Checkers broadcaster Jason Shaya checks in each week with his 10 Thoughts - a series of observations about the team and the hockey world in general.
1) Thanks to the Hyatt in San Antonio for shutting off the water from midnight to 5 a.m. Very convenient for the team that left before it was turned back on.
2) Still wondering if Justin Krueger planned that shootout move he used on Friday night against Aeros goalie Matt Hackett. Mixed reports on whether that was the secret deke from practice. I still think he jammed the breaks too hard on a spin-o-rama and just improvised. Watching that shootout move is a lot like conversing with Krueger…not quite sure where he’s going.
3) The Checkers are 4-0 without Justin Faulk, or as I call him, Minnesota Poison.
4) For those of you who think the world is ending, you’re probably right. It just won’t happen this year and when it does, I don’t think we will get much notice.
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) No one will care: economist Jeffrey Sachs now rejects Keynes and endorsed Hayek. For economics nerds, this is actually a big deal. I knew you wouldn’t care.
6) Right-handed people live an average of nine years more than left-handed people. Take that, Donny.
7) Zach Boychuk continues to be a force for Charlotte. He leads the team in points and he’s currently on a four-game assist streak. He hasn’t scored a goal in a few games but he just seems to always be a threat every game.
8) Not sure why Marc-Andre Gragnani doesn’t shoot the puck more. He absolutely hammered a one-timer over Jacob Markstrom’s glove on Sunday to score the game winner during a 5-on-3 power-play. It was his first goal as a Checker.
9) Beating Houston twice and traveling for a single game and winning in San Antonio may have been the best accomplishment thus far this season for Charlotte. Have to give these guys lots of credit for getting all six points in very difficult circumstances.
10) Head coach Jeff Daniels was so happy with his team’s recent play that he gave everyone off until the day after Christmas. Great gift for the guys.
11) Justin Peters has a .970 save percentage in his last three games and allowed two goals. He should have been the #1 star on Sunday.
12) Thanks to Michael Kahn for putting on a great Christmas party this week. If people only knew how much he wants to win and what a great organization he runs. I hope the players appreciate his generosity.
13) Finally, with the unthinkable horror that took place in Connecticut, I’d just like to ask that during the holidays when people are surrounded by their loved ones that they take a moment to pray for the innocent victims and their families. I’ll leave you with the words of Robert Kennedy as we seek to comprehend of the mindless menace of violence, “Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.
