Who is the Greatest #23 in Nashville Predators history?

After what has been the closest poll in this series, we pick up with a list of five Nashville Predators who wore the #23 over the years. We have a collection of stay-at-home defensemen, industrious wingers, and a heavyweight enforcer who isn't shy about bringing the crowd into the action...

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Blair Atcheynum

A late-blooming winger who didn't earn steady NHL work until he was 28, Atcheynum was claimed from St. Louis in the 1998 Expansion Draft and played 53 games for Nashville during their initial season of 1998-1999, before being traded back to the Blues for a 6th-round draft pick. He scored 8 goals and added six assists during his time with the Preds.

Bill Houlder

Houlder showed up in our #3 poll earlier in this series, but he only wore that for one game as a Predator. For the remaining 301, he bore the #23 (longer than anyone else), and served as a steadying physical presence on the Nashville blueline. Over the course of four seasons in Nashville (1999-2000 to 2002-2003) he scored 8 goals and chipped in with 36 assists.

Jamie Allison

Another stay-at-home defenseman, Allison was signed as a free agent in the summer of 2003 and played 47 games that year as a depth blueliner. After the lockout he played 20 more games as a Pred before being placed on waivers in February 2006 and getting claimed by Florida.

Martin Gelinas

Gelinas only played one season in Nashville, scoring 9 goals and providing 11 assists in 57 games during 2007-2008 (a knee injury ended his season in March). He was credited with providing a strong leadership presence to some of the younger players in the lineup, in particular Jordin Tootoo.

Following his retirement, he transitioned into a Player Development role with the Preds, travelling around and advising prospects in various leagues for three seasons. This summer, however, he joined Calgary as an assistant coach under Bob Hartley.

Brian McGrattan

"Big Ern" has made a name for himself after one season in Nashville, charming fans with his fisticuffs, his exploits on Twitter, and the story of his continuing recovery from alcoholism. He's already signed up for next season at a modest $600,000, and hopes for a larger role beyond chucking knuckles and playing to the crowd.

Will he "Ern" it?

Poll

Who is the Greatest #23 in Nashville Predators history?

• Jamie Allison
• Blair Atcheynum
• Martin Gelinas
• Bill Houlder
• Brian McGrattan

  258 votes | Results

On The Forecheck takes 3rd for Best Blog in Toast of Music City 2012

The Tennessean's Toast of Music City winners for 2012 have been announced, and I'm happy to say that OTF made the top 3 in the Best Blog category, finishing right behind Hear The Raven's Call (no, not a Baltimore football blog) and the fashionable Style Blueprint.

I think it's pretty impressive for a blog in Nashville to rank among the top 3 overall due to hockey coverage, so thank you to all who voted. Section303.com made the top 3 for the last two years, so it's nice to keep Preds talk up there near the top. In related Preds news, Pekka Rinne took the "Best Local Pro Athlete" award, and a Preds game topped the list of "Best Place to Take the Kids".

Honestly, however, I can't help but accept this with a grain of salt. The Toast of Music City often looks like a lazy, haphazard effort by a newspaper which considers itself the city's best in class. For example, the list of nominees was largely a copy & paste job from years past (the Sports Reporter category included Eric Yutzy, who left for Indianapolis in 2010). Patten Fuqua is pointing out other such silliness on Twitter this afternoon.

In addition, during the voting period the Tennessean encourages nominees to put banners on their sites allowing users to click right over to their category and cast a vote. The problem, however, is that users also need to sign into Tennessean.com in order for that vote to count, and once you did that, it kicked you back out to the front page of the ballot, after which you'd have to find your way back to the category in question. Just an ugly, ugly user experience there, it shouldn't be an issue to redirect people back to where they had intended to vote.

And lastly, even though the finalists are supposed to be invited to a celebration downtown to receive their accolades, we never heard a peep from them. Trust me, the Bride of Forechecker & I were pretty disappointed to hear we had missed out on a chance for a night on the town!

In short, if this event is truly about toasting Nashville's best & brightest, you'd think the Tennessean would put more effort into it. Instead, it comes off as an annual exercise in motivating the local community to drive web traffic to their site.

OK, enough venting.

I'm honored for OTF to place in the Top 3, and thanks again to those of you who voted. Stay tuned to this channel for news coming soon on a good way in which we can celebrate all of this.

And remember, even though the Toast of Music City is in the books, the Nashville Scene's Best Of Nashville voting is open through September 12th, and they have both a Best Local Blog and Best Sports Blog category, so I'd appreciate your support there if you're up for it!

Nashville Predators announce 4 winners of #MySmashville contest

The results of the #MySmashville contest are in, as the following was released by the Nashville Predators:

Recently, we asked the citizens of Smashville to tell us just what Smashville meant to them with the #MySmashville fan challenge. Hundreds of entries came in fast and furious for the inaugural fan challenge, with fans submitting taglines, artwork and videos through social media. With so many terrific entries we couldn't pick just one, so today we are proud to announce our four winners of the 2012 #MySmashville Fan Challenge.

#MySmashville Winners:

Ryan Vircik with Hear Our Roar

Kevin Crozier with Smashville: Rise

Scott Howard with Our Team, Our Town

Jill Jones with Bleed Gold

"We handed the creative reins over to the fans and the response was incredible," Nashville Predators President/COO Sean Henry said. "We asked the fans to tell us and show us what Smashville meant to them. We realized that Smashville meant something different to everyone and there was no way we could choose just one winner. There were so many wonderfully creative entries, but we felt like these winning taglines could be woven seamlessly into our existing creative endeavors throughout the season.

"Hear Our Roar embodies our infamously loud game experiences. Smashville: Rise plays into the chill-inducing emotion of our spontaneous standing ovations. Our Team, Our Town resonates with fans who feel like Smashville is more than just a place - it's home and it's distinctly Nashville. Bleed Gold embodies every citizen of Smashville who lives and breathes Nashville Predators hockey. They all feed into our playoff efforts when we ask everyone to Stand With Us!"

"We were overwhelmed by the amount of social media buzz that this promotion generated over the summer," Nashville Predators Marketing Director Danny Shaklan said. "Together, the Smashville faithful and the creative minds of Nashville combined to bring this contest to life through the 2012-13 season."

The winners will receive a bounty of prizes including a pair of 2012-13 Season Tickets each, TV broadcast segments with Pete Weber and Terry Crisp, radio segments on 102.5 The Game and more. Look for the winning taglines throughout the season!

Really? They couldn't pick a winner? I'll confess to being a tad confused as to how this will work this season, but congrats to the four on winning free season tickets and all the rest, and kudos to the Preds for going the crowd-sourcing route like this.

But for the record, I still prefer my entry, "MATCH THIS".

Bettman "we have the greatest fans in the world": Friday's notes

Normally when you hear a hockey player or coach say they have the greatest fans, it's just another tired cliche, simple pandering for the local audience. When the Commissioner says it in the context of how well the league recovered from the Great Lockout of 2004-2005, however? That spells trouble, and our around-the-league hockey notes today start off with some dire updates from the latest round of NHL/NHLPA talks...

Best of Nashville 2012 - The Nashville Scene

This year they have a reader poll for "Best Sports Blog". Can you help us defend our title from 2011? Vote daily!

Nashville Predators News

2012 NHLPA Rookie Showcase Will Feature 30 NHL Prospects - NHLPA
Austin Watson will represent the Preds at this year's event.

The bobblehead movement… | Section 303
The masses are nodding their heads in approval.

Smashville 24/7 - Players react to eventful summer
A smattering of comments from various players, mostly about how glad they are that Shea Weber's offer sheet was matched.

Brian McGrattan - LockerDome
Big Ern's got himself a video collection, where you can take in some of his favorite bouts over the years.

Based on Donations, N.H.L.'s American Owners Prefer Republican Candidates - NYTimes.com
According to this study, the Preds' owners are the league's second-biggest backers of the GOP.

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

NHL and NHLPA argue over the fundamentals of surrendering players’ salary to owners | Puck Daddy
It's getting ugly, folks. We've reached the point where Gary Bettman no longer feels the need to sugercoat the owners' naked desire for a massive player salary rollback.

Bettman: We can lockout because you'll be back -- and he's right - Broad Street Hockey
Hockey, we just can't quit you.

Imposing Again : Tom Benjamin's NHL Blog :: CanucksCorner.com
Dangit, I knew Tom's optimism was too good to last.

The Cup is ours: a manifesto - Colby Cosh - Macleans.ca
Colby attempts to stoke the fires of Canadian pride to make sure the Stanley Cup has a 2013 champion no matter what.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Swedish Eliteserien prohibits teams from signing NHL’ers not willing to play full year in SEL
In the event of a lockout, don't expect to see guys head over to Sweden.

Why Limiting Term Is A Bad Idea | Overtime
Richard ignores one reason why it's a very good idea for owners - limiting the liability they're taking on that a player gets hurt and can't perform at his expected level for the duration of a long-term deal.

15 Years Gone: Remembering the Hartford Whalers | Backhand Shelf
Some of the best uniforms in hockey history... and now they're long gone.

Former Blue Jacket Huselius: "They Acted Wrong Against Me" | BlueJackets Xtra
It sounds like Kristian Huselius is not at all happy with the Columbus Blue Jackets, saying they rushed him back into the lineup, which led to a groin injury.

Video: Sports Fans Digest Their Own Mistakes after Loss - Lighthouse Hockey
We've all been here, I think.

Pot, Heroin, and Playing Hockey - Battle of California
Megalodon brings you an important Public Service Announcement.

Gordie Howe on TV has a 100% success rate | Backhand Shelf
You've got to love "Mr. Hockey".

Journalizm | mc79hockey.com
Few can tear into a mainstream columnist for their lazy writing like Tyler.

Odor Gladiator keeps your game (and your hockey bag) fresh | Hockey Gear HQ
This little wonder fights for you against that signature smell that comes from your hockey equipment bag.

And lastly... courtesy of The Triple Deke, here's a creative way of describing how each team approaches the salary cap (warning, it gets pretty gross halfway through when they hit the Maple Leafs):

NHL CBA Negotiations skip a day: Wednesday's notes

Observers around the hockey world were looking for news out of Toronto today with another round of talks between the NHL owners and players, but the session was called off instead. Our hockey notes (admittedly belated today) cover this and a whole lot more...

Best of Nashville 2012 - The Nashville Scene

This year they have a reader poll for "Best Sports Blog". Can you help us defend our title from 2011? Vote daily!

Nashville Predators News

The View from 111: The Predators Play a Pivotal Role In Our City
Mark touts the ever-growing amounts of money which the Predators Foundation has been able to raise and then distribute to charitable efforts around Nashville.

The View from 111: One Timers
Mark opens up a number of topics for discussion, focusing mostly on the CBA situation.

Paul McCann - It is not so easy to "split the difference"
Paul pleads for reason between the owners & players.

Battle Royale: 8 Defenseman, 1 Press Box | The Predatorial
Jeremy wonders how the blueline will shake out.

Nashville Predators On Brink Of An Identity Crisis? - SBNation.com
I'm not sure I buy the "identity crisis" angle. If anything, locking up guys like Gill, Gaustad & Fisher seems to be right in line with "Predators hockey".

NHL JerseyWatch 2012 - Blog - icethetics.info
Amidst a host of jersey-related updates, there's this: "The PREDATORS might add a third jersey, though it would be very soon after their rebranding this season." I agree, it's awfully quick to introduce yet another jersey.

Uni Watch Power Rankings rates NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL uniforms from 1-122 - ESPN
Well, it looks like the Predators beat the Ducks... again.

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

NHL CBA Talks 2012: Wednesday's Discussions Canceled After Fehr, Bettman Meet - Defending Big D
Today was not a very good day.

NHL will get its NBC rights fees even if lockout cancels 2012-13 season | Puck Daddy
Well, there's $200 million for the owners' war chest.

Bettman, Fehr and the Idea of an Industry Growth Fund - NYTimes.com
Will Bettman bite at the $100 million carrot Fehr dangled in the NHLPA's offer?

Down Goes Brown: What NHL negotiators can learn from the NBA and NFL lockouts
Oh, if only DGB were allowed at the negotiating table...

Taylor Hall Agrees To A Seven Year Extension - The Copper & Blue
7 years, $42 million for the 2010 1st-overall draft pick.

Buffalo Sabres still have 4-year, $30-million deal on table for Shane Doan | Puck Daddy
I know some folks would love to see the Preds sign Doan, but at these prices? Insanity.

CHLPA names Georges Laraque executive director, Laraque misses media appearance - Buzzing The Net
Well, this is off to a roaring start.

Mysterious CHLPA’s goals include managing players’ education packages - Buzzing The Net - Junior Hockey Blog
...and here is what the CHLPA proposes to achieve.

NHL rules summit tackling embellishment? Yes, please | Puck Daddy
Can we leave the diving in London?

10 of the worst acting performances by NHL players in commercials | Backhand Shelf
Yes, we're desperate for entertainment! This stuff is funny, though.

Top 10 Dallas Stars Regular Season Games #4: Modano Breaks Record In Controversial Game Against Predators - Defending Big D
Take a trip back in time to a night that stoked the flames of the Predators/Stars rivalry.

The glory of hockey stick art | Backhand Shelf
WANT.

Nashville Predators Town Hall videos posted

For those of you who couldn't make it down to Bridgestone Arena Monday night, the Nashville Predators have posted video of the event, including the question-and-answer sessions featuring several current players, along with representatives from management and ownership of the team. You've seen some written recaps of what they had to say in recent days, but seeing the real thing allows you to digest the information more easily...

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First up, the players took the stage:

Next, it was management & ownership's turn:

So what were the highlights for you? Here are a couple of mine:

• I thought it interesting that Peter Horachek repeatedly came back to talk about what he expected from Ryan Ellis this season. With Shea Weber & Kevin Klein able to take the tough defensive minutes on the right side, Ellis could have ample opportunity to produce offensively.
• Hal Gill is a riot, the local PHWA can start engraving that 2013 media-friendliness award in his honor right now.

In addition, I asked for reaction on Twitter, and here are some of the responses:

@forechecker The @mikefisher1212 extension was pretty cool. Somebody also asked about a caravan like the Titans. I think they should do that

— Todd Heath™ (@EastNashTodd) August 21, 2012

@forechecker The guy made the argument that @predsnhl are a regional team now and they should visit AL, MS, KY, AK, Memphis, etc. I like it.

— Todd Heath™ (@EastNashTodd) August 21, 2012

@forechecker That Colin Wilson is friends with Jonathan Toews. Who knew Willy was so cool?? :)

— Emily Baggett (@emilykate82) August 21, 2012

Now, what stuck out for you?

Could Big Ern fill a larger role with the Nashville Predators?

Jim Diamond's latest piece checks in with Brian McGrattan, who will come to training camp a married man this fall. As he looks forward to a second season with the Predators, Big Ern is also gearing up for more of an opportunity to hit the ice:

"I've had good talks with Barry and he wants to play me in some different situations next year," McGrattan said. "That kind of puts the onus on me a little bit to be in the best shape I can and to be as ready as I can for an opportunity that could be there. I am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully get some more games and some different situations than I did last year."

Now, I expect a part of this is just proper messaging from Barry Trotz - you're not going to tell any player that they're only going to play a few shifts a game and are expected to simply fight. What if McGrattan is able to step up and fill a larger role, however?

---

Brian McGrattan

#23 / Right Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 235

Born: Sep 02, 1981

---

---

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2011 - Brian McGrattan	0	2	2	-1	61

---

I have long said that I can't stand the way modern enforcers only engage with other heavyweights in sideshow brawls, and have little to no effect on the outcome of a given game. If I've got the toughest guy on the block, I want him out there asserting that physical dominance for more than just 2-4 minutes a game.

I want him roughing up opponents, putting them on their heels. I want him serving notice to forwards who storm Pekka Rinne's crease, even if they're pint-sized snipers. Similarly, he should mark his territory in the offensive end and let it be known whose ice it is. Rather than just scrap with the big boys, take some time to intimidate that puck-moving defenseman, and maybe he'll start passing it away a little quicker than he should.

It takes smarts and veteran savvy to do that without taking too many penalties and putting your teammates in a tough spot, but I'd be interested to see if McGrattan could pull that off.

Do you think he'll get that chance?

By the way, Jim Diamond gets my daily vote for Best Sportswriter in the 2012 Best of Nashville voting, so consider heading over and giving him yours as well.