Good morning, Calgary

Good morning, Calgary, and good morning, imaginatively named Calgary Tower.

The 626-foot structure that stands next to our hotel opened in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the Husky Tower as part of a downtown redevelopment project undertaken by Marathon Realty and Husky Oil. The shaft was constructed by a continual pour of concrete that began on May 15, 1967 and concluded 24 days later in what is considered to be a major engineering feat. The structure is designed to withstand earthquakes and the much more frequent heavy winds that affect the region – there is a reason why Lethbridge’s WHL team was named the Hurricanes – and features a pair of observation decks and a restaurant with a revolving floor.

Atop an adjacent building there are air conditioning devices masquerading as Munter’s units. We are not fooled by your forgeries, Calgary.

The team arrived in Calgary shortly before 5:00 local time on Tuesday after a bumpy approach that didn’t transfer well onto video. The afternoon light provided a fine view of the downtown area to those of us on the left side of the aircraft.

HIGHLIGHTED LOCAL ARTIST. I saw Tegan and Sara at the 2010 Sasquatch Festival. They took the main stage at The Gorge Amphitheatre late in the afternoon on the second day of the three-day fest and kept our attention well enough before that evening’s musical acts – LCD Soundsystem, Pavement and Massive Attack among them – brought the intensity up a notch. I know there are those with strong attachments to the indie folk duo, but the most formed memory from their set that I can recall was that Tegan (or was it Sara?) called out to the crowd “WHEN I SAY TEGAN, YOU SAY SARA! TEGAN! (Saraaaaaaaa!) TEGAN! (Saraaaaaaaaaa!)” and so forth.

They recently played BC Place during the 2014 Heritage Classic.

Keep in mind that tonight’s puck drop will take place shortly after 7:00 p.m. PT, and that the game will be broadcast on KCOP-13. Tyler Toffoli will be my guest on the bench during Kings Live. Los Angeles will take the ice at 11:30 a.m. MT for the morning skate. More to come between now and then.