Well, he's back.
Sidney Crosby is playing again, and according to his four point season debut against the New York Islanders, he hasn't changed a bit.
Not only is this great news for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it's especially great news for the NHL. Sidney Crosby is good for business south of the boarder, and when he is playing (and scoring), more people in the States are paying attention. And with the NBA being locked out for what looks like the rest of the season *sigh*, the NHL has an opening to step out of the shadow cast by the MLB, NFL, and NBA.
But as great as it is for the NHL that Crosby is back in action, there is one missing piece to the puzzle that is essential to the NHL becoming a real force in the United States: Alexander Ovechkin.
Through 20 games, Ovechkin has only 16 points, good for 50th in the league. This is a problem consider he is one of the two hockey players casual hockey fans can name off the top of their head.
Many say Ovechkin's lack of production comes from buying into a more defensive role for the good of his team, the Washington Capitals. As great as this might be for the Capitals, this isn't good for the NHL. Right now, the NHL has an opportunity to get noticed. They have the opportunity to pick up the casual fans that are sick of the NBA's greed, and are looking for something else to watch in the winter. They don't want to see a defensive Ovechkin. They want to see the dynamic, exciting, passionate, goal scoring Ovechkin that has the hockey world clutching on to something every time he touches the puck.
I'm not saying Ovechkin is doing the wrong thing by playing more defensively. In fact, I really respect it. But it would also be great to see the NHL grow, and hockey as a sport grow along with it. And for that to happen, we need to see Alex the Great, not Alex the Responsible in his own Zone.
Showing posts with label penguins. Show all posts
We Don't Want the Good, We Want the Great
Grandpa Shero
This week I had the privilege to spend over an hour talking with an NHL general manager. On Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero (my moms cousin), met with my family and I for coffee at the Fairmont before the Jets game. It was awesome. We talked hockey, and about our lives, and I was blown away by his openness and overall graciousness.
The Shero name is pretty prominent in the hockey world. Ray is a successful GM in the NHL, but it was his father (and my great uncle), Fred Shero who has had the most success. Fred died in 1990, one year before I was born, but I have spent a lot of time in my life reading up and researching what people thought of him, and from what I've found, he did some sweet things. But Fred was most well known for his stint as the Philadelphia Flyers head coach from 1971-1978, where he lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup in the '73-'74, and '74-'75 seasons, and brought them to the finals two other years during his time as head coach.
My great uncle Fred has made his mark in history with those Stanley Cup wins, and Ray Shero also has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger, but it is my grandfather, Victor Shero, who I will look up to for the rest of my life.
My grandpa might have been the best man I'll ever know. One of my favorite memories of my life is looking back on the games of mini-stick hockey I played with him when I was a kid. Every time he came over, all I wanted to do was play mini-sticks with him. He would always use this wooden St Louis Blues goalie mini stick, and I would always give him a hard time because he couldn't shoot very well with it; it was as stiff as a board. He didn't care, he just loved playing with me.
As a kid, you think that adults always love playing with you no matter what you're doing. Now that I'm older, I realize that's probably not the case. But even today, I knew my grandpa loved it. He must've, since my grandpa would get down to his hands and knees and play mini-sticks with me and my endless supply of energy, even into his 80's. My grandma would warn him that he could hurt himself. But my Grandpa wasn't worried. He just wanted to play hockey with his grandson.
Like most of the Shero's that I know of, my grandpa loved hockey. And I think the fact that I loved hockey so much too brought him a lot of joy. He would play hockey with me, watch hockey with me, and he loved watching me play hockey. When I first started out, he told me for every goal that I scored, he would give me a dollar (to this day, my Grandma keeps up my Grandpa's deal, and I love her for that). But as proud as my Grandpa was of me whenever he gave me a buck for a goal, I know the fact that he got to watch his grandson play made him even prouder.
My Grandpa died in 2002, but I found myself laying in bed last night fighting back tears, thinking about how awesome he was, and how much he loved me. So, I thought I'd share a couple stories about my grandpa to tell about the kind of guy he was. I miss him a lot, and if your lucky enough to have a grandpa like mine, cherish every second of it.
