Several locals in the Yorkton hockey scene were jumping up and down when the National Hockey League announced this past Sunday morning that the lockout is over.
"I'm excited to finally watch some NHL hockey," says Yorkton Harvest forward Lynden Pastachak. "It has been different without watching NHL highlights. It will be nice to finally watch an NHL game."
"The lockout is over baby. Ya Buddy," tweeted Yorkton Terriers forward Nathan Murray.
"I'm disappointed it took this long, but at the same time, I'm excited to watch the highlights every morning," Harvest head coach Jeff Odgers added. "You got your favourite team and your favourite guys and it is fun to root for them again."
Odgers is excited to follow his two favourite NHL clubs - the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets.
"The Sharks have a place in my heart," says Odgers. "I use to play for them and Doug Wilson is the general manager and I use to be a teammate of his. I also like the Winnipeg Jets because they're the new Atlanta Thrashers organization, where I spent three seasons as a player. Also their general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff, is my old roommate when I played for the Brandon Wheat Kings."
Unlike the Harvest head coach, I'm a one-team man. I only cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs, bleeding blue as if I own the team.
Frankly, I couldn't care less about the other teams since I don't have a No. 2. I do, however, dislike some teams more than others. As a Leafs fan, it is morally wrong not to hate the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. I also can't stand the Vancouver Canucks because players such as Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows take more dives than Yorkton's swim team.
Odgers knows what it is like to be in a fan and player's shoes during the lockout. He was playing for the Sharks during the 1994-95 lockout, which also ended in January.
"It was frustrating," he said. "At that time, you didn't know much about the business side. All you knew is you wanted to lace up the skates."
The league officially hits the ice for regular-season action on Saturday, Jan. 19. The season is 48-games long, rather than its usual 82-game length.
Fortunately for us fans, the new collective bargaining agreement is a 10-year contract. So at least we know the NHL won't lock up their rinks for at least another decade.
Some fans have voiced their opinion on how they won't go back to the NHL this year; nonetheless, it seems inevitable that the vast majority of Canadian hockey fans will go back to their favourite league. We are simply suckers for the sport.
It could undoubtedly be a different story down south, though. Struggling franchises such as the Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Tampa Bay Lightning could be in serious financial trouble if they don't find a marketing scheme to convince their fans to spend their hard-earned money on their tickets and merchandise.
