A Kid in a Candy Store

Friday May 09, 2008 @ 05:36 PM EDT

Thorsten currently plays wealthy casino owner, Zach Slater, in ABC’s daytime drama, All My Children. For that role, he received a Daytime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Lead Actor” in 2006. He has also appeared in films, The Silencers, Deadly Desire, and The Bone Collector. An avid rugby and hockey fan, Kaye will chronicle the Detroit Red Wings run to the Stanley Cup.


It was like going to DisneyWorld for me.


So I flew in and went to the Motor City Casino to drop off my stuff, and this is where it starts – I’ve been to the Joe maybe 30, 40 times, but I’ve never been able to go through the players’ entrance before. This time, I did, and I’m going through there and thinking to myself “this is going to be a really cool day for me.”


We went in and I got to meet a ton of people; first we headed into Steve Violetta’s office, one of the front-office DRW managers, he’s an excellent guy; I traded emails with him prior to the day and it was good to finally meet with him. I got four tickets, two behind Ozzie’s goal for two periods and two for the Suite, which are actually hanging up in my dressing room right now.


It was so cool, I can’t even explain it. The Red Wings were nice enough to offer me a picture of the Production Line, signed by everyone, personalized, so there was no need for me to steal the one I saw on the wall of the Olympia Club. I would’ve tried to get the seats out in my car but I don’t think they would’ve fit. Next time, I’ll need to bring a bigger car.


Now, like jla4013 said, I did this Cisco thing prior to the start of the game: it was a video teleconferencing setup, but it’s a newer deal, because it’s in real time, and the picture is very clear. That was something else, to be able to speak with the fans in that sort of a setup.


After that, it was gametime.


They came out flying, and I was worried about the layoff, but I know Babcock went through this before with the Ducks so I guess he just knew how to handle it. I thought that Dallas would be all over them, and the way they won the first two in Anaheim and San Jose made me a little concerned. But all game, there was no Dallas it was all Detroit. The only goal they got was when they let up a little bit.


This is a great team, this Dallas bunch, and they play great in Dallas and they’re obviously a little tired, and that’s tough. Even still, however, I thought it was a great game. I was hoping Hudler would get a little more icetime, and I was a little bummed that McCarty didn’t dress, but it was cool to see Maltby out there. I actually met Maltby’s little girl, and I said “hey who is your dad?” and she said “18.”


So cute.


I met McCarty’s mom, and she said “your blog, your blog is the only one I read on NHL.com.” I thought that was very sweet of her. As a matter of fact, I invited her to come on the set of All My children because she’s a big fan – and I saw Darren in the locker room afterwards and he said “Aw you’re setting me up for Mother’s Day.” But I hope she responds and reads this because I was serious and I hope she will take me up on the offer.


People say they don’t like watching on TV but being so close – and I was right next to the glass – makes things a little different. I loved the game, but there is still something about watching on TV that really helps you to understand the series.


What I did see was how calm Osgood was. Turco wasn’t the same, Osgood is so calm and so relaxed and I saw him afterwards, I think he’s matured. He’s where he wants to be. He was in the zone and when the commercials are on, he takes his gloves off, takes a little more water and he’s just calm.


The other thing that was cool was I met Al Sabotka, he’s been there 27 years or something, and we talked about the octopus; they have these cool Tshirts now, and it says something about tradition, and it has the octopus, something about “don’t take away tradition.”


I wish I had the shirt with me, because it is so cool, but unfortunately my wife put it in a safe place for me – which means I won’t find it even if I look for hours.


So anyway, as you can tell, I was like a kid in a candy store: people would come introduce themselves to me, and they were the guys I’m used to watching on TV…Draper Maltby, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg. And they’re so approachable, it was amazing. What was most impressive was that I went down there and the players were all working out. They worked out a half hour after games.


So I asked Drapes, and he said we’re flushing our system, which I also do – with Jack Daniels – but it reminded me again how their commitment level is outstanding. And I got to talk to Paul Boyer, the equipment manager, and he told me about how in the game, Zetterberg broke his stick and he was 10 feet for the bench, and he turned and there was a new stick, produced by Paul


How do you know, I asked. I said have you ever made a mistake and he said “nope.” He just grabs it and gets it out.


He told a Fedorov story – how Fedorov broke his stick, came to the bench and got one and then he scored. He was proud of that. I thought it was pretty cool too.


It was such a great atmosphere: it was almost like a family, with Jiri Fischer, Pat Verbeek, and I think Konstantinov was there, and I talked to Ken Holland, and all these guys that had been around the team and the game of hockey for so long. I could tell right away that Holland played, because they all do the same thing: I tried to give him a compliment and he said, “I’m just lucky.” Just like the rest of these guys.


I was taken care of and I had a really good time. And I want to thank every one of the Wings’ and the NHL’s organizations who had anything to do with it. Thank you all!


And one last thing – I was talking to an alumni while I was there, Nick Libett, and he said if they play like this, nobody can beat this team. They’ve been lucky that they’ve had no injuries, no weaknesses, and they’re looking great.


Now, as a final note, I don’t think Dallas will be taken down quickly – they’ll be better in each game all series long. They’re dangerous, and I think Babs and the boys know that they’re going to be dangerous so they’re going to be ready.


So will I. Thanks for reading.


Also, to all of you fans who posted questions for Ted Lindsay, I was unfortunately unable to bump into him to ask but I will do so shortly, so have a little bit of patience and faith in me, and I’ll have them done as soon as possible!


Until then, Go Wings Go!


TK

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