Snowman On Fire

Patrick Roy notices talent, which is how Benjamin Rubin, an Orthodox Jewish hockey player, ended up on the Montreal Remparts. This is really cool. Jeff Halpern got us noticed, Max Birbraer put Israel on the NHL map, and now Rubin can truly prove that hockey is for everyone.

Got an email from Kathryn Bertine, former ice skater, ice show skater, and very funny writer, about her deal with ESPN to pen a column chronicaling her quest to compete in the Beijing Olympics. She’s published one more sports book than me, used to skate at the rink in Colorado that used to bear my company’s logo, and she answers her own email. Good buying signs for her work: the column is a great read.

Patrik Elias is going for the hat trick of goodness. First he recovered from Hepatitis A, led all Devils scorers in the playoffs, and demonstrated team leadership that put the tail and horns atop the Atlantic Division with a late-season push. Second, he showed loyalty and put team above wallet in signing a 7-year deal with the Devils, rather than absorbing his maximum value as a free agent this summer. He had us all sleeping much better at night in our Devils sheets, comforters and t-shirts.

The most current news is that Elias has signed on with UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador, providing some of his own money, signed items, and other goodies to be auctioned off in the next few weeks.

This isn’t news for Elias followers, since Patrik has been immensely supportive of one of his childhood friends who was badly hurt in a hockey related accident, and he’s always available for autograph seekers, well-wishers and fans of all shapes and sizes.

First day of school means the first day of ice hockey. It truly mirrors the academic year, with “graduates” entering the NHL draft in June and rookies showing up for camp in September. It’s open season for puck heads starting today.

We have our first youth practice on Thursday night, which is coincidentally the first day of public school in our town. I’ll host my annual parent meeting, at which I state my four goals for the season, in increasing order of importance.

First, play competitive hockey against our full range of opponents. I used to say “play 0.500 hockey”, but it sounded like I was encouraging mediocrity from the outset of the season. I’m not. As team manager, I try hard to schedule games against some weaker opponents and some teams that are better than I think we will be at that particular point in the season. You only improve by playing teams at least as good as you are. So goal number one is to play up to every one of our games, which should result in an overall record (counting non-league and tournament games) that is about even.

Second, represent our club well in the three tournaments in which we’ll be playing. This doesn’t mean “win gold” or “make the finals”; it means that we act like ambassadors of our youth hockey club on and off the ice. We are privileged to use the NHL Devils logo and marks, and like it or not, that frequently brings out a fiercer level of competition in tournaments. We have no formal relationship with the “big Devils”, aside from the same crests on the sweaters, but it’s a loose association of which we’re proud. We’ll play hard, we’ll play as a team, we’ll treat tournament organizers, officials and opponents with full respect, and we’ll try hard not to annoy too many other non-hockey playing hotel guests (there should be a disclaimer in tournament hotels during busy weekends, but that’s another blog).

Third, we will develop, demonstrate and demand good sportsmanship in everything that we do. “Sportsmanship” has a broader connotation for me; it’s not merely “playing the game well” but putting in every effort so that we are always aware of our roles as parents, coaches, managers, and players involved in youth sports. It means showing up for practice on time, and working hard on every drill, because you play the game the same way you practice it. It means keeping your cool if you get clipped from behind by a first year Pee Wee who mis-timed his first check along the boards in a big game. It means we support the referees, coaches and staff (trainers, administrators, registrars, schedulers, and league officials) who make every game possible, even if we don’t like or agree with their decisions or actions at the time.

Fourth, and most important, we’ll have fun. That’s the whole point of youth sports. If you do something expecting a return or a result, that’s a job. If you participate because it’s fun and you love the activity and the camaraderie and even the early morning coffees in outdoor rinks when the mercury is in the single digits, then you’re in good company. My son probably couldn’t recall the scores of any of the four tournament games we played in Lake Placid last spring (we lost all four of them), but he does remember sitting in front of the sign for the Prague Motor Inn and laughing because everything about that out-of-place residence captures what we love about our winter sport: our favorite Czech player (Patrik Elias), goofy hotels, father-son time in the car together, and stories we can repeat over and over.

Willie Stargell, original snowman and instigator of the #8 tradition in our family used to say “It’s supposed to be fun. The man says ‘Play ball’ not ‘Work ball’”.

School is here again, and it’s play time.