Greetings from the home front, on a gorgeous, sunny afternoon. Sitting outside on the front porch, because well, it would just be a sin to be inside right now if I don’t have to be! Been almost two months since my last entry and while Joe Sakic just announced he will return for another season, Mats Sundin still hasn’t signed or retired!

Rumors surfaced last weekend that the longtime Maple Leaf captain had narrowed his choices down to the New York Rangers or Philadelphia Flyers, but agent JP Barry denied that Sundin had even made a choice on playing again. Then earlier this week, Montreal GM Bob Gainey admitted that he believes his team is all but out of the Sundin sweepstakes after not hearing from the Swedish forward for “a while”. But then on Friday, Barry apparently spoke on the matter once again telling the Canadian Press that his client has narrowed his choice down to two teams should he come back and play: Montreal and Vancouver.

So while Sundin continues to leave the hockey world hanging on by a thread, let me re-cap what has been a fun and interesting summer for yours truly. I’ve been living a hockey and music fan’s dream summer. I’ve worked as a scout/recruiter for a major junior hockey team, and hosted “Melnick In The Afternoon”, (the drive-home show on Team 990), for a week, interviewing the likes of Scotty Bowman, Glen Anderson and Michel Goulet, Bill Lee and Dickie Barrett from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. That’s just the work-related experiences from the past two months. There could be a book written about the rest, and that’s just what I may do!

With my writing and radio work slowing down for the summer, my co-host on the Inside Hockey Radio Show (yes we’ve rejoined forces with Inside Hockey, more on that in another entry soon), Todd Carroll and I took a job as New England scouts/recruiters for Junior De Montreal of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Our job was to bring as many “Major Junior ready” players to rookie camp as possible. The job as we found out was very involved and intriguing. Lots of time on the road, in the rinks, staying in hotels and even cars. I have a new-found respect for scouts in any sport. Living on the road can be both adventurous and grueling at the same time!

The most interesting part though is to realize how many adult-like decisions these young men have to make at ages as young as 16. Do I move away from home? Do I go the college or junior route? Am I ready? Who is telling me the truth and who is making false promises? These players are also constantly playing in showcase tournaments and attending conditioning camps.

Ironically, the public just got a glimpse of the 24/7 demands on young hockey players and how even if they achieve their dreams of getting drafted by an NHL club, they’re human and not the invincible beings some, including themselves, perceive them to be. Blue Jackets prospect Stefan Legein’s recent decision to retire from hockey at the age of 19 was as the Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek pointed out in a recent column (linked below), an indication that maybe the 365/24/7 mentality at the development levels is unhealthy for these kids and could lead to many more similar situations. After what I’ve seen and learned this summer, I completely agree!

Click here to read Duhatschek’s column…

By the way, I had the pleasure of coaching at the Montreal Juniors rookie camp this past month. Thanks to Team Black for my first career coaching win!

So earlier this summer I had the pleasure of attending, what to this date, was by far one of my top ten concert experiences of my life: the Dropkick Murphy’s and Mighty Mighty Bosstones at McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox. While I’ve attended numerous Dropkick’s shows, including four of the last five St. Paddy’s Day throw-downs, and also two Bosstones gigs, there was just something special, magical and a “you know you’re in a moment” type atmosphere about this gig!

Whether it was pre-concert tailgating with Todd, Dropkick’s bagpiper Scruffy Wallace, Billy D, Brian, Nick, Danielle Murr from WAAF and Courtney behind the stadium, or standing in the outfield watching the Bosstones as the sun set over a packed sandlot, or being on stage as the Bosstones and Dropkick’s played their encore and partying with Dicky B after the show, this was just a night to remember! Here’s a glimpse of what I witnessed that night:

Also, two weeks later I got take in this living legend at Gillette Stadium with my wife:

And let’s not forget my favorite New York Irish band:

As I mentioned above, I did have the pleasure of hanging out with Dickie B, who at least for me, a native Bostonian and huge fan of the Beantown punk/ska scene growing up, was an icon. Well, not only did this icon prove to be a great person; he’s a huge Bruins and Red Sox fan! So a month later when I traveled up to my second home now, Montreal, to host “Melnick In The Afternoon”, I figured why not bring Dickie B on with “The Spaceman”, former Red Sox hurler Bill Lee who does a daily segment, “Answers From Space” on the show. The following clip couldn’t have been scripted better!

Dickie B: Click here to listen…

That same week I had the pleasure of interviewing Scotty Bowman, Glenn Anderson and Michel Goulet. Here are those clips in that order:

Scotty Bowman: Click here to listen…

Glenn Anderson: Click here to listen…

Michel Goulet: Click here to listen…

The take here is that Bowman will lead the Blackhawks back to glory. With the dynamic young duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as Brian Campbell now anchoring the power-play, this is a team to reckon with already, forget about two or three years from now. A Penguins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals could be something we see more than once over the next five-ten years but for now, I like the Blackhawks making the playoffs, but not making it past Bowman’s old team, the Red Wings, who will repeat as Stanley Cup Champions in 2008-09. By the way, Bowman is by far the best interview I’ve ever taken part in!

Interesting stuff there from Goulet on a possible return of the Nordiques. The former Nordique and Hall of Famer doesn’t sound too optimistic, citing local financial infrastructure as the main reason an NHL team would still struggle there. While that’s a valid point, if the NHL can find a way to allow the Panthers, Predators and Thrashers to survive as long as they have, there is no reason hockey shouldn’t go back to it’s roots, in Quebec City, Winnipeg or another Canadian city. Make it happen Commissioner Bettman!

Before this recap of a memorable summer ends, we have to touch on what amazingly was a busy Friday before Labor Day. RDS reported that the Canadiens will retire Patrick Roy’s No. 33 during their upcoming Centennial season; and the Senators traded disgruntled restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros to the Lightning for defensemen Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 2009 first round draft pick.

On Roy’s number being raised to the rafters, man did the airwaves light up in Montreal Friday. Our good friends at the Team 990 found themselves with plenty to discuss on what was expected to be a slow day. The main question is should Roy’s unceremonious exit from the Canadiens organization (link below), his off-ice troubles, and controversial actions, most recently ordering his son to fight an opposing goalie in a QMJHL game last season (link below), effect this decision and prevent the Habs from honoring him during this Centennial season?

Murphy’s Law says yes Roy’s number should still go to the rafters because the bad ending to his career in Montreal can’t erase all that he did for that organization. He almost single-handedly won the Habs two Stanley Cups in 1986 and 1993 and for all intensive purposes revolutionized goaltending with his butterfly style and spurned a generation of Quebec-born netminders, Martin Brodeur just to name one, that still stand between the pipes for many NHL teams!

The only question this scribe has, are there older players that maybe deserve their numbers up there as well? The Habs can ill-afford to wait too long again and have another Boom-Boom Geoffrion moment on their hands.

Speaking of retired numbers and goalies, when are the Habs’ archrivals in Boston going to retire this guy’s No. 30?

It was only a matter of time before Meszaros found his way out of Ottawa and it’s no surprise the most aggressive team of the summer, the Tampa Bay Lightning were waiting around to escort him south. Speaking of the Lightning’s aggressiveness, this could be the first move that truly points them in the right direction. Throughout the summer they have been loading up on forwards and for a team whose main deficiency has been goals allowed, one had to wonder if Jay Feaster wasn’t still calling the shots?

Still the belief here is that the Bolts need a solid stay-at-home defenseman and an upgrade between the pipes. But at least they finally got the picture and have started to improve their own end of the ice. As for the Sens, this looks like another bad move on paper and they still need more defensemen to round out the defense, but something tells me all this change may be the wake-up call Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley need to realize it’s not all about stats.

There promises to be plenty of action around the hockey world in the coming month and we may even see another trade, (keep an eye on Bryan McCabe), this week. So get ready my fellow puck-heads, hockey’s back! But before we set sail on another ice journey, I’d like to thank those who helped make this a summer to remember:

Wayne Bews, Mitch Melnick, Andie Bennett, Marco Polo, Conor McKenna, Sean Campbell, the folks at the Team 990 in Montreal and their wonderful listeners; Farrel Miller and Pascal Vincent of the Montreal Juniors; Felicity, George and the staff at Brutopia, “The Johnny Cash Machine”, “Nailed”; the Dropkick Murphys; The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; Black 47; The Hamels and Lamirandes; Todd Carroll and my wife and family.

Finally, thoughts and prayers out to the McGuire family and Rest In Peace Ronnie Drew:

GAME ON! (Almost)