To conclude what has been a whirlwind of a week (a very successful one for my labor of love, this blog, and a fulfilling one personally, as I got to celebrate the marriage of a long-time friend) covering the bulk of the Lightning’s prospect development camp, I have decided to accept an invitation to join BoltProspects, effective immediately, as a staff writer. My role there is still yet to be fully defined but I will definitely be doing features and providing a local presence who can utilize the media contacts BP already has on a fairly regular basis in order to enhance the site’s coverage and analysis.

This exciting opportunity came extremely unexpected but I didn’t hesitate to join such a respected site and collaborate with the brain-trust there (Timothy Bennett, Pete Choquette and Chad Schnarr). It was made very clear that joining BP was not an all-or-nothing proposition; the extent of my involvement was up to me to decide, which I appreciated greatly as I have spent a considerable amount of time and energy (and a little bit of $) developing this site–always intended as a supplement, not a competitor, to the fine work being done elsewhere–which had only recently really gained traction.

Though suspending my coverage here was not a condition to joining BP, I think doing so is the right decision. It has been fun operating this site as a one-man show but with a full-time career and a substantial life change (my wife is presently 6-months pregnant with our first child) on the way, I’m going to write exclusively for BP. Perhaps down the road I’ll figure out how I’d like to utilize this space for Lightning-related writing interests that don’t detract from my work there and resume publishing from here; that possibility always remains.

I will, however, continue to update certain information: the Lightning schedule, roster, prospects, contracts, free agents and history. The other chief purpose I intended this site to serve was as a repository of Lightning-related information, a sort of one-stop shop for Lightning fans instead of having to seek out multiple sources. This vision and some of these features will be added to BoltProspects in the future but they will be maintained here regardless now.

I thank all of you who had begun to frequent this small-but-growing site, those of you who contacted me and paid me compliments. I hope you keep the site bookmarked and look forward to my pending work with BP.

Sincerely,

Mike