I'd like to thank the academy...

Handing out kind words to the hockey world and beyond

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, we all pause to think about the blessings in our lives. And while health, family and friends are important, there's not much better than seeing your team's first-line forwards on an odd-man rush, is there?

All jokes aside, here is an assortment of things that I feel blessed to have in my life.

I am thankful for...

... the NHL Center Ice package. Being able to watch almost every game from the comfort of my own couch is perhaps the greatest invention since the wheel. OK, maybe since the pulley.

... NHL players in the Olympics. The 2002 Olympics was simply two of the best weeks of hockey I've ever seen. And the 1998 semifinal battle between Dominik Hasek and Patrick Roy kept me and millions of others up late into the night, riveted with every twist and turn in the action. Please don't screw it up by not sending the NHL players to Turin in 2006.

... good guys in the league like Jarome Iginla, Paul Kariya and Olaf Kolzig.

... having had a second-row seat to watch the Kings and Blackhawks play an exhibition game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1989, the only time I got to see The Great One play in person. Growing up in a non-NHL city in the U.S. was tough, folks.

... hockey video games. Though playing EA Sports' NHL '95 on my Sega Genesis with college roommate Jason Munoz are some of my finest memories of my time at the University of Colorado (biology was a close second... or third... or eighth), the 2003 versions by Sega Sports and EA Sports of these games are mind-boggling in their detail and sheer gorgeousness. "Dear Mr. Bill Gates, my wife would like to personally thank you for ruining our marriage by inventing the Xbox..."

... everyone who plays in a midnight beer league and won't give up their dream of someday getting that call-up out of the blue from the Maple Leafs.

... Igor Larionov's age-defying play. You're how old?

... fans who paint their faces and get crazy at every game. Hockey fans are a breed apart -- just ask anyone who's worn an opposing jersey to a game at Philly or cheered for the other team in the blue seats at MSG.

... Jeff Odgers' mustache. I tried to grow a mustache once in college and gained the nickname "Del Griffith" as a result. If you don't get that reference, it's a damn shame, because it comes from the best Thanksgiving-related movie of all time.

... watching my 18-month-old son run around the house all day long waving his mini-sticks in the air and yelling "HOCKEYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!" He's even started saying Zamboni -- which comes out like "Bambooonininin" -- and "WAAAHHHH!" when Patrick Roy makes a big save, but we'll have to work on the little guy for a bit before he can say Czerkawski, Khabibulin, Konowalchuk, Radivojevic or Tjarnqvist.

... Johan Hedberg's moose mask. Fans everywhere of the alces alces (scientific name for the moose) are appreciative of Hedberg giving our four-hooved friends some good airtime on what is the best mask in the NHL today.

... college hockey. Growing up as a Wisconsin Badgers fan, I got to watch guys like Pat Flatley, Bruce Driver, Chris Chelios, Marc Behrend, Tony Granato, Gary Suter, Scott Mellanby, Paul Ranheim, Curtis Joseph, Mike Richter, Sean Hill, Jim Carey and Brian Rafalski begin their career with the red and white in the 1980s and early '90s. One of my fondest memories of my youth is of trying on Mark Johnson's 1980 Olympic gold medal at Badger Bob Johnson's hockey camp in Madison, Wis. "When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!"

... Adam Foote's nose. That baby has more left turns than a Rand McNally map and thankfully makes those of us with a proboscis feel a little bit better about our own.

... parents who tote their kids to hockey rinks for practices and games at all hours of the day and night. They are the true heroes of the game and have launched many NHL careers with their devotion to their children.

... passionate fans like Jason Ferrante of Pittsburgh, who fill the From The Cheap Seats mailbag every week with thoughtful submissions. Without good fan response, it's hard to make a mailbag work. To everyone who reads CNNSI.com's NHL coverage, my sincerest thanks.

... a great sheet of ice. One of my goals in life remains to skate on the legendary sheet at the Northlands Coliseum -- I can't bring myself to call it the Skyreach Center -- and glide across the same hallowed ground that Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri did.

... Canadians who don't think American hockey fans are idiots. Just because we grew up on the wrong side of the border doesn't mean we don't know the game. And besides, NAFTA regulates the free trade of hockey knowledge south across the 49th parallel.

... a wife who appreciates me jumping off the couch and screaming when Peter Forsberg makes his latest mind-boggling move with the puck. Forsberg's postage stamp game-winning penalty shot in the 1994 Olympics is one of my five favorite hockey moments ever (and I'm sorry if I upset my many Canadian readers by mentioning that) and I still get goose bumps every time I see it.

... Peace River, Alberta. I have no idea why Chris Osgood's hometown sounds so appealing, but I picture a quaint little village -- say, Mystery, Alaska, but only cooler -- in my mind.

... watching Sergei Samsonov skate. If anyone out there can tape a few Bruins games for me and edit out all the annoying passing and shooting parts, I'd be happy to watch Samsonov skate for six hours straight.

... a good fake Christmas tree. Who wants to hassle with all of those messy pine needles and worry about waking up to a blaze if you forget to water the damn thing?

... the Original Six. There is still something exciting about watching two Original Sixers get together to mix it up.

... a white Christmas. Living in Atlanta doesn't afford much of an opportunity for snow near the holidays -- an ice storm, perhaps -- and Christmas is one of the only times in winter I ever remotely miss the Midwest.

... playoff beards. As someone who hates shaving, I can appreciate some good postseason scruff.

... Philips Arena being a 100-yard walk from my desk.

... the 1972 Summit Series. Though I wasn't born until 25 months after the famous series, reading accounts of the amazing hockey played in September of 1972 and getting to speak with several legendary Russian and Canadian players is one of the highlights of my journalistic career.

... Fox Sports' glowing puck going the way of the Studebaker. What exactly is hard to see, folks? The puck is the little black thing set against a stark white background.

... old-time hockey sweaters. Third-jersey hell makes us forget how great the classic Habs and Leafs home sweaters are.

... Arturs Irbe's beat-up pads from last year. The clean white Eagle pads this season just don't do it for me, Archie. Bring back the hand-sewn, funky-looking ones.

... Trainers, equipment managers and front-office people who toil anonymously behind the scenes to run your favorite hockey team.

... P.J. Stock and Matthew Barnaby. I don't encourage fighting by any means -- and, in fact, I'm glad the game is getting cleaned up a bit -- but there's something about watching middleweights toss their mittens down to roll with the big boys that gets me going. And a good wave to the crowd or a kiss to the opposing bench makes me laugh, too.

... Robin Yount. So what if it's not a hockey reference? He was, and always will be, The Kid to fans of the Brew Crew.

... Brett Favre's passion for the game. Watching him run down the field after throwing a touchdown pass and smiling his 100-watt smile makes you wish more players enjoyed sports like he does.

... getting to watch Jaromir Jagr's entire career. I was still pretty young when Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were dominating in the 1980s, but getting to enjoy Jarda's whole career will be something to tell the grandkids about some day.

... the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Who knew that watching Snoopy float down Broadway could be so exciting?

... Turkey Day football in Detroit and Dallas. Having covered the Bears-Lions game in 1999, I can tell you the tradition and atmosphere around these games is truly special. Not to mention the press box at the Silverdome whipped up quite a nice Thanksgiving spread, offering all the media members who were away from home for the holidays some consolation, at the very least.

... Colorado finally beating Nebraska last year. Here's hoping for another 62-36 romp on Friday, Buffs fans!

... stuffing yourself beyond belief at the Thanksgiving dinner table. And then having a quick nap, and doing it all over again. Mmmmmmmmm, leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for CNNSI.com.

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