It's going to be a Grand night

Photo by John Kosak

THE GAME

Toronto Marlies (16-12-0-4) @ Grand Rapids Griffins (13-14-1-4)

Yup, you read that correctly.  This isn't a preview of the Red Wings' game.  It's a Griffins' preview.  Why you might ask?  Well, I'll tell you why.  I'm home in Michigan and I'm making the trip to the west side of the state to see the namesake himself (and his teammates of course).  The Griffins find themselves in last place of the North Division.  They take on a Marlies team that is in second place in the division, but only five points ahead.  The Griffs would surely like to make up some ground in the standings before Christmas. 

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP BASED ON LAST GAME'S LINES (thanks to Griffinscentral.com)

Tomas Tatar -- Ilari 'Larry' Filppula -- Jan Mursak

Jamie Tardif -- Jamie Johnson -- Frances Pare
Jordan Owens -- Joakim Andersson -- Chris Minard
Pare/Minard -- Brent Raedeke -- Brandon Straub

Brendan Smith -- Derek Meech
Doug Janik/Greg Amadio -- Jakub Kindl
Sergei Kolosov -- Logan Pyett

Joey McDonald
Thomas McCollum
(Who know's who is starting tonight)

In the press box: Brian Lashoff, Willie Coatzee

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Everything.  I'm jacked up to go to my first Griffins' game.
• Hopefully friend of TP:60 Ilari Filppula and Tomas Tatar can keep up their friendly scoring race against each other.
• I have no idea at the moment which goalie is starting, but I'd personally like to see McCollum in net
• This is schedule to be the last game of Jakub Kindl's conditioning stint in Grand Rapids.  Enjoy it, Jakub.  Sadly, he's probably headed back to the Leino Lounge when he gets to Detroit.
• Francis Pare needs just one more goal to become the 14th player to score 50 during his Griffins career.

BRENDAN SMITH

Of course, I can't forget the namesake.  I'm looking forward to watching him play for the first time in person.  Smith's 19 points (7g, 12a) tie him for 10th among AHL rookies and 11th among defensemen.  His seven goals tie for third among all blueliners (credit: Griffinshockey.com for the stats).  Brendan, if you're reading this or someone you know is reading this, score a goal tonight while I'm in attendance!

MLive.com posted a video recently in their "Getting to know the Griffins" series.  Their latest interview?  Brendan Smith.  Check it out.

Let's Go Griffins.

VOTE SMITH

Red Wing fans have power.

We've brought Herm 2 Hockeytown.

We've gained attention in our Lidstrom for Hart campaign.

We've helped our friends at The Production Line in getting our curly fries back.

...And we're not done yet, Wings' fans.

It's time to vote Brendan Smith into the AHL All-Star game.

Voting for the AHL All-Star game begins tomorrow at noon.  You can vote on the AHL's website or on the Official American Hockey League Fan Page on Facebook.  Much like the old NHL all-star voting, fans vote for the starting line-up of the Eastern and Western Conference teams.  A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars.  All 30 AHL team will be represented.

Smith has six goals and nine assists in in 25 games.  His 15 points is good for a tie of 9th overall in AHL scoring among defensemen.  Smith is in 4th place in scoring among defensemen in the Western Conference.  The three players ahead of him are all tied with 16 points.  He's only a point away from being the top scoring defenseman in the AHL's Western Conference.

Let's do it, Red Wings' fans.

It's time to vote Brendan Smith into the starting line-up of 2011 AHL All Star game in Hershey, PA.


Let's Go Griffins.

People are starting to take notice

(Photo credit: Mark Newman)

Red Wings fans know about Smith (especially if you read this blog) and, thanks to NHL.com, hockey fans from around the league are beginning to get familiar with 'Big Game' Brendan.

The League posted an article today on their website about Smith's path to Grand Rapids, his hot start in the AHL, and the improvements he still needs to make to eventually crack the Red Wings' roster.

It's a good read.  Check it out.

Wings prospect Smith making adjustment to AHL

Wednesday, 11.03.2010 / 10:27 AM / AHL Update

By A.J. Atchue  - Special to NHL.com

Grand Rapids Griffins rookie defenseman Brendan Smith has figured for a while that he wanted to pursue a professional sports career.

For a time, though, the specific sport wasn't entirely clear.

The middle of three boys, Smith grew up in suburban Toronto, and he and his brothers split time pretty evenly between lacrosse and hockey. In fact, older brother Rory wound up sticking with lacrosse all the way through and currently is suiting up for the National Lacrosse League's Minnesota Storm.

CONTINUE READING...

Let's Go Griffins.

A big weekend for 'Big Game' Brendan

2GP,  2G,  1A,  3pts,  +2,  4PIM (and 1 shootout goal)

Not a bad stat line for Smitty.

He currently has 9 points in 9 games this season.  If Smith can stay on a point per game pace all season it would be quite the rookie campaign. 

Here is the call of Smith's goal from last Friday's shootout loss to Oklahoma City and here is the link to the call of Smith's power play goal from Saturday's win against Manitoba.

Video highlights of both games.



Let's Go Griffins.

My interview with Brendan Smith

I had the awesome opportunity to speak with Brendan Smith this morning.  First and foremost, I need to give a big shout out and thank you to Kyle from Babcock's Death Stare and the Grand Rapids Griffins.  Kyle was a big help in the entire process and the fact that the Grffins gave a blogger a chance to interview one of their players just speaks volumes of their organ-i-zation.  There's always talk about how classy the Red Wings are, and well, that class oozes throughout the franchise all the way to their minor league affiliates. And of course, I need to thank Brendan too.  He took the time out of his busy schedule to speak with me.  He was extremely kind on the phone and seemed like a class act.  So if you're reading this Brendan, thank you very much.

To all my loyal followers of the Brendan Smithsonian Institution, I know I've teased a big announcement the last few days, so without further ado,  here is my interview with the name sake of this very blog, Brendan Smith!



Let's Go Red Wings.
Let's Go Griffins.

Update on Nylander/Smith and Cheli's down on the farm

It was reported yesterday that Michael Nylander of the Rochester Americans received a broken neck on a legal check from behind by Brendan Smith.  News has just come out that it was not Smith who checked Nylander, but Derek Meech.

Best wishes to former Griffin Michael Nylander as he recovers from a fractured vertebrae sustained during Grand Rapids’ 4-1 win at Rochester last Saturday. During the second period, Nylander fell awkwardly into the corner boards following a legal check by Derek Meech (not Brendan Smith, as he has been misidentified by media outlets from sea to shining sea). He skated off on his own power while play continued but, obviously, did not return to the game.

No one ever wants to see anyone get hurt and I have to imagine that Derek Meech feels terrible about the situation.  The good news is that Nylander's surgery was successful and he's expected to make a full recovery.

And now to some more Griffin news...

The recently retired Chris Chelios spent some down on the farm in Grand Rapids working with the young Griffins.  I don't know about you, but I can't think of too many other defenseman that I would want training the future blue liners of the Red Wings than Cheli.  Make sure to check out the video below.  Brendan Smith talks about working with Chelios at the 1:43 mark.




And last but not least, stay tuned to BSI for more news regarding the big announcement.  It won't come today, but I hope that by this evening I will have some more information to pass along.  Trust me.  This news is BIG.  You won't want to miss it.

Let's Go Griffins.

Mr. Smith goes to Grand Rapids...and then Rochester...and then Toronto

Busy weekend for Brendan Smith and Grand Rapids.  The Griffins played three games in three nights in three different cities.  I briefly recapped the Friday night's game in the Wings/Ducks preview.  Milwaukee came to Grand Rapids and beat the Griffins 3-2.  Smith had a rough night and ended the game a minus-1 with four penalty minutes, which included a trip to the sin bin with just under three minutes left and the Griffins down one.

On Saturday, the Griffins left Grand Rapids to travel to Rochester, NY to take on the Americans.  Similar to the night before, Smith finished the night with no points and a minus-1 rating.  He also had four penalty minutes.  He had two minutes for tripping midway through the 1st and two minutes for holding early in the 3rd.  The good news was that the Griffins won 4-1.

However, the big story from this game is that Smith may have ended the career of Michael Nylander.  Smith hit Nylander from behind.  The check was described as legal according to The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Nylander was injured when he was checked along the right-wing boards by Griffins' defenseman Brendan Smith.

With Nylander in control of the puck, Smith delivered a solid hit from behind and Nylander fell into the boards at a somewhat awkward angle. The hit appeared to be legal and no penalty was assessed.

You never want to see anyone get hurt on the ice and I'm sure Smith had no intentions of hurting anyone.  Nylander will be undergoing neck surgery and his career is in jeopardy.  Hopefully, he will make a full recovery and will play again.

On Sunday, the Griffins left Rochester and headed north to Toronto to play the Marlies.  The Griffs won the game 6-3.  Smith stayed out of the penalty box and was even on the ice.  He posted two assists in the game.  The first came on an Ilari Filppula goal to put Grand Rapids up 2-0 in the 1st.  His second assist came on a Jan Mursak power play goal in the 2nd. 

Smith is tied with Francis Pare for second in scoring with 6 points (2G, 4A).  He's only one point behind Filppula and Mursak, who have 7 each.

And finally, just over a week ago, some of you may recall that Smith dropped the gloves in his first fight.  Well we finally have video!  Big thanks to @Joe55167 for sending me the link on Twitter.




Let's Go Griffins.

What is Brendan Smith's ceiling?

There is no doubt that Brendan Smith has garnered a lot of attention the last few years (Heck, I named my blog after him).  From the moment the Red Wings drafted him 27th overall in the 2007 NHL draft, he was labeled the future of the blue line.  He wasn’t expected to be an immediate success.   At the time of the draft, he was a member of the St. Michael’s Buzzers in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League and planning to attend the University of Wisconsin and compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey.  The Wings were more than happy to allow him to spend three-to-four years in college, maturing as both a person and a player.

As a Badger, Smith hit a bump or two on the maturity road, but his game on the ice excelled and improved every season.  He went from 12 points in 22 games as a freshman to 23 points in 31 games as a sophomore.  in his junior (and final) season at Wisconsin, Smith had 15 goals and 37 assists.  An outstanding 52 points in 42 games.  He was named one of the top ten finalists for the Hobey Baker award and tied a NCAA record with five assists in 8-1 win over RIT in Frozen Four semifinal in Detroit.  After losing to Boston College in the Frozen Four championship game, Smith decides it was time for the next challenge.  He left school and year early, signed an entry level contract with the Red Wings, and took his talents to Grand Rapids.  And so far, he leads the team with four points (2G, 2A) in four games.

Smith has an excellent college resume and he's exploded onto the AHL scene, but the question remains, what kind of NHL player can Smith be?

If you look at the defensemen the Red Wings have selected in the first round over the past 20 years, his ceiling is MUCH higher than the picks from the early-to-mid 1990s.  Anders Eriksson ('93, #22), Yan Golubovsky ('94, #23), Maxim Kuznetzov ('95, #26), and Jesse Wallin ('96, #26).  Those four players combined to play 371 games and registered 55 points.  Smith has the natural offensive skill set to register 55 points by himself in a single season.  I don't expect him to put up that many points in his rookie season in the NHL, but certainly by season three the expectations are there.

Next up is Jiri Fischer ('98 #25).  Fischer only played six season in the NHL and, sadly, his career was cut short when he collapsed on the bench in the middle of a game after going into cardiac arrest.  Fischer played 305 games and scored 60 points.  His point total may not be high, but he had developed into a very solid player in his own zone.  Fischer could have been a mainstay on the Wings' blue line even to this day.  Smith will no doubt be better offensively than Fischer was, but his physical game might not match-up.  Fischer (6'5") has three inches on Smith (6'2") and weighs a good 35-40lbs more. 

Niklas Kronwall ('00, #29) was the next Red Wings defensemen to be draft in the first round.  Kronwall has spent parts of seven seasons with Detroit and played in 313 games.  He has 146 career points.  In each of first three full seasons, Kronner improved his point total each season from 22 to 35 to 51 points.  Last year, Kronwall missed half the season due to a knee injury.  He played 48 games and registered 22 points.  Had he been healthy and played 75-82 games, he would have ended up near the 50 point range again.  I can see Smith's career following a similar time line.  If Smith can reach 50 points by year three, he can become one of the elite defensemen in the league in the offensive zone.  If Smith reaches 50-plus points in his second season, he could be thrown into the discussion of young defensemen like Drew Doughty and Duncan Keith.

The Red Wings only drafted one defenseman in the first round between Kronwall and Smith.  It was none other than Jakub Kindl ('05, #19).  Of course, Kindl is currently four games into his rookie campaign, so his resume is currently incomplete.

Since Nicklas Lidstrom is the greatest defenseman in the history of hockey, I don't think it's fair to compare Smith to him.   But if I had to predict where Smith will be in 5-to-10 years, I can comfortably say that he'll fall somewhere in between Kronwall and Lidstrom.  He has the offensive talent to put up 50 points a season in the NHL.  If he tightens his defensive game up, the kid has Norris candidate potential (then again, Mike Green was nominated for the Norris and he doesn't know what defense is).

Bottom line: the sky is the limit for Brendan Smith and he can be a top pairing defenseman in Detroit for a long, long time. 

Smith leading the way in Grand Rapids

I have yet to find video of the fight...but it's a fact that Brendan Smith won it (griffinshockey).

If you're not on the Brendan Smith bandwagon...it's time to jump on.

On Saturday night the Giffins had their second game in back-to-back days against the Manitoba Moose.  They won the first game 1-0.  Game two was another victory, this time by a score of 3-2.

And who was the hero of game two?

None other than Brendan 'Big Game' Smith.

The young defenseman scored the game winning goal 12:43 into the third period.  Not only did he have the game winner, but he dropped the gloves and registered his first career fight in the second period.

Smith finish the game with 1 goal, 2 shots, 5 penalty minutes, and was a minus-1.  He continues to lead the Griffins in scoring (4 points) and goals (2). 

Video highlights (Smith's goal comes at the 1:27 mark)

Radio call of Smith's goal

Grand Rapids' next game is at home against the Milwaukee Admirals this Friday. 

Let's Go Griffins.

Atta boy, Brendan Smith.

(Darren Breen - The Grand Rapids Press)

One game played.

One shot.

One goal.

Not too bad for his Griffin debut.

Smith's goal came 3:09 into the game on the power play.  Throughout the game, he was paired with TPL favorite Doug Janik.  Griffins' coach Curt Fraser had Smith playing in all types of game situations last night.  Smith had a lot to say about his debut to Michael Zuidema of The Grand Rapids Press:

Smith logged plenty of ice time in his debut and was a regular on  the power play and penalty kill.

"Obviously, the coaches are taking a look at me and how I adjust to the pro game," he said. "I was happy to get out there and play all situations. And hopefully, I played well enough to keep doing it."

Unfortunately, the Griffins lost to the Abbotsford Heat 3-2 in a SO.  Here is what Smith and other teammates had to say about the game.



You can listen to the radio call of Smith's goal here.

And finally, here is an interview with Smith from the Griffin's YouTube page.



Let's Go Griffins.

It's almost here

(Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Can you feel it?  Four more days until Red Wings' hockey is officially back. 

Last night the Wings sent 13 players down to Grand Rapids and the roster is all but complete.  One of the 13 players sent down was none other than Brendan Smith.  I only had a chance to watch two preseason games and parts of others, but I can tell you that Smith to Grand Rapids is the right move.  I think it was the expected move going into this season too.  I had hoped Smith would've been so good in camp that Kenny couldn't keep him off the roster, but it was a long shot.  At times he looked lost on the ice.  At other times he had moments that made you think he's going to be something special.  The highlight for me was watching him play next to Lidstrom for a few shifts.  I'm looking forward to following his progress with the Griffins and I hope he gets called up for a few games late in the season.  I fully expect Smith to be a Red Wings in 2011/2012.  Other players I was impressed with in the preseason: Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak, and Tomas Tater.

And now onto the big club.  This morning the Wings' waived Mattias Ritola.  I've been on Team Miller all offseason and this news is no surprise after Mike Babcock said that Drew Miller has a spot on this team.  So where does this leave the club?  A few more cuts have to be made and I fully expect to see Joey MacDonald, Derek Meech, and Doug Janik sent down.  Kirk Maltby will also most likely be spending time with the Griffins and training the young kids to run their mouths to perfection just like he has done during his career.  Here's the line-up I want to see this Friday against Anaheim:

Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg-Tomas Holmstrom
Johan Franzen-Valterri Filppula-Todd Bertuzzi
Jiri Hudler-Mike Modano-Danny Cleary
Justin Abdelkader-Darren Helm-Drew Miller/Patrick Eaves

Nicklas Lidstrom-Niklas Kronwall
Brad Stuart-Brian Rafalski
Jakub Kindl-Ruslan Salei

Jimmy Howard
Chris Osgood

Scratched/Injured: Kris Draper (groin), Jonathon Ericsson (vagina), Miller/Eaves

Of course, we'll probably see Big Rig in the line-up instead of Kindl.  If Eaves ankle is good-to-go, I think he should get the final spot on the 4th line.  If he's not ready, then it's Miller Time. 

Four more days. 

The road to 12 begins on Friday.

Let's Go Red Wings

(Note: This is my 19th post at BSI, so I felt like it was important to remind the world that Steve Yzerman is the greatest hockey player ever.)

The Gamebreaker

Training camp is officially in the books and I couldn't be more excited.   

The Gamebreaker has finally arrived. 

From the sounds of it, the namesake of this blog, Brendan Smith, turned in a excellent performance up in Traverse City.  I think this news is sweet, sweet, beautiful music to the ears of every Wings' fan.  Smith is the future of the Red Wings' defense.  I don't know about you, but hearing that he looked good in camp makes me feel so much more comfortable about the Red Wings in the post-Lidstrom future.

To quote Mike Babcock via George's write up over at A2Y with credit going to Chuck Pleiness:

“He’s going to be a really good player,” Babcock said. “I like his disposition. He’s got a lot of upside.”

If the coach likes Smith and thinks he has a bright future, I think that's saying a lot about the kid.  Babcock believes he's going to be a gamebreaker for the Wings.  He's still young and adjusting to the speed at the next level, but he's going to get there.  He'll be a difference maker on this team.

We've all known that Smith has the talent to be a top-end blueliner in the NHL, but there was always the question of whether he could put it all together and succeed.  We are seeing the beginning of Smith putting the puzzle pieces together.  At prospects camp, he took all his puzzle pieces and flipped them over to the correct side.  He saw what he was working with.  Smith was once again in Lidstrom's locker.  He was counted on to be a leader among the prospects.  Now, at training camp, we've seen Smith take the outside pieces and put the border of the puzzle together.  Odds are Smith is going to spend the upcoming season in Grand Rapids.  This is where he is going to fill in the border and complete the puzzle.  He's going to fill in the few holes in his game and tighten up defensively, while sharpening his offensive skills.  When he's finished, he's going to look at the completed puzzle and see himself as one of the best young defensemen in the NHL. 

I, for one, cannot wait.  I've been riding the Smith bandwagon for some time now.  He's has the brightest future of the next wave of Wings' defensemen.  To me, between Smith, Kindl, Lashoff, and, hopefully, Ericsson (although it seems like he's regressing these days), the Red Wings are in good shape in the coming years.



Here is a video Smith's goal in the Red/White game from yesterday.

Let's Go Red Wings

It's 2:30am...do you know where your favorite hockey players is?

Well, apparently mine is at home.

I wrote my guest post at The Production Line last week about awesomely talented Brendan Smith.

Literally, that same day, I decided I was going all in and giving this blogging thing a shot.  I decided to use Smith as inspiration for my blog's name.  I've gone on record, and will gladly do so again, that I think Smith has some insane talent and ridiculous potential as a NHL player.

I had a blast writing the post and creating this blog.  Smith, I can easily say, is a player that I want to see succeed to his fullest potential.  Not just for the Wings' sake, but because I like the kid too.

This past week the Red Wings held their prospects camp and George Malik over at MLive did a fantastic job (as always) covering the events of the week.  Earlier this week, I wrote a post about Smith injuring his shoulder at camp. Well, just today I read that Smith was given the choice of staying at camp for the last few days or leaving early to go home.  I found George's take on the situation very compelling.

The first expletive, of course, involved the utterly ridiculously talented Brendan Smith, who, after a week's worth of playing a good citizen and insisting that he would take on a leadership role as he put his, ahem, list of indiscretions behind him, decided that the best thing he could do after suffering a slightly separated left shoulder on the fourth day of his fourth prospect camp--and the first in which he was under contract to the Red Wings and not playing NCAA college, and thus was finally staying in a nice Detroit hotel without paying for the privilege out of his own pocket--was to head home to enjoy another day's worth of hanging out with his buddies instead of sticking around and encouraging his teammates.  

I am really torn on this story.  Part of me wants to think it's really a non-issue and it may very well be.  We really don't know what goes on internally between the organ-i-zation and it's players.  I wish I could've been a fly on the wall during the discussion between Smith and Kenny and co.

My initial reaction, similar to George's, was 'Oh man, he should've stayed.'  Maybe that's just us though?  Throughout my lifetime, whether it was ice hockey or cross country, when/if I was hurt or unable to compete, I was always still at the game or race cheering on my teammates.  I was never required to be there, but it was my choice to do so.

Was this a test by the Red Wings front office?  On one hand, I think it was some type of leadership/character test, but on the other hand, if it was truly important to the Wings that he stay, I think they would have been straightforward enough with him and said so.  From what I've read, they gave him the option to go home, he didn't ask to go home.

And let's not forget, this is his fourth prospect camp.  He knows the ropes.  I don't want to sound like this camp isn't important, it really is a big deal for these kids, but he's been there and done that.  And maybe that is his attitude?  Maybe he feels like he's paid his prospects camp dues and if the big club said, 'hey kid, you're more than welcome to head home,' then why not?  Pretty soon, he's going to be on the road for the next year and living in Detroit or Grand Rapids.  He probably saw it as a chance to go home to Mimico, Ontario, Canada and visit his family.

I'm a big Smith fan and I want him to make the club this season, but I don't want to sound like I am going to be a person that will defend him at all costs.  He has shown with some of his off-the-ice behavior that he isn't perfect and I will gladly hand out criticism when and where it is due.  I just don't think this is an issue that needs to be overblown.  I could be wrong?  It's just my opinion and everyone will probably see this story differently.

At the end of the day, I just hope that when he was at the prospects camp, he took on that leadership role in the locker room and on the ice.  I can't wait to see Smith compete this preseason with the team and, hopefully, the regular season too.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, if he makes this team out of camp, I'll be the first person in line to buy my #2 sweater.

(Here is the video from the Red Wings' Facebook page of Smith talking about the injury, going home, and prospects camp. Enjoy!)

Lets Go Red Wings

What Kind of Tree is Brendan Smith?

Before finding out what kind of tree Mr. Brendan Smith would be, there is a little bit of unsettling news from prospects camp. According to Detroit Freep Press via George Malik over at MLive, the namesake of this very blog, Mr. Smith, left the ice at prospects camp due to a potential shoulder injury.

July 11, Detroit Free Press: Wings general manager Ken Holland said he didn't think the injury was serious and Smith agreed.  "I'm not really sure what happened, Smith said. "I think it's more of a bump and bruise."

Holland said Smith will have X-rays on Monday. "Slight shoulder separation," Holland revealed as the initial diagnosis. "He's obviously done for the camp." 

Smith, the 27th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, suffered the injury when he was checked into the boards by St. Cloud State forward Nick Oslund, a seventh-round pick in 2006. Smith skated over to the bench in obvious pain, then left the ice.  "Sometimes the littlest hits or the weirdest kind of hits are the most deadly," Smith said.

Hopefully, it does not turn out to be anything too serious.  If Malik is correct and Smith did aggravate an injury that would have hit him sooner or later, it's a good thing that it happened now and not farther down the road.  We can all hope that he will be healed up and ready to go soon.  In fact, Malik believes he'll attempt to hit the ice again on Tuesday.  If so, I will breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I'm a big believer and a big fan of this kid.  Hell, I named my very own blog after Smith.  I would truly hate to see him suffer a serious injury just days after I started a blog named after him (I'd feel like such a horrible jinx).  Whether he's ready or not come Tuesday, I've got to image he'll be ready for training camp.  The kid has stated before he wants to make this team THIS season and I damn sure hope he does.

On a brighter Brendan Smith note, the Red Wings have posted some interviews with the prospects at camp.  Questions were submitted by fans.  Here's Smith's interview:

Some of the highlights:

• Smith biggest hockey superstition is always getting dressed in his hockey equipment left side to right (I always lace up my skates left side first.  Glad Smith and I have some things in common).  
• His guilty pleasure that the trainers might not like is his love for chocolate cake.  
• He's looking forward most to playing near home in Toronto against Brett Lebda's Maple Leaf. 
• If he was a tree...he'd be a maple.
• Favorite vacation spot is his cabin in Nova Scotia
• His pump up song is 'Remember the Name' by Fort Minor (below for your listening pleasure)

Lets Go Red Wings

Welcome to the Brendan Smithsonian Institution!

Well, I've finally done it.

I created my own Red Wings' blog.

I feel like this has been a long time coming.  After spending the past year reading classic blogs like The Production Line, Nightmare on Helm Street, Fight Night at the Joe, and of course many more, I've decided to give this blogging thing a shot.

I've dabbled in it a bit over at The Good Old Hockey Show and did some radio too, but over there I'm required to be an unbiased hockey guy. Well, over here at the BSI (Brendan Smithsonian Institution...for those who are unfamiliar with acronyms) I can be as unbiased and the biggest Wings' homer that I want to be.

And now for those of you who may not know me via Twitter, here is a little bit about myself...some background history qualifying me to blog about the greatest organ-i-zation in all of sports.

I'm a 22-year-old native Michigander (Michiganian?) born and raised in the great township of Highland.  I played the game of hockey for seven years as a defenseman. I retired after my sophomore year of high school to better dedicate my time to cross country.  I'm an avid runner. My high school team won back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004 (I was a reserve those years).  I completed my first marathon in Philly last November. I'm currently living in Boston, MA and studying broadcast journalism at Emerson College. I'm the captain of the cross country team and will be unretiring from hockey to play for the Lions this fall. I'm pumped.

Enough boring stuff though, time to talk Red Wings. Spark notes version of the first time I ever heard about the Red Wings was when I was seven-years-old. It was the 1995 Stanley Cup finals. I was at my neighbors' house and they had the game on.  I've been hooked ever since.

Moving away from Michigan two years ago did something I didn't think was possible....it made my love for the Red Wings grow stronger.  You don't know how much you miss something until it's gone.  My first year in Boston I didn't have Center Ice.  I longed for the nights of listening to Ken and Mickey (here in Boston, Jack Edwards is crazy).  This past season I saved up the dough to watch my boys, started reading blogs, joined twitter, I did whatever I could.  And what a wonderful surprise, I stumbled upon the internet Red Wings community and was blown away that there were people out there just like me.  I've read people on twitter call each other 'fake friends'...well I love all my new 'fake friends.'  I'd personally like to thank Petrella and Andy for making me feel the most welcome into the Red Wings world that I'm now a part of. This season is going to be one hell of a ride.  I can't freakin' wait for H2H2.

And real quick before I wrap this up.  Just today my guest post over at TPL went up about Brendan Smith.  Well, thanks to the Red Wings blog world, I've been following Smith over the course of the past year. He's quickly become one of my, if not the number one, favorite Red Wing of mine (and he's not even on the damn team yet).  I was on the subway today heading home from work reading Kyle's post at BDS and thought "hmmmm...Brendan Smith...what's clever with Smith?....I know! *LIGHTBULB* Smithsonian Institution!"

And thus the Brendan Smithsonian Institution was born.  My very own Red Wings' blog (with a soon to be designed awesome banner by my girlfriend Jillian; STAY TUNED).  I hope everyone enjoys my thoughts on the team this upcoming season.  And there may or may not be a bunch of stories/references about my Uncle Leon and my pal Gannon, two of the biggest Red Wings fans I know.

Lets Go Red Wings.