•A rewording of the CHL veterans rule figures to help the Blazers big time. Last year, a veteran was someone with 260 or more games of pro experience. This year, a veteran was someone with more than 280 games of pro experience.
Big difference, because Ryan Watson has exactly 280 games of pro experience, so he won't have to be counted as one of the Blazers' four vets next season. Unless the rules are changed again.
•The Blazers wouldn't have advanced into the second round of the CHL playoffs without centerman Chad Hinz, the best late-season signee in team history. He scored seven goals and 23 points in 17 games after arriving from Austria. In the 14 playoff games he had five goals and 12 assists.
•Watson, 25, had a coming of age season. Yes, Hinz helped him enormously. In Watson's 17 games as Hinz's left winger, he scored 10 goals and 20 points. But Watson had come on before Hinz arrived, with six goals and 11 points over a 12-game span.
And every time I interviewed Watson this season, he finished by saying "thank you” and shaking my hand.
•All Blazers' home games should start at 7:05 p.m., not a half-hour later. Except for morning and afternoon games.
•Michel Beausoleil won't be back, which is sad. In fact, his pro hockey career may be in jeopardy, no thanks to knee ligament damage, which is sadder. He was the Blazers' leading scorer in his first two years, with 45 and 40 goals, but he dipped to 19 this regular season.
Maybe the most telling stat on BoBo: he had 24 power-play goals his first two years but no power-play goals this year (until one in the playoffs). He was the Blazers' 10th forward by season's end.
•Peter Robertson said at the start of the season that this would probably be his final year of pro hockey. By season's end, though, he said he'd like to come back. "It's up to Doug,” he said. Robo deserves to come back. He was second in power-play assists (16) and points (21).
•Graham Dearle didn't score a goal in the last 27 games, but he was one of the Blazers' most valuable players, thanks to his grit and hustle. "He plays with a lot of heart,” coach Doug Sauter said.
•The sound system is too loud at Blazers' games. Team officials should heed the advice they receive in fan surveys and turn down the ear-aching screech.
•The Blazers ended the season with six players who have reached CHL veteran status: Marty Standish, 512 games; Peter Robertson, 508; Chad Hinz, 493; Tyler Fleck, 426; and Michel Beausoleil, 334. Hinz has signed to return to Europe next season and Beausoleil won't be back. So that leaves four, the league maximum. But will they all be back? No.
•Season MVP: Mike Burgoyne. Playoff MVP: Sean Connors. Best player, regular season: Garrett Prosofsky. Best player, postseason: Chad Hinz. Most underrated: Gordon Bell.
•Said it before, saying it again: As a reporter, hockey players are the best athletes to cover. They're down-to-earth, genuine and real. And this Blazers team was special in all of those areas.
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