The EJ Experience

Well, Devils fans, it's over. The Taylor Hall era is over. And to be honest, it really did not go the way any of us imagined it would on July 29, 2016. Sure, Hall may have been traded a couple of hours ago for D Kevin Bahl, Fs Nick Merkley and Nate Schnarr, a 2020 1st rounder, and a conditional 2021 draft pick. Some Devils fans are, how do I put this, a little disinterested in the return for the 2018 Hart Trophy winner. Especially from Arizona, who is chock full of good prospects and roster players. Other teams that reportedly checked in on T-Hall were the Blues, Panthers, Bruins, and Canadiens. The Avalanche, who were reportedly one of the front runners the entire time, never even made an offer. I get it, nobody wanted Taylor Hall to leave. I didn't want Taylor Hall to leave. The man poured his heart and soul into New Jersey and to the Devils, a place where he might not have necessarily wanted to be. Everybody would rather go to the Rangers or Islanders than the Devils. ...

I've always loved Halloween Season. Not as much of the dressing up part as much as just getting candy and the aura of skeletons and pumpkins and other scary touches. Ghosts are fun too. Especially ghosts that run a haunted house. A ghost host, if you will. You know where you have a ghost host? The Haunted Mansion, a staple at Disneyland since 1969 and at Walt Disney World since 1971. I love The Haunted Mansion. Whenever you hear the name Haunted Mansion, chances are good you think of the ride and not the bad movie with Eddie Murphy. I'm guessing that if you have been to any Disney park, you have been on the Haunted Mansion. It's pretty hard to miss, with the size of the attraction and the amount of websites telling you that it is a Disney classic attraction. And they're right. It is a Disney classic attraction. But why? What's the love affair with a simple ride that tours you through a haunted house? Well, that's what I'm going to get to the bottom o...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 2, 2019) Finally, hockey has come back ladies and gentlemen! It’s been a hot minute but the best sport in the world is finally back upon us. Next week, 31 teams begin the arduous process of trying to win the Stanley Cup. Luckily for you guys, I was able to give my thoughts and predictions for each playoff team and placement for this upcoming season. Let the arguing begin! KEY: p – Best Record in the NHL z – Best Record in Conference y – Division Champion x – Playoff Spot EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic: p – Tampa Bay Lightning –  Easily the most talented roster in the league. With Point back and Kucherov and Stamkos hopefully remaining healthy, the Bolts should have this division in the bag. If Vasilevskiy keeps up his form from last year, he’ll have a serious chance to win back to back Vezinas. Now with the additions of Kevin Shattenkirk and Pat Maroon, Tampa’s chance at a Stanley Cup only strengthens. Anything less than a cup hois...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 27, 2019) There is something about D23 Expo that makes me happy on the inside. I do not know what it is, but there is a certain feel among Disney fans when the Expo comes around. Of course, the highlight is always the Disney Parks and Resorts announcements. We have had Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, and other major projects unveiled at the panel. This year was no different. So, what did we get this time around? Bob Chapek came out to, well, a mixed reaction to say the least. He then detailed Star Wars Land and it’s success, and said that Disney park attendees said that they wanted more storytelling in the parks. That was a common theme of this year’s D23: storytelling. Whether it be what was announced for Disney+ or for what was coming to the parks, Disney wanted to hammer home the point of storytelling. He starts off by announcing a daytime parade for Disneyland called Magic Happens. This will be a parade with new floats and new charac...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 4, 2019) It has now been one month since the Brooklyn Nets made an offseason coup and were able to obtain Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Not only that, but the LA Clippers won the services of Kawhi Leonard by acquiring Paul George. Even the Lakers, who lost out on many of the top free agents, made up for it by getting Anthony Davis via a trade on Father’s Day. That left the New York Knicks in the dust. As a big market team, New York felt like the only one that did not make a major splash in the offseason. Their fans were none too pleased and it felt like more sadness was on its way to Madison Square Garden. After dwelling on my thoughts of how Scott Perry and crew dealt with the offseason, I came to one conclusion: Relax, Knicks fans. You will be okay. Did the Knicks “win” the offseason? By no means. I am fully aware of the fact that 3 teams in the Atlantic Division did more in the past few months than the Knicks did. The Sixers fan in me is not s...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 24, 2019) (SPOILER WARNING: THIS WAY OF EJ POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 OF STRANGER THINGS. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE SEASON AND DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED, WAIT UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE FINISHED THE SEASON TO READ THE ARTICLE) I will be the first to tell you about how good of a show Netflix has on their hands with Stranger Things. For me, one summer truly has changed everything. Is it the best season the show has had so far? Tough to say. There were definitely moments in Season 3 that made me smile, yet at the same time several times I was left scratching my head at what was being presented in front of me. With that out of the way, I have made a list of pros and cons about the most recent season of Stranger Things. So grab your Eggos and put your yellow hazmat suits on, it’s time to take a trip into the Upside Down. Pro – The Marketing I might as well start off with one of the biggest pluses of Season 3 for me, and I did not even have t...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 27, 2019) If you think that the NHL free agent class is stacked, then you must not have seen the list of names that headline this year’s NBA class. And how could you not? With all stars and faces of the league on the open market, the NBA landscape could take a complete 180 by Opening Night. This will be done similarly to my NHL free agent list, whereas I will give a list of names and their destination. Simple and quick. The Full List: Kevin Durant – New York Knicks Kyrie Irving – Brooklyn Nets DeMarcus Cousins – Boston Celtics Kemba Walker – Dallas Mavericks Klay Thompson – Golden State Warriors Derrick Rose – Minnesota Timberwolves Isaiah Thomas – Boston Celtics Kristaps Porzingis – Dallas Mavericks Kawhi Leonard – Toronto Raptors Brook Lopez – New Orleans Pelicans Vince Carter – Toronto Raptors Jimmy Butler – Philadelphia 76ers D’Angelo Russell – Minnesota Timberwolves Khris Middleton – Milwaukee Bucks Nikola Vucevic – ...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 25, 2019) Ah yes, July 1 is right around the corner, ladies and gentlemen. That means all available free agents can sign wherever they want! Sing it with me: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No takers? Alright then. With the magical date rapidly approaching, many people have asked me to predict where the top NHL free agents will end up. Now I am not going into detail as to why I think each player will sign where I have them going, because it would take me until July 1 to get that done. Also, do not fret, NBA fans. Your free agent prediction primer will be coming later in the week. This list will be done in order of highest contract last season. The 2019 NHL Free Agent List: Corey Perry – Edmonton Oilers Jason Spezza – Ottawa Senators Sergei Bobrovsky – Florida  Panthers Dion Phaneuf – Toronto Maple  Leafs Artemi Panarin – New York Rangers Matt Duchene – Nashville Predators Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks Semyon Var...

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 14, 2019) It’s NHL Draft time, and the previous NHL season just flew by. Congrats to the Blues on their first ever Stanley Cup. Now go party down Market Street. You’ve earned it. Back to the point, I felt like it was just last week that Buffalo took Rasmus Dahlin 1st overall. So, just like that, I have to make my next NHL mock draft. Please note that I will only be elaborating on the top 10 picks, as the ones past that are a total pick’em. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we? 1. New Jersey Devils – C Jack Hughes (USA U18) I do not know why there is still debate at this point. Hughes is everything the Devils need and more. A franchise player for years to come, Jack Hughes broke several scoring records for Team USA’s 18 and under team. Records once held by players such as Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, and Auston Matthews. Jack Hughes has topped them all. New Jersey needs a center quite badly; Zajac is quite old and Nico is not developed enough to...