I love the NHL. It’s crazy. I love the NHL.

Hockey seems to be a somewhat more acceptable sport for women to be fans of; probably because if you were born Canadian and you’re a good Canadian girl, you’re pretty much required to love hockey. And to me, the NHL has all the action, drama, heroes and villains that you could find in any prime-time TV show (and we ain’t talking ProStars). In fact, I was just saying to a friend the other day how the NHL is just rife with reality-TV plotlines. And I would totally watch it, oh yes I would.

Speaking of drama and (un)intentional hilarity, I present to you James Van Riemsdyk: second-choice draft pick overall for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007. In the words of my colleague over at Best Pucking Bets: “He’s underage, but he’s supposed to be in shape and getting good grades. Instead, he’s passing out at parties with cocks drawn on him.” Behold:

The Flyers must be so proud.  (I particularly enjoy the “NHL!” scrawl. Cheer up, young Van Riemsdyk, you might turn out to be the next Kyle Wellwood!)

Something better for Philadelphia to look forward to: their match with the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night. The game looks like it’ll definitely be tilting in Philly’s favor — watch for the NHL lines to confirm it. In the meantime, there’s some great Devils vs Penguins odds, which is definitely a no-brainer since Brodeur’s still out on injury and Sid the Kid is finally looking up to form. The Pens are 13-8 against the spread, you say? I’m liking those odds as much as I like the Penguins,a Northbet Favorite, which is to say: a whole lot.

Keep warm if you’re on the ice this weekend! I’m going to heat things up with this sweet pic of goaltending ubercutie Vesa Toskala:

Toronto media can shut their yaps. Finns always do it better.