Another day, another game.
7:37 a.m. The alarm sounds, but I was already awake. Sounds like someone on the floor above is doing renovations. Brutal. Although this hotel has the best omelet in the league (at least it was when I was last here some four years ago), I skip breakfast to get on the horn. Looking ahead to the OHL portion of the series, and with back-to-back games in different cities, the prep time will be limited on Thursday in Ottawa. I am fairly comfortable with the city, though, as I see many games there during the season. I leave messages for Owen Sound’s Greg Ireland, Ottawa’s Chris Byrne and just after 9 a.m. I’m surprised to find a live voice on the other end of the line in the Sault, Mike Stapleton. We chat about a few players, then down to the lobby to meet RJ and Fauldsy.
9:30 a.m. We leave for the Colisee, McDonald’s coffee in hand. Sorry Timmy’s (my nephew was once a TimBit Hockey player).
We get into the rink and Martin Bergeron, an old friend from the Remparts, gives us the cook’s tour of the facilities. He explains the room design is loosely based on Patrick Roy’s experience in Colorado and it’s nice, it’s big-league. We see Hockey Canada goaltending consultant Ron Tugnutt in the room and he quips the room looks better now than when he used to play for the Nordiques. He’s happy to be back though. The tour continues with a glimpse into Patrick Roy’s office. Some interesting pictures and a nice leather couch adorn the room, and it’s quite neat. The video room is set up like a mini theatre with a 10-foot by 10-foot wall as the screen.
On the board, I notice some line changes for Team QMJHL. Trying to get the most out of their speed, 16-year-olds Nathan MacKinnon and Anthony Duclair will flank Philip Danault. JG Pageau and Phillippe Halley are reunited on a line with Yanick Dube. Pageau and Halley played on a line together in Gatineau last year in the playoffs.
The equipment and therapy rooms are equally as impressive. Further, a classroom has been set up in a room of the concourse for kids to continue their education. On this day, Martin is looking over the group of seven or eight, who must check their cell phones at the door, and where Facebook is forbidden.
10 a.m. The pre-game skate starts and it is very evident Team QMJHL will pressure the Russian D, looking to eliminate the D-to-D pass in the defensive zone, while also sealing the back of the net. The QMJHL defencemen will pinch in the neutral zone.
11:30 a.m. We meet Anthony Duclair for the first time and he’s very mature for 16. He feels comfortable with MacKinnon as the two have faced each other on four occasions previously at the U-17’s and the Canada Winter Games last year.
We have a quick word with MacKinnon about playing the wing and he thinks he’ll be better able to utilize his speed on the wing.
Now for Patrick. He’s engaging in his media scrum, serving the French-speaking media before we get our mini-meeting with him. He’s quick to give credit to Yanick Jean for the line shuffling and he speaks openly about the Remparts, the NHL in Quebec, and about the league in general.
12:30 p.m. Time to see Russian head coach Valery Bragin. Although he rolls his eyes when he sees us, I think he generally enjoys our exchanges. Sasha, our interpreter tells us Bragin was wondering where we were after the 2-0 win for his side. We joke that there were no questions to be asked after the win, but we hunt him down in the Colisee parking lot for a few questions. Still very much in evaluation mode, he says Pavel Suchkov will start in goal tonight and that he’s impressed with the versatility of Mikhail Grigorenko of the Remparts. We ask Bragin about the nearly-four Kucherov breakaways and Coyly says that his cheating out of the zone was by design to alleviate some of the forecheck pressure.
12:45 p.m. Off to lunch at a two-week-old sports cafe. The ribs are quite good.
1-1:35 p.m. Treadmill to work off the ribs, and in preparation for at least one steamy tonight at the Colisee (basically a hot dog on bread).The steamies at the Colisee are legendary going back to the NHL days. Just ask John Garrett. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a food blog, but the meals always play a big part, especially post-game. Jim Hughson once told me that the best way to get chemistry with your broadcast partner is away from the venue, at a restaurant or at a bar. No problem taking that advice.
2 p.m. Fauldsy writes saying the water in the hotel will be shut off from midnight to 6am. Great. Should make for an interesting early morning flight. Tomorrow’s flight to Ottawa is at 8 a.m., meaning straight to bed after the game. Meaning tomorrow’s entry is likely to be limited.
2:30 p.m. Down to the business centre so they can clean my room. It always baffles me as to why hotel business centres are so awful. The Vic20 here doesn’t make the cut and the mainframe printer should have paper with holes on either side of it. It’s so old.
3 p.m. More work mixed in with a little packing to allow as much sleep as possible for tomorrow’s 6am departure. When packing, you try to think ahead as to what you’ll wear tomorrow, and try to think of all the things you would normally have time to do. Two things I try to remember when traveling. One, make sure you tip the housekeeper and the valet person. Two, try to keep the room as tidy as possible. I’ve had jobs in the past where the odd tip was appreciated and where cleaning up after someone isn’t always fun. So I try to keep those things in mind. It’s my belief that very few people have proper hotel etiquette. You don’t have to be "Joe Shooter" but you do have to remember not only do you represent yourself, but your company as well. Anyhow, standard issue for me is $2/day for the housekeeper and $2/valet. It’s not much, but it’s more than most, and if those you’re tipping are anything like me, you appreciate the effort.
While I’m at it, how about a couple more hotel tricks. If the room is dry, try placing a glass of water on or near the heating unit. The water evaporates in the air, and takes at least a little of the dryness away. And, one of my all-time favourites is the "pinch." I like a dark room, sometimes use a sleep mask. But in the event the drapes in the room don’t always make it to the side of wall, use one of the nasty decorative pillows from the bed or one of the chairs or even one of the free-standing lamps to "pinch" the drapes to the side of the wall to eliminate the light gap. Our last hotel lesson for the day: use flip-flops, or slippers or "scarps" as we like to say in Italian to keep you off the hotel room floors.
4:30 p.m. Off to the Colisee for Game 2. I’m predicting a QMJHL win and a Nathan MacKinnon goal. That’s it for today, may not have time tomorrow, but we will be back, albeit probably briefly Friday in preparation for the first edition of Friday Night Hockey on Sportsnet.