When’s Training Camp Start?

I am so tired of reading about business transactions in the hockey section of the newspaper. Yes, Sam Fingold signed a letter of intent to buy the Penguins from Mario Lemieux’s group. Yes, the respective ownerships of the Pirates and Steelers have convinced me that ownership really does make a difference in putting a quality team on the ice. Of course I want the Penguins to stay in Pittsburgh; of course I want a new arena to be built—but I want those things to happen because of how much I love hockey.

Because I love hockey, then, I am eager to start reading about hockey in the hockey section. I want to read about how many minutes per game Sidney Crosby expects to play. I want to hear about potential defensive pairings on the blue line and start musing about potential line combinations. I want to read about the game of hockey.

Right now, however, here’s my list of three things I’m looking forward to seeing ON THE ICE:

1. Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger on the same power play. I’m going to have to stay up late to catch an Anaheim game, and you know what? The thought of watching a Niedermayer-Pronger power play means that I really think I can deal with a few hours less sleep if I get to see the on-ice magic Brian Burke expects to see.

2. Can Jaromir Jagr continue his resurgence and can the Rangers go further this year? Jagr has already earned a future place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but watching Jagr this past winter was a beautiful reminder of why Jagr deserves a place alongside other Hall-of-Fame players. Plus, Jagr’s going to turn 35 this year, and at some point, age catches up (a sad but accepted fact of hockey). But I don’t want age to catch up this season—can I see another year of a future Hall of Famer dominating as he did in so many previous seasons?

3. All of the Penguins’ draft picks that will (hopefully) come to training camp this year. Seriously, who knows, maybe somebody I’ll look back fondly on the 2006-07 training camp and note that five future All-Stars and three future Hall of Famers were on the ice? Maybe?

So, yeah, seriously, when does the puck drop—at least for training camp? In a month or so?

The puck can’t drop soon enough.