Quacked » Qwednesday

Q3 Duckling Edition: My Name is …

Patrick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:01:51 +0000

You know him well.

Do you recognize the kid in the above picture? Here are a few hints: 1) He’s a current Ducks player; 2) This picture is from 1996; 3) Just a guess, but he probably speaks a couple of languages. Still can’t figure it out? Click through and find out.

His name is Jonas. He’s carrying our wheel. We thank him for all he has shown us, and yes, this is indeed how we feel. Lame Weezer puns notwithstanding, those lyrics have in them the truth if you look hard enough. Jonas Hiller is carrying our proverbial wheel as the now-undisputed number one goaltender. I’m sure Bob Murray will thank him for showing him how much he could save by switching to Geico choosing him as the starter (roughly $1.5 million a year if you compare his cap hit to Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s and discount the Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake salaries that will be off the books… eventually).

Searching on eBay has again yielded a gem: a peewee card of Jonas Hiller, a pre-rookie issue of sorts (Hiller would have been 13 or 14 years old at the time). Although I can’t personally vouch for this item’s veracity, a quick look at the photo seems to dissuade any notion of forgery or trickery on the part of the seller. If it is indeed our beloved butterfly prodigy depicted, this card would make an excellent conversation piece and surely be a most esoteric addition to any Ducks memorabilia collection.

While cruising around eBay, I also uncovered a particularly vivid tie that is sure to class up any formal attire its purchaser deigns to wear (image, if the auction is gone).

Remember: you’re never quite so sharply dressed as when you’re dressed in purple. And jade.

SOURCE LINKS

“1996 peewee JONAS HILLER anaheim ducks NHL” (ebay.com)

Q27: A Career in Cards

Patrick — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:30:13 +0000

Rejoice, one and all, for it is again that magical time of the week — known to the rest of the world as Wednesday, or more colloquially, “hump day” — to rifle through the archives of NHL history for some good old-fashioned nostalgic treasures. (You’ll have to click through to get the good stuff.)

The subject at hand today is Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. You may remember him from less acclaimed roles in Halifax, Hartford and Calgary (Mooseheads and Whalers and Flames, oh my!). His curriculum vitae prior to joining the Ducks franchise is thin — so thin, in fact, that he had only a scant 30 NHL games to his name upon arrival in June 2000. The collection of his hockey cards I have to show you chronicle that half-decade before he donned the eggplant and jade.

Not much is typically mentioned about Giguere’s brief stints in Hartford and Calgary, except as a point of contrast to emphasize the effect Francois Allaire’s teachings have had on his game. Often credited with saving Giguere’s career, Allaire helped hone the young goalie’s skills, adding focus and purpose to his play. The changes in his style are underscored in reading the various scouting reports on the cards pictured below. Giguere’s glove hand and athleticism received the bulk of the accolades throughout his junior career, and now the very notion of athleticism being a core tenet of his game seems preposterous. Instead, Allaire has instilled in him equal measures of confidence and discipline, both key ingredients that helped Giguere transcend his stereotype and become an iconoclast of the traditional Quebec-born goaltender: he became a puck blocker. No flash, no dash, but plenty of results.

Often overlooked by the experts of the hockey world, Giguere’s style of play won him no fans around the league. Blocking the puck does not so much earn a place on the highlight reel as it earns scorn from those either unaware of the required skill to do it or those who dismiss it vis-a-vis an arbitrary scale meant to determine how spectacular a save must be to garner recognition as such. This is perhaps best evidenced by the burden of illegal pad accusations he bears, a phenomenon that seemingly has its roots in an offhand remark made by then-Dallas Stars forward (and notorious shit disturber) Claude Lemieux during the 2003 playoffs. If the remark was to be understood as a whisper of doubt, it eventually heightened to a near-deafening roar of contempt as fans and players alike were quick to draw comparisons to both the Michelin Man and the Stay Puft Marshmallow mascot from Ghostbusters.

What often escapes the scope of these inscrutable analyses is the set of rules the NHL has in place for regulating goaltending equipment. If the standards were too lax and negligent of legally ambiguous tactics (I’m looking at you, Garth Snow) before, then they have certainly become more stringent in both application and verification since the lockout. Giguere has gone on the record about being subjected to regular checks by league officials, but still he has been dogged by the accusations. Incidentally, the frequency with which these judgments are handed down seems to have an inverse correlation to the measure of his success on the ice.

Luckily, and thanks in large part to Allaire, Giguere has developed and displayed the necessary mental fortitude to withstand criticism and pressure (incidents with Ryan Smyth notwithstanding). His play on the ice has never been a reflection of the criticism received off of it. It is perhaps for that reason that it is surprising, though perfectly understandable, that his level of play declined so sharply last year surrounding the death of his father.

Right now, Giguere abides as the last bastion of the era of Mighty Ducks hockey (he is the only player remaining from the 2003 Cinderella squad)– but for how much longer? His days in Anaheim could be numbered, and so the prevailing wisdom mandates that we explore some of the qualities that endeared Giguere to Ducks fans before he departs. Today we go looking for insight from the (now dilapidated) hockey card universe, and examine a handful of cards that comprise the exiguous record of Giguere’s pre-Anaheim hockey career.

Note: Forgive the askew orientation of the cards and the sheen on some of them. Not having a scanner presents a unique set of challenges when digitizing items for archival purposes. Because the nature of their use was restricted to the blog, I decided not to be a perfectionist as long as the content on each card was legible.

A veritable cornucopia of obscure Giguere trivia. It's a little strange to include the TV watching factoid on a card, but if nothing else it lets us know that teenagers haven't changed much since 1994." class="shutterset_set_2" >

Emphasizing his commitment to education alongside athletics, this card, issued as part of a team set during the 1995-96 season, highlights Giguere's importance to his junior team." class="shutterset_set_2" >

It is evident that Giguere always had the necessary tools to employ a successful butterfly game. Unfortunately, he would not find consistency until he arrived in Anaheim." class="shutterset_set_2" >

Even before his training under legendary golatending guru Francois Allaire, Giguere was exhibiting traits that would serve him well in the NHL." class="shutterset_set_2" >

As it turned out, Giguere never got that long look at training camp with the Hurricanes. He was traded with Andrew Cassels to Calgary for Gary Roberts and Trevor Kidd in August 1997." class="shutterset_set_2" >

Scouting report: superb reflexes. Sounds about right. Best attribute: glove hand. Yeah, that sounds... uh, come again?" class="shutterset_set_2" >

An oft-overlooked aspect of his game, Giguere possesses explosive speed across the crease and often gets square with shooters- even if it's not always pretty." class="shutterset_set_2" >

Qwednesday the 20th: Luck and Larceny

Patrick — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:30:10 +0000

Digging into the well of retro-reminiscence once more, this Qwednesday (still working on that name) please find enclosed a reminder of the way we were. You know, a team that needed sensational goaltending on a nightly basis because it couldn’t score to save its life. (It seems as though not much has changed it that department of late, although the goaltenders are not bailing the team out as frequently.)

If there exists a perfect counterpoint to Petr Sykora’s 5OT goal in the second round in the court of opinion regarding the defining moment of the Mighty Ducks’ 2003 playoff run, this moment would certainly be a contender for the title. Somewhat disappointingly, there does not seem to be a clip accompanied by Chris Cuthbert’s unforgettable cry of “how did that stay out?!” — a glib but accurate summation of Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s entire body of work that spring. The video drops in around the 2:30 mark, but Ducks fans will want to watch this one all the way through, even though the soundtrack isn’t English.

So now you decide: was the save complete and unmitigated luck? Or do you believe luck is just the residue of skill? No matter what the call, it’s clear that the video does not present a compelling case against over-sized shoulder pads.

Qwednesday the 13th: eBay gold… or is it jade?

Patrick — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:00:01 +0000

Happy belated New Year, Ducks fans — we hope it’s been as prosperous for you as it has been for the Ducks to-date. Beginning today, we will use the occasional Wednesday to revel in the many quirky ways the world wide web bestows its splendors on all things Anaheim Ducks. The name Qwednesday owes its genesis to a complete lack of creativity, and to that end I am entirely open to suggestions for a better moniker.

Today’s find, while not entirely groundbreaking, does a perfunctory job serving that niche market of fans wanting new logos on old jerseys. It also portends a stern warning to those who think that any combination of opiates, sewing and purple fabric can produce marketable results. The complete lack of bidding on the product evidently reaffirms that notion.

Interestingly enough, the item’s condition is listed as “new”. I’m not sure if that indicates that the individual components used to create this horrific hybrid were all new or if the seller is coyly suggesting that this is a new style of Ducks jersey (which is itself a bastardized but still accurate version of the term).

Eggplant is the new orange. Thanks eBay.

SOURCE LINKS

“Anaheim Ducks Adults Purple Jersey X-Large XL” (ebay.com)