The drumsticks are off; there's stuffing everywhere; now what?

Hello again folks. Here's a quick update on the last week. Last Tuesday I made a turkey for the first time ever. That was fun, which is to say I barely figured out what the hell I was doing and just sat around for six hours hoping for the best. I didn't get any direct feedback about my bird (it was one of three at the office potluck) but I didn't kill anyone with it. So that's good. Hockey news: Only watched one game, it was the Hitmen hosting the Medicine Hat Tigers. Last time the Tigers were in town they choked away a third period lead, which led to someone from my office being asked to leave the game. This time 'round the Tigers had a little payback in mind. With the Hitmen leading 3-0, I realized BK was wearing his new Hitmen jersey, from which point the Tigers outscored the Hitmen 5-2 before winning in a shootout. The Tigers' hero was Emerson Etem, a 2010 draft eligible player that decided to score a hat trick. The American forward was listed fourth in Central Scouting's preliminary ranking of Western League players, and recently had a feature on NHL.com. He's sure to climb the rankings and is almost a lock for a top-10 selection at the draft in June. One of the things they used to say about Brett Hull is that he'd get lost on the ice, which is to say, you would sometimes forget he was even on the ice-- until the moment the puck hit his stick before taking off for the back of the net. Etem has a similar quality. All in all, it was a lackluster effort by the Hitmen in their first game without WJC hopefuls Brandon Kozun and Martin Jones (TSN's Bob McKenzie feels Kozun will stay and Jones will come back). Despite captain Ian Schultz's best efforts, the lack of leadership was evident. I'm still not sold on new head coach Mike Williamson; I'm just not certain he's capable of running a dressing room in one of the WHL's hotbeds. Hitmen again this Friday, and Canada v Finland at the Dome next Tuesday. More on that later. In the pro ranks, TSN.ca decided I should throw up my morning coffee by putting Dustin Penner in their weekly Olympic Stock column as someone who's stock is up. If on December 30th, Hockey Canada names Dustin Penner to the Olympic team, I will smash my laptop to pieces and post the video here. That's how certain I am he's not even going to catch a sniff of the Canadian Olympic team. Jaroslav Halak and Bob Gainey have proven to be more classy than most players and GMs. By all accounts Halak has asked for a trade out of Montreal, by asking simply for more playing time (which isn't coming now that Carey Price is back on track), and by all accounts Gainey refuses to throw the young netminder under the bus by telling the world he's demanded a trade. Whether this is because Gainey knows he'll be lucky to get a second-round pick for a 24-year old goalie with less than a full season of starts under his belt, or because Gainey's suddenly found some sense of loyaly (ask Saku), I can't say. But I know this: if the Philly rumours are true, the Habs need to get a roster player in return. That's really all for now. I'm gonna call it a night and watch Inglourious Basterds. You should probably do the same.