The New Look Rebels - So Far, So Good

There is a long, long way to go before we're able to pass final judgement on Brent Sutter's work as Red Deer Rebels General Manager this season.

That being said, the early returns for his wheeling and dealing are looking good.  Very good.  And the possibility for long term benefits from these moves should have Rebels fans feeling pretty darn good about what the boss has been up to.

Rebels Report - Dumba, Bartosak, and Bittner (the new guy)

Got a quick pic with 
Evgeni Malkin while in Vegas.

I'm Baaaack!

What a lovely change it was for this guy to go from sunny and 40+ degrees Celsius in Las Vegas to rainy and 15 degrees back here in Red Deer .  But I suppose a guy has to put up with that kind of thing after having a great time over five days in Sin City.  I'll survive.

There was some hockey flavour to my trip as my buddy and I dropped in on an NHL Awards 'after party' last Wednesday night.  It was pretty cool to be 'just a fan' for a night and meet current NHLers like Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Alfredsson, and Twitter legend Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0).  And, even as a life long Flames fan, it was quite a thrill to meet Mark Messier.  There were plenty more NHLers in the building, unfortunately my knack for recognizing faces isn't what it should be for a guy in my position (though I did manage to shake hands with Henrik Lundqvist).  Regardless, it was a great way to start a holiday.