Hello, again, friends. It's been about 2 years since I've visited this site on a regular basis and man....has it changed. As some of you may or may not remember, I spent the last 18 months as a Marketing employee with the Wings, specifically working on Youth Hockey and Fan Development. It was an amazing 18 months and I have some priceless experiences as a result. However, I have recently enrolled in a graduate school program at San Diego State to hopefully accelerate my rise through the ranks in the sports industry.

As such, my time with the Wings is over, and I get to return to being simply a fan. So, I will now be back to frequenting the game threads (when I can, since the Eastern time zone games will now be during the work day) and visiting the site regularly.

So, with that, I've prepared a list of 5 "bold predictions" for this abbreviated hockey season. Some of them may not be so "bold", but whatever. Without further ado, my 5 predictions:

1. The Wings do not win the Central, but continue their incredible playoff run, finishing second in the division behind Chicago.

2. The Wings will win their first-round playoff matchup, against a top 3 Western Conference team, but lose in the second round.

3. At least one of Nyquist, Tatar, and Jurco will get regular playing time. Smith will be an everyday defenseman.

4. The Wings will be active (i.e. more than a supporting piece) at the trade deadline for the first time in a long time.

5. Petr Mrazek gets his first NHL win.

It is great to be back on the blog and I look forward to the season! Go Wings!