Dropping the puck

Welcome to the newest Vancouver Canucks blog on the intertubes! I’m Andrew Bucholtz, and I’ll be your host for what will hopefully be an entertaining and ongoing discussion about the team, the league and hockey in general. First, a bit about me. I’m a Canadian writer who’s addicted to sports, and I’m a big Canucks fan as well. I grew up in Surrey, B.C., and still wind up back there from time to time, so I’ve got a bit of the local perspective, but I’ve been living in Kingston, Ontario for the last few years, which has helped bring a bit of a broader perspective on how the team’s seen in other places.

I’ve got a good grounding in the blogosphere, which will also help inform my writing here: I’m the editor of Sporting Madness and an assistant editor of The CIS Blog and The Phoenix Pub. I cover the Vancouver Whitecaps for The 24th Minute, and contribute to The Rookies, The Good Point and Out of Left Field. I’ve got a strong background in traditional journalism  as well, and my work has appeared in The Langley Times, The Queen’s Journal and the Queen’s Alumni Review, among other publications. I’ve covered the Canucks and Vancouver Giants from time to time over at Sporting Madness and have covered the Queen’s hockey teams for several seasons in CIS play, so I’ve got a good deal of hockey experience as well.

Next, a bit about this blog. There are already a lot of great Canucks sites out there, including Nucks Misconduct, Canucks and Beyond, the Canucks Hockey Blog and Canucks Corner, but I think there’s room for one more. This site’s also a part of the Fanball Network; check out some of the other great blogs in it such as Speaking of the Devils, Double Edged Sabres and Seven Deadly Sens. I’m looking forward to working with the talented bloggers in the network, and highly recommend their sites.

For this site, I’m going to try and bring a different perspective on the game, going beyond surface analysis and into the deeper issues of the game, looking at aspects such as scouting, the draft, what kinds of players are underrated and what the best way to build a roster is. You can read a bit about my general writing philosophy here; I’m planning to bring that approach to hockey coverage, and offer my thoughts on what the Canucks do well, what areas they need to improve in and what their long-term plans should be in order to win the organization’s first Stanley Cup.

I also plan to look at some of the similarities and differences between hockey and other sports, and what they mean for such aspects of the game as TV deals, scouting, free agency and talent evaluation. The goal is to think outside the box and try and be thought-provoking. I’m very open to suggestions of what you’d like to see here, and I’m always looking for feedback and thoughts on how to improve this site: you can e-mail me at andrew_bucholtz[at]hotmail.com, or get in touch with me on Facebook or Twitter. Looking forward to connecting with you!

Tags: deep thoughts, introductions, NHL and other sports, NHL draft, site goals, Vancouver Canucks