Chicago Wolves Hockey

As mentioned in my previous blog, we had our first road trip of the year last week.  Overall, it was a good weekend, we obviously didn’t get two wins, but we did end with a split.  

Many of you probably know how the weekend went and were able to watch the game or at least find out the scores, so I’m not going to bother recapping the on-ice details. I want the purpose of my blog to give you, the fans, a glimpse of what happens away from the rink.

For Starters, I’m Canadian. One of the perks of playing a Canadian team is the fact that you have a chance to be back in your home country.  It’s always nice to grab some dinner from a familiar restaurant or visit places that are local to the area.  Anyone from Canada will tell you that Tim Hortons is a landmark establishment across the country. So, you could imagine my excitement when I landed in Vancouver, after a four hour plane ride, and the first restaurant I see is a beautiful Tim Hortons.  Unfortunately, the excitement diminished rather quickly, because the service was not up to par.  I was one of the first to order and I decided to go with a Panini Sandwich and a side donut, obviously.  Sure enough, orders start coming out and I’m a little concerned that the people behind me had gotten their order first, but I had my donut so I wasn’t about to panic yet.  But then the same thing continued to happen as order after order came out and still my sandwich was a no-show!! At this point I was pretty fired up about the situation and couldn’t believe that Timmy’s had let me down.   Finally, after almost 25 minutes of waiting and having to eventually re-order the sandwich, I received my Panini.  By that time, the excitement had worn off and the sandwich seemed average.  Come on, Tim’s…. You Are Better Than This!!!!!  

Fortunately, our team dinner that night at the Cactus Club made me soon forget about the Tim Hortons debacle.  The food, service and of course the company there was excellent.  A chance for the booooyss to relax after a long travel day, share some food, drinks, laughs and enjoy the Canadian scenery.  It gives us players a chance to share funny stories of each other’s past and share our thoughts on various topics like discussing why Apple products are the best with Bill Sweatt. What’s interesting about hockey is that in the hockey world you soon discover that there is about four degrees of separation between you and any other hockey player in the world.  The hockey world truly is a small one!

This is why road trips can be so important in creating a close atmosphere amongst the team.  It begins to feel more like a family and thanks to our great organization, we are provided with various opportunities that give us the chance to hang out amongst our teammates and form the necessary bonds that can last a lifetime.  

On a side note, the return plane ride home was a bit of a grind for me.  I was in the middle of heated game on my Ipad with Yann Sauve, when I got a bit excited and knocked an entire glass of water onto my lap.  Of course I was wearing a grey suit, so the water splotch was very noticeable, which made the location of the spill that much more unfortunate.  Definitely had a flashback of kindergarten class.  Fair to say some of the boys had a good chuckle as I spent the next two hours sitting on a blanket and attempting to dry off using a napkin.  Thankfully it was only water as I wish I could say that this was the first time that this I had spilt my drink on a plane! Helpful Tip: Don’t fall asleep with your drink still on your tray.