Who would expect him NOT to be on this list?!

Nashville Lifestyles magazine has released their annual Most Beautiful People of Nashville list and guess who made the 2011 list? The Predators’ own goalie, Pekka Rinne. Of course, all of the female Preds fans (and male fans, let’s face it) are not surprised by this announcement and are very proud to see Pekka getting some recognition for his other talents. Now if only Colin Wilson had been chosen, this list would have been perfect… wishful thinking, perhaps? However, it says “25 Most Beautiful” but there are 27. I didn’t read the rest of the article, so there might be some runner-ups, but Peks definitely made the cut!

You can check out Pekka and the others who made the list here. We are very glad to see the Predators are making their mark in Nashville in more ways than one! Way to go, Peks!

Patric Hornqvist slips the puck past Winnipeg's goal. The girls in the background look really into the game!

The Predators future is continuing to look bright as they squeeze passed the newly formed Winnipeg Jets 3-4 tonight at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The first half was a little iffy with the new kids calling the shots tonight with Chet Pickard, the newbie goal, failing to keep the Jets from scoring twice during the first period. Veteran Pekka Rinne was sent in the block the puck during the 2nd period and the older boys joined on the ice with Patric Hornqvist, Sergei Kostitsyn, and Martin Erat all scoring to send the Preds into the lead. Peks did, however, let one puck slip passed him. Pekka was also rushed off the ice due to a gash above his right eyebrow from a puck to the face mask, sending rookie goalie Pickard back into the game to finish.

Luckily, Pickard warmed up the home crowd and goal and deflected several shots at the goal during the remainder of the 2nd period and successfully kept the Jets from tying the game during the 3rd. He looked a little shaky and unsure at first, but managed to block 20 of 22 shots.

The Powerplay was used fairly well tonight as well. 3 of the 4 goals were made during powerplays, which must mean the Preds have been working on getting their act together during said plays.

In my opinion, the guys came out a little shaky in the first period. It seemed as if they were nervous to play in front of the home crowd (I mean, Nashville is a pretty intimidating arena to play). Pickard seemed slow and unsure, but showed some great goalie skills on his second return to the game. I was very glad to see Martin Erat back on the ice as well as Cal O’Reilly.

The next Preds home preseason game is this Wednesday against the Washington Capitals at 7PM.

Pekka defends the goal from Bodie (#20, Jets).

If you watched or listened to the 2nd Period of the game tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, you were aware that newbie goalie Chet Pickard was pulled from goal after the 1st Period and replaced with everyone’s favorite Finnish blonde, Pekka Rinne. You may have also heard he was pulled during play after sustaining an injury from a shot to the mask.

There was a lot of confusion about what happened to Pekka as he was being pulled and replaced by Pickard once more. Was he struck with the puck? Did he get hit by fragments from Jerred Smithson’s broken stick? Well, it was indeed by a puck to the face mask that sent Pekka to the locker room. Although Pekka is used to shots to the face, this one managed to bend his cage and cut him above his right eyebrow. It required 12 stitches to patch the wound.

Pickard had a hard time warming up during the first period, letting two goals slip by before being pulled However, when he returned to replaced Rinne, he deflected many shots to the goal during the remaining 2nd and 3rd periods.

Although he required 12 stitches, Pekka will be just fine for the upcoming season.

From Left to Right: Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien

Do hockey fights inevitably lead down a road to mental illness? That is what the National Hockey League is investigating as Wade Belak of the Nashville Predators has been named the third professional hockey player to pass away since May due to an apparent suicide.

There is more to it than just fights, as you may guess. It is more of the constant punches and shots to the head that are leading league investigators to believe there is a link between head trauma and mental illness, which unfortunately makes sense. Since Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien were all enforcers and known fighters, they most certainly faced a few blows to the head and some of those blows could have severed something deep in the brain.

As we all must remember, concussions and brain injuries are still relatively unknown. A recent study found that some football players and boxers can suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive brain disease caused by continuous blows to the head over time.

“It’s not like every enforcer in the NHL has gone on to have this happen, the same way not every lineman in the NFL goes on to have dementia,” states Dr. Alan Hoffer, assistant professor of neurological surgery and neurocritical care at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. “I think for all of these things there’s an individual susceptibility that’s based on someone’s genetic makeup as well as any potential injury they’ve had in the past.”

Private services for Wade Belak will be held Sunday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. at Woodmont Christian Church (3601 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215).
In lieu of flowers the family will accept donations to The Andie and Alex Belak Scholarship Fund. Checks may be made payable to Woodmont Christian Church/Belak (3601 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215).

Information provided by the Associated Press.

As we mentioned yesterday afternoon, former Predator Wade Belak passed away in his Toronto hotel room yesterday. At that time, the details of his cause of death were undetermined, until this statement, which was recently posted by the Associated Press:

“Former NHL player Wade Belak hanged himself, according to a person familiar with the case.

The person familiar with Belak’s death said he hanged himself at a downtown luxury hotel and condo building. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because details of the investigation were confidential.”

The news of his cause of death has sent shockwaves throughout not only the Predators and NHL family, but the entire sports world as a whole. Sadly, Belak is the third NHL player to pass since May including Winnipeg’s Rick Rypien and the Rangers’ Derek Boogaard.

We will continue to update as more information becomes available. Until then, we will continue to pray for the friends and family members of Wade Belak.

Wade Belak was not only an amazing player, but he was also a great leader, friend and dad.

Well, this wasn’t the way I wanted to return to Lady Preds. Even though we are on a hiatus at the moment, this was too important to not share. The rumor began appearing amongst the social media sites, but unfortunately, this rumor confirmed; Former Predator Wade Belak has passed away.

The Toronto Sun was the first to report the sad news stating he was found in his hotel room in the Canadian city dead from an unknown cause. However, it is speculated that he may have accidentally overdosed on prescription medicine.  A Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, Belak was in Toronto filming a TV show called “Battle of the Blades”.

Wade Belak has been on several other teams in the league including the Quebec Nordiques, the Calgary Flames, the Colorado Avalanche, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers, but his time with the Predators and Nashville stuck with Belak. He called Nashville home and, after retiring from the NHL, continued to help his new found home. Not only was he a significant leader in the Nashville community, he was also a volunteer firefighter for Williamson County.

I was very lucky to have had the chance to meet Wade Belak back in the Spring. As everyone has said in other statements, Belak was definitely a high spirited, happy guy who could find a friend in anyone. It sad to see such an influential person pass away in such a fluke way. Prayers go out to the Belak family and close friends.

The Predators are set to have a press conference shortly and updates will be available. Until then, here is the official press release from the Predators:

Nashville, Tenn. (August 31, 2011) – “The entire Nashville Predators organization and family is shocked and saddened by the sudden and untimely passing of Wade Belak. Wade was a beloved member of the organization, a terrific teammate and wonderful father and husband who will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Jennifer and children Andie and Alex. We offer our full support to them at this very difficult time.”

Again, we couldn’t be more saddened by the passing of Wade Belak. We are at a loss for words, but prayers are being sent to his family. Truly heartbreaking.

Well, it's about *beep* time!

Finally, Weber Watch 2011 is over and done with, relieving every single Predators fan (and even non-fans alike) in existence. If you have been living in a hole for the last few weeks (months, let’s be honest) and you have no idea what “Weber Watch 2011” is/was, first off, consider yourself very lucky. In fact, I was this close *pinches fingers together* to not even bothering writing on this because it irritated me to the point of no return (I even avoiding Twitter so I didn’t have to see this whole debacle). Second, if you have no idea what this was, well…

In a nutshell, The Nashville Predators (David Poile) and Shea Weber (Shea’s agent) couldn’t agree on a new contract and sent the whole mess into arbitration. Now, what has most people in an uproar is the fact that David Poile had quite a long time to get all of this in order, but it seemed as if he kept putting it off, thus throwing it into arbitration. However, not all the blame has to rest upon Poile’s shoulders, but it feels so much better to throw the blame on someone.

Essentially, The Preds offered Weber $4.75 million, but Shea and his agent wanted $8 million. Do the Predators feel that Shea’s only worth $4.75 million? Absolutely not, but looking at the deal from a business standpoint, you must understand that the Predators are indeed a business and by saving any money possible is definitely number one on the agenda. However, I do have to say they (and Weber’s agent) took it way too far in their disagreements and frustrated quite a number of people.

So (again in a nutshell) both sides are equally to blame in this situation. The two sides kept pushing and pushing until it was do or die time (arbitration). Luckily, the two sides have settled on a one year, $7.5 million contract.

The new question, now that this debacle is all over and done with, how does this situation affect Shea Weber and his relationship with the Predators? Some say everything will go back to normal and all will be forgiven, but others feel as if this will always be a lingering nightmare in the back of everyone’s minds that could return and rear its ugly head in the future.

But let’s all just agree to disagree and come to terms with the fact that we did not, in the end, lose our beloved Captain and enjoy this coming season. Hopefully this will be the last dramatized moment this season, but we all know this will probably start all over again next year.

Will we start wondering who Bouillon is, just like Lombardi?

Okay, so I haven’t updated in a while and I sincerely apologize! I am trying to get used to my new work schedule (8-4:30), which is absolutely nice, but bedtime calls around 9ish for me (getting old) so I haven’t had a chance to fill everyone in about hockey news. Luckily, you have OnTheForecheck and everyone else! Any who, let’s get down to business about Bouillon:

Well, this isn’t exactly the best news I wanted to start off from my little hiatus, but it looks like Francis Bouillon, who suffered a concussion back on January 16th against the Blackhawks (and was starting to get better, mind you), has stopped all workouts and training, due to his concussion-related symptoms returning. Eek.

Concussion have to be one of the worst, if not the worst, occurrences in hockey (or any sport at that) because of the way the symptoms simply disappear, then can resurface at any given moment, risking both the player’s health and professional career. Take Matthew Lombardi, for example: The Predators were so excited and proud of their trade for Lombardi and knew he’d be an unstoppable force for the team. However, Lombardi was sidelined with a concussion in his second game, leaving him useless for the remaining season and post-season. Sadly, the Predators knew that, although Lombardi could recover and would be a great player, the risks were too high and they traded him. As you can see from given example, concussions are not fun to deal with… at all.

Well, for the teams sake and for Bouillon’s health, we hope he has a speedy recovery and returns by September for preseason action (It’s looking like we are going to need him, as of right now). As I said before, however, concussions are not set in stone and due to that, it makes for one giant mess that keeps everyone in uncertainty-mode.

From all of the pictures I have seen, he has a habit of sticking his tongue out.

Never bad to sign a handsome player, right? Although Craig Smith agreed to return to the University of Wisconsin about two weeks ago, it seems he has changed his mind and will join with the Nashville Predators after all. Smith was a little hesitant after visiting Nashville during the Predators annual Development Camp, but former teammates like Blake Geoffrion may have helped sway his decision. Here is a press released by Wisconsin:

“With two years of collegiate eligibility remaining for the Wisconsin Badgers, forward Craig Smith will become a professional hockey player. The Madison, Wis., native is a 2009 fourth-round pick (98th overall) of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, the team of former Badgers Ryan Suter and Blake Geoffrion.”

Although he would be returning to the University of Wisconsin as a Junior, Craig Smith is definitely a formidable hockey player for his age and even represented Team USA at the World Championship in Slovakia.

It is strange for the Predators to pull a player straight from the college level to NHL level without first making a pit-stop for a few seasons in Milwaukee, but the Predators and fans who have followed this prospect know of his potential, along with others such as Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi. However, if the Predators feel he is worthy of NHL ice time, then let’s give the boy a chance, shall we?

Ryan Suter (20) and Blake Geoffrion (5) show off the new home jersey!

Wether you were in the crowd last night or missed the action, the 3rd Annual Skate of the Union proved itself successful as hundreds of hockey-hungry Preds fans showed up to see the unveiling of the new home jersey. However, the revealing of the new home jersey wasn’t the only thing Predators fans were looking forward to…

• Fans stood in a line, which seemed to wrap completely around the entire building, for a chance meet Blake Geoffrion, Ryan Suter, Stu Grimson, Wade Belak and Scott Walker and have them sign merchandise.
• A used equipment sale was held for season ticket holders and the general public. Game-used/worn items, such as gloves, sticks and pads were snatched up by the handfuls by the fans.
• The new “simplified” logo made its debut on t-shirts, car decals, flags, banners, hats, etc. all available now for purchase in the Predators Pro Shop.
• Along with the new stuff, the Preds had a “sidewalk sale” to ship out the old merchandise, including $5 Dumont and Sullivan jersey t-shirts, “Duck Hunt” Predators vs. Ducks t-shirts and other playoff tees.
• The locker room was open for tour between 4pm – 6pm, allowing Preds fans an up-close view of where the players getting ready before taking the ice.
• The kids weren’t left out, either: A Predator-shaped inflatable slide, mini hockey rinks and a slap shot game were there to entertain even the youngest of fans.

BEHOLD THE GOLD - Sounds kind of scary, but the jerseys aren't half bad in person!