One of my girlfriends south of the border once asked me, "Do you know EVERYONE in hockey?" And while I will admit I do know a lot of people, or at least have crossed paths with them, no, I do not know everybody. But everybody in hockey knows everybody by proxy. I cannot remember the last time I watched an NHL game and didn't at least know someone who played with someone on a team. Or they know some buddy of mine I met at some charity game in rural Alberta or at some dive arena in Trois-Rivieres. Here's a little story about someone I don't know personally, but who did play with two very integral people in my life.
Tonight, I was watching the VanCity/Smashville game and while I'm cheering for Van, I had to give a little cheer when Joel Ward scored for the Preds. Likely, your first thought was "who the eff is Joel Ward?" Last week, I was hanging out at a bar in Sault Ste. Marie (small town Canada ... choc full of hockey players, rinks, stories, and good tales for when you meet Tyler Kennedy ... 'i was drinking at this bar in the Soo once...') and I was watching Nashville/Anaheim and heard the announcers say "Joel Ward back for Shane O'Brien" and instead of "who the heck is that" I thought "what the heck is Joel Ward doing on the Nashville Predators!?" (I don't watch Nashville games ... ever. He's been there for two years.)
The natural progression of hockey kinda works like this. If you're "legit sick" as the hockey lads like to say, you'll likely get drafted to major junior as an underager. In the OHL you can play your first year if you're drafted in the first or second round. If you're really good, you'll get drafted when you're 18 to the NHL, and never see a day of American Hockey League action. That happens for people like Sidney Crosby, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and for a d-man or goalie is pretty much impossible. Anyway, for everyone else, after you finish major junior, if you have a brain, and can pass school, a Canadian University team will usually pick you up, the Canadian Hockey League pays for your school, you go for a few years, usually end up riding the buses for a few years in the U-Haul, Central League or some other bushleague, or overseas in Europe. And then hang em up.
Not Joel Ward, boy. He played for the first team I ever cheered for in the history of my life as a hockey fan (there's a small group of people I have a huge soft spot for, and I think he may be one of the only ones that's still playing from that team) ... he went on to play out his University career at UPEI, finished his four years at school and then got signed on with Minnesota's farm team, the Hoston Aeros. From there he worked his way into the NHL and later ended up in Smashville. This is an insane story, and the chances of this happening are next to nothing. But shit like this is why you meet these guys who are nearing 30, missing teeth and still riding the buses in semi-pro leagues making five hundy a week. Because on some flukey right-place-right-time chance, these things do happen for a select few. And like Roy MacGregor said, "The dream never dies; it simply begins again each winter."
Congrats to Joel on his goal tonight. Sorry Smashville, but I'm rootin' for Vancouver for the Cup this year. Them or Tampa. Gotta get behind MY hometown boys, Raffi Torres, Cody Hodgson, Steve Stamkos, and Tampa's director of player personnel (whom I had a chat with in an elevator at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg) Steve Thomas.
You can read more about Wardy's gino tonight here.
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