and meat and that the gore doesn't disappear if you fail the level. Certainly worth trying... now I just have to get good at it.

I'm A Nerd: Angry Birds

Believe it or not but over 12 million copies of Angry Birds has been sold to date. Originally released on the Apple iOS in December in 2009. Even though it is one of the most mainstream games out their it is considered to be one the great runaway hits of 2010. Essentially you have to use your angry birds to blow up paths to get the hard to reach pigs. It's a challenging puzzle game that is a whole lot of fun while your stuck on the bus or have a few minutes to waste while on the move. It also has stars for each level and easter eggs to increase the replay value.

2011 Draft Prospect: CSS Final Rankings

(picture courtesy of reddeerrebels.com)

For those of you who haven't seen the latest rankings that were released on April 11th you can find the rankings here. Also, if you don't know what CSS is or what they do, they are essentially an organization that the NHL uses to rank 2011 draft prospects. Every year they divide their list into European and North American skaters/goalies at the request of NHL teams. So if Adam Larsson is rated first overall in Europe, it doesn't really have any impact on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going first in North America.

Sure, their rankings may not be the best come draft day, but right now they allow NHL teams to key on certain players that are just entering the playoffs. You often see players like Jeffrey Skinner sky-rocket up because of playoff performances. It is up to NHL teams to make their own decisions if they are looking at playoff performance. I am going to quickly break down some things that I really like about the rankings as well as dislikes.

1. Michel Briere Trophy? Mike Bossy Trophy? Pffft. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Larsson are rated at the top players. Although I wouldn't be disappointed with Sean Couturier or Gabriel Landeskog with the Edmonton Oilers 1st overall pick, these two players have really seperated themselves from the rest of the pack. It is also worth noting that Jonathan Huberdeau could very well be in the mix with his outstanding numbers in the QMJHL. Having said this, I think having Sean Couturier ranked 6th behind Nathan Beaulieu is very unreasonable- at least according to this.

2. From Russia with no love. I'm not saying that Vladislav Namestnikov doesn't have a good chance to go ahead of Alexandr Khokhlachev but for him to be rated 11th while Koko is 29th is surprising to say the least. Namestnikov is a good player but I think he will be in the 20-40 range come June 24th. It should also be noted that Nikita Kucherov was the highest rated russian outside North America coming up at 17th in the European rankings.

3. Third times the charm? Benjamin Conz is still rated as the fourth best goaltender in Europe. He hasn't been drafted by now, is undersized and doesn't exactly have the greatest save percentage with a .905. I wouldn't be suprised to see Lars Volden and Frans Tuohimaa drafted while Conz is passed over again.

4. Gibson & Gibson. John Gibson and Christopher Gibson are the top two rated goaltenders this year. Not a particularly strong group of goaltenders this year but I think that if anyone is drafted early it is one of these two.

5. How Swede it is. I like that Jonas Brodin is still rated above Joel Armia, Oskar Klefbom and Jaskin. I think Brodin could be a top 15 pick in this years draft if a team likes him enough. Sure, he doesn't have the size that Armia has but he was very impressive in the SEL playoffs and has a mind for the game you can't teach. I'm also really interested in seeing who claims Max Friberg, Victor Berglind and Miika Salomaki go. A team might have a hidden gem in one of these three players. With Larsson and Landeskog in the top 5 as well, it should be a great day for Sweden.

6. Rewarding good players on great teams. It looks like a bunch of St.John seadogs are higher then they should be. Phillips, Beaulieu and Jurco are all in the top 20 in the North American Rankings. Ryan Tesnik is also rated 47th while Scott oke was rated 44th. It is also interested that on a stacked portland team that Baertschi was ranked 7th while Rattie was ranked 17th. I think both of these players are too high. Sure, they are great players but I would imagine that they both drop roughly 6-10 spots behind where they currently are due to their size.

7. No longer top ten. Brandon Saad was ranked 19th and David Musil at 38. If the Edmonton Oilers hold onto their 31st overall pick you would have to think that one of these guys would be an absolute steal. I could see either of these players selected in the top 15 of the draft if a team likes them enough. It should also be worth mentioning that they were both top 10 picks going into the year.

8. Whats the point? Apparently point totals don't matter much anymore. Stefan Noesen ranked at 35th in North American rankings is really low imo. He posted 34 goals, and 43 assists for 77 points in 68 games for Plymoth this year. Matt Puempel was also ranked 28th while posting 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points in just 55 games this year.

Music Recommendation: City and Colour

Dallas Green came up with the name "City and Colour" since his first name is a city while his last name is a colour- awesomeness. He is singer/songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario that may be more well known for his role in "Alexisonfire". Howver, when he is touring he usually does so without members from "Alexisonfire". Instead, he generally as a wide range of artists supporting him while touring. City and Colour has released two albums to date and is expecting their third album to be released sometime around July of this year. I strongly recommend the songs "Save Your Scissors", "Comin' Home", "Hello, I'm in Delaware", "Body In A Box", "Sensible Heart", "The Girl", "Waiting" and "Sometimes".

Music Recommendation: Of Montreal

Try watching this video and think that you're not high... If you space out check out this video instead:

Music Recommendation: The Strokes

The strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Despite only releasing three albums thus far, they are already considered one of the most successful indie bands of our century. Well actually they released four albums with "Angles" being released late last month. It features the latest single "Under Cover of Darkness" which is really sweet. I would also recommend "Last Nite", "Reptillia", "Someday" and "The Modern Age" amongst others.

Playoff Predictions: If I was a betting man

I'm pretty sure that I've set a record for worst analysis of the playoffs. If you look at the east right now Boston, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay all lost their first game in their respective series. The only team that is currently proving me right are the Washington Capitals who barely snuck by in overtime. Not only did they fail to win, they failed to score a goal- between all three teams. The Flyers, Bruins and Lightning have all been shutout on day one.

Then if we look over in the western conference, things aren't that much better. Chicago was shutout by Vancouver and Anaheim only registered one goal against the Nashville Predators. Right now the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks are the only two teams in the western conference that are getting it done. The Sharks were lucky to escape overtime with the two points and could be a lot tighter series then most expected it to be.

Lets hope some of these teams can turn things around.

Food Recommendation: Dragon Eye Rolls

So I wen't to Maki Maki during the draft lottery for some sushi with the beckster. We had some AMAZING Dragon Eye Rolls with a very tasty orange sauce. The sauce itself was exactly spicy but it was very flavourful and a very unique kick to it. The Dragon Eyes were of the tuna variety. They were deep fried sushi that allowed you to get a great hold of them with your chopsticks. Very cool way of having sushi.

Music Recommendation: Mother Mother

Playoff Predicitions: Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks (1st Seed) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8th Seed)
Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks

Offence: Chicago
Defence: Vancouver
Goaltending: Vancouver
Coaching: Chicago
Special Teams: Vancouver

My first big upset is the defending stanley cup chicago blackhawks beating the president trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. Sure, Chicago doesn't have the same depth that they had in the past but I still think they have all the tools to be successful in the post season. If Chicago was rated number one and Vancouver was 8th im sure a lot of panels and fans would be singing a different tune. The fact is, Vancouver had a lot of gimmie points against a weak division and has NOT looked very good at the end of the season. Luongo has a history of chocking when everything is on the line and with the lose to Malholtra I don't see the Canucks having either the scoring depth or a very good penalty kill. Chicago has a VERY good powerplay but still has to work on their penalty kill if they want to be successful. Ironically they had a poor powerplay last year and a strong penalty kill so i'm not too worried about special teams with the hawks.

I also think the Hawks match up well. They have Keith and Seabrook to shutdown the sedins while the canucks will have to heavily rely on guys like Kesler, Samuelsson, and Raymond to put up points. IMO they will have a hard time doing that against a Brian Campbell that has a +28 and Hjalmarsson with a +13 on the season. As far as goaltending goes, Corey Crawford has allowed 2.30 GAA while Luongo has allowed 2.10 GAA. As far as goals for go, Vancouver has scored 262 goals while Chicago scored 258 goals. If the sedins can get shutdown, Chicago should have the edge in this series. I might be crazy for picking an 8th seeded team but its hard not to pick them after they destroyed the canucks in the playoffs last year.



San Jose Sharks (2nd Seed) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7th Seed)
Prediction: San Jose Sharks

Offence: San Jose
Defence: Los Angeles
Goaltending: Los Angeles
Coaching: San Jose
Special Teams: Tie

The Los Angeles Kings are going to have problems scoring goals against the San Jose Sharks. Even with Anze Kopitar the kings finished 21st in the leauge on the powerplay. Still, the kings had the fourth best penalty kill while the Sharks were 24th in that category. The Sharks were second on the powerplay this year and if either team can improve either rank in the post-season they should be able to win the series.

I think the Sharks have the goaltending they did not in the past. Antti Niemi has a .920 save percentage and six shutouts on the year. Dany Heatley could also relaly break out in the playoffs given his 64 points in 80 games this year. Another thing worth noting is that the only players with a negative +/- this year were their team leader in points (Patrick Marleau with -3) and Devin Setoguchi with -2. This is much different then Jack Johnson's -21, Brad Richardson's -13 and Trevor Lewis's -11. The nail in the coffin is that San Jose has SEVEN twenty goal scorers while LA will be icing three.



Detroit Red Wings (3rd Seed) vs. Phoenix Coyotes
Prediction: Detroit Red Wings

Offence: Detroit
Defence: Detroit
Goaltending: Phoenix
Coaching: Phoenix
Special Teams: Detroit

Phoenix has a terrible powerplay and a terrible penalty kill. Factor that in with the team only have one 20 goal scorer (Shane Doan with 20), I don't see where the goals are going to come from when the game is on the line. Sure, someone might step up but Detroit has four twenty goal scorers. Somehow the Yotes have mustured wins against the wings this season but I don't see it continuing in the playoffs.

I think Bryz is a stellar goaltender but im not convinced that he is that much better then Howard. Howard had a .924 save percentage last year and was sitting at .915 save percentage in the playoffs last year as well.



Anaheim Ducks (4th Seed) vs. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Anaheim Ducks

Offence: Anaheim
Defence: Nashville
Goaltending: Nashville
Coaching: Nashville
Special Teams: Anaheim

Once again, Nashville is a team that is going to struggle scoring goals. They have a brutal powerplay and were almost a team that had ZERO twenty goal scorers this season. Luckily Sergei Kostitsyn finished with 23 goals and Patric Hornqvist finished with 21 goals. Pekka Rinne is the only reason that the Predators are in the playoffs right now and he will have to stand on his head if they are going to beat the ducks. Having said that, statisically speaking Jonas Hiller and Ray Emery aren;t that far back on his numbers.

Also given the role that Corey Perry scored fifty goals and on a hot streak isn't going to help the predators. The ducks also have two solid lines that can produce while Lubomir Visnovsky is an impressive +18 and Toni Lydman is an impressive +32.

(pictures courtesy of thenow.ca, nhl.com, unathleticmag.com, admatch-syndication.mochila.com)

And The Winner Is...

The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery vaulting them from the 8th selection to the 4th overall selection. After having a terrible season and looking to draft top 2, New Jersey has really battled back. Good Karma. Of course, this means that the Edmonton have retained the first overall pick! I can't help but love Bill Daley given the Oilers "success" in the draft lottery. It will be interesting to see who General Manager Steve Tambellini and Head Amateur Scout Stu Macgregor decide to select on June 24th. After seeing the whole Seguin/Hall debate last year we can really see the difference between a first overall and second overall selection. It really looks like they are gunning for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins but wouldn't be surprised if they pick Adam Larsson or Gabriel Landeskog with the 1st overall pick.

For Fun:
http://gobarbra.com/hit/new-382d1fdfb0bc3ffc1069f3c79d8b0cf7

Music Recommendation: Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsome is an American singer, pianist and harp player from Nevada City, California. Her voice isn't very mainstream and isn't for everyone. It has been called child like by some and mesmerizing by others. She has released three albums to date including "The Milk-Eyed Mender", "Ys", and "Have One on Me". It's hard to recommend her songs as some of them are 12-17 minutes long depending on the album that you listen to. I strongly suggest checking out "Emily", "Soft As Chalk", "Ribbon Bows", and "Have One On Me" amongst others.

It's Today! It's Today!

Today is the day that the Oilers find out if they retain the first overall pick for the draft this June! Lets hope that they are able to pull off a miracle and go back to back with two first overall picks.

Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals (1st Seed) vs. New York Rangers (8th Seed)
Prediction: Washington Capitals

Offence: Washington
Defence: Washington
Goaltending: New York
Coaching: Washington
Special Teams: Washington

The analysis above might leave you pretty unclear but I will do my best to explain. Given that the Rangers score goals in bundles and arguably have the better defencemen, I still think that the Washington Capitals play better team defence and are able to generate offence... they just choose not to. Their offence is solid and can play both ends of the ice. With the addition of Arnott and Dennis Wideman they are a much deeper team. These aren't the run and gun capitals that are going to be effected by the better goaltender IMO. Washington can play so many styles and hurt you in so many ways. They finished the season second in the leauge on the PK and have shown that they can play the defence needed to win a cup.

I would be shocked if Lundqist stands on his head and takes the Rangers past the Capitals. The Rangers have a better chance of Gaborik getting injured then getting past Ovechkin and the Capitals. Still, the Rangers have had the capitals number this year and will probably cause more trouble then anticipated.



Philadelphia Flyer (2nd Seed) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7th Seed)
Prediction: Philadelphia Flyers

Offence: Philadelphia
Defence: Philadelphia
Goaltending: Buffalo
Coaching: Buffalo
Special Teams: Buffalo

Despite having a terrible end to the season and questionmarks in goal, the Philadelphia Flyers have to be the favourite in this match. Obviously don't have the goaltending that the Buffalo Sabres in Ryan Miller but I would still have to give them the go-ahead in this series. They have extraordinary depth down the middle and one of the best defences in the leauge. I have my worries that the team will rebound and put on their playoff shoes but given the damage they did last year with arguably a weaker roster... I don't see them being knocked out of the first round. One thing is for sure, they have to be better on special teams. They are 15th in the leauge on the PK and 19th on the powerplay. If they can stay out of the box they should win this series.

To be fair I like Buffalo more and wouldn't be surpised if Ryan Miller stands on his head and steals a few games. With Hecht, Roy, and Leoplold likely out it will be a challenge for the rest of the offence. I think they have it in them to outscore Philly but their defence isn't nearly as good as the Flyers.



Boston Bruins (3rd Seed) vs. Montreal Canadiens (6th Seed)
Prediction: Boston Bruins

Offence: Boston
Defence: Boston
Goaltending: Boston
Coaching: Montreal
Special Teams: Montreal

The way I see it, if Boston ends up overpaying for Kaberle and are eliminated from the playoffs in the first round they are going to look bad. Not only does Boston have the best goaltender in the leauge with Tim Thomas, I have always thought that Carey Price has been overrated. Sure he is the saviour in Montreal and has even challenged for the best goaltender this year but Thomas isn't just the best... hes the best by far. As far as offence goes the bruins are deeper down the middle and play playoff hockey. Defence is hard to argue with Kaberle and Chara being better then anything Montreal has to offer.

I know Montreal has the better head-to-head record but that is for the most part without Kaberle. They obviously have the better special teams and will have to rely on price to stand on his head to win this series. The fast Canadiens will always be a great rival of the bruins but IMO don't have the depth to score 5 on 5. The Bruins have 4 guys that have scored over 50 points while Montreal just has one. It should be a great series after the Max Pacioretty hit.



Pittsburgh Penguins (4th Seed) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5th Seed)
Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning

Offence: Tampa Bay
Defence: Pittsburgh
Goaltending: Pittsburgh
Coaching: Pittsburgh
Special Teams: Tampa Bay

With Crosby and Malkin possibly missing the playoffs and a roster that has been picked apart since their stanley cup win, I wouldn't put my money on the Penguins. I guess this is really the only upset that im predicting and for good reason. The Penguins were 25th in leauge on the powerplay while Tampa was 6th in the NHL. The Penguins had the best PK while Tampa wasn't too far off at 8th. With Crosby out their leading scorer was Kris Letang with 50 points. After that it was Chris Kunitz with 48, Tim Kennedy with 45, Pascal Dupuis with 37 and Matt Cooke with 30 points. Even if we exclued St.Louis's 99 points and Stamkos with his 91 points the Lightning look much deeper. They have Vincent Lecavalier with 54 points, Teddy Purcell with 51, Simon Gagne with 40 points, and Ryan Malone with 38 points.

Having said that, their are still concerns with it comes to Tampa Bay's defence and goaltending. I think Roloson's .912 save percentage is good enough to give them a chance every game and is only 0.06 points behind Fleury's .918. Now im not saying he's as good but I don't think he will hurt the team either. I think Clark, Hedman, Brewer, Ohlund and Kubina are solid but wish their was more. Letang, Martin and Michalek are clearly ahead.

Stay tuned for tomorrow for the Western Conference!

(pictures courtesy of japersrink.com, cdn1.sbnation.com, nydailynews.com and http://cdn2.sbnation.com)

Music Recommendation: Bat For Lashes

Natasha Khan or "Bat For Lashes" is an indie pop singer from London. She has a wide rang of talents outside her amazing voice including playing the guitar, piano, bass, harpsichord and autoharp. She released her debut album "Fur And Gold" in 2006 and followed it up in 2009 with "Two Suns". I really like Two Suns but both are solid albums. I really like her songs "Daniel", "Glass", "Siren Song" and "Horse and I".

Television Recommendation: Big Bang Theory

(picture courtesy of mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com)

The popular American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" is already in its fourth season and has seen a great deal of success. Not only have they been able to get several celebrities on the show and offers multiple plot sequences to give the audience a little bit of everything. Although the show started off much nerdier (the characters were very awkward, skiddish, and used diction that wouldn't appear on most shows) the show has become more mainstream and easier to follow. Most jokes are explained rather than being referenced and the love story developing between the main character "Leonard" and his neighbour across the way "Penny" comes in whenever necessary. It has had more filler episodes and irrelevant plot ploys as of late but is still hilarious and checking out. Lots of great jokes and always a good time.

Music Recommendation: Wilco

Wilco is great. I'm not a fan of all of their songs but they are an easy listen. The band was formed in 1994 and is still going strong. Wilco has released seven albums but has really only seen "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" become a great success. Some of their singles include "War on War", "Im A Wheel", "You and I", "You Never Know", and "Outtasite (Outta Mind)". Given the history of the band, you could almost say that the band has had two or three seperate sounds. Even though lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Bassist John Stirratt have been with the band for the entire duration, they have gone through a few guitarist and two different drummers. Their older stuff is loved by some and their newer stuff by others.

Music Recommendation: Dave Matthews Band

Music Recommendation: Amy Millan

Although she is well known for her singing in the band "Stars" or "Broken Social Scene", Amy Millan has had a terrific release of solo albums. Her debut album was back in 2006 when she released "Honey from the Tombs" and followed it up with "Masters of the Burial". Although their aren't a bunch of singles on the very complete albums, I will recommend "Bury This", "Skinny Boy", "I Will Follow You into the Dark", "Losin You" and "Baby I".

I'm A Nerd: Guild Wars

So this is probably just as bad as world of warcraft. Sure, you can get into the whole argument that WOW is cartoony and takes years longer to level but at the end of the day their are a lot of similarities and both are big time sinks. I thought however I would post my characters that I have worked very hard on. Yes im nerdy and yes you can make fun of me for wasting my time. I had a great time pimping out all my characters and met some good internet amigos along the way. The cool thing about my characters is that each one is named after an Edmonton Oiler. It not only allowed other people on GW to know I was an oiler fan, but helped me spead the wonderful world of hockey to others. My characters aren't in any way supposed to resemble the actual player but do have Oiler names. These names cannot be duplicated in game. I tried to get Ryan Whitney and Shawn Horcoff but both were taken by other users. Luckily I was able to get all three kids. Each one of my characters are level 20 with max/prestige armor. They also have all their primary skills for their given profession.

Theo Peckham


Taylor Hall


Sam Gagner


Tom Gilbert


Magnus Paajarvi


Ladislav Smid (My Main Character)


Ales Hemsky


Jordan Eberle


Ryan Nugent Hopkins

Batweek: Killer Bee

Last installment of batweek! A couple more completely ridiculous videos from batman. Memo to self, don't trip on a wire that releases a killer bee.

Food Recommendation: Rouladen

(picture courtesy of cookipedia.co.uk)

Rouladen is a German dish that was once a common dish but is now usually only consumed as a festive dish. Considered to be a sunday family dish or a dish used for celebrations, Rouladen at its base are very thinly sliced rolls of beef. Generally a hot mustard is spread onto the slices of beef stuffed with gherkins (chopped pickles) and onions. The dish is left to cook in a rouladen sauce. The sauce is basically a gravy but can included beer or wines to spice it up a bit.

Music Recommendation: Hannah Georgas

Hannah Georgas is an indie pop singer from British Columbia. I had the joy of seeing her open for City and Colour when they performed at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium a while back. She has a fantastic voice and is really easy to sing along to. Georgas released her debut alumb "The Beat Stuff" in 2008 but it wasnt until April 2010 that she released her full-length album "This Is Good". Her album features the songs "The Deep End", "Bang Bang You're Dead", "Shine" and "Thick Skin". Her music can be hard to find but its certainly worth it!

Batweek: Exploding Shark

Fastforwad to 2:30 if your impatient. Or fastforward to 3:50 if your really impatient.

If only everything blew up when it hit the water... Oh wait. Maybe it does?

Music Recommendation: The Weepies

This indie folk band consists of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. Unlikely most bands, the two members are married, have children and currently reisde in Topanga, California. In fact, their first album "Happiness" was actually a wedding present from a close friend. It wasn't however until they released their second album "Say I Am You" that they received majority of their success. The album features songs such as "World Spins Madly On", "Gotta Have You", "Stars", and "Painting by Chagall". The entire album is solid with other less popular songs "Take It From Me" and "Nobody Knows Me At All". The band has also released albums "Hideaway" and "Be My Thrill".

Batweek: Human Surfboards

If only you could actually turn people in to human surfboards... would certainly be an awesome way of disposing a body... errr... not that I would do anything like that. Anyways, its too bad that they didn't have the bat shield when they jump through the window.

NHL Standings: Oilers Secure Last Place

(picture courtesy of dallas.theoffside.com)

So the Edmonton Oilers might have been destroyed by the aging Calgary Flames last night, but we will see who is laughing come June 24th.With both the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks winning last night, the flames were mathematically elimnated regardless of their big win on home ice. Meanwhile, Edmonton has locked up last place guaranteeing them either Adam Larsson or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on draft day. I won't get into the whole debate right now, but it's celebration worthy if you're an Edmonton Oiler fan. Although it would have been nice to see the Calgary Flames lose to the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, the night couldn't have played out better for the team. If you told me at the start of the season that Edmonton would get the 1st overall pick while the Flames and Leafs missed the playoffs- I would have taken it.

To make the night even better, the Anaheim Ducks destroyed the San Jose Sharks last night to pull within one point of the Los Angeles Kings. At least that was until the Los Angeles Kings were able to come from behind and beat the Phoenix Coyotes. Right now the standings look like this:

4. Los Angeles 80GP 98P
5. Nashville 80GP 97P
6. Phoenix 80GP 96P
7. Anaheim 80GP 95P
8. Chicago 80GP 95P
-----------------------------
9. Calgary 81GP 93P (eliminated)
10. Dallas 79GP 91P (not eliminated)

Considering Dallas plays Colorado twice and Minnesota once, they could very well pull out 6 points and surpass Nashville, Phoenix, Anaheim or Chicago. I'm not saying its likely, but its certainly possible. Also the last two games for LA are against the ducks. Considering how well they played last night, they could very well hand LA two straight losses. Unfortunately the Kings clinched a playoff spot yesterday but they could still finish 8th in the west. If this is the case, Edmonton's 1st round pick acquired from the Dustin Penner deal would be 15th-16th overall. If we could somehow land Duncan Siemens, Mark McNeill, Mika Zibanejad or Tyler Biggs with LA's pick it would certainly help speed up the rebuild.

Batweek: Batgirl Theme Song

Batman wouldn't be batman if it wasn't for the cheesy intro that everyone has come to love. Having said that, I didn't even know that Batgirl had her own theme song as well. I mean, its obviously way harder to remember then the original, but in time you catch onto the lyrics.

Music Recommendation: Florence + The Machine

Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists have successfully made a name for themselves. The indie pop released their debut album "Lungs" on July 2009 and found themselves raising the charts until they were finally the number one rated album in the UK in January 2010. The album has featured songs such as "Dog Days Are Over", Kiss with a Fist", "Cosmic Love", "You've Got the Love" and "Drumming Song". The album is now quadruple platinum in the UK and Ireland, and Platinum and Australia. She has also cleaned up by receiving "Best New Artist" at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

With as much success as they are already receiving, it should be interesting to see what Florence puts together this year. Her album should be one of the highest anticipated albums of the year.

2011 Draft Prospect: Nicklas Jensen

(picture courtesy of ontariohockeyleague.com)

Statistics (2010-2011): Oshawa (OHL): 61GP 29G 29A 58P +14

The 6'3" power forward from Oshawa is the next great dane. He had an impressive regular season finishing 5th in OHL rookie scoring. Not only that, but he has had a great playoffs so far with four goals and two assists for six points in five games thus far. Although his numbers aren't earth shattering, he has a very late birthday on March 6th which makes scouts wonder if he is just starting to show his full potential. He had dominated with his U20 club and put up unreal numbers but hasn't been the offensive dynamo many were expecting. Jensen is a very strong and powerful skater for a bigger forward and has the hands to go with it. He is a great two way player and doesn't rely on the powerplay to produce.

Still, the left winger is projected to be a top 20 pick in this years upcoming draft but probably won't crack the top ten. His production could be lower because a player like Christian Thomas is given most of the quality icetime. On the other hand though, his secondary role in juniors worries me. I see him as a solid NHL player but still doubt his overall offensive ceiling. I think he has accomplished quite a lot already and give the kid props coming over to the CHL but isn't the ideal fit for the Oilers at this point. Having said that, this video makes me think whoever drafts him will be VERY happy.

Batweek: Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb...

This has to be the longest fuse for a bomb that I have ever seen.

Music Recommendation: The Sounds

The Sounds are another Swedish indie rock/ new wave band that has received a lot of attention thus far. Originally founded in Helsingborg in 1999 they have released three albums including "Living in America", "Dying to Say This to You", and "Crossing the Rubicon". Although the first two albums had a lot more success then their last album, "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" has gathered a lot of attention worldwide. Maja Ivarsson has also attracted a lot of attention from the gay community for being openly bisexual.

The band has also JUST released "Something To Die For" on March 29th and has started to make a name for itself touring with bands such as the Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Morningwood, Angels & Airwaves, +44, Mando Diao, Panic! At The Disco, No Doubt and Paramore. Here is a single from their latest album as well:

Food Recommendation: Bánh mì

(picture courtesy of bcrestaurants.ca)

Bánh mì is essentially a vietnamese submarine. The sandwhich uses a vietnamese baguette that consists of both rice flour and wheat as well as thinly sliced pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, daikon, different types of peppers and an assortment of sauces of meat/tofu fillings. These fillings are usually some form of chicken, pork, beef, ham and headcheese. Other less common forms include scrambled egg, turkey, and even meatballs. I should also mention that non-meaty ingredients commonly found conists of Pate, Fish Sauce, Tomatoes, and lettuce.

Anyways these things usually run from $3.50-$5.00 and are a cheap vietnamese alternative that is equivalent to the common cold cut found at a place like subway. So if subway doesn't have their $5 footlong promotion going it might be worth it to try something new and check out Bánh mì!

P.S. Beckster says "mine was yucky" but I really enjoyed mine!

Music Recommendation: Miss Kittin

Caroline Hervé, or "Miss Kittin" is a bit older then the other ladies I have recommend. Born in Grenoble, France in 1973 its actually pretty interesting to see the 38 year old have such a breakthrough from 1998-2008. In 1998 she broke through with "The Hacker" or Michel Amato. Together "Miss Kittin and The Hacker" released "1982" and "Frank Sinatra". She also released the misfits song "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?" under the title "Rippin Kittin".

Although she received a lot of success with her collaborations it wasn't until 2004 that she release her solo debut album called "I Com". The album saw singles such as "Professional Distortion" and "Requiem for a Hit". She then followed up her debut success with another relatively well received album "BatBox" that had hits "Kittin Is High", "Grace" and "Barefoot Tonight". Her latest album "Two" was released in 2009 with former member "The Hacker". A little before its time, "PPPO" and "1000 Dreams" did not nearly receive the same success that her other albums received.

I'm A Nerd: Settlers of Catan

(picture courtesy of fanpop.com)

Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber in 1995. The game has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and has even been called "The board game of our time". The game also had expansions: Seafarers, Cities & Knights, and Traders & Barbarians. These give the game a new dynamic and also increases the size of the board to allow 5-6 people at a time.

Essentially the board is made up of different tiles of land with numbers on each tile. You can then place a settlemen in between the tiles (so that your settlement usually touches 3 tiles at once). This could mean that is touches one tile with a 6, one tile with a 12 and one tile with a 4. Thus, whenever one of these numbers is rolled you get a resource that corresponds to that tile. You then use these resources to expland your settlemens and beat your opponents to new areas of the board.

As of July 2010 it is also available on the playstation network as well as xbox live.

Batweek: Surfing

This is pretty much how all battles should be decided. I would have loved to see this in the Dark Knight.

"True, Robin. It was noble of that animal to hurl himself into the path of that final torpedo. He gave his life for ours." - Batman.

Music Recommendation: Dragonette

The Canadian electropop group doesn't quite makeup up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Toronto band is certainly making its hometown more bareable. Their debut album "Galore" was released in 2007 and featured singles "I Get Around" and "Take It Like a Man" amongst others. Although "Galore" was a great album their second album "Fixin To Thrill" had a lot more success featuring singles ""Fixin to Thrill", "Pick Up the Phone" and a collaboration with Martin Solveig for "Boys & Girls". This of course lead Dragonette's lead singer, Martina Sorbara, to her smash single "Hello". She also worked with Kaskade to release "Fire In Your New Shoes".

Batweek: Holy Blogging Batman!

I just thought I would do a quick update on my blog and the direction that it seems to be taking! So after having a someone decent response to my "weekly" theme, I thought I would continue the trend by having Batweek! Every single day I will be bringing up something cool that has happened with the original 1966 Batman featuring Adam West. Hopefully these clips give some insight as to why people are actaully batman fans and not just fans of the "Why so serious" batman.

I would also like to point out that I am now already up to 80 blog posts in just under a month of blogging. Lets look forward to another month of blogging! But now I must go..

"Let's go, but, inconspicuously... through the window" - Batman

Music Recommendation: Lenka

Lenka Kripac is an Australian indie pop singer that is best known for her single "The Show" as seen above. Her "Lenka" debut album is self titled and recived a lot of success thus far. Her melodic choruses and easy-flowing lyrics make all of her songs easy to sing along to. Her album is very solid and features others songs such as "Trouble Is a Friend" and "Don't Let Me Fall". She is releasing another album this april titled "Two" that features her new single "Heart Skips A Beat".

Music Recommendation: Laura Marling

Laura Beatrice Marling is a Contemporary folk artist from Eversley in Hampshire, England. She has had a great response from both her debut album "Alas, I Cannot Swim" and her second album "I Speak Because I Can". In fact, "I Speak Because I Can" has backup vocals from Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. She also has an album that she is just finalizing that should be released sometime this year.

Playoffs Payoff

It seems that every year scouts use the playoffs as a tool of measuring which prospects are ahead of others. You hear "if this guy has a good playoffs" arguments all the time. Yet, should these increases in offensive production warrant considerable attention? Does a player just get hot and fade after the playoffs, or is a players true character revealed when everything is on the line? For our answers lets look no further then last years race between Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin.

During the 2010 Taylor Hall was scoring at a rate of 40 goals and 66 assists for 106 points in just 57 games played to put Hall at 1.86 points/game. What really makes things interesting is that his playoff production sat at pretty much the exact same offensive output. During the playoffs Taylor put up 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points in just 20 games. This translate to 1.84 points per game. Tyler Seguin on the other hand had the same 106 points in 63 games. His 1.68 points/game ratio was only slightly behind halls but he did manage to score 48 goals. Heading into the playoffs however, Seguin was "shutdown" with only 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 9 games. At the end Seguins 1.11 P/G was much lower then Taylor Halls 1.84 P/G and was ultimately a deciding factor come draft day.



In addition to the two top selections in 2010, the current frontrunner for the Calder, Jeffrey Skinner saw his draft stock soar with playoff success. Although Skinners 50 goal regular season saw him scoring at a 1.4 P/G ratio, he turned things up in the playoffs considerably. Skinner saw playoff success that amounted to 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points in just 20 playoff games. He raised his points/game ratio to 1.65 despite playing tougher competition night in and night out. To put this in perspective he was ranked 15th by iss before the playoffs started yet was drafted 7th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes.

On the other side of things, Taylor Hall's teammate Cam Fowler didn't have the greatest post season despite winning the memorial cup. Fowler showed off his skills by posting 55 points in 55 points with the Spitfires in the regular season with a +38 rating. His play in the playoffs however consisted of 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 19 games. His 0.74 P/G was much lower then his 1.00 P/G in the regular season. With his drop in play, Fowler saw his draft ranking fall all the way to 12th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. Yet, he is now in the NHL and has made a name for himself with 37 points in 71 regular season games.

So what is this years crop looking like? Well here is a quick rundown of how the top ten ranked players are currently doing in the playoffs (or at least the possible top ten). I put in Mark McNeill right now but it could easily turn into Tyler Biggs, Joel Armia, Mika Zibanejad, Nicklas Jensen, Nathan Beaulieu, etc. I have then compared this to the regular season production. If this wasn't the case then Adam Larsson would rank last on both lists.

Playoffs:
1. Jonathan Huberdeau (QMJHL): 4GP 5G 7A 12P 3.00P/G
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (WHL): 4GP 4G 5A 9P 2.25P/G
3. Sean Couturier (QMJHL): 4GP 3G 5A 8P 2.00P/G
4. Gabriel Landeskog (OHL): 4GP 5G 2A 7P 1.75P/G
5. Dougie Hamilton (OHL): 4GP 1G 5A 6P 1.50P/G
6. Ryan Murphy (OHL): 4GP 1G 5A 6P 1.50P/G
7. Mark McNeill (WHL): 4GP 2G 3A 5P 1.25P/G
8. Ryan Strome (OHL): 4GP 1G 2A 3P 0.75P/G
9. Duncan Siemens (WHL): 4GP 0G 1A 1P 0.25P/G
10. Adam Larsson (SEL): 12GP 0G 3A 3P 0.25P/G

Regular Season:
1. Ryan Strome (OHL): 65GP 33G 73A 106P 1.63P/G
2. Sean Couturier (QMJHL): 58GP 36G 60A 96P 1.65 P/G
3. Jonathan Huberdeau (QMJHL): 67GP 43G 62A 105P 1.56 P/G
4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (WHL): 69GP 31G 75A 106P 1.54 P/G
5. Ryan Murphy (OHL): 63GP 26G 53A 79P 1.26 P/G
6. Gabriel Landeskog (OHL): 53GP 36G 30A 66P 1.25 P/G
7. Mark McNeill (WHL): 70GP 32GP 49A 81P 1.16 P/G
8. Dougie Hamilton (OHL): 67GP 12G 46A 58P 0.87P/G
9. Duncan Siemens (WHL): 72GP 5G 38A 43P 0.60P/G
10. Adam Larsson (SEL): 37GP 1G 8A 9P 0.24P/G

Risers and Fallers:

1. Jonathan Huberdeau +1.44 P/G
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins +0.71P/G
3. Dougie Hamilton +0.63 P/G
4. Gabriel Landeskog +0.50 P/G
5. Sean Couturier +0.35
6. Ryan Murphy +0.26 P/G
7. Mark McNeill +0.09P/G
8. Adam Larsson +0.01P/G
9. Duncan Siemens -0.35P/G
10. Ryan Strome -0.88P/G



Its pretty obvious that right now the biggest riser is Jonathan Huberdeau by a large margin. Even though RNH has been the talk of the town in the WHL and is second in leauge scoring in the playoffs, Huberdeau has been unbelieveable thus far. You could argue that the 16th placed team in the WHL is stronger then the QMJHL (which I wouldn't be surprised at all) but you can't discredit his playoff statistics regardless. As far as fallers go I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan Strome falls off the map a bit while Siemens doesn't even make the top 10 if their play continues this way. If playoffs are indeed a major contributing factor, then I could see RNH be taken ahead of Landeskog, Couturier and Larsson. It would also be true that Huberdeau is taken ahead of Strome, Murphy and Hamilton.

As far as picks outside the top ten go, the biggest surprises would included Shane McColgan who is leading the WHL in playoff scoring with 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points in 4 games played despite just falling shy of a point per game pace in the regular season. In addition the QMJHL has a couple surprises with Zack Phillips scoring at 3.00 P/G and Phillip Danault producing at 2.00 P/G despite having considerably lower totals in the regular season. If these three players continue to be playoff monsters you would have to think that their draft rankings will be much higher then they currently are.

At the end of the day the playoffs have affected players draft statuses, but it is not always warranted. Too many times have players not made the playoffs or had "meh" playoffs only to catch fire afterwards. As much as the playoffs can help you raise your draft stock, a poor playoff shouldn't hurt a players draft stock. A player may not help his cause in the draft, but it shouldn't hinder it either. This just goes to show that as much as scouts like to use the playoffs as tool when determining who should be drafted,

(pictures courtesy of life.com, ontariohockeyleague.com and stationnation.blogspot.com)