After resolving some technical difficulties with the site that have prevented me from posting for the past week, counting up hundred of emails from visitors who could not get our poll software to work and sorting through and deleting some late votes that somehow snuck by when the poll failed to auto close on the 14th, the results the first annual Mr. Hockeyburgh award have been tabulated.

And the winner is … MISTERRRRRRRRRRR KENNEDY!

Tyler Kennedy received 29.3% of the vote and edged out playoff MVP Geno Malkin (23.6%) for this year’s award.

Coming in third was former Penguin Rob Scuderi (19.3%) and rounding out the voting was Marc-Andre Fleury (14.7%) and Bill Guerin (13.1%).

Tyler Kennedy has proven to be a fan favorite all year long with his high energy play and aggressive play in the offensive zone. There is no doubt in my mind that he is worthy of this award.

Congratulations Mr. Kennedy! And don’t let the award go to your head.

What or more correctly who is Mr. Hockeyburgh? Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who over the past year caused the fans to roar. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who plastered an opponent into the boards when the game look lost and swung the momentum. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who makes the big save. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player that is a leader of his teammates even if he doesn’t have a “C” or and “A” on his sweater. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the superstar that rises to the occasion and carries the team on his back. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the gritty role-player that steps up and takes charge. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the grizzled veteran whose leadership is unquestioned. In short, Mr. Hockeyburgh can be any player that suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the past season.

In honor of the new site as well as the Penguins fabulous Stanley Cup run, which I understand is still causing curses and fits in Detroit, I am instituting a new award this year called the Mr. Hockeyburgh Award. I pick the nominees and you, the readers, vote on the winner. It’s that simple.

So without further ado your 2009 nominees for the soon to be annual Mr. Hockeyburgh award are in no particular order …

Marc-Andre Fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury (aka the Flower) still has a lot of growing to do but one thing is for certain; he is an elite goalie already. The young net minder for the Penguins still misplays pucks behind his own net, gets dangerously out of position while aggressively taking on shooters and has the occasional brain fart that makes the fans at the Igloo groan. But more often than not he gets the job done when the job needs getting done. And while many Penguins fans may loose site of what he did for the Penguins during the regular season when he posted a 2.67 GAA and a respectable save percentage of .912 while backstopping the team in 35 wins including many down the home stretch to even make the playoffs, it is undeniable that his 16-8 record in the playoffs with a .908 SV% and 2.61 GAA while playing against teams like Washington and Detroit was superb.

Tyler Kennedy

Mister (Tyler) Kennedy (aka TK, aka Turbo) has a lot of nicknames but one that he doesn’t have but should is “sparkplug.” Undersized and sometimes underappreciated earlier in the season for what he has brought to the team, Tyler Kennedy has quickly grown into a fan favorite at the soon to be retired Igloo. Playing with determination and controlling the puck in the offensive zone as well as Crosby or Malkin he is no longer easily overlooked playing on a line with Jordan Staal. Without a doubt Tyler Kennedy is the energy guy the Penguins need on the ice when everyone else seems down and unable to generate offense. He might have only scored 15 goals and 20 assists (he was also good up and down the ice posting a +/- of 15) during the regular season but everyone one of those goals was memorable and caused the crowd to erupt awaiting the inevitable video of Misterrrrrrrrrrr Kennedyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to be shown. His contributions during the playoffs of 5G and 4A helped power the Penguins to the Stanley Cup this year.

Evgeni Malkin

How do you spell MVP? You spell it G-E-N-O no matter what the fans in Washington might say. Without Geno’s offensive output during the regular season where he showed that he is the finest all round offensive force on the ice the Penguins would have never made the playoffs. He shoots, he passes and he scored the impossible goal. Heck, he’ll even throw a punch or two. Malkin kept his foot on the gas in the playoffs as well netting 14 goals and adding 22 assists in an offensive display that made it mandatory Detroit to key on him in the finals and leave other players free to chip in.

Rob Scuderi

Now a Los Angeles King due to the realities of free agency, Rob Scuderi continued to play hockey like few defensemen can. His skill at blocking pucks and getting his stick in the passing lane as well as his ability to hound the opposing team’s star players makes him one of the elite shut down defensemen in the league. While offensive defensemen like Gonchar and Letang get most of the highlight reel footage, any hockey aficionado worth their salt appreciates and admires the role Scuderi filled while on the ice. His performance in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs was at another level all together. He even stepped up and played goalie when Fleury found himself out of position in the waning moments of Game 6 of the finals against Detriot.

Bill Guerin

Bill Guerin is a guy that any hockey fan enjoyed watching for years. But when he became a Penguin he was automatically adored by fans in the ‘Burgh from day one despite some who moaned about the Penguins acquiring yet another aging veteran to play along with Sid. But Billy is no John LeClair or Mark Recchi. Not by a long shot. He has always been a complete hockey package with a ton of grit but the ability to net 30 or 40 goals a season in his younger days. But he can still pop 20 or so in even at 38 years of age. His hockey savvy cannot be underestimated and he was languishing on a terrible New York Islanders team before coming to the Penguins. In just 17 regular season games Billy tallied 12 points along side Sid (5G & 7A) and in 24 playoff games he added fifteen more points and was a huge plus 8 constantly driving the slot and the net and proving that he can beat any goal tender in the league with his still speedy shot.

Honorable Mention:
Ruslan Fedotenko

It was hard to leave Fedotenko out of the finalists for this year’s inaugural award considering how he stepped his game up in the playoffs and turning in a plus 18 ranking during the regular season. But there are only so many nominations one can give out and in the end I just couldn’t put Fedotenko ahead of those that I actually nominated in the end because he did exactly what was expected of him. He had his wow moments though. He’s a great role-player and I am glad to see him back for one more year.

Craig Adams

I think that Craig Adams doesn’t get the respect that he deserves for the role he fills on the team. He’s not a guy you count on to score goals (although he chipped in more than expected during the playoffs) but the pounder you expect to head into the corner and fight for pucks. When the Penguins went to putting Crosby and Malkin on double shifts and used them to man the fourth line after Gonchar’s injury Adams looked like a guy you could expect more out of if only he were given a chance to play with that sort of talent. But that’s not enough. Although enticing the opponent to score into their own empty net off a face off win certainly was enjoyable to watch.

Sidney Crobsy

Yes, it is true. I didn’t put Sid among the finalists which will dismay many that the team’s Captain got snubbed. Sid had a great regular season and a great playoffs but when we get down to brass tacks Sid, like Fedotenko, did exactly what was expected of him. While that means wowing the fans nightly when I started to look at who to slot as finalists for the Mr. Hockeyburgh Award it came down to either Sid or someone like Guerin or Kennedy getting the nomination. Sid gets recognized all the time for his leadership and ability even by me. But sometimes there are just people more deserving of recognition because they played above their ability level instead.

Sergei Gonchar

My main man, the man who I have drafted every single year in my fantasy hockey leagues even at the expense of taking him three or four rounds early just to put him on my roster because of his underappreciated skill, sadly did not make the cut this year. I hate how ever year Sarge doesn’t get the respect he deserves as one of the greatest offensive defensemen to ever done skates and take to the ice. This year when he gritted through an injury late in the playoffs to return to the ice and help power the Penguins to the championship just made me even more respectful of him as a player.

It was hard not to include Gonchar in the final ballot but just something about how the power play struggled this season even with him in charge bothered me enough to pass on putting him up there.

So, there you have it! Voting will remain open until August 14th at noon (Eastern). The winner will be crowned Mr. Hockeyburgh 2009. To vote visit our poll in the right sidebar of this site or vote below.

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Ok, so I wanted to start this site at the beginning of the season but with other projects going on it didn’t happen. Then I planned on starting it after Christmas but the bickering and the arguing about the arena popped up shortly before I planned to launch.

Well, now that all that is behind us and all the children have calmed down and stopped holding the Penguins and us fans hostage I decided that the time is now. Welcome to A Great Day For Hockey; a Pittsburgh Penguins fan site with news and information about the Pittsburgh Penguins written by someone that actually goes to and watches the games.