They call it back-to-school lunchbox treats, but it's still just giant boxes of Hallowe'en chocolate bars in the stores already. In better news, the tomatoes are showing up in quantity:

Tomato Recipes | The Mediterranean Dish
Looking for summer tomato recipes? Find our 52 best fresh tomato recipes, with tomato salads, pastas, cold soups, freezer meals and more.
The Mediterranean DishSuzy Karadsheh

There is some hockey news, wow:

OHL Celebrates David Branch at 2024 Board of Governors Meetings - Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League celebrated David Branch’s 45 years of leadership and dedication at the 2024 OHL Board of Governors Meetings in Niagara on the Lake.
Ontario Hockey LeagueJosh Sweetland

This is cool:

Baby:

This is not a bad summation of the situation for hockey at the Olympics:

Men’s Ice Hockey for the 2026 Winter Olympics at a Glance Before Qualification
At the end of this month, the final qualification games for men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in Slovakia, Latvia, and Denmark. Ahead of these huge games, this post looks at how Olympic qualification even was decided and even addresses the Russian factor.
All About The JerseyJohn Fischer

Do you like academic studies? Try this one which looked at a small number of young players to see what off-ice measures seem to matter:

Frontiers | The relationship between off-ice testing and on-ice performance in male youth Ice hockey players
IntroductionIce hockey demands a unique blend of physical fitness and skill, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing on-ice pe…
FrontiersMark S. Rice

I believed that the draft rights held by the Leafs for Veeti Miettinen and Mike Koster were due to expire on August 15. Elite Prospects still lists Koster as an unsigned prospect, but Miettinen, who is playing in the Liiga this coming season, is no longer under the Maple Leaf umbrella.

I miss Cap Friendly.

Vegas Golden Knights announce first fan engagement trip to Mexico
The Vegas Golden Knights are heading south for the first time.The team on Friday announced “LosVGK en México,” a series of hockey clinics and fan activations pl
KSNVNews 3 Staff

Have a good weekend, everyone. The Week 2 T25 summary goes out on Saturday, and we'll be back Monday with a new person to argue about.

From The Branches