nate24
Greg Hadden
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 14:07:52 GMT
If it's the right signing it's worth the wait. Whether it will be or not remains to be seen of course, but a good few years back now Sheffield signed Kevin Bolibruck a couple of weeks into the season and he was the best player in the league. Totally agree but there is a huge risk to leaving it that late. If the results don't go our way at the beginning of the season fans will be going crazy asking where the signing is and if it comes to the end of the season and we are say 4 points away, a signing may have made the difference. I know it's a little dramatic but you get the jist. It's not dramatic at all. It's realistic. We've had some real tight title battles over the years. It's a good point.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 11:25:09 GMT
I can tell you why. Exactly why. It's because the average Panthers fan does not know this is happening. They left in April and won't give hockey a second thought til September. They come for a night out and something a little different, they care little for titles, trophies and signing news. It doesn't interest them. They come to the game and go home and don't think much about hockey until their next game. This is the bulk of our fan base. Every sport has fans like these and they are extremely important however when they make up the bulk of your fan base you are in trouble. They except mediocrity because they are there for a bit of escapism and even bad hockey provides that. They buy tickets, food, shirts and other merchandise and attend GM's many auctions and provide the bulk of the clubs revenue come rain or shine. The more serious fans that want to see the game elevated l, professional attitudes and a standard of hockey comapreavle to our European neighbours do not represent a large enough demographic for the club to care about. TL:DR not enough fans care about this stuff to make it worth the club changing their ways. Even if alot of our fans are casual. We still have more proper invested fans than most teams. It doesn't matter. Not enough make a loud enough noise for the organisation to react.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 11:04:12 GMT
I can tell you why. Exactly why. It's because the average Panthers fan does not know this is happening. They left in April and won't give hockey a second thought til September.
They come for a night out and something a little different, they care little for titles, trophies and signing news. It doesn't interest them. They come to the game and go home and don't think much about hockey until their next game.
This is the bulk of our fan base. Every sport has fans like these and they are extremely important however when they make up the bulk of your fan base you are in trouble. They except mediocrity because they are there for a bit of escapism and even bad hockey provides that.
They enjoy trophies but they are a bonus not a necessity.
They buy tickets, food, shirts and other merchandise and attend GM's many auctions and provide the bulk of the clubs revenue come rain or shine.
The more serious fans that want to see the game elevated l, professional attitudes and a standard of hockey comaparable to our European neighbours do not represent a large enough demographic for the club to care about.
TL:DR not enough fans care about this stuff to make it worth the club changing their ways.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 10:02:15 GMT
OK, so that's Russians, what about the rest? If a player is too unreliable to sort his visa don't sort him. It just show a lack of commitment from the get go. BUT THIS IS THE POINT. YOU DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HAS SLOWED THE APPLICATION DOWN SO HOW CAN YOU JUST BLAME THE PLAYER/ CLUB?!?!?!?!?!? For all you know the UK Visa & Immigration Department could be causing the hold up. The insinuation before hand was it's the player, I assumed inside information.. And I'm sorry but I've been doing my job 7 years. I work in very fluid and dynamic situations and even so I know the trip ups that will stop things going smoothly. You learn to avoid these things so the majority of players will be visa'd up and landed ready, not half he team trapped in Visa issues. If this is league wide then maybe we need to start in October. But after following the DEL and other Euro leagues for a few seasons pretty closely I can assure you more professional European outfits do not have this issue on this scale. Capitalising a paragraph does nothing to support your point.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 7:52:42 GMT
Unfortunately the Panthers can't hold the hands of Russians when it comes to applying for Visas etc, and don't have an inside track in the Russian Embassy asking for favours. It's completely out of the club's hands. They can ring and email players every day telling them to get their applications in, but they can't literally force them to do it. OK, so that's Russians, what about the rest? If a player is too unreliable to sort his visa don't sort him. It just show a lack of commitment from the get go.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 8, 2017 6:17:16 GMT
We are 33 days away from the first league game, not one second of league hockey has been played. We haven't lost any games. If by the end of September we are short and we've lost loads of games then fine, fire away with these negative comments. Until then it's down right ridiculous. By the first league game they may well be here yes.....but how much training camp will the latecomers have missed,how many games missed,how match fit will they be ? It all adds up and it's not good preparation is it. Don't forget most of these players have never even seen each other before,never mind played together. Like I said before.....why make it harder than it needs to be. Remember how many times have we seen exactly the same situation before......many many times,almost every season in fact ! My point exactly. If only we had a GM who's been at the helm for decades with enough insight to head of these issues.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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Post by nate24 on Aug 7, 2017 15:49:16 GMT
I reckon mid September before we ice a full roster. That is if we are lucky and don't get injuries.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 7, 2017 14:44:29 GMT
We have been importing players for decades. They should know by now the best strategy to ensure they get the majority of people on the ground on time. Same goes for injury cover.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 7, 2017 9:53:20 GMT
The GMB Nottingham Panthers announce an exciting new competition. YOU yes YOU can be the last signing. Open try outs commence Wednesday and one lucky Panthers fan will be the final signing of pre season.
This competition aims to allow fans to be more involved with the club and is not a ill thought out idea after being unable to close the final signing in good time.
GM, you're welcome, this idea is on me and is as inefficient as many of yours and CN's other recruitment strategies so should fit in well.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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CHL Draw
Aug 6, 2017 0:47:00 GMT
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Post by nate24 on Aug 6, 2017 0:47:00 GMT
I haven't got to time to reply to every point but Lincolns story isn't unique. It happens every now and again. It was just a fresh example. The difference is the opposition early on gives teams like Lincoln momentum as they are likely to play teams is realistic to upset. The CHL is short and sharp therefore not comparable as a competition like the FA cup. The 1st round of the CHL is an extremely high calibre compared to our level and as such is not an appropriate tier for us to start in. I concede it's tiered but we are not good enough for tier 1. If a lesser seeded club that was not British did cause an upset no. One in the UK would pay attention. A British team would ha e to have an impact for the media to pick it up. They won't, British ice hockey exposure is stagnant and not enough effort is being made to change this. People can't travel for many reasons not just financial and don't go to away games. Maybe it is just as accessible as some away games but the fact you aren't filling the arena on home games in the CHL is an indication of how people feel. With the exception of Hamburg the atmosphere was very stilled last time around. I don't know how your figures stack up. I'll leave Iginlia to counter but it seems like a huge loss and not even a break even from where I'm sitting and one that risks the domestic campaign. People turn their nose up at the continental cup because they have a grander view of where they think we should be. Like it or not, that's the appropriate level of hockey for the EIHL. I recognise it's a semi-regular occurrence for Lincoln style stories. I mean I remember being at the Emirates watching Ipswich Town who were winning on aggregate with just 30 mins left in the league cup semi final second leg and a cup final berth within sight. I remember winning that home leg having been written off and I loved the giant killing. I was absolutely gutted to miss the Hamburg game for similar reasons. I'll be at all but TPS away in the vain hope of some magical night in the same way Lincoln fans showed up to watch them beat Ipswich, Brighton, & Burnley. As for money, if you don't include mercenaries (which we're not doing this year) then I don't see how it's any different to Continental cup cost wise. Still 3 away trips, but actually shorter durations. Also HK & Bern will be one roadtrip anyway. You then get 3 extra home games. I'd posit that the CHL is less impactful on our domestic campaign both in numbers of games and finance. Although it is all speculation as only the club really know. Our injury record is a fact, our inability to cover injured players is a fact. No speculation required. The CHL is more games which is increased risk of injury, also not speculation. I do speculate if one or two of our group teams get into a heated battle to take the group they will spare us no quarter to ensure they rack up a strong goal difference. They may play hard and people may get hurt.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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CHL Draw
Aug 5, 2017 18:24:17 GMT
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 18:24:17 GMT
Well flipping invest in it! A CHL calibre team would dominate domestically. The qualityof the CHL is so much higher and improving. I love the CHL but rarely watch the EIHL entrants because it's white washing. So we won a European cup who's quality is becoming more inferior!?So winning that was a false positive of European readiness. Unless we commit there is no point entering. It's an exhibition series. I'm not saying it's where we shouldn't be in saying we shouldn't be there if we are not going to put up a competitive front and challenge for wins. If we put up a DEL style/ calibre team then it'd be worth it. to be able to actually compete and progress to the later stages of the CHL tournament it would mean that our team would be the same calibre as the German, Swedish and Finnish teams as you say. Now, if that were to happen you are right in saying that we would dominate domestically, BUT it would mean that other teams within the league would be unable to compete with us. As has already been mentioned on another thread, doing this would make our league unstable and lead to teams spending more than within their means to try and compete with us. As we know, spending money that you don't have doesn't end well. In the long run, the only way that I can see British teams challenging in the CHL is if a group of teams with the ability to challenge break away from the rest who are unable to and compete amongst themselves domestically. Ourselves, Sheffield, Belfast, Cardiff and Braehead are the only ones who have this ability but unfortunately the number of teams is too few for this to happen. I completely agree and feel at this present time it is a superfluous exhibition serious exposing players to injury in a competition we have no real standing in. Players that may be the difference between finishing 5th or 1st. You know, if we reacted to injuries better that would alleviate some of my worries but ultimately I just find out performers hopelessly lacking compared to the others. This year we are domestically focused in our recruiting. This tournament has been written off by the club from what I can tell. It will be an even poorer showing this time as to when we last entered. At least then we made a little effort towards fielding a roster capable of holding there own even if it didn't work very well. This year they will be saving their legs. Maybe just ice 2 way brits to save he main guys and get the youngsters bloodied against the bigger boys?
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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CHL Draw
Aug 5, 2017 17:39:20 GMT
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 17:39:20 GMT
I haven't got to time to reply to every point but Lincolns story isn't unique. It happens every now and again. It was just a fresh example. The difference is the opposition early on gives teams like Lincoln momentum as they are likely to play teams is realistic to upset. The CHL is short and sharp therefore not comparable as a competition like the FA cup. The 1st round of the CHL is an extremely high calibre compared to our level and as such is not an appropriate tier for us to start in. I concede it's tiered but we are not good enough for tier 1. If a lesser seeded club that was not British did cause an upset no. One in the UK would pay attention. A British team would ha e to have an impact for the media to pick it up. They won't, British ice hockey exposure is stagnant and not enough effort is being made to change this. People can't travel for many reasons not just financial and don't go to away games. Maybe it is just as accessible as some away games but the fact you aren't filling the arena on home games in the CHL is an indication of how people feel. With the exception of Hamburg the atmosphere was very stilled last time around. I don't know how your figures stack up. I'll leave Iginlia to counter but it seems like a huge loss and not even a break even from where I'm sitting and one that risks the domestic campaign. People turn their nose up at the continental cup because they have a grander view of where they think we should be. Like it or not, that's the appropriate level of hockey for the EIHL. I don't know what you saw, but I saw a fairly mediocre EIHL team stroll through the Continental cup last year without much resistance. The quality of the EIHL gets better every year and the Continental cup has slid, the CHL is where we should be. Well flipping invest in it! A CHL calibre team would dominate domestically. The qualityof the CHL is so much higher and improving. I love the CHL but rarely watch the EIHL entrants because it's white washing. So we won a European cup who's quality is becoming more inferior!?So winning that was a false positive of European readiness. Unless we commit there is no point entering. It's an exhibition series. I'm not saying it's where we shouldn't be in saying we shouldn't be there if we are not going to put up a competitive front and challenge for wins. If we put up a DEL style/ calibre team then it'd be worth it.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
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CHL Draw
Aug 5, 2017 14:26:50 GMT
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 14:26:50 GMT
Some very good points there Nate. I was told our last jaunt into the CHL cost Panthers £200k. Just imagine if we spent that same money on our EIHL team what sort of team we would have.....we would be increasing our player budget by something like 50%. That's what I find so annoying. They are happy to spend big money on a six game first round exit in the CHL,but not on the EIHL,which is what the remaining 5500 fans pay every week to see ! I haven't got to time to reply to every point but Lincolns story isn't unique. It happens every now and again. It was just a fresh example. The difference is the opposition early on gives teams like Lincoln momentum as they are likely to play teams is realistic to upset. The CHL is short and sharp therefore not comparable as a competition like the FA cup. The 1st round of the CHL is an extremely high calibre compared to our level and as such is not an appropriate tier for us to start in. I concede it's tiered but we are not good enough for tier 1. If a lesser seeded club that was not British did cause an upset no. One in the UK would pay attention. A British team would ha e to have an impact for the media to pick it up. They won't, British ice hockey exposure is stagnant and not enough effort is being made to change this. People can't travel for many reasons not just financial and don't go to away games. Maybe it is just as accessible as some away games but the fact you aren't filling the arena on home games in the CHL is an indication of how people feel. With the exception of Hamburg the atmosphere was very stilled last time around. I don't know how your figures stack up. I'll leave Iginlia to counter but it seems like a huge loss and not even a break even from where I'm sitting and one that risks the domestic campaign. People turn their nose up at the continental cup because they have a grander view of where they think we should be. Like it or not, that's the appropriate level of hockey for the EIHL.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 12:17:06 GMT
Actually Cameron has already stated that the team arrives this weekend for camp to start on Monday. I'm surprised someone in your position wasn't aware of that. No he hasn't. The only tweet I've seen was on 3rd August,where he replied to somebody asking the question,was him saying......"We have several players booked in to arrive at the weekend" "Several players" is NOT a full squad,it probably means four or five if we're lucky ! Is that a seperate account with people specifying 'personal' twitter.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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CHL Draw
Aug 5, 2017 12:14:45 GMT
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 12:14:45 GMT
Does anyone actually get excited about this? Is it any more than a televised exhibition series? If we were competitive then it could real jewel in the crown for a British trophy cabinet with real bragging rights. Instead we are whipping boys and we should withdraw. It just allows the better clubs to practice new lines and strategies ready for their real games. I heard from one of the Fins coming over that realistically we could be competing within a few years if the teams and the league put an aggressive development plan into play. We've not got a plan, it's a joke how little effort the development of our league is taken. We are competitive in the other European cup. We should stick with that and when the league can be bothered to improve have a look at the CHL. Then why not make the FA Cup start in the third round? Or why not kick all teams that aren't either French, German, Italian, Spanish and English out of the champions league? Same for the world cup, Just make it Europe, South America and maybe USA every four years? Maybe do the same with Caps, Stars and Flyers in the EIHL as they'll never win it so why do they bother? Weed out the non competitive teams in everything? The difference is those teams get financial benefits to competing. Lincoln City's success in the FA cup will have positive ramifications for seasons to come. Those competitions are also tiered to get progressively harder. The CHL isn't. Early stages would be exciting against similar opposition and then you gain the momentum to cause upset and excitement later on. At the minute we are just a wild card with no momentum going on an expensive road trip inaccessible to most fans anyway. Back to Lincoln, they've had a success they could well use this as a launching pad to vastly improve their future prospects. We have no success and no leverage from competing to aid improvement. I've not seen a better calibre of player come to these shores thanks to our participation. If anything a quality player sees the run of results and looks to Germany. The UK competes in a competitive manner in one European completion. The CHL is superfluous and is exposure to injury for a club notoriously poor at replacing injured players.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 11:55:50 GMT
Does anyone actually get excited about this? Is it any more than a televised exhibition series? If we were competitive then it could real jewel in the crown for a British trophy cabinet with real bragging rights.
Instead we are whipping boys and we should withdraw. It just allows the better clubs to practice new lines and strategies ready for their real games.
I heard from one of the Fins coming over that realistically we could be competing within a few years if the teams and the league put an aggressive development plan into play. We've not got a plan, it's a joke how little effort the development of our league is taken.
We are competitive in the other European cup. We should stick with that and when the league can be bothered to improve have a look at the CHL.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 5, 2017 11:28:01 GMT
It's all gone VERY quiet this last week or so on all fronts Panthers. No news on last signing or even players arriving either. It was the 7th August Mr Black said for a full squad here in Nottingham wasn't it !!!! # No chance 🙄 Ah, from what you've said I thought the last signing was a done deal. I must of misunderstood. The last signing could an NHL all star faceoff winning sniper but if the roots to the teams success don't emminate from the player base we have we are screwed whoever it is.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 4, 2017 9:00:24 GMT
I know you've got to cover costs but I won't normally download apps like this that cost and it's not personal it's due to the sheer volume of independent apps you can pay for and never work.
Is there anyway they can let you give a trial period?
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 3, 2017 16:12:57 GMT
I think it will be between you guys and the Devils, with Steelers and Giants just being edged out. I love the look of our Defense, and has been said Defence wins championships, Hotham back is huge, and Paris looks a very good signing. Also our offence is looking very strong. I like the look of your team some very good signings and youth, our games are surely going to be very interesting. Anyway hope all you guys enjoy your season, but not too much. Don't think you're far wrong. The advantage the Devils have is they have a large core of players returning, so you have known league winning quality. The Panthers are almost a new squad, so although on paper we look to have signed some quality, we don't yet know how it will all "gel" together - so I think you Devils are just edging it right now. If Panthers last signing is quality and the team gels then we should give anyone a run for their money this season. What if the last signing is mediocre or average? Do we not stand a chance then? One player doesn't make a team and if our team isn't league winning now it won't be with the addition of one more guy. This guy should supplement not make the team considering we have enough player to play signed.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Aug 2, 2017 17:22:06 GMT
Nice to have sponsors,but god I wish they would keep the sponsors name out of the team name. We are Nottingham Panthers not the GMB Nottingham Panthers. And them up the road are not the Sheffield Window Centre Sheffield Steelers. Can you imagine it.... The Coca Cola Pittsburgh Penguins v The Tim Hortons Montreal Canadiens ! 🙄🙄 Give it time and this will be the case. I don't care about branding and such so long as the hockey is good.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Jul 30, 2017 15:38:24 GMT
They just have to cut and paste a press release. Announcing players is not a tough job.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Jul 30, 2017 12:22:30 GMT
When they decide to push for ticket sales.
Not being facetious it's just the way they work with marketing etc. From what I've read on here all signings are pretty much completed.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Jul 28, 2017 12:55:49 GMT
You do know the chl design these jerseys and nothing to do with Panthers and tbh I quite like that number there it's different and a lot of teams around Europe have the numbers there Aren't they more subtle and on the left or right. Not smash bang on the chest?
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Jul 28, 2017 11:18:51 GMT
Maybe they are proving a point.
To be fair few hockey shirts are particularly inspiring. Just a logo on a fresh set of sponsors.
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nate24
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,415
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Post by nate24 on Jul 26, 2017 6:52:22 GMT
Steelers have ELEVEN players over 30 and also five 29 year olds. 😳 It's going to be fascinating this season between them and Panthers. Push the pace... make them skate until they're puking on the bench... and then make them skate harder! AGAIN!!!!
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