January 31st, 2016

Hello there GHL fans. Welcome to the new and improved GHL blog. Because we've been away for so long, let's get you up to date with that's been going on.

The GHL unfortunately folded in June of 2015 due to financial issues, but a large group of sponsors and buyers gave us the money we needed to continue. Now there are many changes to the GHL this season. We now have a grand total of 72 teams, half in Europe and half in North America. The conferences have split the teams into 3 tiers.

The GHL Lifetime Achievement award was awarded shortly after the GHL folded. The recipient was former Weld Central Rebels goalie Crysta Pfeffer. She broke many GHL goaltending records, including most consecutive shutouts, most consecutive wins, most goals by a goalie, most assists by a goalie, and is also the only GHL goalie to be undefeated.

Pfeffer, 18, signed with the Boston Bruins, one of our new GHL teams, on December 22nd, 2015. However, she was hospitalized the next day, and has been on the injured reserve list since then. She is expected to start soon, but a return date is uncertain.

The 2016 GHL All-Star Game will be played in Quebec City, QC this season, at the brand new Videotron Centre. There is currently a fan vote to see who will be in, and even though Crysta Pfeffer hasn't played a single game this season, she's one of the most-voted players to be in the All-Star Game.

However, the only evidence of her still in the GHL is her player picture taken on December 22nd, 2015.

Yeah we realize it's a little small, but it's the only one we can find.

Other GHL players, such as HRCA Inline Hockey's Steve Finn and Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux have also been highly voted for to play in the All-star Game.


Reebok has also officially released the jerseys for the All-Star Game.

The GHL has also just opened its Hall of Fame, and the inductees were being voted for last night.

The inductees are officially in.

Well, that's all we have for today. We hope this post helps you all catch up. thanks for reading, and keep your stick on the ice.

Friday: December 12th, 2014

Hello Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and around the world. Welcome to the GHL blog.



The GHL is going through some scheduling conflicts as of this week. games have been postponed due to the event calendar in our GHL arenas being crammed with other events. We will now have to resort to some games being non-televised. Not all games will be non-televised, as we will have 2 of the week's 4 games being played. If we can find more games to broadcast, we will broadcast them.



moving on to some lighter news, the GHL has officially set up a D-League, or Development League, which will consist of 26 teams awarded to the following cities:

Anaheim
Boston
Buffalo
Calgary
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Edmonton
Florida
Hartford
Los Angeles
Montreal
New Jersey
New York (Long Island)
New York (New York City)
Ottawa
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Quebec
San Jose
St. Louis
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington
Winnipeg


We are well aware that most of these cities also host NHL teams, but the NHL has accepted our bids for the cities supporting NHL teams. Further information will be given at a later date.



Now we shift our focus on Team MTN. Dew's goaltending situation.

Team MTN. Dew, for those who don't know, is one of our original 12 teams, but was met by hockey purists as "nothing more than a publicity stunt meant to advertise". Off the ice, reaction to the team name was met with disgust, if not pure hatred. On the ice, the team played about as good as their small fanbase, winning only 2 games out of 42 in 2008-09. The reason was their goaltending. The "un-lovable losers" as GHL fans call them have 2 goalies splitting shifts throughout the season, Jim Park and Glenn Healy. Park's age is preventing him from being a legitimate star. At age 62, he is the oldest player in the GHL after Team Canada's Paul Henderson retired over the summer. Park has had very few good games. Glenn Healy has had to bail Park out on several occasions. However, Healy isn't much younger. At age 52, Glenn Healy has shown his age as well. Both goalies are subject to injuries. Last season the injuries were so severe to both goalies that the team's medical trainer had to play goal for the remainder of the season. Luckily, Team MTN. Dew made good use of the draft, signing younger goalies such as Ben Scrivens and Carter Hutton. Who's going to be the starter? No one really knows. We'll have to see when they take the ice for their opening night game.



That should do it for today's GHL blog post, so take care, and follow the GHL on Google+ and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And now we have a Facebook Page, so go check that out as well.

Warm Regards,
Mario Ardais
GHL commissioner

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

Hello Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and around the world. Welcome to the GHL blog.



Today we have more news on the allegations of Penguins star Evgeni Malkin.

Malkin was in court today to start his hearing. The charge is unsportsmanlike conduct and trying to intentionally injure another player. The jury's verdict proved him not guilty of any severe charge, and will walk away with a $500 fine for disturbing the peace within the league.



And now for some sad news. NHL legend Jean Beliveau passed away yesterday. He was 83 when he died. Some of our players put in their two cents on what they thought about his passing:



Colorado Eagles forward Riley Nelson said "I'm sad to hear such a great player die. He seemed healthy, so we didn't know if something was wrong. Hopefully he's in a better place now."


Team YouTube defenseman Glenn Featherstone said "Jean was one of the players I tried to model myself around. He was my idol growing up."


Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux said "It's a sad day for hockey. Growing up in Montreal, I knew him along with Maurice Richard, Jacques Plante, and Guy Lafleur. I never thought Jean would go like this."







And now for more GHL news, which takes us to the expansion Denver Nationals.

The Nationals just signed former high school player Brady Sufat. Sufat has been on Denver's radar for the past month, and now a deal is put in place. He signed a 4-year, $250,000 deal with a $1 million signing bonus. Along with the signing, the Nationals have been put under the Reserve Clause, making the Nationals a permanently-owned team in the GHL.









Well there you have it folks. That's the GHL news for today. Take care, and follow the GHL on Google+ and subscribe to our YouTube channel.



Warm Regards,
Mario Ardais
GHL Commissioner

Tuesday: December 2nd, 2014

Hello Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and the world. Welcome to the GHL Blog, and I made a horrible Hockey Night in Canada reference.



Today's news starts with the allegations of Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin.

Malkin's hit on Weld Central's Taylor Sitzman has led to a hearing regarding the incident. Penguins center Sidney Crosby had no comment on the incident after the game. During the game, he said he was disappointed in Malkin's decision to slam Sitzman into the boards. I was informed moments after the incident, and will handle the situation accordingly. Currently, there are no suspensions.



Now let's take a look at the Colorado Eagles potential buyers:

Anthony Wray, owner of Team YouTube, has considered buying the team, but his Team Share Ownership lease has expired as of October 30th.

Nicolas Elari, owner of the New Jersey Devils, has had a few offers to take a part of the team, but that was during the ownership of Della Browning. Elari has had no comment on his decision to buy the team since then.

Taylor Sitzman, current Weld Central Rebels player, has decided to put a lease deal on the table, ending his playing career in order to buy the team.

Shane Mayber, owner of Team MTN. Dew, has made little to no comment on the Eagles since August. However, he has reportedly put a deal in place to buy the team when the market became open. Nothing much has been heard about Mayber's current feelings about buying the team.

I have no intention of buying the team, as I currently own Pittsburgh and Houston. So I have no deal in place.



Colorado Eagles center and captain Riley Nelson stated after the situation: "I'm sorry to hear that Della Browning is no longer our owner. She seemed like someone who could take us places, and help us win multiple championships. I hope whoever our new owner is, he/she will try to do what Della Browning was trying to do. I don't want us to fail when we're too good as a team for that."



Well that is all the GHL news we have today. Take care, and follow the GHL on Google+, and subscribe to out YouTube channel.



Warm Regards,
Mario Ardais
GHL Commissioner

Thursday, November 20th, 2014

Hello USA and hockey fans around the world. Welcome to the GHL blog. We've got some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the good news:



Opening night in the GHL 2014-15 season started on November 1st, and the first 4 games are finished. Let's see the scores:



Houston Aeros: 5, New Jersey Devils: 0

Houston's first game was the first hockey game ever in the Astrodome, and they made it a very special occasion for the fans. Mark Howe scored 3 goals, and was the first star of the game. New Jersey Goalie Chris Terreri was swimming in the crease trying to stop Howe's uncanny scoring and dekeing ability.



Winnipeg Jets: 5, Team CCM: 1

Winnipeg got on a roll early, with goals by Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd. Not much to be said, as the game was all Winnipeg.



Colorado Eagles: 5, Kladno Sharks: 0

Colorado's season opener was an occasion for all fans, from the trophy presentation and banner raising to their 5-0 blowout against Jaromir Jagr and the Kladno Sharks. Colorado's Riley Nelson scored the winning goal, and a fight between Jagr and Nelson ensued. Nelson won the fight, but Jagr was suspended for 5 games for instigating a fight.



Pittsburgh Penguins: 5, Weld Central Rebels: 1

Pittsburgh's season opener marked the GHL debut of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin got into some trouble in the 1st period however, injuring one of Weld Central's players. He got the knickname "rookie destroyer" that night, as signs were all over the CONSOL Energy Center. Also, Mario Lemieux made a miraculous comeback on the final shift of the game. This was a shock because he never announced a comeback. Lemieux scored the winning goal, and was awarded with the 2nd star of the game (the first star being Sidney Crosby).



And now for the bad news, which takes us to the Colorado Eagles:

Colorado Eagles owner Della Browning has been away from the GHL, and from our sight, for the past week. We found out why, but I'm told not to tell anyone. Personal business I suppose. She said that it might take a year to straighten things out, so the league has decided to revoke her ownership until further notice. The Eagles will be owned by the GHL until we can find a potential buyer. Luckily for all you GHL fans out there (the few the proud), we will not announce a lockout due to the lack of team owners. We still have the minimum number (4) of owners in the league, so we will continue our day-to-day operations.



That should do it for our post today. Sorry for not posting anything in over a month. The league has been all over the place, and it's up to one commissioner (me) to re-align things so we can operate properly. So until next time, take care and follow the GHL on Google+ and on YouTube. See you next time.



Warm regards,
Mario Ardais
GHL Commissioner

EXPANSION!!!! (Sunday, October 12th, 2014)

Hello USA and hockey fans across the world. Welcome to the GHL Blog. Today I am happy to announce that the GHL has expanded by two more teams. Please give a warm GHL welcome to:

The Houston Aeros

And...

The Kladno Sharks

This is the first time the GHL has expanded to either Houston, Texas, USA, or Kladno, Czech Republic. 

 

And now for more news. Pittsburgh Penguins star Jaromir Jagr decided to opt out of his contract to sign with the Sharks, saying he wants to return to his hometown.

Now the GHL is a league of 24 teams. The regular season, however, has been put on hold while the two new teams get players and a new schedule.

That should do it for today's post, so until next time, take care and follow the GHL.

Warm Regards,

Mario Ardais

GHL Commissioner

Monday: October 6th, 2014

Hello USA and hockey fans across the world. Welcome to the GHL blog. The new GHL season is upon us, and I think it's about time for some announcements.

First off, all of us here at the GHL would like to wish a happy (late) birthday to Mario Lemieux. He's your humble commissioner's all-time favorite player.

It seems like it was only yesterday that I saw him play his final home game in 2006.



And now for some GHL news. There was an important trade that happened on Friday. Sidney Crosby was cut from Team Canada due to his salary being too high. The Pittsburgh Penguins grabbed him at the last second with a 7-year, $7 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus, making Sidney Crosby the highest-paid player in the GHL.


HRCA Inline Hockey Captain Steve Finn is only one goal away from having the most regular season goals in GHL history. He's currently tied for 1st with former New Jersey Devils star Bruce Driver at 649 goals.

Speaking of goals, there are 5 players on the verge of 500 career goals here in the GHL. These are the 5 players to look out for:


Glenn Featherstone- Team YouTube
Patrick Elias- New Jersey Devils
Wayne Gretzky- Team Canada
Sidney Crosby- Pittsburgh Penguins
Al Hamilton- Colorado Select






The 2014-15 GHL season is only a few days away, so here's what to watch for:

Steve Finn's possible 650th goal, making him #1 in most career goals

The Colorado Eagles' championship banner raising and trophy presentation

Opening night game #1: Minnesota Chiefs at New Jersey Devils, where I, the GHL commissioner, will be there to drop the puck to kick off the season.



Also, The GHL's official YouTube channel is now up, so here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgltx7QSo5wgGiYOuJL_G5g



This is where all of the GHL-related videos and games will be uploaded to. Currently, there's a season promo video on it, so go check it out.



Well, that's all for today's post. Until next time, take care, and follow the GHL. Also, subscribe to the GHL's official YouTube channel and follow us on Google Plus. See you all soon.



Regards,
Mario Ardais
GHL Commissioner