National Teams of Ice Hockey

There is this website i have been following for the last couple years that provides a lot of interesting information pertaining to ice hockey around the world , not just here in Canada . The guy that runs this page lives in Toronto and we have been in contact for some time now and have tried to meet up for the last couple months but work always seems to get in the way .... then the offer to go watch a Leafs game together popped up on Facebook . Actually the offer was open to everyone George knew but i ended up responding first and getting the ticket which would finally allow us to meet up . What better way to get together and talk hockey eh ?

We met up at a bar before the game and immediately started talking about international hockey , which is something i never get to talk about with anyone ... actually if i do get into a conversation with someone usually they don't understand or know the teams i am talking about ! I asked George how he got into following teams and he tells me when he was younger he was amazed by the 76 Canada Cup and it struck a nerve when he realized all the best hockey players in the world were on the ice at one time After that George began looking for more international hockey  ... remember this was way before the Internet ! George tells me he would follow international hockey through the standings they used to post in the old paper back of the Hockey News . As a child i had a subscription too and i remember there used to be standings for international leagues . George was quite the collector though and kept stats on his own and collected all kinds of international stats.

George has been a Leafs season ticket holder from way back when the Leafs played at Maple Leaf Gardens ... I asked how he got the tickets and he goes on to explain that he asked one of his teachers about how to get tickets and was told to just line up at box office before season and apply for one , so he did with a friend and they got ultimately lucky to get a call a few weeks later asking if they were still interested in purchasing the tickets and obviously it is all history from that point .... apparently his teacher was amazed to see him get seasons tickets in such short notice .... to be honest i am surprised too since there is a mega waiting list to get these tickets so it was kinda like they won the lottery getting those tickets so fast .... regardless this is all history as he is still a season ticket holder and probably will be until the bitter end :)

After we had a pitcher and a bite to eat we began walking down Yonge St to the ACC , we were going to see the Leafs play the Bruins . Unfortunately the game was less then ideal , all around it was a shit game for Leafs fans , but really Bruins fans had nothing to be proud of either as the Bruins were the better of the 2 shit teams on the day ... for a divisional tilt between 2 original six teams it was like watching Disney on Ice as it looked as though players were doing their darnedest to avoid contact . It was strange and pretty boring .... the beer and the prices of beer didn't help either as we sat way up in the ACC watching and chatting about international hockey .

Overall i had a great night meeting George and if it weren't for the great conversations we shared then the night would have been a bust ... watching the Leafs lose 4-1 in a pathetic display of hockey didn't help :( I would highly suggest you all check out George's site if you are interested in international hockey http://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/index.html/5-Things-about-a-trip-to-the-Spengler-Cup-in-Davos-Switzerland-By-Jason-van-Rassel-Calgary-Herald-11-01-2014/ . He also has a Facebook page which you should all follow https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Teams-of-Ice-Hockey/189565864419415?fref=ts.

Hopefully you all enjoy his site as much as i do ! I am so glad i finally had the chance to meet you George , keep up the great work :)