At the risk of sounding like a girl...

So this was a lovely surprise. Earlier in the week, my best friend and former roommate emailed me and requested to choose the HBOTW. Before I could even answer, she said she'd do half of the work for me and emailed me a bunch of pictures. After the power that the HBOTW selection had for Patrick Eaves last week, I kinda had planned to either pick a Red Wing or pick someone who was playing against a team that is also fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. This guy does not fit either category but she already found all of these pictures and did all of the work for me during a busy week (that I will discuss later). How can I turn that down?

So SB lives in New York City and doesn't have cable so she rarely gets to watch hockey on television. Apparently the other day, she caught a Rangers game on television and was really struck with the beauty that is Henrik Lundqvist. She immediately worried that she was a traitor to another Swede named Henrik that she loves, Mr. Zetterberg. I assured her there was nothing wrong with loving them both.

See? There's absolutely nothing wrong with admiring that smile. Teeth really freak me out so I try not to focus on them usually but he has really pretty teeth. I don't know if they're fake or what the deal is with them. I just know that they're perfect.

Henrik Lundqvist is the "sexiest ice man" and Sean Avery is not, according to this headline. I don't think there's any reason to apologize to Sean Avery for this.

SB is a huge fan of the Team Sweden so I'm going to guess that she sent me this one because it's one of her favorites.

Again, King Henrik definitely has that same 'look' that I apparently love. Longer, dark hair. Lots o' stubble. Good at hockey. That's the perfect man right there.

Ahhhhh, the required suit photo. To be a HBOTW, you must have a nice suit photo. (There are few exceptions.) Oh, and a shot you laying in bed, laughing and joking around? Yes, please.

So 2 things:

1) Tonight, I went down to Sticks & Mitts Fandemonium at the Lucas County Arena to meet some Walleye and Mud Hens players. It was great and fun but the worst part was IMMEDIATELY after walking in the door. My greatest fear was realized when I was accosted by Spike, one of the mascots. This will be discussed at length in the third installment of Mascot Mania, which I will write sometime next week since I'll be out of town this weekend.

2) Out of town, you say? On Friday, I'm driving to Washington DC. SB is taking a bus down from NYC and meeting me there. I'm really excited because I've never been there before. I have a freakin degree in History and I've never been to DC. Totally weird, I know. Saturday night, we're going to the Coyotes/Capitals game so I'm very happy about this. It'll be a great weekend and I know there will be lots of pictures and stories next week. Yay.