Archives for September 2011

Michael P. Russell 1975-2011

by Chris on September 28, 2011
in Chris, GoonSquad, Off Topic

Well, I hate to do it again with the bad news about a hockey player dying, but here we go. An old friend of mine from way back in the day was killed in a car accident last Saturday night. Of all the deaths over this summer, the death of Mike Russell hits the hardest. Mike was 36, had a wife and 2 kids, and was my best friend growing up. He will be missed.

I don’t know exactly when and where Mike and I met. I would assume it was the early 80’s, at either a soccer field, or a hockey rink. Mike’s dad, Jim, was a big soccer coach, and Mike was a great soccer player. I was a shitty soccer player, and I hated every second of it, but I’m off topic. Where Mike shined athletically, was hockey. He was gifted on the pond, the rink in his back yard, and on a rink. I remember going into the Russell’s house and the first thing that struck me, was all the damn equipment. Mike had 3 older brothers, and 1 sister that all played, and they had gear everywhere. They also had a sick trophy case in the basement, full of soccer and hockey trophies from all over the place.

Mike and I were inseparable. I am pretty sure the first time I ever drank a beer, I was with Mike. I know I smoked butts with him, and snuck out of the house to get into mischief with him all the time. We were always into something in Thoreau Hills, and around the West Concord area. Our hockey coaches hated having us in practice, especially Mr. Gray, and my dad, because we never paid attention and were always trying sick moves on each other, or fighting with the other kids. We were there to have fun, and since we were good players, we did what we wanted. While everyone was watching the Cosby show on Thursday nights, we were at Valley Sports making my dad miserable!

Once middle school hit, he went to Peabody, and I to Sanborn. We didn’t really see each other much because we fell in with different crowds, and I think our friendship turned into more of a rivalry. We fought each other a couple of times, but somehow we always came out of it as friends. Once Mike went to high school at Belmont Hill, we really didn’t see each other, but I always knew what he was up to through his family.

His family always treated me like one of their own. I am feeling so bad for them right now, I really can’t even describe it. To the Russell family I send my deepest condolences. This has got to be agony for them, and they are most definitely in my thoughts and prayers. The last time I saw Mike alive, I wasn’t very nice to him. I feel terribly about that right now. Russ, you’ll be missed buddy. When I see you on the other side, I owe you an apology. Like always after a handshake and a hug, we’ll be friends again.

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You Will Respect My Authority!

by Chris on September 24, 2011
in Chris, Chris Neil, Goons, GoonSquad, Jody Shelley, Matt Clackson, Pierre-Luc LeBlond, Trevor Gillies

Alrighty! Let’s put the negativity of the summer and my last two posts behind us shall we? Why? Its back. Hockey is back! NHL Network has been showing a couple of preseason games a night, and it’s great to see their commitment to the pre- season. It was also great to see Kathryn Tappen in studio, not dressed like a pilgrim. I think so far, the MVP of the pre-season has to be Brendan Shanahan.

Shanny is the new Sheriff in town for the NHL, and he’s wasted no time dolling out his brand of justice. I’ve said before that hitting from behind is a huge problem in the NHL, and the re-written rules on boarding seem to corroborate my story. Shanahan doled out some serious justice the other night in the form of a 5 game suspension for Calgary’s PL3 and a 10 game seat in the press box for Philadelphia’s Jody Shelley. Of course, had either of the incidents involved Trevor Gillies, he would have been drawn and quartered, and possibly stoned to death on the site of Chuck Wang’s alleged Lighthouse project. Brendan Shanahan is sending a message: The old ways will not be tolerated, and I WILL make you respect one another.

Good on the NHL, and Shanny for handing out these suspensions. I have seen both hits, and neither (especially the Shelley hit) were called for. Listen, I get the PL3 hit. He’s trying to prove to Calgary that he’s a tough kid, and will do whatever to make the team. He hit another enforcer in Matt Clackson (doesn’t make it right, but at least it wasn’t one of the Sedins) from behind, and very high. While there was no need for it, I at least understand it. Jody Shelley’s hit, on the other hand, was completely uncalled for. He’s made Philly’s team. He’s not going anywhere, except for the press box because his coach hates tough guys. He friggin creamed Darryl Boyce from behind, and gave him a nasty cut to boot. Hockey is a physical game, that’s why we like it, but these types of hits need to be taken out of the game. It looks like Brendan Shanahan is on a mission to do just that.

Courant News

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Beginning of the End of Fighting in the NHL?

by Chris on September 17, 2011
in Chris, Goons, GoonSquad, Trevor Gillies

I really don’t want this to come across as cold, and selfish, but does anyone else worry that the recent deaths of enforcers in the NHL will have negative ramifications on the ice? The harsh reality is that we live in a world of knee jerk reactions. Someone gets killed on a road; speed bumps are installed the next day. Could we be witness to some radical changes this season with regards to fisticuffs?

The concussion issue is a hot topic in the NHL right now. Things had to be evaluated when Matt Cooke attempted to kill Marc Savard, and now that Sidney Crosby has been shelved for an extended period of time with his concussion, the talk for change with regards to head hits, and the need to address how concussions are treated has reached a deafening level. While I agree concussions are an issue, these men also accept they have a dangerous job, and it kind of goes with the territory. Fighting was up last season, and in kind of a Catch 22 situation, I think both fighting, and concussions will continue to rise. Something needs to be done about this game, but it’s not the fights.

For me, I think the game is way too fast, and body checking has become too predatory. I don’t want to go back to the water skiing off a guy in the neutral zone, or the clutch and grab of the pre lockout days, because that hockey was a little too dull for me, but I do think the game needs to be slowed a bit.

The trouble is, these players these days are so big, and so fast, how do you effectively slow the game back down, without stifling the talent on the ice? What with players all wanting to get in on the booming Scott Stevens-esque body checks instead of simply separating someone from the puck, the recipe is there for concussions from the big hit, but the fights go up as well. It seems even legal body checks in the NHL need to be answered for, and when the bell gets rung, you know the tough guys are going to answer it. In the knee jerk reaction department of the NHL, I can see there being an extra 2 minute penalty for fighting after a legal hit being tacked on, or if you’re Trevor Gillies, an automatic 30 game suspension for doing anything.

Listen, I don’t have the answers here. I’m just a guy typing away on my new laptop, while the baby sleeps. I do agree the NHL needs Sidney Crosby playing, and not concussed. I am a Crosby fan. There, I said it. I like his game, and I like the fact he understands what the role of Captain means. He’s taken matters into his own hands a couple of times with his fists, and I like it. He needs to be on the ice, and so does Marc Savard. Sadly, I think we’ve seen the last of Savvy, and hopefully Crosby can return to form. I am against taking drastic measures to regulate the physical nature of hockey. After all, it’s one of the main reasons I watch. I’m even more against more regulations on fighting, but I do think something needs to be done about the speed of the game, and how it relates to concussions, and head shots. The NHL Brass needs to address those issues, before some knee jerk reaction to three enforcers dying over the summer regulates fighting right out of the game in the name of safety.

Poker for Jokers

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Saying Goodbye to Summer 2011

by Chris on September 14, 2011
in Chris, Derek Boogaard, Goons, GoonSquad

With the good news of today being Brad Marchand has sobered up enough to put his name on a very shrewd deal from the Bruins, and the even better news that hockey is indeed right around the corner, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on just how awful the 2011 off-season was. What started with the overdose of a current NHL enforcer in Derek Boogaard, ended with 44 players and coaches of a KHL team perishing in a plane crash. In between were the apparent suicide of Winnipeg Jet Rick Rypien, and the suicide of recently retired player Wade Belak. To say the least, this has been as awful an off-season as you could ever imagine. Hopefully, we don’t see one like it again.

Photograph by: John Russell, Getty Images, Calgary Herald

A lot has been made about the three deaths preceding the Lokomotiv plane crash. I have read article after article making the correlation between enforcers, depression, drug use, and suicide. Personally, I don’t think there’s a relationship, it’s just a really shitty coincidence that all three were of the enforcer mold. After reading all these articles, I’m left to wonder, why?

Why does a guy like Derek Boogaard wind up killing himself with pills and booze? Why does Rick Rypien allegedly take his own life? Why does Wade Belak, a man by all accounts, a larger than life type personality that loved life, his family, and hockey hang himself in a Toronto hotel? What do these guys have to be depressed about anyway? They were all young, and well paid to play a game for a living. A game that I would give several limbs to play professionally and I’m not the only one. Is it because they fight for a living, and take too many shots to the head? I don’t think so. I think it’s the fact depression is a dark and terrible disease, and in a moment in time, dying seemed better than living.

When my daughter Caroline was born, I was so excited! She was an angel sent to me, and I was lucky to be her father. Soon after the initial excitement wore off, and I got into the daily routine of trying to keep a newborn alive, work, and be a good husband, I found myself in some very dark places in my mind. For a few weeks, all I wanted to do was sleep, and cry. What did I have to be so sad about? I have an amazing wife, a great job where I am respected (no, really) and the most beautiful little girl in the whole world looking at me to be her daddy. Was I overwhelmed, or was it male postpartum depression? I can’t say for sure, and I have since gotten it together mentally, but it was not pleasant for me for a while there. The point I’m making, and there is one, is that even in my darkest hour, it probably wasn’t nearly as dark as Boogaard’s, Rypien’s, or Belak’s worst day. I couldn’t imagine hurting myself, or Caroline or anything, but I can’t help thinking of just how dark the recesses of their minds must have been to drive them to the things they did.

Â I feel so terribly for the people in these three men’s lives that are left behind to pick up the pieces and wonder what happened, and was there anything that could have been done for them. My guess is that no, there wasn’t anything they could have done. Like I said, seemingly they had it all. Great lives as professional hockey players or in Belak’s case a recently retired professional hockey player. Belak leaves behind a wife and two girls. Imagine being that family right now. Imagine Wade Belak being so depressed that the thought of leaving them behind was outweighed by the fact he just couldn’t go on living anymore. Simply heart breaking. Hopefully these men will be remembered as the great people they seemed to be, and not remembered simply as three enforcers that died, two by their own hand in the summer of 2011. In the meantime, the rest of the world goes on. The hockey community mourns their passing, and we pray it doesn’t happen again.

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