Awesome image courtesy of Colin Stuart, who will be providing more throughout the season.

You can find more of his stuff at his online portfolio.

I don't like Roberto Luongo. I don't like his attitude, I don't like his fire hazard hair, and I don't enjoy the way he plays in goal. But he is a damn fine goalie.

A lot of hockey fans seem to forget that, which seems strange to me, until I remember my arch-nemesis "False Narrative" is always lurking around the corner. Just Google the the words "Roberto Luongo big game". Here's a small sample of results:

Roberto Luongo Chokes in Big Game| CorruptCamel.com

Jun 16, 2011 – Interview foreshadows Roberto Luongo's game 7 collapse.

Canucks' Roberto Luongo has another shot to build reputation in ...

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo has a reputation for coming up small in big games. Is it deserved? Check out his history facing elimination. ...

Roberto Luongo and the Worst Big-Game Goalies in NHL History ...

May 8, 2011 – Oh goalies. They have the hardest job on the ice at times it seems, and they are always the first ones we blame for a horrible loss.

 Roberto Luongo's 'Big Game' History | Yardbarker.com

Feb 23, 2010 – Filed under: Ice Hockey, CanadaYou knew somebody was going to take the fall for Team Canada's loss to the United States, and it's going to ...

So where is this narrative coming from?

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"I took the part of the villain because everyone remembers the villain." David Prowse on playing Darth Vader over Chewbacca

Ignoring fan loyalties, who do you expect most people’s favorite active NHL players would be? The list probably looks something like this: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, and so on. A list of the current hockey heroes.

Me? Sean Avery, Chris Pronger, Corey Perry, Tim Jackman, Adam Burish, Steve Ott, and so on. The heels, the villains, the pests. These are the players that make the game worth watching. These guys make it fun and so much more than "just a hockey game".

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The Hart trophy. Every year it inspires a stupid amount of debate. Are goaltenders and defensemen overlooked? Is it the most valuable player relative to his team? Or relative to the league? How awful are the mainstream media voters?

It really bothers me that so often we're left with undeserving winners. We're left with Henrik Sedin winning by virtue of incredibly soft competition and cushy zone starts (not to mention a ton of ice time). We're left with players like Zach Parise putting up 90+ points while playing from the defensive zone a good bit against some heavy hitters and not getting any hardware while other players skate to 130 against nobodies,

It's frustrating, awful, and wrong.

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Narrative is something I’ve mentioned a few times in my previous columns; media narrative specifically. So what exactly is it? What does it means? How does it tie into hockey?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines narrative as "a spoken or written account of connected events; a story". In short, narrative is how you tell the story. In sports, narrative is taking the results of games and connecting them in ways that are generally nonsense. Narrative is telling the story of a rousing speech that inspired the team to a comeback win; narrative is ignoring the speeches that that were given in a deflating loss.

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High Tide Hockey is a weekly column offering insights on various issues and events as well as consistent content. The writer, Arik Knapp, is a member of the USCG and currently stationed in Virginia Beach, VA.

Adrian Aucoin terrifies me. Okay, not the player himself, but the story he tells here as reported by Eric Francis. I know I got on a bit of a soapbox last week regarding suspensions and such, but this is less of a political issue regarding the league, and more of a "be terrified" issue regarding the Flames.

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High Tide Hockey is a weekly column offering insights on various issues and events as well as consistent content. The writer, Arik Knapp, is a member of the USCG and currently stationed in Virginia Beach, VA.

It is time for hits to the head, or hits that cause damage to the head to be eliminated. The NHL just watched its golden goose for making this change walk by and even lay a couple of black and yellow eggs right in front of them.

The damage caused by concussions, both repeated and non-repeated is becoming overwhelmingly known as "awful" "horrible" and "bad", and yet plays are still consistently made where a player ends up in the hospital, Max Pacioretty being the latest casualty.

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High Tide Hockey is a weekly column offering insights on various issues and events as well as consistent content. The writer, Arik Knapp, is a member of the USCG and currently stationed in Virginia Beach, VA.

Leadership. Chemistry. Locker room presence. These are the things with which sports stories are filled. Some praising it, others yelling about the lack thereof.  Recently a few writers around the internet have been talking about how these things don't really exist, or if they do, affect the games. Two of my favorite writers in particular, Derek Zona of The Copper & Blue and Manager Emeritus Kent Wilson, now at Flamesnation have written two particularly solid pieces on the idea of leadership- Kent focusing more on how it's talked about by management and players and the origins of it, and Derek Zona going into why the media loves it so much.

But with all due respect, I disagree. Sort of. Let me explain. On the ice- they are absolutely correct. At the level of the NHL and near it, you pretty much have to be engaged and playing your heart out. "Chemistry" is not going to directly affect play or points. Just because two players don't necessarily get along in the locker room doesn't mean one will choose not to make a perfect pass for a goal to the other. And as far as leadership and chemistry are presented in the media, they are also absolutely correct. So where do I disagree?

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High Tide Hockey is a weekly column offering insights on various issues and events as well as consistent content. The writer, Arik Knapp, is a member of the USCG and currently stationed in Virginia Beach, VA.

"Elite #1 Center" These are the words that still cause Flames fans to drool- even after years of false starts with players such as Olli Jokinen. But how important is an "Elite #1 C"? And what defines that position?

To start with, look at teams that won the Stanley Cup the past, say, 4 years. Or- hell- teams that just made it to the SCF. Last year- Blackhawks and Flyers. Both years before that- Penguins and Red Wings. And even one more year back- Ducks and Senators. It's really easy to look at all of these teams and say "Hey- they've got elite #1 centers! That's what we need!" But what about these centers makes them so good at elevating their entire team's game? Here's the full list of the top centers on all the teams: Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards, Pavel Datsyuk, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, and Jason Spezza. A fairly impressive list- to be sure.

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