Thank You's

So there is no way that this trip would have been so unbelievably amazing without the help of ALOT of people that i will never forget and hope to stay in touch with . First and foremost i NEED to thank Rainer Schmid (www.rainman-event.de/) , this guy is like my long lost brother . I hope to meet you again sooner than later Kackvogel . Rainer endured almost 4 weeks of me , not too many people can handle 1 week LOL. He drove me everywhere , planned out everything (even though sometimes i had no clue what the plans were ?) organized everything and if anyone reading this ever wants to experience anything close to what i just did than contact Rainer ! He also has a facebook group Rainman All-Stars . Thank You Rainer !

Through Rainer i got to meet tons of amazing people starting in Tachov. He introduced and got me the opportunity to skate with EHC Waldkraiburg (from Germany) i got to meet Wolfgang and his daughter Julia Klose . One of the better (maybe the best ) players that i got to meet at the disco was Jan Loboda . He should be Canadian as he loves to drop the gloves ( YEAH ! ) .

Also was lucky while i was in Tachov to meet this super amazing guy named Petr Vrana . Petr runs the local rink and is quite the historian . Petr should honestly be the mayor of Tachov, with his undying love for his town and his great charm and charizma ! I am very happy to have had the opportunity to spend time with Petr , too bad we never got to get on the ice together :( . I also can not forget to metion the WOID BOYZ , best fan club i have ever met ...well maybe tied with another fan club i met on this tour that i will mention later on . The WOID BOYZ were most gracious in taking dozens of pics of me drinking booze out of buckets at the disco and giving me the shirts basically off of their backs . It was my pleasure meeting you guys .

In Finland i was pleased to finally meet Petri Riihelainen ! We had alot of good times drinking and winning hockey games together , Petri had a birthday party in Finland and it was unlike anything i have witnessed before and there i met his family and hockey team ,the Tampere Ice Devils ! These guys were all top notch guys but one person definitely sticks out more than the rest for me .....Jari Kurtti . A fellow goalie he honored me by letting me use his gear early on a Monday morning meeting me at the rink with a smile and his gear in hand for me at 7:30 AM ! Thank you Jari , i told you before and i will tell you again that i owe you BIGTIME !

Getting into the tournaments there are some people that i have met before that i was glad to meet again and there were some new people that i was happy to meet . Timo and Andi , it is always a pleasure playing on the same hockey team with you guys and i know we will be on other teams together again as life goes on , and i will always enjoy it too !  There was also Sybille on my team but never really got to talk to her much ...                    

One of my teammates i was also happy to meet on this trip was Rob Carter ( sorry for the pic LOL ) Rob brought me some great memories , especially of him serving everyone free booze behind the bar at Moskito ! Also a great hockey player , it was a pleasure being on the same team as you , too bad the rest of our team did not have as much heart and desire to win as you did ! At least we did not end up last. Also got to meet alot of great hockey players from around the world , mostly from Canada like the Dancing Bears . They were from Calgary , really amazing hockey team and great ambassadors for Canadian Hockey . They were party animals on and off the ice with skill in both categories! I can never forget 2 individuals that i met that are Canadians but living overseas . Paul Loretan is a Canadian with a Swiss accent now . If you are ever in Switzerland go to his bar Yambalaya . Wish you had a website Paul for your bar http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=61843228600&v=info   that is a link for his facebook group . My worldwide goalie fraternity grew when i met Chucky (French Canadian ) living in Germany , stopping pucks in a corner of the world on any given day ! Chucky you were amazing and i loved all of your awesome stories and the way you tell them with your hard Quebecois accent !

 One more person i can't forget to mention that was a pleasure to meet and be on the same team with was somebody that i did not remember meeting in Innsbruck a few years ago ( i was way too drunk ) Dom Schramm . Great defenseman , i know that Rob and myself both missed you when you left         :( hope to see you again someday !

Didn't meet too many standout people along the drive to Cortina but when i got there i was lucky enough to meet the Klagenfurt Teatro and got the chance to practise and party with them , Thanks guys !

This tournament honestly was the best tournament i have ever been to. So much good free food and free alcohol and good music with an amazing view and it is all thanks to Luca Lacedelli and his teammates from Squali Cortina !!!!! Everyday that goes by makes me miss Cortina more and more , you guys really are doing a wonderful thing there , keep up the great work guys !

In Cortina i got the amazing opportunity to play for the Feldkirch Chiefs ,even before i met all of my teammates ! Thank you guys , the honor was all mine . But i really really really am happy to say that i got to meet a group of people that i will always and forever be attached to in Cortina ....Rudi ( i knew you before but now we are champions together), Petri ( The Finnish Flash) , Rainer ( KACKVOGEL ), Mario ( Super Mario), Alex ( German taking shirt off at the disco ...AGAIN) , Klaus ( dancing machine), Melanie ( playboy bunny 5 Euros for a picture with her LOL) , Marco ( Pussy Wagon) , and Romeo ( Tomassos buddy LOL ) .  

I was also lucky to meet this cool dude from Montreal ( yeah i said it a cool guy from Montreal LOL) Vince Fazio ! He was living in Milan and introduced me to his amazing teammates and hopefully i will get the opportunity to go there someday and play hockey there , now he is in Montreal so he is only 5 hours drive away so hopefully we find the time to hook up ! Among his teammates were 2 standout guys Francesco and Roger , it was a pleasure meeting your whole team but these 3  stood out from the rest !

Last but not least i got to meet up with Nate for only a moment at the Bayern Munich Champions League game and i also met Jyrki Lumme , yeah i might have told you that already . LOL! Thanks to all of you guys ! Hope to play hockey against/with you all again , you are all good sports !