Well when it comes to next year..I am afraid you are going to be correct Twin....Going to suck with no Draft next year..and me..going through a rebuilding year..lol..
As for curling.. I confess.. I love to watch it..the strategy is chess like..many moves ahead.. and hey..any Bonspiel I have attended ( thats the name for a Curling Tournament ) yeah get to drink while playing.. we aint no fools
Have even seen some hollow curling broom handles that holds a mickey..hehehe.
I know about the slow turn to European players....going from memory..its now
In the late 1980s, the NHL saw a dramatic increase in European-trained players coming overseas to North America. Before that, Euro stars were few and far between. Of the 126 total prospects that were selected in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, only six were from Europe (4.8 percent). In 1989, that number grew to 38 of 252 draftees (15.1 percent).
The 2000 NHL Entry Draft featured the largest Euro contingent in the history of the Draft, as 123 of the 293 selections were born outside of North America (42 percent). At the 2002 Entry Draft in Toronto, 110 European players were drafted out of the 291 players who were selected (38 percent). Of the 291 choices, 33 were goalies and nine were from Europe (27 percent).
OUCH