Guest Author: A Very Zebra Thanksgiving

On rare occasion, we've featured a guest author here on MayorsManor.  Today, we present a special Thanksgiving day piece by Scott Coffman. For the last few years he's been part of The Fourth Period Radio show and in between booking guests, he contributes articles to their magazine as well.

With the holidays right around the corner and today being (American) Thanksgiving, it’s time to give credit to those who have one of the hardest jobs in the NHL. No, it’s not Sidney Crosby’s concussion specialists, but the referees and linesman that keep control of every game and who are some of the most under-appreciated people in all of hockey.

We have to give thanks to referee Kelly Sutherland. His first NHL game was actually in Los Angeles on December 19, 2000. Since then, he's become one of the league’s top officials, as evidenced by being only one of three guys selected to officiate the last two Stanley Cup Finals - along with Dan O’Halloran and Stephen Walkom. Sutherland gained some notoriety last year during his appearances in HBO’s 24/7 Penguins vs Capitals series. In this video clip (warning, NSFW language), he's shown taking the time to explain a call to Penguins’ defenseman Brooks Orpik. While not every player may agree with the decisions made on the ice, strengthening communication goes a long way towards mutual understanding and developing a good player-referee relationship. It's also been announced that Sutherland will be wearing a microphone for tomorrow's nationally televised 'Thanksgiving Showdown' between Detroit and Boston.

What I've learned so far... by Pittsburgh's James Neal

Like the Penguins' Steve Sullivan, who was profiled last hour, James Neal is one of the few Pittsburgh players who knows the Kings well. Having played for the Dallas Stars during his first three seasons in the NHL, he became well acquainted with Terry Murray's hockey club.

Another change for Neal since the last time he's been here is the addition of a Hulk Hogan-esque mustache. Not sure if that's a Movember thing or not. Either way though, we chatted for a while after morning skate today. Here's what he's learned so far this season...

About Evgeni Malkin - "He loves his Russian music. He gets his headphones on and he's jamming on the bus. His humor is great too. He's happy to be at the rink everyday."

About Steve Sullivan - "I learned that he's old and short. He's on his twitter all the time too, tweeting away."

About Brooks Orpik - "He stirs the pot behind the scenes. He's serious on the outside. But, he's behind a few things."

The other Winter Classic

Fenway Park isn't done hosting hockey just yet.

Friday evening the famed ballpark will host a match-up between two of the most storied institutions in college hockey, Boston College and Boston University.

Current LA Kings players Peter Harrold and Rob Scuderi, both Boston College alum, will surely be rooting for their former schools. In fact, both programs usually rank in the top 5 for having sent the most players to the NHL.

As a quick sneak preview to the article we'll be posting on Friday prior to the game, take a look at just some of the current and former NHL players that will have a vested interest in the outcome of this one:

Partial list of Boston College Alums
Brian Leetch
Bill Guerin
Joey Mullen
Brian Gionta
Brooks Orpik

Partial list of Boston University Alums
Tony Amonte
Keith Tkachuk
Chris Drury
Mike Eruzione
Ryan Whitney

The game will be carried live on the NHL Network. More to come as the game draws closer.

One19
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