My how time flies

It's been a month and a day since I last blogged. And it only took two words to kill my spirit.

Ok, that's a lie. Joe Sakic retiring didn't kill my spirit - though it sure didn't pump me up - but what has really kept me away from blogging the last few months is that I was cooked. No bones about it, I needed a break and blogging was the easiest to step away from for a while.

And while I'm not back quite yet, the spirit is returning. It's partially been fueled by my coverage of Team Canada's development camp here in Saskatoon and partially because the rest of the Avalanche bloggers keep churning out content in a dreary offseason while I sit stagnant.

But I've been twitting (yes, I twit, not tweet) and blogging the Team Canada practices as well as the Red-White game last night and watching the Avalanche prospects in action warmed the cockles of my heart.

Kelsey Tessier banked an assist while Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist and was the player of the game. Matt Duchene was held off the scoreboard but he is one smooth skater and stick handler and managed the only goal in the shootout tonight. Cameron Gaunce did his job perfectly and never made a mistake that I noticed.

Tessier has been the surprise of the camp for me. I knew nothing about him coming in other than being drafted by the Avalanche but once I watched him practice and play, he really grew on me.

He's not the biggest guy on the ice but he's fast, fearless and has some good hands. Every shift he's on the ice, the puck finds him at some point and he makes something happen. It could be something small or big, but nonetheless he's working hard every time he's out there. He won't be in the NHL this coming season so I think he's got a really good shot at landing on this squad in a 3rd-line role.

And there's nothing like seeing four of your team's prospects shooting for a spot on a stacked Canadian squad to get you excited about the future.

But before I talk too much about the future, I've got to slay my white whale: the "farewell Joe" post. I fear that by now, I won't have anything to say that would live up to the lead-in time I've given it.

I'll still give it a shot, but let's lower our expectations about 20% before I get it out.

Related Links
2010 Juniors Blog
TSN.ca World Juniors Coverage\
2010 Juniors unofficial Twitter feed