Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars Postgame Podcast – March 13, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – March 10, 2012 – Part 1

0:00 – Jets vs. Flames recap

15:38 – More Jets discussion, Pacific division race

27:35 – More Jets discussion, Southeast division race

39:03 – Pacific division playoff race

48:48 – Interview with Ralph Strangis, play-by-play commentator for the Dallas Stars (Fox Sports Southwest)

1:03:47 – Chris Thorburn out for 3 weeks with lower body injury

The Illegal Curve Hockey Show airs Saturday’s from 12pm-3pm on TSN Radio 1290

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. Buffalo Sabres Postgame Podcast – March 5, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast. Includes post game audio from the Jets dressing room with Bryan Little, Chris Thorburn and Grant Clitsome.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. Florida Panthers Postgame Podcast – March 1, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers Postgame Podcast – February 27, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues Postgame Podcast – February 25, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Winnipeg Jets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Postgame Podcast – February 23, 2012

Mike Remis and Analyst Richard Pollock break down all the action in the postgame podcast.

Drew Mindell returns to Host with special guest analyst Michael Remis offering his analysis as they break down tonight’s game.

Michael Remis steps in again to Host with Richard Pollock offering his usual analysis as they break down tonight’s game.

Michael Remis steps in to Host with Richard Pollock offering his usual analysis as they break down tonight’s game as the Jets lose to the Islanders 3-1

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 shootout loss against the Florida Panthers.

Coming in two different styles, black with a navy bill and grey with a black bill, both emblazoned with the iconic Illegal Curve logo,  this is not your standard merchandise product. When you purchase this hat, you are getting the quality and standard you have come to expect when purchasing a New Era product. This is a great synergy of two well established, well respected, and credible brands—Illegal Curve Hockey and New Era. The hat comes in multiple sizes, to guarantee the proper fit.

The new Illegal Curve hat is available exclusively in Winnipeg at City Haul (823 Corydon Avenue).

(For orders emanating from outside Winnipeg, and/or for further information, click the PayPal icon below, or please contact Illegal Curve at info@illegalcurve.com and we will take the necessary information and ship your hat out to you ASAP.)

You love your Winnipeg Jets, and you love Illegal Curve, the number one resource in Winnipeg for all Winnipeg Jets news. Wear that love proudly, with the latest and greatest offering from Illegal Curve Hockey, the Illegal Curve New Era 59fifty fitted Hat.

Click “buy now” to purchase your Illegal Curve 59 Fifty New Era hat. When filling out the order form, click the “add special instructions to the seller” button and fill in your preferred size and colour.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Jets vs. Devils Postgame Podcast – January 14, 2012

Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils.

For those who haven’t been able to take in a game yet this season, during the singing of the Canadian anthem, the crowd of 15,004 emphasizes the words in this part of the anthem:

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

Watch/listen to this video to hear the words said by the MTS Centre crowd:

I personally love this tradition.  It is a respectful innovation that plays on the lyrics in the song to show the crowds appreciation to the True North organization.

We wanted to know what the players thought of this tradition and here is what they said:

Andrew Ladd

Tanner Glass

Chris Thorburn

Mark Flood

Chris Mason

Even players that aren’t from Canada enjoy the emphasis on ‘True North’;

Jim Slater

Zach Bogosian

Tim Stapleton

Alexander Burmistrov

So what do you think?  Are you a fan of this tradition?  Do you dislike it?  Sound off in the comments section.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Jets vs. Kings Postgame Podcast – December 29, 2011

The Jets win 1-0 in overtime over the LA Kings. Host Drew Mindell and analyst Richard Pollock break down all of the action on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show Postgame Podcast

Illegal Curve Hockey Show – Jets vs. Penguins Postgame Podcast – December 23, 2011

On the second night of back-to-back home games, the Jets lose 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at MTS Centre. Dave Minuk and Ezra Ginsburg break down all the action.

The Winnipeg Jets lose to the Islanders in the dreaded shootout. With Drew and Richard unavailable, IC’s Mike Remis, Dave Minuk and Ezra Ginsburg recap all of the action and provide their insight, analysis and opinion.

Listen to the podcast below or subscribe in iTunes, search for “Illegal Curve Hockey Show”.

The first ever Illegal Curve Hockey Show Postgame Podcast – December 4, 2011

The Winnipeg Jets have defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 at the MTS Centre, Drew Mindell and Richard Pollock give their post game thoughts from the press box.

Stay tuned for the end of the podcast where IC’s Dave Minuk goes into the Jets dressing room for postgame reaction.

Shane Doan

IC’s Ezra asked him what the standing ovation meant to him and he gives quite a heartfelt response.

While none remain with the Jets currently, it is important to be aware of what is happening with these kids.  We aim to keep you up to date (stats as of February 10th) with all the latest on these 7 players;

A little background on Ally is that she was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and grew up a die-hard Red Wings fan.  Her formal training is as a nurse, and she eventually got a job in Phoenix, Arizona.  Being a hard core hockey fan, she signed up for Coyotes season tickets .  All went well for the first 41 home games but they happened to be squaring off against Detroit in the 1st round, and Ally reverted back to cheering for the team she grew up supporting.  Apparently this irked her season ticket holder neighbors.  These were people she has become friendly with throughout the season who turned on her and in some cases took it even further by spitting on her.

Not surprisingly this soured her on the Coyotes, although her love of hockey meant that she continued to maintain her Coyotes season tickets, but ensured that her Wings jersey stayed in the closest.

In addition to posting pictures on Jets forums, Ally also was a frequent commenter in the online chats held during the Illegal Curve Radio show.  She would join the conversation online and vowed about 18 months ago that if the NHL ever returned to Winnipeg she would be there.

Now when people make statements online, the vast majority of the time it is just that, words on a page not matched by actions.  Not Ally K.  When it was confirmed that the Jets were in fact returning, she booked her flight/hotel (from Dayton, Ohio as she had subsequently moved from Phoenix).  Think about this for a second!  She only knew people online and didn’t have a ticket but was committed to coming to Winnipeg to take part in the festivities.

So Ally K arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday, but it was not without incident.  First she was required to drive out of state to an airport in Kentucky to catch a plane to Toronto.  Her flight to Toronto was then delayed because of TSA labour issues.  She sat on the plane for awhile, eventually made it to Toronto only to miss her connecting flight to Winnipeg.  Luckily she got on a standby ticket and eventually landed in Winnipeg at 9:30 pm cst on October 7th.

She spent the next two days as a tourist, seeing the sights and getting a chance to explore the city she had read and talked so much about.  She even met up at the Tavern United Downtown with some of her former Return of the Jets forum members to share a drink with on Saturday night.

But all would be for naught if she came this far and did not get a chance to be inside the MTS Centre for the home opener.  So she awoke early on the day of the game, arrived at the MTS Centre and got in line at Ticketmaster.  This also gave her a chance to formally meet the Illegal Curve crew as we were broadcasting live from the atrium at the MTS Centre.

With the lineup at Ticketmaster not proving fruitful, Ally K joined us at Moxie’s inside the MTS Centre to share  some of her thoughts on Winnipeg with us.  She was surprised at Winnipeg’s size and loved how easy it was to get around in the city.

With it being 2 hours before game time and as the people on Portage were getting really excited we went outside to observe the partying.  As we stood around, friends would walk by, people I knew who were members of the Return of the Jets forum.  When I introduced Ally K, they were all extremely excited to meet her and take pictures with her.

The best moment however was when we were standing around and a young brother/sister duo (I incorrectly assumed they were a couple but have been subsequently corrected by the brother) were walking past our spot.  The guy stopped, looked at Ally and said “are you Ally K?”.  When she acknowledged that she was, in fact, Ally K, he told her his online username and they spent 5 minutes chatting.  He recognized her simply from pictures online and happened to notice her as he walked past.

There was even a couple who knew her from the forums who called her with their story.  They were having babysitter issues which could have necessitated the wife leaving the game early.   Therefore they offered Ally the opportunity to attend the game for a period or two.

As the game drew closer and closer, while Ally K was still enjoying the atmosphere you could tell that the lack of a ticket was clearly weighing on her mind.  She was even making alternate plans in the event that she could not get in.  She had spoken to some other forum members who were heading to the Forks.  But she was not prepared to give up so easily.  She then returned to the Ticketmaster line and waited.  And waited…..

At 4:05 pm, True North released an additional 12-14 tickets, one of which went to the girl who deserved it more than anyone else.  Her odyssey took her from Phoenix to Dayton to Winnipeg and back but the girl known as Ally K left Winnipeg having kept the vow she had made to the Illegal Curve crew over 18 months earlier.  Ally K was in the building!!

As a postscript, fans in Phoenix had best watch out as Ally K will be making her return to the Coyotes den for the team’s home opener against the Winnipeg Jets.  And she now has Winnipeg gear to wear.  But she should not be too concerned about retribution.  It sounds like there will be a sizable contingent of Winnipeg Jets fans invading the Jobing.com arena to keep her company.

One additional note to the AllyK story.  As she made the long return back to Ohio on Monday morning, check out who she was flying to Toronto with.  Nice ‘cherry’ on top to complete the ultimate hockey weekend.

FRANTIC Films’ Fuelled By Passion: The Return Of The Jets will air Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. cst on CBC TV.  The documentary follows the loss of the Jets in 1996 and their return 15 years later and includes interviews with current owner Mark Chipman, former owner Barry Shenkarow, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and several players.

Viewers in Canada can stream the entire documentary from CBC.ca

I had the chance to meet with the team behind this project, including Charles Officer (Director of the documentary) and Lynne Skromeda (President of Production at Frantic Films) on several occasions and I am really looking forward to finally seeing the finished product.

Lynne took some time to answer some questions about this project, in this IC exclusive Q & A:

IC:  How did Frantic get involved in this project?

LS:  As soon as we heard the Jets might be coming back, we knew it would be a great story to tell. Prior to the actual announcement that the NHL would be returning, CBC had reached out to us about a potential collaboration. And shortly after the announcement was made our CEO & Executive Producer , Jamie Brown, contacted Mark Chipman, who he knew through a number of various Manitoba business initiatives, to see if he’d be interested in participating, which he was. We knew this was more than just a local story and the CBC was very excited to do a new kind of sports documentary. On July 20 we had a meeting at the True North offices with CBC, our director, Charles Officer, and the True North team and off we went from there!

IC:  What was your first reaction to this as a Jets fan?

LS:  We never really got over the initial shock and excitement of the team returning in the first place, because all of a sudden, we were going to see it happen from the inside for a crucial couple of months – get to meet the players, see things come together, learn from the people how they felt about the NHL coming back to Winnipeg and the process involved. We knew we were a part of a unique experience that was something very special and that feeling has continued throughout this whole process.

IC:  What was your level of access like?  (To True North. NHL. etc).

LS:  The True North folks were very generous to us with their time and access, which was great given how busy they were. We spent a lot of time in the MTS Centre this summer! We interviewed coaches, staff, players and executives. They even helped us arrange the interviews with Gary Bettman and David Thomson, which was pulling big favours for us. The CBC and NHL have worked together to provide us action to game footage that we couldn’t otherwise be able to use on our own due to rights issues. So we’ve been lucky to have such great support from all organizations involved. That was really important because we were working under incredible deadlines – normally a one-hour doc takes 6 months to a year to produce on average…this one was done in 2 months, which is practically unheard of. Lots of people on our team put in 18+ hour days to meet our deadlines.

IC:  Was it difficult to condense all the footage you took into an hour ?

LS:  Absolutely – we feel like we could have made a 4-hour miniseries at least! And it’s not even a full hour – the CBC broadcast hour is only 45 minutes. Hour-long interviews we did have been reduced to a couple of very short clips in some cases; in others, we just didn’t have time to elaborate on great stories that we would have loved to tell. We wish there was more we could do with it all as we think fans would love hearing more.

IC:  What was the most interesting thing you discovered about the Jets?

LS:  You always hear opinions and rumours – it was great to hear from Barry Shenkarow and Gary Bettman first hand the realities of why the Jets had to leave at the time. And understanding how hard people have worked so quietly to make it happen. We always knew that they were a classy organization on the surface, but that was really echoed throughout all of our experiences with them, from the PR team’s responsiveness to the generosity that people showed us with their time. Interacting with people who were previously just stories in the media situations made it exciting in a new way, as we got a totally different feeling from spending more time with them.  For example, meeting Mark Scheifele for the first time, it was obvious how badly he wanted it but was still putting it all in perspective – he had such a mature attitude but such drive, and we really got a chance to feel that from him. It really made me want him to do well even when no one knew how he’d perform as a rookie and look where he is now.

IC:  What can fans expect from this documentary?

LS:  Fans can expect a pretty fast-paced, action-packed hour with genuine excitement and emotional highs and lows.  They’ll get to remember the team that was as we look back on the history of the team and get excited for the team that will be when we see the coaches and players coming together on the ice. This is being broadcast across the country so it’s important that we not only speak to people here in Winnipeg who love the Jets but also those who aren’t as familiar with why they’re important, why they left and why the NHL was able to come back. We really wanted to tell the compelling and comprehensive story of the history up to the first exhibition game (which is the latest we could shoot and still get this on air in time for October 7!) and I think we achieved that.

Once you’ve had an opportunity to watch it we want to hear your thoughts.  Or in advance, let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing.  As always sound off in comments.