If there's one thing I don't like in the NHL, it's the disciplinary system. It's wildly inconsistent, so much to the extent that hockey fans actually feel that suspensions are decided by spinning a wheel. Some punishments make sense- Matt Cooke recieving 14+ games for an elbow to the head made sense- especially after he was suspended earlier that month for a John Cena-esque shoulder block. Others, not so much- Zdeno Chara getting away with a reckless hit on Max Pacioretty, Todd Bertuzzi getting nothing except 5 and a game misconduct for a despicable hit on Ryan Johnson, and how James Wisnewski got two games for an obscene gesture. While i'd like to go on a rant about those decisions, I also want to look at another thing that's bugging me- what the NHL considers a "repeat offender".

The Los Angeles Kings seem to really enjoy celebrating Zach Bogosian when he comes to town. Los Angeles has a massive Armenian population (unlike Atlanta, where it's Zach, me, and some other dude) and digs reaching out to Armenians to recognize the fact that we do other things aside from have a big ass.

Note: this isn't all of us.

So, in honor of the Kings being extra special awesome, have some Armenian food. It's not all lamb and baklava. Mmm... baklava...

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Cycle Like the Sedins has been a bit, um, dead since I made fun of Charles Wang's grandkid at the draft.  After the season ended, I also couldn't think of any special occasions to do Puck Pies for.  Well, with the return of the sport that drives us all to drink (more on that in a sec), you get the return of Puck Pies.

Weeeee - food!

Last night's 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets led to some major drinking, mostly at Taco Mac beforehand and afterwards.  For those of you unfamiliar with Taco Mac, it's Atlanta's local bar chain with the most hugerist beer list in the free world.  There's one attached to Philips Arena that has to do a killer business after Thrashers' games - it did a good one after last night's.

There's an appetizer dish that my good friend Courtney (overlord of Chicks Who Give a Puck) tried when she was down here in April and fell in love with - poblano queso.  It's good.  It's damn good... and it's so damn good that she got three photos of it sent to her phone by various folks at once.  Witness:

Yep. It's awesome, and after the jump I'll tell you how to make it at home.

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What I want is simple: let us know which position battles on a team's depth chart:

* Are most crucial to your team's success.

Most critical to the teams success will be the battle for the 7th defenseman (or higher) position. Right now the Avs defense is Quincey-Hannan, Liles-Foote, and Cumiskey-Wilson. And the 7th spot is up for grabs. There are several rookie defensemen that could make the big club out of camp, but the three frontrunners are likely BU-Alums Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen, Norweigian Jan Holos, and OHL-alum Cameron Guance.

Golden Gopher alum Ryan Stoa could potentially make a top-9 forward spot, which would make a big contribution, but that's a long shot. Look for him to fill in on an injury though.

* Are under the greatest amount of competition.

As if a 4-defensman battle for one spot wasn't competitive enough, there's nothing to say that Kyle Cumiskey and Ryan Wilson's defensive spots are secure either. Cumiskey is hurt, and I would bet that he's in the lineup opening night. But Wilson regressed heavily after a concussion last season and hasn't been the same player yet. Reports out of camp is that he has not played well. He has the inside track at an opening day start, but Guance and Holos have (apparently) looked good in camp.

The Avs defensive prospects are their best system assets and they are coming to fruition right now. This is a fun training camp battle, but the best part will be watching it play out through the season. Any mistake could be enough to see him sent down, and any number of guys get a call-up.

* Qualify as your team's biggest weaknesses (or strengths, if your team has an excessive amount of offensive defensemen/defensive forwards/etc.)

Forward depth. After Stoa there is very little in savings if the Avs get injured. (they've been a top 1/3 in injuries team the last 4 years I believe). I just don't see a whole lot of guys that could come in and play at even replacement level if the Avs have a couple forwards go down. A rash of injuries up front could sink this team

* Any other interesting battles that come to mind. Could a player come out of nowhere to make an impact? Will a savvy veteran need to worry about getting cut for a prospect? Will that first round pick make the big club?

1st round pick Joey Hishon has a chance to make the club, especially with so little at forward depth. The avs haven't shown any resistance to playing young guys as of late. I don't think he'll make it, but I expect him to get a 9-game tryout before going back to the OHL.

After an unexpectedly early playoff exit, the Caps head into training camp with numerous questions surrounding the upcoming season - most pressing of which will be who fills the second-line center role. It's an area of great depth at the lower end of the talent spectrum, and great potential among some of the untested prospects, but as it stands now there is no clear pivot to back up Nicklas Backstrom. As it stands now the job appears to be Tomas Fleischmann's to lose, but it'll be one of the more prominent areas of focus over the next three weeks.

While there is plenty of opportunity up the middle, the wings are another story. Here is where there is the greatest competition, not just among rookies hoping to crack the roster but among veterans, as well. Eric Fehr's new contract gave him stability but no guarantee that he'll see more ice time, while Brooks Laich will need to show whether he's truly cut out for second-line responsibilities or if he's more suited to time on the checking line, instead. And the acquisition of D.J. King gives the Caps an enforcer, but just how many games he'll play - and how many minutes in those games - is still up for debate.

Beyond that the more interesting battles going into camp in general will be among players who are likely on the roster but fighting for ice time and increased responsibility. Young defensemen John Carlson and Karl Alzner will be looking to make a name for themselves and find a role among the more established blueliners, and with the Caps content (for now) to go with Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth in net, the title of number one goaltender is very much up for grabs.

Editors note: I wasn't going to write at all during the summer break between seasons but that ended when I came across something today that I felt compelled to write a few words about it

So today I came across a piece on MapleLeafs.com written by Mike Ulmer. He wrote:

The biggest deal maker or deal breaker for the feasibility of a hockey career is not genetics.

It’s not competitiveness, off-ice training, affluence or bloodlines.

Turns out it’s when the kid’s parents decided to get busy. That was one of the revealing truths to come out of the World Hockey Summit at the Air Canada Centre

A study showed children born in the first half of the year routinely make up 70 per cent of the players on Canada’s World Junior Hockey Championship team.

Now the study showing that children born in the first half of the year making up a large percentage of children playing at elite levels of hockey is, well, nothing new. In fact when I read about this phenomena it was first introduced to me in Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers: The Story of Success a few years ago when I got the book for Christmas. In it, Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of measured success.

Now as a hockey fan, there was a chapter in the book where Gladwell that stuck out in my memory because of the hockey example he used. He explained that since the youth hockey league determines eligibility by calendar year birth date, players with early birthdays tend to mature and grow faster, and would then be looked at as better athletes. Because they were thought of as being a 'better athlete' they also got the best coaching and training, thus increasing the likelihood that they would make an elite team. He used the Vancouver Giants roster list as an example to explain his theory. I think there was also mention of the Medicine Hat Tigers as well.

So is this really a reavealing truth that no one has talked about until this years World Hockey Summit?

No not really. In fact, it was at the top of the Globe and Mail best seller list at #1 for weeks when it first came out, so I'm willing to bet that a few people may have read the book. This is not a slight at Ulmer's writing, since I don't assume everyone has read the book. And I'm sure someone before Gladwell has also written about this phenomena; But since I've come across a few articles in the past week about giving credit where credit is due (you know the ones I'm talking about), well I feel like credit for this "revealing truth" should be given to Mr. Gladwell since he already discussed his observation a few years ago.

I do like though that the issue was addressed at the World Hockey Summit, with proposed ideas of how to reduce the selection advantage that kids with early birthdays have over kids with later birthdays in the calendar year. It will be interesting to see what, if any measures get implemented to give all kids a fair shot at playing at an elite level.