Somehow, this summer has managed to make it’s way through June, July, August, and September…and hockey fans are still alive to tell the tale of the time when there was nothing talk to about except how many days were left until training camp.  Okay, maybe the excessive counting down was just me.  No matter what, here we are just hours away from the puck dropping on the 2009-2010 NHL season for the Anaheim Ducks, and I KNOW we’re all excited to see it arrive! 

To say that I’m ready for the regular season to begin is an understatement, as I’m sure many of you have observed.  Sure, preseason hockey was nice, but I’m ready for some real action.   The best part of the regular season is the hope that all 30 teams have the chance to raise that cup.  I would love to say more, but a blogger pal of mine said it best (be sure to completely ignore his overly positive attitude about those guys 30 minutes up the 5 freeway.  He’s a Kings fan)…

To gear up for the season, I did a little Q & A about the Ducks and the Pacific Division, with a few other bloggers, for the Canucks Hockey Blog.  Check it out if you’d like to see my prediction for where I think the Ducks will end up this year.  You might be surprised to see how overly optimistic I am…but I WON’T be posting any predictions like that on this space.  Sorry, I just can’t do it.

With today’s announcment of the captians for the 2009-2010 season, I don’t think any are surprised to see both Scott Niedermayer wearing the ‘C’ on his chest, for what might be the final time in his career, or to see that Ryan Getzlaf will be sporting the ‘A’ once again this season.  We all know that Getzlaf is the face and the structure that this franchise is currently being built around, and I for one have no problems giving him the added responsibility.  It seemed evident to me that his bone-headed behaviors last season we much tamer in comparison to previous seasons, and I think the letter on his chest had something to do with that.  The newest member of the Ducks leader-squad comes in the form of Saku Koivu (and Corey Perry as the alternate, alternate).  No matter who Randy Carlyle selected, it would have been a great decision, and Koivu is no exception.  Congratulations. 

We’re a little over 24 hours from the first official puck drop for the Ducks regular season. 

FINALLY!

GO DUCKS!!!