This is what happens when you celebrate community, volunteers, fans, and those active in hockey: HockeyStars.com is a new social networking portal focused on all of these important people when it comes to local minor hockey players in BC, the real stars of the game.

HockeyStars is devoted to the real stars of the game. It’s a social networking site for minor hockey players, coaches, parents and volunteers that will officially launch to the public in time for the 2008-09 hockey season.

To kick off in style, they’re looking for your photo or video, on or off the ice, of your personal best hockey moment for the My Best Hockey Highlight contest.

All you need to do is head to the site from May 5 to June 9, 2008, upload your content along with a brief story (250 words max) that depicts your Best Hockey Highlight and you could win an XBox 360 or a $1000 Citizens Bank gift card Visa. Also, if you head to the site and place votes on the content that’s up there you could also win a “voters” prize pack including a Sony DVD Camcorder.

As a super cool added bonus gift, if you drop a comment on THIS blog post by midnight on Monday May 19th, you’ll be entered to win these two hockey books authographed by the author, Jason Farris:

Hockey Play by Play with Jim Robson (legendary Canucks broadcaster) and Hail Cesare (tribute to Cesare Maniago).

So let’s recap shall we?

Step One: Check out the My Best Hockey Highlight contest on HockeyStars.com. If you have some content to share (and are 13 years old and up), upload your photos or videos for your chance to win a $1000 Citizens Bank gift card or XBox 360. If you don’t have content to share, vote on other submissions to win the “voters” prize.

Step Two: Just for checking out the HockeyStars site, leave a comment on this blog post to have a chance at winning the two great hockey books mentioned above.

I’ll draw the winner of the books on Tuesday May 20th, pulling a name at random from all the comments below. A huge hat tip to Nancy Zimmerman for making this possible and for being the best social media for banking evangelist around. Good luck everyone!

It’s no secret that we have a strong and proud Asian Heritage in Vancouver, which is one of the reasons why May has been named Asian Heritage Month.

This acknowledges the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada. Canada’s cultural diversity strengthens the country socially, politically and economically in innumerable ways. Asian Heritage Month is an ideal occasion for all to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of various Asian cultures. Canadians are invited to take part in the festivities that commemorate the legacy of Asian Canadians and their many contributions which have helped Canada to become the multicultural and diverse nation it is today. [City of Vancouver]

Two years ago John and I met David Suzuki duing the ExplorASIAN festivities and I’ll be posting a bit more about upcoming events around town.

The first installment of this month’s series (even though it’s still only April 30th) comes from a link sent to me over del.icio.us by our globe-trotting friend Henry Lee. It’s about the first Chinese-Canadian to play in the NHL: Larry Kwong.

Born in Vernon, BC, Kwong played for the Trail Smoke Eaters then when noticed by NHL scouts touring BC in the mid 1940s he was picked up by the New York Rovers.

NY Rangers

Seizing the opportunity to play in New York, Kwong registered 19 goals and 37 points in 47 games with the Rovers in 1946-47. In the process, he helped the team nicknamed the Red Shirts win its first Eastern Hockey League title since the pre-World War II era…

…Kwong had been dominating with the Rovers that season and was averaging well over a point per game. This had already made him a popular figure among New York’s Chinese community and his call-up to the NHL made headlines, particularly in Western Canada where he was already something of a folk hero…

…Kwong would play his only game for a Rangers team that barely qualified for the 1948 Stanley Cup playoffs against an even weaker team at the Montreal Forum… …Kwong’s moment on the ice was brief and fleeting — not much longer than one minute — but it was also historic and remains noteworthy 60 years later. [New York Rangers Website]

As much as I’ve never liked the Rangers (mostly since 1994), this story reminds me of Moonlight Graham. Larry Kwong opened the door for countless players of Asian decent (and of any other ethnic background, really) and is remembered to this day as a valuable member of the Rangers alumni.

“His career might have lasted for only a New York minute, but Larry Kwong’s role in hockey history will never be forgotten.”

There are only two games left in round one of the NHL playoffs, both coming down to the wire for the Caps vs Flyers, and the Sharks vs Flames. Tonight the Habs took the Bruins in another Game 7, which is probably for the best since my nephews now all own sweaters and my niece wouldn’t have grown into my Boston jersey for another few years.

Whenever the home team gets left behind for the post season those who aren’t too soured on the entire sport chose another team to follow.

Photo credit: Darren Barefoot on Flickr

With hockey sometimes it’s the “other Canadian teams” in the playoffs or perhaps the team that beat us out because hey - it stings a bit less to know you were defeated by the best. Other times you’ll start to root for your favourite player, you’ll chose a team by geographical location, or finally your friend has a favourite team and since you’ll be watching the playoffs together you just go along with their choice.

I’ve poked around the blogosphere to see who’s looking good to some bruised Canucks fans right about now:

So how about everyone else? You can select up to two answers in the Miss604 Poll below:

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I’ve been keeping my eye on the Eastern Conference as I am one of those bitter people who can’t stand to look at any other team in the West right now. I must admit, it’s been some pretty fantastic hockey with end to end action and the league’s most exciting players.

Tuesday will decide which other two teams carry on to round two with the Washington vs Philly at 7pm ET and San Jose vs Calgary at 10pm ET.

Mixing my new parks series with the staple history tidbits, a quick note about the former site of one of Canada’s first indoor ice rinks.

Now the home of Devonian Harbour Park, and one of the Sculpture Biennale pieces, Denman Arena on the corner of Georgia and Denman was a fixture and tribute to hockey on Canada’s west coast.

… [Denman Arena] was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1911 and held 10,500 people, making it one of the world’s largest arenas when it was built. It burned down in 1936 after an explosion at an adjacent Coal Harbour shed. [wiki]

It was also home to the Stanley Cup when the Vancouver Millionaires reigned in 1915. Knowing all of this makes ask why there’s no monument or plaque dedicated to this historical structure somewhere in the park. The only evidence of the arena’s existence is in a tiny display box at the entrance to the West End Community Centre ice rink.

I wonder what it would take to make more of a permanent dedication a reality in memory of this important piece of Vancouver, Canadian, and World hockey history. Although with the recent seasons experienced by our professional NHL team in this town, one wonders if this would be a stinging tribute or subtle encouraging reminder.

My moment with Trev in 2006

Yesterday the CBC contacted Gary because he’s responsible for an online petition to get a street renamed after Trevor Linden. Unfortunately Gary wasn’t available to go into the CBC ‘bunker’ this morning so I was his stand-in. I was basically asked, “why name a street after Linden?” and after I initially froze after the first question (cause I get nervous like that) I think the rest of the interview with Rick Cluff went okay. You can listen online sometime today or tomorrow on the Early Edition’s website.

When trying to find the Facebook group dedicated to the same street-naming cause, I came across over 130 other groups all in support of Linden. Here are a few examples:

… just to name a few.

It’s no surprise that this city is crazy about him. Like many have echoed, he personifies the Canucks in this hockey-crazy town that hasn’t even won a Stanley Cup since the beginning of last century. He’s represented Canada on the world stage at the Olympics, and in the World tournament, he’s been an All Star, a record-breaker, award-winner, and is also currently up for the Masterton Trophy for 2008.

We’ve got Joe Sakic Way in Burnaby and Griffiths Way downtown, both represent a tradition of hockey in this region and I think that a similar dedication to Linden is definitely in order - especially with his commitment off-ice to various charitable organizations for sick children.

Sign the petition, join the Facebook group, and let me know your thoughts below in this week’s Miss604 Poll.

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Trevor Linden will be in the Early Edition studios tomorrow morning, check back to get his thoughts on the season, and maybe even this campaign (the CBC is 690 on your am dial).

Update: Read my thoughts on page A6 of today’s Province newspaper.

Update: I’ll also be on the CBC’s Early Edition with Rick Cluff Wednesday morning (April 9th) talking about Trevor Linden and more specifically, the petition to rename a street after him.

From The Canucks Hockey Blog

Did anyone even notice the score last night? I’m sure Flames fans did but all eyes in Vancouver were on #16, Trevor Linden (with brief kudos to Iginla for his 50th goal of the season).

Captain Canuck is the second in all time scoring, he holds almost every playoff records for the team and despite the four dark years when he wasn’t on our team, he’s still played more games than any other for Vancouver. He’s all heart, all class (on and off the ice), and although he hasn’t yet officially announced his retirement, we were all pretty certain last night was his final game as a Canuck.

The team awards were also announced last night and thanks to JJ I was able to sit in on this momentous occasion - here are some photos:

My iPhone doesn’t take the best “on ice” shots hence all the overheads but I’m glad I was able to experience this in person… and get choked up… and have my eyes well up with tears during that impromptu fan tribute to Trev at the beginning of the 3rd.

This Saturday the Canucks will play the Flames but it won’t mean anything as the nail was hammered into our coffin last night by those stinkin’ Oilers.

What this means is that Saturday might just be the last time we see Trevor Linden puts his heart and soul into a Canucks game - if they even play the guy who has carried Vancouver fans for 19 years. This town loves him so much there was a campaign to get him re-signed last year and many have even noted they’d vote him in as mayor in a heartbeat.

Photo Credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

This Saturday at the Flames game, show your support for Captain Vancouver:

Trevor Linden is the heart of the team. Even though he got 5 minutes a game, he still gives it every game. It may be his last game ever (hopefully not), so we should try and put in the effort to make it Trevor Linden’s special day against the Flames.

For people going to the game:
- Make chants
- Make Signs
- Wear your Linden Jerseys/Shirts

For people who aren’t going to the game - if your at the bar, if your at home, if your not watching the game, who cares. Sport TL everywhere, this man is unreal.

PASS THE WORD - INVITE YOUR FRIENDS
post good chants if you have one or what your going to write on your sign if you will be at the game.
[Facebook Event]

I had the pleasure of meeting Trevor on a Raise a Reader morning two years ago, and was supposed to meet him again last January but I was in Toronto - luckily John was able to take my place.

He’s been the most popular Canucks player, the one we’d all want to have a been with, and has represented Vancouver better than anyone else on the North American hockey stage (you know, even though he’s originally from Medicine Hat).

That excited kid with the fluffy hair posed slyly against the side of a fiery red mustang is now being bumped off lines, and has been a healthy scratch an obscene amount of games this season. Let’s make sure he knows how much Canucks fans truly appreciate his contribution to our hockey-watching lives.

Photo Credit: Joe Pelletier’s
Greatest Hockey Legends

I was recently inspired to write another post of this nature based on how I was able to enlighten folks to the fact that there was much more to Joe Fortes than an oyster bar.

Whenever I hear the ad for Cyclone Taylor Sports on morning radio it gets stuck in my head for the better part of the day. Cyclone Taylor’s is one of those local stores that is rooted deep in Vancouver history and has managed to avoid being bought up by the giga-multi-plex sports retail outlets over the years. However, there’s much more to Cyclone Taylor than mouth guards, elbow pads and hockey sticks as Fred “Cyclone” Taylor was on the last Vancouver hockey team that raised the Stanley Cup over their heads.

Fred “Cyclone” Taylor Sr. was one of professional hockey’s first superstars. While Fred was playing for the Ottawa Senators in 1907, Canada’s Governor General was so impressed with his incredible Speed that he coined the name of Cyclone, and it stayed with him the rest of his life. Cyclone Taylor played in 4 Stanley Cup series during his 18 years of professional hockey. He won the cup in 1909 with Ottawa and in 1915 with the Vancouver Millionaires. The other two series Cyclone played in with the Vancouver Millionaires they lost to Toronto in 1918 and to Ottawa in 1921. Cyclone passed away in 1979 at the age of 94. [CycloneTaylor]

Taylor’s speed, skating abilities and scoring skillfulness lead him to 198 goals in 180 games and as noted on the Hockey Legends blog, “After playing eighteen years of hockey Taylor claims he never once got a scar or lost a tooth. The two biggest factors that contributed to that was his skating ability and that he wasn’t a rough or dirty player.”

You can find out more in the BC Sports Hall of Fame at BC Place or the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton.

As for the stores, they were established by Cyclone’s son Fred in 1957 and are still going strong as Western Canada’s largest independent retailer.