Housekeeping and Hockey

Fall Tree & Shrub Planting
I spent part of yesterday helping a friend make some landscaping purchases and then explaining how best to plant them in the ground.  She suggested that I share the process here on the blog since there are a number of newbie gardeners among the blog following.  
 
While your annuals (those hated geraniums and blessed petunias) may have taken a frost hit over the last couple of nights this is the PERFECT TIME to get trees and shrubs in the ground.  The nights are cooler and the days aren't root-stressing hot. 

• Along with favorable planting weather most plant nurseries are running some great deals on their foliage inventory.  Don't be afraid to negotiate, even on sale prices, and especially if you're buying 5 or more of anything.  If you're an experienced gardener (can tell the difference between an already dead tree or shrub and one that's healthy and vibrant in the pot or burlap bag) you can even waive the live plant guarantee in favor of a deeper discount.  

The best gardening advice I ever received, learned through classes and experience, then passed on throughout the years is this:  "Don't put a 10 dollar plant in a 5 cent hole." 

That saying is especially true for trees and shrubs because of the higher dollar investment.   

• Start by digging the hole a good two feet wider than the container your new tree came in.  You'll be teasing (stretching/releasing) the root structure out a little from having been confined all season in its container. 
• Always bring in good composted dirt from your local reputable landscape supply provider to fill in the hole once the tree or shrub has been placed.  You want to give the root structure of your trees and shrubs a head start on stretching out and taking a firm hold in their new home. 
• Feed Me Seymore!  (Little Shop of Horrors reference there)  Tree and shrub plant food is a must for this time of year if you expect your investment to firmly set down new root structures before the snow flies.  Feed your shrubs and trees at the outer reaches of the roots.  This practice encourages the roots to reach for nutrients.  
• Water, Water, Water and then Water Some More.  This is the Golden Mantra any time you plant a tree or shrub, but even more so during the drought the Twin Cities are currently experiencing.  Shoot me an email for more detailed information on the best way to 'water in' your new investment. 

This is also a great time of year to pick up perennials on clearance as well as divide and transplant existing ones in your garden.  There are at least 60 more days left in the season for putting down stable root structures.  Get back out there in the garden you "hoesers"! 

Giving In, Giving Over  
At this stage in my life I've given up wasting time analyzing how I came to be where I'm at.  It's not just the 50 years I've racked up that brings me to this saged epiphany.  It's also the realization that the majority of what happens in life isn't necessarily in your control when it comes to the Greater Plan.  Those best laid plans are all for naught when it hits you that maybe you're not supposed to be on the path you spent so much time and effort mapping out.  Maybe you're supposed to be stepping back and looking at it from a completely different view.  It comes as a total shock when that different view is found on a path which is hell and away from the one you meticulously planned out.  What the dickens does this have to do with hockey, you ask?  Well, for now it means that I'll be here through the start of the NHL season and that Vicki and I will be together at the Wild home opener and for a time beyond that.  What happens from there depends on a number of factors that have yet to be determined but I'm in no hurry to put a Done Deal stamp on anything.  And giving in to the the Roll With It way of life has let me release many of my life long demons - including, but not limited to; 70 points off my blood pressure, a pant size or two, partial sleep deprivation and the overwhelming urge to trip a waitress...don't ask.  

Hockey Ants In My Pants
I got an itch that needs scratching and the only salve for it is some Wild Hockey!  Training Camp opens this Friday with physicals.  I curse my decision not to pursue my medical degree ;)  The men and boys will take to the ice on Saturday and Sunday with open scrimmages on both days.  I suppose it goes without saying that I'll be there for both days?

Here's the roster posted earlier this week by Russo - subject to expansion now that the Wild is out of the Traverse City Prospects Tournament. 

                            2011-12 MINNESOTA WILD TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
LEFT WINGS 

96 Pierre-Marc Bouchard 5-10 173 Left 4/27/84 Sherbrooke, Quebec Minnesota NHL 59 12 26 38 14 EN/02
18 Colton Gillies 6-4 207 Left 2/12/89 Surrey, British Columbia Houston AHL 64 11 15 26 82 EN/07
28 Matt Kassian 6-5 240 Left 10/28/86 Edmonton, Alberta Houston AHL 60 4 4 8 132 EN/05
48 Guillaume Latendresse 6-2 230 Left 5/24/87 Sainte-Catherine, Quebec Minnesota NHL 11 3 3 6 8 TRD/09
23 Eric Nystrom 6-1 193 Left 2/14/83 Syosset, New York Minnesota NHL 82 4 8 12 30 FA/10
Dee's Take - With the exception of Pierre Marc Bouchard (never thought I'd be saying that), all of these players bear serious scrutiny for reasons that should be apparent when you look at the names. 
CENTERS
27 Cody Almond 6-2 221 Left 7/24/89 Calgary, Alberta Houston AHL 65 15 19 34 124 EN/07
21 Kyle Brodziak 6-2 209 Right 5/25/84 St. Paul, Alberta Minnesota NHL 80 16 21 37 56 TRD/09
7 Matt Cullen 6-1 200 Left 11/2/76 Virginia, Minnesota Minnesota NHL 78 12 27 39 34 FA/10
9 Mikko Koivu 6-2 214 Left 3/12/83 Turku, Finland Minnesota NHL 71 17 45 62 50 EN/01
45 Carson McMillan 6-1 190 Right 9/10/88 Brandon, Manitoba Houston AHL 78 12 10 22 80 EN/07
43 Warren Peters 6-0 201 Left 7/10/82 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Houston AHL 62 15 17 32 47 FA/10
14 Darroll Powe 5-11 212 Left 6/22/85 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Philadelphia NHL 81 7 10 17 41 TRD/11
36 Chad Rau 5-11 188 Right 1/18/87 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Houston AHL 60 13 27 40 12 FA/10
19 Jeff Taffe 6-3 215 Left 2/19/81 Hastings, Minnesota Rockford AHL 74 30 37 67 22 FA/11
17 Casey Wellman 6-0 184 Right 10/18/87 Brentwood, California Houston AHL 42 14 21 35 14 FA/10
Dee's Take - I'm not sold on Kyle Brodziak but I'm not convinced going into camp that Cody Almond, Casey Wellman or Warren Peters have what it takes to bump him off. I'll be watching Darroll Powe to make a good impression. I'm not 100% in on Matt Cullen either but hopefully Chuck's and Mike's message of "The Wild Way or The Highway" was received in the off-season. 
RIGHT WINGS
73 Joel Broda 6-0 208 Left 11/24/89 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Bakersfield ECHL 32 17 13 30 39 FA/10
22 Cal Clutterbuck 5-10 209 Right 11/18/87 Welland, Ontario Minnesota NHL 76 19 15 34 79 EN/06
29 Jon DiSalvatore 6-1 200 Right 3/30/81 Bangor, Maine Houston AHL 80 28 33 61 57 FA/09
15 Dany Heatley 6-4 220 Left 1/21/81 Freiburg, Germany San Jose NHL 80 26 48 64 56 TRD/11
41 Jed Ortmeyer 6-1 205 Right 9/3/78 Omaha, Nebraska San Antonio/Houston AHL 60 8 11 19 45 FA/11
79 Jarod Palmer 6-0 200 Right 2/10/86 Fridley, Minnesota Houston AHL 65 9 19 28 64 FA/10
10 Devin Setoguchi 6-0 200 Right 1/1/87 Taber, Alberta San Jose NHL 72 22 19 41 37 TRD/11
16 Brad Staubitz 6-1 215 Right 7/28/84 Edmonton, Alberta Minnesota NHL 71 4 5 9 173 TRD/10
Dee's Take - I'm expecting Broda to give DiSalvatore a run for his money so they both should be looking to make huge impressions. Staubitz should be looking over his shoulder, but not from the likes of Ortmeyer or Palmer.   
DEFENSEMEN
42 Drew Bagnall 6-3 222 Left 6/3/83 Oakbank, Manitoba Houston AHL 72 0 2 2 112 FA/10
44 Justin Falk 6-5 217 Left 10/11/88 Snowflake, Manitoba Houston AHL 55 3 11 14 41 EN/07
25 Jordan Hendry 6-2 200 Right 2/11/86 Milo, Alberta Chicago NHL 37 1 0 1 4 TRYOUT
2 Mike Lundin 6-2 191 Left 9/24/84 Burnsville, Minnesota Tampa Bay NHL 69 1 11 12 12 FA/11
51 Jeff Penner 5-10 183 Left 4/13/87 Steinbach, Manitoba Providence/Houston AHL 67 5 18 23 38 TRD/11
39 Nate Prosser 6-2 221 Right 5/7/86 Elk River, Minnesota Houston AHL 73 8 19 27 31 FA/10
6 Marco Scandella 6-3 206 Left 2/23/90 Montreal, Quebec Houston AHL 33 3 16 19 17 EN/08
55 Nick Schultz 6-1 203 Left 8/25/82 Strasbourg, Saskatchewan Minnesota NHL 74 3 14 17 38 EN/00
46 Jared Spurgeon 5-8 171 Right 11/29/89 Edmonton, Alberta Minnesota NHL 53 4 8 12 2 FA/10
4 Clayton Stoner 6-3 206 Left 2/19/85 Port McNeill, B.C. Minnesota NHL 57 2 7 9 96 EN/04
5 Greg Zanon 5-11 198 Left 6/5/80 Burnaby, British Columbia Minnesota NHL 82 0 7 7 48 FA/09
3 Marek Zidlicky 5-11 186 Right 2/3/77 Most, Czechoslovakia Minnesota NHL 46 7 17 24 30 TRD/08
Dee's Take - The pressure is on Nate Prosser for sure.  With the glut of DMen there's no guaranteed spot for him now.  My money is on Stoner, Scandella and Spurgeon with Falk bringing in some heat as well.  I think Zidlicky is under pressure from Chuck and Mike for a couple of reasons.  I'm not sure Hendry is for us and while homeboy Mike Lundin will be cheered on I'm not sure he's what we're looking for either.  And nobody screws around with The Zanon...just sayin'.       
GOALTENDERS
32 Niklas Backstrom 6-1 186 Left 2/13/78 Helsinki, Finland Minnesota NHL 51 22-23-5 3 2.66 .916 FA/06
30 Dennis Endras 6-0 167 Left 7/14/85 Immenstadt, Germany Augsburger GER 46 20-22-4 1 3.14 .900 FA/10
37 Josh Harding 6-2 199 Right 6/18/84 Regina, Saskatchewan Minnesota NHL DNP – Injured EN/02   Dee's Take - Here again you can look at all the names here and point to specific issues. Nik has to be spot-on consistent this season with all of the newbies which includes the coaching staff. Josh Harding is back to proving himself all over again coming off the season-ending injury. My eyes will be on Dennis Endras who is supposed to the second coming of the Finnish Hockey God in terms of goalies. We'll see about that.   

All of this will be old news come Monday of next week after seeing these guys on the ice over the weekend and as the new week progresses and the coaching staff make adjustments (ie: cuts and demotions).  Tune into Russo for Rants and Tweets for up to the minute coverage going into next Friday's first home preseason game.  One short week and there will be hockey in the X!  I got me some serious ants in my pants to get this season under way :)       

Leave it to Josh Harding to find a classy way to remember those close to him that passed this year - family and teammates.  His mask for 2011-2012 is another top notch job by Miska Designs.  Click here for Puck Daddy's coverage and again here for InGoal Magazine's coverage.   

Long Time No Blog (Chock Full of Pics, Vids & Links)

New Digs
I've made the move to Mpls and am adjusting to life in the big city. I have deluxe accommodations, thanks to a very good friend and her love for Buster and me. Okay, mostly it's her love of snuggling with Buster but I know she loves me too. Hell, I'm fine with just being along for the ride with Buster, especially when it comes with a view of the Mississippi River, right on one of the locks and dams. I spend a lot of time just watching all kinds of boats and barges go through the lock, coming and going at all hours of the day and night. It's very therapeutic, the river. 
 Be sure to check out Through The Lens for the complete view from the balcony. 

I walk across the Stone Arch Bridge almost every day with Buster. We wander along the paths of the park by St. Anthony Main with Buster drawing in admirers who love to pet him and scratch his ears. The building I'm staying in is dog friendly which means Buster has already made a dozen new friends, both large and small. This includes a beautiful 17 year old female English Springer who has identical markings to Buster.  They are adorable together. 

Stalking - Professional and Personal
One of the best things about being in the city is the fact that Niklas Backstrom lives in the building next door and just across the river I can see the building in which Mikko Koivu lives. I'm pretty sure that Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatly are across the river as well. This means I'll be honing my stalking skills with the hockey season approaching.
The other nice thing about being here in the city is that one of Vicki's longtime wishes has finally come true. She's always wanted me to move closer to her so that we can watch away games together instead of texting back and forth during them.
Well, Vicki - careful what you wish for cuz here I am, just 6.2 miles away!   

Macabre Off Season
Wild and Ranger fans are still feeling the loss of Derek Boogaard in May of this year from an overdose of drugs and alcohol.  Unfortunately the death toll didn't end with him.  Making headline news were the suicides of Rick Rypien and Wade Belak in the month of August.  Not that I feed off of this type of news but I thought I remembered a story from earlier in the year and sure enough, looking back through the archived news stories, I found the report of former NHL player Tom Cavanagh's suicide back in January.  Addiction and depression are quickly being identified as the Silent Killer of the NHL.  Michael Russo was on KFAN with P.A. this morning discussing this - fast forward to the 18:25 mark of the podcast. 
This week our hearts have been freshly wounded with the tragic news out of Russia.  A private jet carrying the KHL professional hockey team, Lokomotiv, crashed shortly after takeoff Wednesday.  Of the 45 people on board, 43 of them perished - including European and former NHL players - among them former Wild player Pavol Demitra.  Only two people survived the accident; one player and one member of the plane crew.  Russo's coverage in the Strib is professional and personal - worth reading each article for the impact across the league.  Brandon Prust of the New York Rangers said it best: "The hockey world mourns yet again. Please God, we can't take much more." 

Wild Prospect/Development Camp 2011
Here's a video that Russo and Company did regarding the new coach and the motto for the Wild's future - Youth and Fitness For All:
   
 
Hey Michael - get some clothes that actually fit!  You look like you're 12 years old wearing your dad's suit coat ;) 
All joking aside, and kudos to Michael for dropping some serious weight, I was once again in hockey heaven in the off season and managed to shoot well over 1000 pictures during the 2 days of open scrimmages. 
Day one was memorable on a number of levels but the thing I'll remember forever is prospect goalie Johan Gustafsson skating over to the teenage girl sitting next to me at the end of the scrimmage and giving her a puck.  It probably had something to do with the fact that she was wearing an official Sweden World Junior Team jersey - with his name on it.  Chicks who love hockey - and hockey players who appreciate the chicks who love hockey - that's what makes the world go round, folks.  The young lady wearing Johan's jersey has been following his 'career' since before the Wild drafted him in round six (#159 overall) in the 2010 NHL draft.
Day two was memorable and entirely enjoyable just because Vicki and I were watching hockey in the middle of the heat and humidity of one of the hottest Minnesota summers on record.            

Please visit the Through The Lens page for some fun pictures and a view into the Wild's future. 

And in keeping with the Wild's summer timeline here's Becoming Wild - Episode 4:


To catch up on episodes one through three - simply visit YouTube and type in BECOMING WILD.  All four episodes should list out in numerical order with no annoying buffering (hint, hint NHL.COM). 
**Bonus from episode 3 - you may just recognize a couple of Wild fans you know when the Burns trade is announced. 

BEST NEWS OF THE WILD OFF SEASON
Mister "I've been playing since I was 3 years old so I don't have to listen to Jacques Lemaire" has been traded to the Sharks.  James Sheppard was traded for a bag of used hockey pucks and the Wild got the better deal ;)  Seriously though, the Wild got a 2013 third round pick for the "disappointing former first-round pick".  Those are Russo's words although they come close to expressing how I've felt about this snot-nosed brat for some time. 

Sheppard, 24, was suspended all of last season after breaking his kneecap in an all-terrain vehicle accident just days before reporting to training camp. 

Message Received

Latendresse appears to have received the message from Chuck Fletcher and Mike Yeo - come to camp healthy and in the best physical shape of your life or expect to be making popcorn for Press Row.  Maybe Dustin Byfuglien should take a page from the Wild's Management Expectations...just sayin'.

Hockey On A Stick
Video of Wild Coach Mike Yeo being interviewed by Michael Russo at the Great Minnesota Get Together:


Hockey's Right Around The Corner!!
Players report to training camp for physicals, photos and fitness testing September 16.
The Wild hit the ice at the X on Sept. 17 & 18 with scrimmages, 10:00 am to 11:00 am, open to the public.  Guess who will one of the first people in line? 

And just before I let you all go back to work let us pause for one of my favorite causes:

Happy Birthday, Vicki!!
In addition to being the greatest hockey partner in the world, you're one of the best influences in my life. It's your day, girlfriend - ENJOY!