Yesterday's Friday shinny pre-game conversation surfaced an interesting measure of how much a parent loves their children. It started with some commenting about road trips and the miles that some parents drive over the course of a weekend, season or indeed, for the entire duration of raising children, when said children play rep level hockey. …
Category: dads
A Man and his Son, A Man and his Father, and Me
I skated today for the first time in 9 weeks on this cold bright January morning. I headed off to Vic park early, knowing the rink would be mostly mine, which is for the best as i know I'm in no shape to actually skate with others around me yet. I took my stick and …
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New Stick, Old Stick
I finally got my new stick ready this weekend but I'm worried. I had to borrow a neighbour's hacksaw to cut it down a few inches but when I compared it to my old wand, the curve on the new one just doesn't seem quite right, the way it did in the store. The toe …
High Points
I've had a million moments of joy playing hockey. My memories in this emotional horn of plenty range from my earliest days of having a stick in my hand until present day. My dad claims it started even before that when I was three weeks old. He said that on a particular Saturday night, …
Warm Rink, Cold Rink
I visited my dad this weekend and there is always some wonderful old hockey stories offered up during such visits. This time was no exception. He told me about the old Keene arena that had wooden boards and on winter nights where they had games that drew decent crowds, the inside of the arena would …
The Blowtorch and It’s Place in the Game
George Orwell opined that serious sport "is war minus the shooting". Given that, you have to love and respect any sport that requires the use of a blowtorch in a non-weapon sense. Now those of you who aren't schooled in the game may need to loose the hounds of your imagination to conjure up …
Dave Dryden
Any old-school, hockey-loving Canuck worth his Tackaberries knows Ken Dryden, the storied Canadian / Canadien hero goalie with more Connie Smythe hardware and Stanley Cup rings than "Carter has pills" as my father-in-law would say. (Not sure who Carter was but he's quoted often at the in-laws; however I digress). A lesser known fact …
A Hockey Player’s Christmas List
From a purely hockey perspective, here are some gifts I would love to get, in no particular order: Two tickets to a Bruins game in Orr's rookie season A chance to watch Gordie Howe shooting at the head of any guy who dared to try and block his shots. (Apparently he did this) A chance …
Mothers, don’t let your babies grow up to be hockey players
The stage was set and the play was something familiar for this part of the world: Saturday night hockey. It was late in the third game of the round robin of my son's house league midget tournament this weekend in London and with the good guys leading 3-2 with a minute to go, the game …
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Rink Tales 