A note of blog thanks for a fun run

FOLKS. It’s time to get sentimental.

It’s me, your faithful Blogger-In-Chief, and I figured it was important to use some valuable bandwidth to thank all of you readers for making this a fun run for all of us.

We started covering this season with links to streams for the preseason games in China, and ended it with our poor Adam Denhard sitting through the entirety of Game 7 from the press box...he is a trooper for sitting through that one in person.

One of the first posts I wrote after the regular season officially began was this one, about the Bruins suffering what was the worst season-opening loss in franchise history. NOT IDEAL.

The season started with embarrassment and ended with disappointment, but what happened in between was filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, and ultimately, a lot of great stuff.

Over the course of the season, the community of commenters here got stronger. During the playoffs, it wasn’t uncommon for Public Skates to get more than 1,000 comments, which is nuts. And while all of you have your not-so-nice moments, for the most part, the comments and interactions on the posts were part of what made the site fun.

In case it’s not clear, no one here is making a living off of this site. Those who are at least getting pocket change deserve more, but (speaking only for myself) it’s easier to handle that stuff when your work is getting seen, discussed, etc.

I like to think we’re able to provide stuff here that you can’t get anywhere else, and that makes me incredibly grateful to all of my editors and writers. Stuff that stands out includes (but is certainly not limited to):

• Shawn’s awesome in-depth tactics preview of the Toronto series
• Colin’s outstanding statistical looks at the goalie battle
• Sky’s analysis of Tin Cup whiskey
• Adam’s role as a regular on the 9th Floor of the Garden
• Nathan’s coverage of the craziness that went down in the women’s professional game

I suppose what this boils down to is pretty simple: thank you for reading and for being a part of the site.

We’ve been breaking traffic records for a few years now, and it’s all because of the great contributions and hard work of Sky, Adam, Chris (Mr. Streamable!), Jake, Colin, Shawn, Cam, Giesse, Matt, Nathan, Erin, Steven (a late-season acquisition), and more...the list goes on.

This season saw increased Providence coverage, more stats, more game coverage, more everything, really, and the community responded.

Normally, I wouldn’t feel compelled to bring it up, but after the two-month roller coaster ride we all just went on, it felt appropriate...so thanks.

Heading into the summer, we’ll have some draft stuff, free agency stuff, player grades, and more coming up at some point. It might be a bit light in the coming days as everyone unwinds from the season ending, but don’t think we’re going to bail for the summer.

As is always the case, I’m open to feedback on what you’d like to see more (or less) of, and I’m always open to sharing your opinions with the larger site. Some of you have written post-long comments...just email me and we’ll get your thoughts on the site as their own post. COMMUNITY.

So again, thank you for reading and for making this a fun place to be. Here’s to a good summer, and to a season that ends on a winning note next June.