Used with permission from Lisa Gansky, flickr

John-Michael Liles may have been a Hobey Baker Award Finalist for the Michigan State Spartans, but we at The Yost Post were lucky enough to interview him last fall—therefore, by association with the Yost Post, he’s a good guy who we have no problem talking about!

Well, why are we mentioning him?

Easy, Liles has been nominated for the 2012 NHL Foundation Player Award. This Award is given annually to an NHL player who “applies the core values of hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community.”

Other nominees this year include Mike Fisher from the Nashville Predators and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders.

So what has Liles done?

He created the Liles’ Buds program. From the Toronto Maple Leafs,

“an initiative he developed early in the season in partnership with The Canadian Safe School Network (CSSN) that recognizes children who perform acts of kindness and give back to their community through anti-bullying efforts. Liles donated 10 suite nights to this program, valued at $33,000, to Maple Leafs games during the 2011-12 season to children from the CSSN, Autism Speaks Canada and Cardiac Kids. Liles further demonstrated his dedication to education through a $25,000 donation to the First Book Canada program, money that purchased 5,000 books, supporting First Book Canada’s mission to address the challenge of literacy in Canada at its root by providing new, age and language appropriate books to children who otherwise would not be able to access them.”

Think that’s a lot…there’s more!

He lead the Maple Leafs—the first year he’s been on the team mind you—for most community appearances this season.

Here’s a list of what he did: visiting and signing autographs for children at numerous team events in support of the charitable arm of the Maple Leafs, the MLSE Team Up Foundation, and was an active participant in all of the Leafs’ full team events, including the Leafs and Legends Charity Golf Classic, Have a Heart Dinner, Outdoor Practice, SickKids Hospital visit, Easter Seals Skate and One4One.

He also participated in the following…

Liles also participated in the Canadian Military’s Operation HOHOHO, served breakfast to the homeless at University Settlement in Toronto for three hours on Christmas morning, visited numerous terminally ill patients at local hospitals, and was an ambassador of the Leafs School program Shape Up, which is a program available to schools in the Greater Toronto Area that focuses on creating healthy, active living opportunities for children and youth in Grades 1-8.

And no, we are still not done. This one is close to my heart because my sister is a graduate of Culver. He donated $90,000 to the renovation of the locker room facilities at Culver Academy.  This include the purchase of new training equipment both inside and outside the rink as well as tournament entry fees for their teams and other equipment purchases and expenses that occur during the hockey season.

He’s pretty much Mr. Everything.

Good luck to John-Michael—you’ve earned this nomination and as far as I’m concerened, the award! Keep doing great things and making a difference!

So it’s official today. Wasn’t it official yesterday? Or maybe when I received the text message alert from ESPN on January 22nd that said “ESPN NHL – Red Wings will host Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in Winter Classic on January 1, 2013.”–I screen capped the text message!

I got another message from them today that said, “ESPN NHL – Michigan Stadium will host the Winter Classic January 1, 2013 featuring the Red Wings and Maple Leafs.”

Regardless, the NHL and the University of Michigan announced today in a joint effort with two press conferences, one at Comerica Park and one at the Big House–because obviously having one press conference is not enough–that the Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in an outdoor hockey game on New Years Day.

Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Nicklas Lidstrom, Jimmy Howard and Henrik Zetterberg were all at the Big House in their Wings’ jerseys holding hockey sticks, posing for pictures, and answering questions from the media.

Can you feel the excitement building?

I wrote on my twitter this afternoon that this will be the only time Michigan fans will be rooting for a team wearing Red while playing at the Big House and NOT the team in Blue! In fact, even thinking about wearing red into the stadium makes me feel all sorts of confused.

The Michigan hockey twitter posted a picture of an article from the Michigan Daily from Monday, September 29, 1986. Apparently the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs have played against one another on Michigan’s campus once before, this time at Yost Ice Arena during a preseason NHL game. They skated to a 4-4 tie.

Here’s the link to the article if you’d like to read it.

Random Fact of the Day: Maple Leaf players John-Michael Liles and Mike Komisarek both played in the first outdoor game in East Lansing in 2001. Liles for the Spartans and Komisarek for the Wolverines. The teams skated to a 3-3 tie.

I wrote on January 19^th, “No offense to Michigan or the NHL, but I feel like when this is announced in February, it’s going to end up being called one of the worst kept secret in sports.”

Wednesday the Board of Regents at the University of Michigan unanimously voted to accept the $3 million proposal to lease Michigan Stadium, “The Big House”, to the NHL for the Winter Classic New Years Day, 2013.

The official deal will be finalized soon but surprise! Surprise! The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing hockey outside in Ann Arbor!

That’s right, Mike Komisarek will return to Ann Arbor to play a hockey game! ::sigh:: I really do miss the sound of him laying a guy out at the blue line. The way it would echo in Yost…those are the things you grow up remembering!

The only Regent not to cast a vote was Denise Illitch, daughter of Detroit Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Illitch. Since this decision involved her father’s team she respectfully declined to vote. Very nice of her!

From Puck Daddy’s Jeff Arnold:

“While I have no direct interest, it is well known that my family has interest in the Detroit Red Wings,” Ilitch said via phone at Wednesday’s meeting.

» Continue reading “It’s On: The Winter Classic At The Big House, Red Wings vs. Maple Leafs”

So is the Winter Classic at the Big House on January 1, 2013 a done deal or not?

Are the Toronoto Maple Leafs really going to come play a game in Ann Arbor against the Detroit Red Wings?

No offense to Michigan or the NHL, but I feel like when this is announced in February, it’s going to end up being called one of the worst kept secret in sports.

In the end I imagine both the NHL and Michigan (but mostly the NHL) will be patting themselves on their backs. Great job! We’ve managed to keep thisevent on everyone’s mind over the past several weeks filling up fans’ google alert inboxes and creating drama on their twitter timelines with people going back and forth wondering if this deal is done or not!

This entire situation creates a lot of complications for Michigan and Athletic Director Dave Brandon.

First of all, the Big House is “winterized” after the last home football game of the year, which would be in November. It would need to be “re-opened” for this event. Remember, when the Big Chill took place in 2010 it happened a week into December.

Second, Michigan would have to obtain a liquor license so hockey fans could drink in the stadium. It’s hockey…

Third, the Michigan football team usually is playing in a bowl game on January 1st and the Michigan fan base tends to travel well. Would having this game on campus cause fans from Ann Arbor or around the country not to attend the bowl game that happens just about every year (except for the first two years Rich Rod was coach) to stay in town or travel to Ann Arbor to see this once in a lifetime game? Really good question.

Fourth, Michigan and Michigan State set a record during the Big Chill for the most people to ever watch a hockey game with 113,411 people. *The Guiness World Record was actually listed at 85,541. I was at the game and there was not 113,00 people there, more like 100,000. So I don’t agree with the Guiness World Record number, but it’s still a record.*

Would the University that worked so hard to set that record allow the NHL to come in and have the opportunity to break it? Makes you think, doesn’t it? 

A few of the advantages would be the exposure of the University in an international light. The NHL has players from all over the world participating. Having people from all over the world get a good look at the University through the Winter Classic could be an excellent marketing tool.

Another advantage would be the money. Ann Arbor is a wealthy town compared to most. The city of Ann Arbor and the state of Michigan could really use this event as a way to make money.

I’m sure there’s plenty of other advantages and disadvantages that can also be brought forward and probably have by other people. These are just a few of the ones I could think of right now–and they’ve probably been talked about before by others.

The game is on. The game is off.

It’s winter and I do not have daisies currently growing in my front yard, but here’s a daisy to play “The game is on. The game is off.”–also the same daisy I used last summer when we were talking about the Michigan vs. Ohio State game possibly being held at Progressive Field.

So what are writers claiming or saying?

First of all, on Wednesday mlive.com had the following headline:  

Source: Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium finalized; Red Wings to host Toronto Maple Leafs

Big, bold letters just begging the reader to click on the story!

But what that story really said was the following:

The NHL, the Detroit Red Wings and the University of Michigan have finalized a deal to hold next season’s Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium, a source told MLive.com.

The events will officially be announced at news conferences at Comerica Park and Michigan Stadium in early February, after the Red Wings return from a four-game trip to Western Canada and Phoenix Jan. 31-Feb. 6.

The NHL was unable to make this announcement next week and did not want to make the announcement during the All-Star break, Jan. 27-30, or when the Red Wings were on the road.

So there’s a source that’s saying all of this is going to be happening, but we’re going to have to wait for the official announcement because we don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves by announcing this a) Not at the All Star Game and b) when the Red Wings were on the road?

Seriously? You mean the NHL all of a sudden has feelings?

Another article also posted on Wednesday, this time in the Detroit News said the following:

Michigan associate athletic director David Ablauf echoed earlier comments from athletic director Dave Brandon that negotiations between U-M and the NHL were ongoing, but that no deal had been reached.

“There’s no change in status,” Ablauf wrote in an email to The Detroit News. “We are still discussing the prospect of the NHL using our facility for the 2013 Winter Classic. We don’t have an agreement in place. There are a lot of moving pieces that make this a very complicated process.”

Two sources with the Wings, while acknowledging that the game was likely to take place at Michigan Stadium, also said no deal was in place.

So we have more sources.

Awesome. In the mean time, I’m planning on being in Ann Arbor on New Years Day 2013.

For Part 1 with Jack Johnson, click here.

Used with permission from Lisa Gansky, flickr

For Part 2 with R.J. Umberger, click here.

For Par 3 with Adam Burish, click here.

John-Michael Liles is a defenseman who played college hockey at Michigan State. In both his junior and senior seasons he led the Spartans in points with 35 (13 goals and 22 assists) and 50 (16 goals and 34 assists). He received the CCHA Best Offensive Defensemen Award both of those seasons and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award his senior year.

Liles is another college player who spent part of high school going to school in Ann Arbor and skating with the National Development Team. He was on Team USA’s 2006 Winter Olympic team, playing in all 6 games and recording 2 assists.

He’s in his 8^th year in the league, his first with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His first seven years were spent with the Colorado Avalanche.

This year he has scored 3 goals and has 13 assists. He’s in tied for 4^th on the team for total points with 16. Only Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf are ahead of him.

Why did you pick Michigan State?

Michigan State and Notre Dame were my final two choices. It ended up being more of a gut feeling. Michigan State just felt right. It felt like the place for me. That was the reason I went with it. When I had to make that choice, I needed to be objective. I really liked a number of things about the different schools. Michigan State for me, the hockey program spoke for itself. It was something that I really wanted to be a part of. It worked out pretty well.

What did you think of as life a student athlete?

It was awesome. I loved it. I had a great four years there; really great teammate, a great program. The school for me, I fit in pretty well. I got a degree in Finance, which was a big thing for me. I ended up after my first year of pro going back in the summers to finish up my degree.

What favorite college hockey memories do you have?

The Cold War was a huge one. It was a fun game to play in, that’s for sure. My sophomore year was a great year. We were number one all year and went to the Frozen Four that year. It was a great year in general. I played with a lot of pretty solid players.

You spent all 4 years at State, so you really got the entire college hockey experience from being the harassed freshman and then harassing the freshman as a senior?

I got the most out of my college hockey experience, that’s for sure. (laughs) I was part of both of those worlds!

What were some of your favorite Big Ten sports memories?

Some of my good buddies in school were basketball players. I got to see a bunch of great games when I was there; some good football games. It was a great sports school. I really enjoyed going to see a lot of different sports.

Used with permission from Lisa Gansky, flickr

What are your thoughts on the new Big Ten Hockey Conference and changes in college hockey?

You look at what’s going on with football and the realignment with the conferences; I guess it was only a matter of time before it started happening to hockey. I think the donation that Penn State got to start a Division 1 hockey team and to build a rink; I think it’s fantastic anytime you can add programs into D1 hockey., especially one with the backing of Penn State behind it. I think it was only natural a Big Ten Hockey Conference ended up becoming a reality. Hopefully people will follow Penn State’s lead and there will be more.

Who would you like to see add a hockey program?

Being form Indiana, I guess I’m a little biased. I would love to see Indiana University have one. But then you’re looking at would the school support it and would it be something that they could draw fans to and be successful. That’s ultimately the bottom line.

How is your golf game?

Laughs. It’s alright. It’s in limbo right now because the seasons going on, but it was actually pretty decent this summer.

Thank you so much to John-Michael Liles for his time! Good luck this year!

Also, many thanks to Lisa for letting me use her photos. Check out here facebook page here.