"He's pretty much an oatmeal cookie: not a big splurge but solid." - Matt Greene, LA Kings' defenseman and former team-mate of Zach Parise at North Dakota (NCAA).

"To the guys in the room, I don't think we feel that we overachieve. I think we play to our potential. There are a few things that contribute to that. No.1, we always have a great group of guys in the room that get along really well and enjoy playing with each other and for each other." _Predator's defenseman Dan Hamhuis. pg.50 of Vol.63, No.17 of The Hockey News.

"I did it once in junior when I was 18 years old and hadn't scored a goal in a while," Setoguchi said of shaving his head to change his luck. "I did it and scored two goals that night. So it's kind of weird. … It's one of those things hockey players try to switch things up when they haven't gone well in a while." - Devin Setoguchi quoted after a game on 16 January 2010, write-up on NHL.com

"His greatest asset is his 100 percent belief in his ability to be great." - Ducks analysist and former goalie Brian Hayward

"Street cred. I guess you can call it that. You know, most of those Blackhawks players weren't even born when I started my career. You know, they hear about guys like me and I' not even relevant, just some old guy. I've got a kid in college, I know how those kids think. They're into rappers and rock stars who get arrested all the time. Getting arrested is like a badge of honor. Look at Patrick Kane last summer. He beat the [expletive] out of that cabbie, got arrested, and now he's everyone's favorite player. I want a spot on that team, a real spot. I've got to be able to fit in on and off the ice. Before this, I was just some washed up old fart trying to get on a young, hot team. Now, I've got this arrest to give me some credibility with them, I can still party, I can still get wild." - Chicago Blackhawk Chris Chelios, on why he was recently arrested for a DUI - sent as part of a financial newsletter (of all things).

"They've got a perfect goaltender and great defence. They're scoring so many goals right now. Against them, we can't take so many penalties and make so many mistakes on defence. Of course, everybody hopes (Igor)Bobkov will make 65 saves, probably [smiles], but we can't make him so tired. We need to play a better game." - Nikita Filatov said, looking forward to Sweden at the World Junior CHampionships after a 2-0 win over FInland on 28 Dec. 2009. Quote from IIHF hompage story on 29 Dec 2009

"There are things Tyler can improve: his strength along the boards, his shot, his pivoting," says ever-cautious Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff. "But at least we know he won't be getting shorter-unless he plays until he's 70. - pg.43 Michael Farber, 21 December 2009 edition of Sports Illustrated.

"The players don't make the decisions, the coaches do. I don't think any team would allow the players to say, 'Oh, I'm going to play power play and that's it.' It just doesn't go that way." Hall of Fall player and Team Finland GM Jari Kurri. - pg.12 The Hockey News Vol.63 No.12

"He's a real hard worker," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "He's diligent, patient. He's very quiet, and he probably feels he should be playing more. I like his patience and approach. He takes practice as if it's a game every day I like the progress he's shown." - feature article in the Chicago Sun-Times (Post-Tribune) on 7 December 2009, written by Len Ziehm.

"Hockey has been called a body contact game for a reason. It was never intended to be a head-checking game." - Murray Costello of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), sourced from pg. B9 of the National Post 20 November 2009.

That’s what is going to make him an excellent player. He has the ability to play against top people but he has the ability to score, too. When you’ve got a guy who’s that size (6-foot-6, 228 pounds) and is a good skater, that’s a valuable, valuable player." - Coach Dave Tippett on Coyotes' centre Martin Hanzal from 'The Desert Dog Blog' on the official Phoenix Coyotes' website.

"Steve's been to Grand Rapids [Detroit's AHL farm team]. You see him at world championships and now at the Olympics, he's out watching games, he does a lot of video scouting. So he's rolling up his sleeves. He doesn't give the impression that it's a God-given right to manage." - Doug Armstrong, Team Canada 2010 Director of Player Personel/St. Louis Blues' Vice-President of Player Personel, excerpt from 9 November 2009 Sports section of National Post newspaper.

"Steve's been to Grand Rapids [Detroit's AHL farm team]. You see him at world championshipsand now the Olympics, he's out watching games, he does a lot of video scouting. So he's rolling up his sleeves. He doesn't give the impression that it's a God-given right to manage." - Doug Armstrong, Director of Hockey Personel for Canada's 2010 and St. Louis Blues' Vice-President of Player Personel. -

"The football helmet industry responded. Hockey seems less interested. Football or hockey, they're equally violent. If you put a hockey helmet next to a football helmet, you go 'hmm, is football that much more violent that they need that much more protection?'" - James Newman, retired mechanical engineer, founder of Biokinetics and Associates Ltd. in Ottawa, and author of 'Modern Sports Helmets, Their History, Science and Art'.

"If I hadn't seen him being born, I would swear he's older." - Toews' mother, Andree Gilbert. "Patrick (Kane)is a 20-year-old who's 20. Jon is a 21-year-old who might as well be 60. - Adam Burish, Blackhawks' forward. Both accounts are from page 50 of the Sports Illustrated article concerning the maturity and young leadership of Chicago Captain, Toews.

"Hockey is a tough game. With all the talk and everything that's going on right now, it frightens me a little bit that we are giving our players an excuse not to hit. I just hope that we don't take that out of our game at the pro level.” - Bobby Orr

“With Wayne being Wayne Gretzky, everything he does is unique,” said Shane Doan, of the night-and-day difference behind the bench. “To have a guy like Dave (Tippett), who I think was the best fit for our team right now, to have him be available when a coaching change was happening, it's incredibly lucky.” - Eric Duhatschek's column in the Globe and Mail, 5 Oct 2009.

We're extremely excited that he's taken this step in his career and is leaving his comfort zone to come and chase the dream to play in the National Hockey League. It speaks volumes about his desire." - Assistant GM Laurence Gilman in the Vancouver Sun 4 September 2009

“He has a couple of camps under his belt and he’s getting to that age where you can tell he’s kind of caught up to the trend and the learning curve and is getting adjusted to the speed and the style and the strength of the game at this level. It’s great for him, and I’ve always said the upside’s really strong for him. He’s starting to feel his niche and where he belongs.” -Mike Modano about prospect Jamie Benn - on nhl.com 20 September 2009

“Listen, I know I’m a way better figure skater than you.” Tie Domi to Bob Probert while plugging their upcoming CBC series ‘Battle of the Blades, which also includes former players Ron Duguay, Claude Lemieux and Glenn Anderson.

"Not only does he play a style of hockey that is exciting to watch, I expect him to keep developing, the sky is the limit for him. He hasn't hit his potential yet." - Tim Thomas on nhl.com - 15 September 2009 story by Shawn P. Rourke

"Our agenda is all about growth and steppingstones and which kids need some help. We love this tournament (Traverse City). It's played at a fast pace. It's good hockey and it gives us a good chance to see how our kids are growing and how they match up against the best young players the other teams have." - Blues President John Davidson.

I've had the opportunity to coach in Prince George when the CN Centre was probably the toughest building in the WHL to play in for visiting teams. In the WHL, things have a way of coming around again and I look forward to getting back to those days when the building was full and teams had a tough time facing the Cougars in Prince George." - Dean Clark (quoted from 'Hockey Now' 29 August 2009, Vol.11, No.11, Issue 185.

"This was orchestrated, to me, with a particular thought of unionism and intimidation." -- Hockey Hall of Fame member and Union spearhead Ted Lindsay, on Paul Kelly's dismissal from the NHLPA (TORONTO STAR, 4 September 2009.

"I like to say the two places I'm most comfortable are with my family and on the bench. Experience gives you comfort. The level of our team and our staff gives you comfort." -Mike Babcock at Team Canada Olympic Orientation Camp 24 August 2009

"Lundqvist will be our No. 1 goalie, but where everybody else falls, AHL or NHL, or where you play on the NHL roster, that's wide open," Tortorella said. "It's going to be on merit. Doesn't matter what your name is, where you were drafted or how much money you make - you need to do the things on the ice to play." - Tortarella quoted on NHL.com

No description of MacInnis would be complete without reference to his booming slapshot. Once shattering the mask of Mike Liut with a blast, the netminder quipped that there were two kinds of shots in the league: "There's hard, and then there's MacInnis hard!" -August 2009 side panel of the Hockey Hall of Fame Collection's 'Hockey Heroes' calendar

"I could have went with someone with no experience or someone with experience. I just felt that where we were at with the age of some of our group, guys like Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards being in the prime of their careers, now is the time we need to make strides. It's the reason why I wanted to go with a veteran coach." -- Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, on hiring Marc Crawford as coach (NHL.COM)

Former teacher and coach Malcolm Kenneth Gordon recounts a dreary night in 1911 in Connecticut that sticks out in his memory of Hobey Baker. "Early in the (football) game, Princeton had scored on a fumble, and during the remainder of the game Yale kept punting to Hobey...in hopes of recovering [a fumble] and thereby scoring....No back ever received severer punishment, but Hobey never dropped that slippery ball, and Yale never scored. After the game Hobey dressed quickly...and ran to the train to New York. (Team-mate) Fellowes Morgan happened to meet Baker and after congratulating him asked why he was in such a hurry. Baker said 'this is opening night of the St. Nicholas rink, and I'm hurrying back to town to get on my skates.'" pg. 211 of Jack Falla's book "Open Ice"

"To me, the mirror of our sport is the Stanley Cup playoffs. The owners stop paying salaries at the end of the regular season, so you see a lot of motivated players going hard for eight weeks, all chasing the magic that goes with winning the Cup." Harry Neale's foreword in Lance Hornby's 2004 book, 'Hockey's Greatest Moments'

"It's all eye-hand coordination," Ian Crebbin(head pro at York Downs, just outside of Toronto). "Naturally, a guy who can stickhandle in a phone booth will have an advantage over the average duffer working in an office all day." Ryan Kennedy's article in the 6 July 2009 edition of 'The Hockey News', Golf Special pg.20

Detroit GM Ken Holland is quoted as remarking that Chris Chelios is, "just a perfect role model for young players" on NHL.com after confirming that Chelios would not be returning to the team. Chelios had been with the Red Wings since 1999.

"I really worked, and although I was still rough around the edges, I made the All-Star team in my second year of Junior A (St. Catherines Teepees). I hit hard, averaging a 'stretcher-case' a game. If I didn't, I was upset." Pierre Pilote in his own words, from pg.138 of Chris McDonell's "For the love of Hockey"

"If Crosby is the face and heart of the Penguins, Talbot is the soul and funny bone." Michael Farber's article on 3 June 2009 on www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com

"One of these teams is going to get the ride of their life. Besides family things, it's the most fun you can ever have in your whole life to win that great trophy, to touch it, to have your name printed on it, to share it with your family and the community and the people that have helped you along the way. So to me that's a great thing, and I don't think a thing you can ever get enough of." - Detroit Head Coach Mike Babcock after Game 2 of Cup Final, from NHL.com 31 May 2009

"Why back up and cede the ice to your opponent when you can force the issue up the ice? ... We want to dictate the pace of the play against our opponent," - newly appointed Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher, 22 May 2009 (SI.com and A.P.)

"skate where the puck's going, not where it's been." Walter Gretzky - MacGregor, Roy, in Total Gretzky, pp. 19–20.

"Its like anything else. When you're playing in the backyard or you go to the river - and you're playing on the river and you're not as quick or you're not as strong as the older guys, and....everybody needs a target." Billy Smith from his interview on the 'Legends of Hockey' DVD set, "The Second Season'.

"There's always room for improvement. The moment you sit down and start feeling satisfied with what you're doing, I think you're going to start getting worse, so you always have to look at what you can do and what you can improve on to become a better hockey team and better hockey player." -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall- From NHL.com

"I know I enjoy that confrontation, trading it back and forth. It was neat for our guys to answer those challenges, and answer those questions, beating a heck of a team like Calgary." -- Adam Burish, Chicago forward- from NHL.com

"It is pretty much understood that you have to be on your deathbed not to play in the playoffs." Mike Commodore, in Ken Campbell's "The Code" article in 'The Hockey News' Vol.62, No.23'

"Winning the Stanley Cup and holding it up, is fabulous. But it's the day-to-day work that goes into get you there, that makes holding it up so much fun." Bob Gainey from 'The Legends of Hockey, The Second Season' DVD set.

"I saw a guy who, if it wasn't game day, he was riding the bike at game time. He was a very dedicated guy." Mike Gillis, General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks and Bure's former agent.

"If you learned to play a little rough and shade the rules a little bit-sometimes you get a little more respect. And respect gives you a little more room." Gordie Howe, interview on the 'Legends of Hockey' TV series

"My success has always depended on my being hungry and aggressive in my approach to the game. The money's nice, but down deep, you have to love the game and the competition." - Dino Ciccarelli (an excerpt from pg. 36 of Chris McDonnell's "For the Love of Hockey"

"What I feel is exactly what I felt before hockey games as a youth, an overwhelming sense of responsibility and a fear that I may not be equal to it. But I have a consoling theory about this: I believe fear can feed performance." [Jack Falla, pg.103 - 'Open Ice']

"You would give them something, but you would not give them what they really wanted. It became a mental chess game." [Brad Park]

"I'm a fan of Nickelback (and I'm not ashamed to admit it), Theory of a Deadman, and The Tragically Hip". [Bob Mackenzie]

"as I get older and keep moving along here, defintely speaking up in the dressing room is something this team needs me to do, for us to have more leaders on the team and take that next step." [Duncan Keith] (page 18 in The Hockey News interview, Vol.62 #07)

"I was the youngest guy in the NHL when I first broke in, and the Vancouver Canucks gave me an opportunity to play right away. It could of been overwhelming, but my upbringing prepared me well. I was mature and could handle new situations." [Trevor Linden]

"I preach defence first, like I'm sure every coach in the NHL does. But playing our style is important because we want people to love hockey. George McPhee and I talk all the time about how we play. The pressure game is so much more fun to play and watch." [Bruce Boudreau]