And I thought the crash in temperature from 27 degrees yesterday to 19 degrees today here in Toronto was just a blip until I remembered at the last minute that the Giants were back in hockey action and realized it was a definitive sign than winter was not far away and that the hockey season was even closer. I also realized at about 5.30 p.m. that there was a Giants game tonight and then remembered I hadn’t factored in the time difference and so was left wondering how the game actually finished. It wasn’t on a webcast anyway and there was little chance of me getting back to Dundonald were the game was taking place today so it’s not like I missed much. Besides, if you didn’t already know, it was just a pre-season ‘friendly’ against Newcastle giving Thornton a chance to run through some line combos. Oh and they won 8-3 with new boy Faubert getting three of them and Mark Morrison adding another two.

It is scary to think that the Elite League is going into its 7th season in a few weeks time. It only seems like a few years ago that the ISL was wrapping up, were were panicking about the future of our team and then we were getting used to the fact that British born players would be all over the ice, including boys from Belfast. It has been quite a run for the EIHL which has turned out to be much more successful overall than the ISL was and it has created many memories and historic moments for many teams. To celebrate some of the leagues history the EIHL yesterday released some of its all-time stats including points, goals, assists and penalty minutes. It makes for good reading but none of the names that make the list are a big shock. Here is a look at the top man in each category and then a further, more in depth look, at the goal scoring category.

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I wrote this article over on my PRBSPORTS.COM site on the new 20-20 hockeyfest the Elite League have set up for this coming season.

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The British Elite League have come up with a funky new tournament that has been created to excite the fans and give them a chance to see every single player in the eight team league in one single day. They are calling it 20-20 Hockey fest in a competition that has straight knockout, two period, no clock stop hockey. It kicks off on the Sunday morning of the 4 October 2009 in Sheffield with quarter-final games lasting exactly 40-minutes with the winning team moving on to the semi-final and so forth. It’s a brand new form of hockey play and one that could very well take off if it proves to be successful. It is hard to see how it won’t be good to watch. Read More»

If you are thinking that headline might mean a comeback to the Belfast Giants then I am sorry to disappoint. No Theo is thinking of going one step further … to make a comeback to the NHL. It may seem ridiculous and Theo has said this once or twice before but all media reports seem to suggest that this time it could indeed be for real. Theo has said he has been working out a lot and feels he is at NHL level and has already wrote to the NHL to apply for reinstatement. Currently he is suspended indefinitely because of his substance abuse problems in the past, which he is now well and truly over — Theo has been sober for four years and has found God. But at 41-years of age a comeback to any elite level sport is hard … it’s hard enough maintaining elite level play at 41 never mind coming back after so many years away. So why do it, and can he do it?

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