Am I the only one who missed the memo that said the NHL is now looking to Beer Leagues in the Grande Prairie area for potential draftees? I hope not, because that sounds like something Gary Bettman would potentially consider. It seems to me that every guy who didn’t go any further than midget aged hockey that can somewhat skate, shoot and pass (and I use the term somewhat very loosely) must have recieved that letter in the mail. Of course, I played in the prestigious Northwest Junior Hockey League, so I know that Junior B was my last shot at competitive hockey, besides Senior A. But these guys just dont see it that way, which sometimes can get quite annoying. Not that I don’t mind a little competition in hockey, rather a lot, but there is a limit to the amount that should be had in a rec game. With no refs, fans and certainly no scouts, I sometimes wonder what the hell these guys are trying to prove. I mean all macho shit aside, I’m playing in this league to have fun and drink a few beers with my friends, not trying to win every game like its the Stanley Cup Finals. I guess some guys really can’t let go of the dream.
I’ll bet you’re thinking something must have happened to me to tip me over the edge and write an article about all the DB’s that play beer league hockey. Well you would be correct. Twas a cold Wednesday night at the Wembley Stadium. An epic show down of two teams destined for glory, Full Tilt vs. The Mad Dogs. From the start I could tell this was going to be hard fought game, and either team could take the victory. Then I skated out for warm-up and saw the other team. Average age of the other team was about 35.4 and their goalie was horrendous. Now I’m not dissing old guys who play beer league, good on ya, keep playing the game you love. But don’t think you’re ever going to get a shot at the calder trophy at age 38. I’m not even dissing their goalie, who by the way had gotten his equipment from the ’94 bantam team storage locker. Us being a young team I could just tell we wouldn’t have a problem skating all over these guys. The game went on just as I thought, a route for us, and then the ugly stuff started. Apparently when ninety percent of the guys out there dont wear shoulder pads its ok to throw full on body checks. I mean it should be right? I’ll bet the Oilers could use a 29 year old that weighs 260lbs as a fourth line checker. I actually didn’t mind the first one, just kind of shrugged it off. I probably deserved a little something after doing two complete laps in their end, then zig zagging through all their players and dishing it out front for a beauty goal. I mean I would be a little upset too if someone has caused my jock starp to fall to the ice. And having played a competitive hockey before in my day, I can handle a hit. However, the next hit did piss me off a tad. Behind the net in their zone this ape threw all of his 260 odd pounds at me, from behind no less (insert gay joke here). Not appreciating this at all, not in the least, i turned around and threw a pretty solid right cross directly in the nose of the afore mentioned ape. This angered him to the point of dropping his gloves and atttacking me. I didn’t really want to fight, I mean, I thought we were even. Hit for a punch, sounds like a fair trade right? He didn’t think so. Now me having fought in the Jungle B before, I know how to handle myself in a scrap. This guy, right from the moment he grabbed me I could tell, knew nothing about fighting on ice. So me being the good guy that I am, I simply avoided every punch he threw at me and proceeded to slam him onto the ice and end it. After the brou ha ha ended, as we were picking up our gloves and stick and heading off to the dressing room, I noticed a few tears rolling down the cheeks of the ape. He could have had something in both his eyes, been upset he lost to a guy smaller than him, or just plain sad. I guess I’ll never know. All I do know is that I had a Gordie Howe Hat trick, with a few extra goals and assists here and there. I guess I did something right because I got called up to the big squad on account of my performance that night. The Oilers need a physical presence in their line-up this weekend, and I’ll be playing Sunday in the ATL against the Thrashers. Peace up…….A Town down.
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