It’s been about a week since I last stepped on the ice — which, since back around the time when rinks opened back up towards the end of 2020, is kind of a big gap for me. The ol’ “if you don't use it, you lose it” proverb rings truer every year towards what will be my inevitable beer league retirement. Don’t worry though, I'll hit a couple of pick-up skates this week and be back to my average self, after all, I treated myself to some new wheels that I need to finish breaking in. Had to dive in on those Dark Friday deals. 

When we decided to jump back into Crease, we were more than ready. We effectively sat on our hands for more than two years between issues; a lot of that was out of our control due to the state of things in our society and our personal lives. We also welcomed this time while we figured out how to move this project forward. Like we said before, the idea, the message, and the POV wouldn’t change — but the scope has. 

Our updated vision started to round out after our relaunch, and we’re excited to get into producing our next issue, which will be wrapped up shortly. We’re also looking forward to helping out some friends outside of Crease find new angles and storytelling with their 2025 marketing plans. And if our merch selection has piqued your interest, we’re cross-seaming some awesome new gear that you can wear while you’re crushing beers in the parking lot with the boys this spring.

So as the NHL season has begun to show its true colors of who is good, who sucks, and whose roster and management is about to get a shakeup (mostly teams that start with an “N”... mostly), we’re excited to get into it and make some plays next year.

Time off can also be a helpful tool when endeavoring in creative outlets, hobbies, or exercise — sometimes the burners need to rest a little before you can get the fire going again. So, as those of us living in ODR climates feel the freeze, and those of us who don’t wait for the public skate schedule to die back down so we can get back to it, we’re happy to be back out here. Thanks for being a part of the team.