http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bluNehaRBo
As you can see from the video, Henry is enjoying a donut in the back of the bus. I got up early this morning to hustle down to the only Tim Hortons in town to buy 4 dozen donuts for the team's parents, coaches, and players in order to celebrate Henry's birthday. Happily, shortly after the bus was underway after the late morning game, all 48 donuts had been effortlessly consumed (Thank You Phip!).
Today's matchup was a "friendly game" against a European team from Bratislava comprised of the best players from Slovakia. Apparently, the team is regarded as one of the strongest in Europe; their first Tournament game is tomorrow against the number one ranked Pee Wee team in the U.S. -- the Chicago Mission.
The boys from Bratislava were on the whole quite large and played a physical style of hockey, which I hear is unusual for a European team (my favorite conversation of the game: "Did you see that check?" Answer: "That wasn't a Czech, it was a Slovak!" bata-bing...). Whether it was due to the Slovaks being jet-lagged or the Little Caps having caught up on their sleep after their 14-hour bus ride, the game was a taught, tightly played affair, that ended 4-2 in favor of the Slovaks.
Full credit must be given to the Washington lads and lass, for they played hard and skated hard the whole game through. If they had displayed that type of intensity yesterday against the Gatineau Olympiques at the Colisee, the outcome of that game could have been much different. We committed our usual compliment of stupid penalties, but not as many, even though I think two of the Slovaks goals came on power plays. The Caps also displayed some of the best forechecking I've seen them do in a long while, but, of course, by pressing so hard in the opposing team's defensive zone, they got "caught deep" several times and allowed more than a few breakaways and 2-on-1s in their own end, one of which resulted in another goal.
One of the other Dad's commented watching the game that our Little Caps' seem to "play to the level" of the team that their playing; when their opponent is slow and sloppy, the Caps bring it down a notch, and when their opponent is, like today's, fast and aggressive, the Caps are quicker and more aggressive. I think that observation is quite insightful and sums up the character of this team. A team that is without a strong identity or playing style of its own will adjust its style of play to that of its opponent (I don't consider repeated stupid penalties or blind passes a "style of play"; they're just dumb). The consequence of that lack of identity will be inconsistency at best, and at worst, which has been the case for this season, a frustrating incapacity to achieve one's potential. Henry's coach when he was a Squirt Major - Coach Chad - had a saying that he often used whenever one of his players would come up to him before a game and say "Coach, this team we're playing is really good!" In response, Chad would say: "It doesn't matter who they are. We are going to play our game, and force them to respond to how we play." And that's it in a nutshell I think for an effective strategy: as a player and coach, know what you do well and maximize it; know your weaknesses and minimize those; be consistent in both pursuits.
One quick note about the local rink we played at today ("Les Trois Glaces"). The place was brand spanking new, opening in April, with three sheets. Of particular interest to us hockey heads was the fact that it used eclectically powered Zambonis, which were incredibly quiet and emitted no fumes. Leave it to the Canadians to get even hockey on the path to "growing green."
Getting back to the Birthday Boy. I first saw Henry this morning at Le Colisee where the bus arrived around 8am to pick up the players to take them to a local rink to play the friendly game against Bratislava. Waiting inside the Colisee (Section 117 is our assigned meeting area), I could hear that the first game of the day was getting started to the now familiar tune of "Vive les Pee Wee du Carnaval." Each morning the billet families ("Familles d'Acceuil" en francais, which is so much nicer as "Welcome Families"), drop off the kids at Le Colisee to meet up with their parents. Riding in the bus over to the arena, I was planning out in my head our day together to celebrate his birthday: a nice lunch in the Old Port section of town, a little souvenir shopping, and then we'd watch an episode of one of Henry's favorite shows from England ("Sherlock"). Since arriving here in Quebec, we've barely had an hour together, and I'm missing him a lot.
When Henry showed up, I gave him a big hug and said "How are you Bud!? Did you have a good night?" I forgot to wish him "Happy Birthday" first thing, and he responded: "Hey, how about wishing me a "Happy Birthday?!" "Of course, of course", I said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY TEENAGER!!!!" He was is great spirits. He related that he had had the best evening at the house of his Welcome Family. After the game against the Olympiques yesterday, he, Kayla (his billet mate), and the Dad of the family, Patrick, played pond hockey for three hours with some neighbors. After that, they all went sledding on a local hill. Lord knows what time he went to bed, but he was emphatic, when he met me that morning that "We have the best family by far!!"
Alas, my hopes of spending the afternoon together with my Birthday Boy were dashed when Patrick showed up later at the Colisee after we returned from the Bratislava game around 1pm to pick up Henry and Kayla to take them back "home" for another afternoon of pond hockey. They were planning to celebrate Henry's birthday after that and then come into town to watch the parade through the old town that marks the culmination of Quebec City's Carnaval celebration. What's a poor Dad to do? Nothing, of course, except to say "Have a Great Time!" Feeling pretty nostalgic as it is these days, I didn't need another reminder that my boy is growing up fast and starting to develop a rich life of his own away from his father ("Ah oui, mon vieux, c'est l'ordre naturel de la vie, non?)....
Happily, I had no time to sit around the hotel room and pout, because I was invited this evening by a good friend of mine who lives in Quebec, Marc, to join him and his family for dinner chez lui. I've worked with Marc for many years while at the Seaway, and of the many good friends I've made in my (gulp) 18 years at the Seaway, he is one of my closest. Marc picked me up in front of the Chateau around 4pm (to beat the closure of the streets for the Carnaval parade that evening), and we drove back to his lovely home for a delightful evening of fine dining, wine, and conversation (mostly in French, which was a wonderful treat for me).
Being a life-long Quebecer, Marc has attended many of the "Tournois International de Hockey Pee-Wee de Quebec" over the years, and he has a fabulous collection of every program of the Tournament since he first attended back in 1967. It was interesting to see how the Tournament has grown in size and as an international phenomenon by looking at the growing size of the programs. Interestingly, we found the first mention of a team from Washington, D.C. in 1982 (they were called "The Washington Capitals"). As a welcoming gift, I was proud to be able to give Marc a copy of this year's Tournament program, which he was delighted to add to his collection, particularly since it lists on page 125 under the entry of the Washington Little Capitals (couleurs: Rouge-Blanc-Bleu"): "16 MIDDLEBROOK, Henry." I also gave Marc two of the colorful trading pins from Henry's team, which he was very happy to receive as a memento of this year's tournament.
Ah oui, it is truly a wonderful thing to be here in Quebec for this event. Thank you Henry for making it possible!
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