“To these players,” says Ed Courtenay, gesturing towards his team coach, “this is the NHL.”

Remember Ed Courtenay? How could you forget. He was our stick tossing, high scoring, play making on/off player coach for three years. He was a line-mate to Theo Fleury, one of the most devastating duo’s ever to play together in British Hockey history. Yep, how ever could you forget. Well, he is still playing, still toiling out there on the minor-pro-bush-league circuit, a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, a one time NHLer now playing at a level below the British Elite League. Courtenay is in it for the money and for the love of the game and Ollie Williams of the BBC ran an excellent article on Courtenay’s journey from the NHL to Altrincham where he continues his playing career alongside the man he replaced as coach at the Giants, Tony Hand.

“As much as I wanted to get to 20 years, I was ready in year 17. But the job market out there is not the easiest, is it? Out there in the real world. And if you do have a job, you’re not giving it up to get on the dole. So it worked out for both of us: the team and myself.

— Ed Courtenay, Oct ’09

It has only been on sale a little over 24-hours but is already the number one best seller at amazon.ca. Theo Fleury’s tell all book is flying off the shelves and yesterday I went and picked myself up a copy. I’ve only really got into the first few dozen pages so will write some further review upon finishing my read, but already I can see how hard hitting and heavy a read it is going to be.

Read More»

Reporting this is hardly reporting considering the news broke almost a week ago but I figured I’d mention it in passing anyway, if only for record sake.

Theo didn’t make the Calgary Flames NHL team. He was cut in the final few days of camp after putting up four points in four games as well as a shootout winner. It wasn’t enough for the Flames management who were only going to sign Theo if he could play on the top two lines. It appears he couldn’t in their eyes. Theo addressed this at the start of the week and decided he would call it a day on his NHL career and comeback attempt but was happy to have been given the shot, to have proven to himself he could hold his own in the NHL, to pull on the Flames jersey again and to go out of the NHL on his terms and with class.

Read More»

Theo Fleury is continue with his hopes of returning all the way back to the top of the hockey world after a four-year absence by attending the Calgary Flames training camp, the team were he started his NHL career and won his one and only Stanley Cup ring twenty years ago. Reports suggest he turned up to camp in the best shape of his life proven by the fact he had a Vo2 reading of 60 and an 8% body fat count. When he took to the ice the Calgary players seen what the Giants fans knew from a few years back, Theo still had the hands for the game as he impressed all before him. Read More»

Giants single season legend Theo Fleury is coming back to hockey and at the highest level. That news hit the press last month but today Theo was officially reinstated to the NHL by commissioner Gary Betteman and can now go about trying out for a team who might be interested in his services. Read More»