Hello again, hockey fans, and welcome to another edition of "The View From the Booth." Has summer just flown by or what? It really did for me. To be honest, I'm glad it's September and we're now just a little more than a month away from the start of the season.

October 8th, the night of our season opener against the Syracuse Crunch, will be here before we know it. The work for that game has already started in earnest for everyone on our hockey staff. There's a feeling in the building of great excitement for October 8th to get here.

That night on the broadcast side we will have a special look at hockey history in Cleveland with a two-part feature with some of the greats from Cleveland’s storied hockey history. Earlier this week I had the pleasure of sitting down with five men who are part of the hockey history here in Cleveland. Those five are Jock Callander, Bill Needham, Wayne Muloin, Ron Ward and Phil Simon. All of the guys were great to talk with.

We talked about the old times and how hockey continues to be alive and well here in Cleveland. If you can't make it to our opener, make sure you listen on the radio side or watch on the TV side to see the finished product of the features with the five men I mentioned as they will give their memories and perspective on hockey in Cleveland over the years.

I thought it was only right to go to those five men who have seen and been through so much of the history of our great sport in this city. For me, the interview sessions with those five were a great learning experience and many of the stories they shared are fascinating. There's just something about talking to men who played the game many years ago; they love to relive the memories and share their great stories. And trust me, the guys I had the chance to interview Wednesday all have plenty of memories and great stories. Many of them you will be able to hear on the radio side of our broadcasts throughout the season.

Colorado Avalanche training camp is two weeks away and training camp for the Monsters will start in a month in Strongsville. And I can say with pride that I will be able to attend both camps. I'm very, very excited for both! I will get a couple of days in suburban Denver with the full squad and staff. We will be able to bring you many stories and features back to Cleveland with several of the Avs players and coaches that spend countless hours of training and working right here in Cleveland before moving up to the show with the Avalanche.

I'm really excited to be able to attend what will be my first NHL training camp. I've heard great stories about camp, but to witness it in person is something I'm really looking forward to. I'm anxious to watch the battles that go on in camp, to see the guys fighting for jobs, and watch them do anything and everything to keep their spot on the big club’s roster. We will also have several items on our website from Denver so you can keep tabs on your favorite Monsters and Avs players. Stay tuned for more details on that!

As I mentioned last week, work is still being done to finalize our TV and radio plans for the coming season. At this point I can tell you this: Once it's done, I think every one of our fans will love what our staff has done to give our fans the best coverage our team has seen in the four years of its existence. I will keep you posted on that in the coming days and weeks.

If you're in need of tickets for our opener, you can always call our hockey offices at 216-420-0000 and any of our great staff will be able to help you out with whatever you need involving the Monsters.

Until next week, have a great holiday weekend and make sure to click on our website at least once a day for the latest and greatest news on the Monsters.

GO MONSTERS!!

Sincerely,

Ben Holden