I wrote this article for IllegalCurve.com in November 2013 chronicling the injuries that have plagued the Jets defense since 2011.

The sky is blue. Winnipeg is cold in winter. Pizza is delicious. These three constants, deserve a fourth: Playing defence in the NHL is physically taxing. Not only do defencemen log the highest time on ice, but defencemen have to handle the physical demands of playing against burly forwards all the while being tough enough to stand in front of 100 MPH slap shots.

It’s pretty well established in NHL circles that you are best-off building your team form the back-end out, and as a result teams are never shy about paying for defencemen. The Winnipeg Jets are no different, as the current roster sees that three of the Jets top four highest paid players are defencemen.

However, and in-light of the most recent Zach Bogosian injury, what good are high-priced defencemen if they can’t stay in the lineup?

Read the full article at IllegalCurve.com

In 2011 I interviewed Kyle Balharry, Director of Game Production for the Winnipeg Jets for the Illegal Curve website. We discussed the process of producing an NHL game and selecting the music used to set the mood in the arena.

Before the season began, there was a lot of speculation on what the music selection would be.  Articles on the site “The Science of an Intro Song” and “Choosing a Goal Song for the Winnipeg Jets” received a lot of attention from our readers.

When you’re visiting the MTS Centre this season for an NHL game (and arenas around the world) you aren’t just going to a game, you’re going to a hockey experience.  Not only are the players working to put out a carefully planned game, about forty employees at the MTS Centre are in charge of putting together the best possible hockey experience.

The man in charge of that is Kyle Balharry, Director of Event Production for True North.  Kyle has been working with True North since 2000, and doing event production at the Winnipeg Arena/MTS Centre since 2002.

Event production involves creating and following a script.  Everything that you see at the arena, videos on the jumbotron, the arena ring, PA announcements, off play promotions and music have all been well thought out and predetermined.

Read the full article at IllegalCurve.com

In the summer of 2011 when it was announced that the NHL would return to Winnipeg, I wrote this article for IllegalCurve.com on June 2, 2011 stating my arguments why the team should be named the Winnipeg Jets.

The wait is over, the dream has finally come. NHL hockey is back in Winnipeg, everyone rejoice.

But…this new team doesn’t have a name.

The option taken by Winnipeg fans has been to revert to the old name and traditions that many of us have been brought up with; the whiteout, the Queen, “Jump” by Van Halen, the Winnipeg Jets. The overwhelming response among fans has been to call this team the Jets.

Every poll that has been conducted has been at least 60% in favour of Jets. On Tuesday we saw the citizens of Winnipeg take to Portage & Main and to The Forks wearing Jets jerseys, holding Jets flags, chanting “Go Jets Go!” The spontaneous cheers of “Go Jets Go!” went on through to the late hours of the night.

Support for the Jets name isn’t Winnipeg specific. Even Don Cherry, who has been a supporter of Winnipeg for years opened his interview with True North President Mark Chipman by asking him in a near threatening tone, “are you going to name this team the Jets, or what?”

Read the article at IllegalCurve.com