via predsnhl

I don’t blog about sports, but early this morning my favourite athlete Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau was knocked off his bicycle and killed along with his younger brother the night before their sister’s wedding. He had just turned 31 years old, married his next door neighbour and had a toddler daughter and a 6 month old son (who were planned to be flower girl and ring bearer at the wedding).

I adored Johnny because he was a such a small streak of lightning in a game full of huge dudes who were regularly a whole foot taller than him. His skills were just fucking phenomenal and he was so exciting to watch. I screamed with joy and cheered him on so loudly I lost my voice on many occasions. He represented his country for International Competitions and is the highest US point scorer.

I could get technical and talk about my favourite goals of his, his stickhandling, dangles, on ice spatial awareness etc but it is all on film for anyone to see, just too much to choose from. Nobody moved like Johnny Hockey.

As a person he was a sweet, kind guy who was universally liked in the sport and beyond. I do not follow celebrities on social media, but on hockey forums there are endless stories of his voracious love of mac and cheese (so much so Kraft put him in a TV ad) and skittles candies that he had a hockey stick covered in them and auctioned for charity.

In interviews he always talked hockey and his family. Whenever asked about new contracts and paycheques he would just shrug and say ‘yeah I bought my dad a boat so we can go fishing’ or ‘I just got a cool new wheelchair lift installed in my holiday home so my cousin can come and spend time with me’, or change the subject and talk about his dog, his wife and kids or The Birds. He was a real gem of a gentleman, modest and always ready to give credit to his team and dad (legendary NJ coach Guy Gaudreau) who motivated Johnny to skate as a toddler by placing skittles candies on the ice for him to fetch.

I’m am so sad for him, his family. This is just a blurb of feels about someone I counted down the days for until I could see them make magic on ice. I wish I could write a good tribute, dammit. Thank you Johnny Hockey.

this moment in pens history will stay rent free in my mind forever but

mostly for this…for them…

└igor doing everything himself | ecf: game six: 6.1.24

Igor I’m so sorry

panthers/oilers stanley cup final feels like the final season of a tv show where online fans have been cyberbullying the showrunners about their ship for years

connor it MAY be for u to unite the country through sport but for me it’s to fuel my hatred and to dunk on the other team

He said this

In English

hockey player names that sound fake range from a scale of “made up by that one japanese baseball video game team who had to generate an entire roster of american-sounding names” to “made up by a romance writer dipping their toes into hockey erotica for the first time.” i call this the rutger mcgroarty—jack st. ivany scale

TROUBA REDEEMED NEVER DOUBTED (LIE)

i lied.

pregame warmups | canucks @ wild | 04.21.22

Evergreen meme