Luukko immediately jumped aboard

**officialsbaseball** 21 дек 2018, 09:10

NASHVILLE Xavier Ouellet Jersey Womens , Tenn. (AP) Tossing catfish onto the ice has been a popular hockey tradition in Music City and the Nashville Predators finally have their own catfish tank inside the arena.Team President Sean Henry unveiled the new tank hours before the Predators opened the NHL postseason against Colorado in their first-round Western Conference series. The team put the first of four catfish into the tank and No. 2 was on the way.”Good symbolism with those four catfish,” Henry said. ”Four wins per series, four series gets you to the ultimate prize.”The Predators named the first catfish Gill and the second fish will be named Ben in honor of a longtime fan that died in 2017.Thursday is the birthday of singer Vince Gill, also known as the mayor of Smashville, and Henry says Gill obviously was the inspiration. Gill was an original season-ticket holder who helped sell tickets when this franchise was getting started, and Gill was featured on billboards around town with a couple of teeth blacked out.But Henry says Gill also can stand for how the fish breathes or for former Nashville defensemen and current team broadcaster Hal Gill.Fans will name the other catfish through a social media poll with suggestions so far including Stanley, of course, in honor of the Stanley Cup. Henry said he’s not superstitious about naming a catfish after the Stanley Cup that Nashville wants so badly.The catfish tradition was a response to Detroit fans tossing octopi on the ice to symbolize the number of wins once needed to win the Stanley Cup. Bob Wolf TJ Brodie Jersey , who owned a restaurant across the street from the Predators arena, takes credit for tossing the first catfish Jan. 26, 1999, during a visit by the Red Wings. A catfish was chosen in honor of the nearby Cumberland River.A fan even tossed a catfish onto the ice during the Predators’ first Stanley Cup Final game in Pittsburgh.Henry said these catfish will stay in the tank.”No one’s going to rip it out, no one’s going to be throwing it on the ice,” Henry said. ”But it will be something that is going to be fun.”— ”Johnny Hockey” is getting an additional title: part owner.Calgary Flames star forward Johnny Gaudreau is a member of an NHL-laden ownership group that purchased an equity stake in the U.S. Hockey League’s Dubuque Fighting Saints on Thursday. The group includes Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, former Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, and Florida Panthers executive chairman Peter Luukko.Gaudreau and Girgensons were teammates on the Dubuque team that won the USHL championship in 2011. Luukko’s son Nick was also on the team. Their ownership group is titled Saints4Life Acquisitions.”The first day I stepped into Dubuque Womens Travis Hamonic Jersey , I knew it was a special place,” Gaudreau said in a statement issued by the league. ”I have a lot of special memories in Dubuque, including winning it all in 2011. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”Gaudreau was the USHL’s rookie of the year in 2011, when he was also drafted by Calgary. He eventually went on to win college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award at Boston College.Girgensons described being part of the ownership group as a way to pay back the team for playing a key role in his development. A year after moving to North America from his native Latvia, Girgensons spent two seasons with the Fighting Saints and was preparing to play college hockey at Vermont before being selected by Buffalo in the first round of the 2012 draft.”It’s a team that really got me to where I am today,” Girgensons told The Associated Press by phone.Never envisioning the opportunity to be an owner, Girgensons joked he might need to contact Sabres owner Terry Pegula for a few pointers.Edmonton Oilers president and general manager Peter Chiarelli will remain a part owner of the team. Philip Falcone, who previously was a part owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild Florida Panthers Hoodies Womens , is departing as the Fighting Saints’ principal owner.The Fighting Saints have won two championships since returning to the USHL in 2010 following a nine-year absence.Luukko immediately jumped aboard when he saw how his son’s experience in Dubuque helped prepare him for college.”I know from my son’s perspective and others that I’ve talked to, they come in as pretty mature people heading into their university experience,” he said.”Being involved in the National Hockey League for over 25 years, this is a chance to be able to be part of the development of young players and what is actually a good business also,” Luukko said. ”Listen, I don’t belong to a country club, so really this will be my fun.”—