There's a part of us that feels a little sad for Mike Comrie. He had a strong season and led the New York Islanders in points, only to see the Isles fail to make the postseason cut. This meant that while many of his peers would move on to play for the Stanley Cup, Comrie would be playing the role of fashion accessory/squeeze toy for his celebrity girlfriend, singer/actress Hilary Duff.

Hey, look, it's Comrie with the Sisters Duff shopping at high-end New York fashion boutiques! (Avery = jealous.) Hey, it's Comrie and Hilary sharing a public smooch! Hey, it's Comrie and Duff at the premiere of her new movie, "War, Inc."! Not sure who wears the pants in this relationship, but notice there isn't a shot of these guys walking out of a Home Depot or a video game store.

We kid, of course, because it's obvious Comrie is crazy about his lady. Crazy to the tune of a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz G-class SUV, as we discovered last year.

But here's the coolness about Hilary Duff: Unlike some other prominent hockey wives/girlfriends who feel the need to act like a pseudo-expert and trash other fan bases, Duff appears to truly be a burgeoning puckhead. She got into hockey because of her beau, and now she actually digs the game. From People magazine:

"[Hockey] has kind of been a new obsession," Duff told PEOPLE at Monday night's premiere of her new film, War, Inc. "When I'm in New York, I'm going to hockey games a lot."

Duff took a load of grief when it was discovered she was learning the game with a "Hockey for Dummies" book. Hey, at least the girl's trying. Any celebrity who claims to be obsessed with hockey, hangs in the stands with guys in orange clown wigs, had the good sense to turn down that "90210" remake and is (admittedly) easy on the eyes is OK in our book.

We're glad to count her among the Islanders' collection of celebrity fans ... well, until Comrie goes UFA in 2009 at least.

Related: Hockey Fans, When Hockey and Hollywood Collide