It feels a little weird to be honest. This time last year, every hockey fan knew that there wasn’t going to be any hockey, because we knew that there was going to be a lockout, and we knew it was going to last awhile, so a proper season start seems like heaven. I know there’s an Olympic break in the middle and that’ll make things interesting in terms of how one plays in an attempt to make the Olympic rosters, and with a proper pre-season, the start of the season will see the best players at full stride, as opposed to taking the first month of last season to find their rhythm.

So enjoy pre-season action, cheer your team on. Hockey’s back, and that’s always a good thing.