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Kevin Schultz Rocks!

by Patrick Hoffman on 02/09/09 at 08:00 AM ET
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Kevin Schultz of Barry Melrose Rocks was kind of enough to take time time out of his busy schedule blogging for Barry Melrose Rocks, AOL FanHouse and Point Blank to tell us a bit about himself, how he got into hockey, how he started blogging about the game, what he sees happening with hockey blogs in the future and his thoughts on this year’s NHL season.

Enjoy! 

GLR: How did you first get into hockey?
KS: I first got into hockey thanks to my Dad. He was a big Islander fan and they are the only ticket in town on Long Island, so it was kind of a given. I was going to games with him as soon as I could walk and the rest is history. The second year I was going to games turned out to be the ‘93 playoff run with Dale Hunter destroying Pierre Turgeon and David Volek becoming the most hated man in Pittsburgh. It’s upsetting to think that my greatest sports memories - aside from the 1998 Jets - all occurred when I was 6.

GLR: Growing up, who was your favorite team? How about your favorite player?
KS: Growing up, my favorite team was the Islanders and still is. However, my Dad might have you believe that all I cared about was the Zamboni, which is kind of true. When I initially started going to games with him, I had no interest in what was going on with the game. All that was interesting to me was, aside from being an irritating little kid, watching the Zam do it’s thing at intermission.

GLR: How did you get into hockey blogging?
KS: Blogging pretty much grew out of college and boredom. Two years ago at the end of spring semester, I started Barry Melrose Rocks. Probably in the same way many kids turn to pot or video games during college, I took the nerdier, more intelligent route of yelling about sports on the Internet.

GLR: What are you trying to bring Barry Melrose Rocks readers?
KS: I’ve thought about what the heck it is I’m trying to do with this blog, and I’m still not really sure. I’ve always had some sort of inate desire to write, it was just crushed in grade school by boring books like the Illiad and having to write critical response essays on things I didn’t have any interest in. I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with English teachers, which doesn’t make sense because my father was one… Then there’s the bordeom factor. I need something to do with my free time and there’s no better place to waste that than the Internet. And I guess the last part is that all I want to do is make people laugh and have fun. As my friends will tell you, I’m always trying to turn things into a joke. I’m too shy to be a stand up comedian, so blogging and friends are my outlets for that.

GLR: Are you involved with any other hockey blogs? If so, please tell us which ones.
KS: Right now, I’m involved with two other blogs and if I wasn’t a college student, that wouldn’t be possible. I write over at AOL FanHouse because somehow Eric McErlain thought that was a good idea. Last week, I was a fill-in blogger for Chris Botta over at Islanders Point Blank which has been a totally different experience. I’m not allowed to only post YouTubes and I actually have to put together coherent thoughts, which has been a challenge. I’m loving it all though. I’m also glad I don’t have a wife or children, because they would be pretty mad at me right now for all of that. 

GLR: What direction do you think hockey blogs will take over the next couple of years?
KS: I hate to sound like a cheerleader, but this is only going to get bigger and better. More quality blogs, more eyeballs and more $. I’ve been able to see it first hand in the measley two years I’ve been blogging that things are going to change a lot. It’s getting harder and harder to make it by yourself out there. It’s getting harder and harder to update only once or twice a day. With the advent of Puck Daddy, Kukla, Mirtle and other full timers, you’re either going to have to go corporate or to a blog network if you want to run with the big boys. Basically - replicating what Bill Simmons and Will Leitch did may not happen again. I think we’re going to see the Walmartization of blogging. It’s going to be harder for Mom and Pop blogs to get attention. But that’s the thing about blogging, people do it for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with attention, so you’re never going to put the little guys out of business. They might not even care at all.

GLR: Now for some actual hockey talk. In your opinion, what team has been a nice surprise this season? Why? How about the most disappointing? What do you think about your favorite team?
KS: Surprise this year… I would have to say the Bruins. We knew they were a solid team last year, but to make a jump to arguably being the best in the league is amazing. They’re only 10 points away from the 94 points they had last year and we’re not even at Valentine’s Day.

Disappointing would be the Senators. Partially because it’s hard to call anyone in the West an underachiever when that race is so close and because they’re absolutely screwed right now. Their cap situation is awful, they’re doing nothing on the ice and management isn’t helping at all. I’m not disappointed they suck, more so just surprised that they fell so far so fast.

As for the Islanders, I haven’t cared whether they win or lose since early December when they started tanking big time. Once this season went into full on Tavares mode, I’ve been pretty happy. After all those 8th place finishes they had to go up or down at some point and whenever that happens, you’re always glad if it’s an extreme. If we can get Tavares or Hedman in June, I’ll be a happy camper.

GLR: Any words of wisdom for fantasy hockey fans here on Kukla’s Korner?
KS: Just remember that hockey is a sport (unless you work in the sport for a living). Losing isn’t the end of the world and it’s no reason to take out frustration on a family member, friend or yourself. I think we all know this, but it’s something to keep in mind when things go south. But hockey fans know this, cause we don’t shoot each other after a big game.

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The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.

I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.

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