"It takes two to tango" - STEEMIT'S 2nd Professional Hockey Player
What's up STEEM Nation?!? I've sat on the sidelines long enough, and with a little nudge, I'm finally diving in head first. To be honest, I couldn't be more excited about it. The crypto space is something relatively new to me, and there is no one else to blame but myself. One of my best buddy’s, you may recognize him as "TheBear" here on Steemit, I call him Beeg, has pushed crypto onto me for a couple years now. Finally, I think I’m starting to wake up, I’m taking my head out of the sand and can see the light. Forgive me fellow Steemers, I’ll be the first to admit I was skeptical about cryptocurrencies, especially early on. Beeg introduced me to Bitcoin, then Ethereum, and now Steem. I took action with Bitcoin, sat on my hands with Ethereum, and caught myself watching Steem when I finally smartened up. Beeg is one of the smartest guys I know, I should’ve listened to him earlier, but better late than never eh? I love this STEEMIT idea, so without wasting anymore time, let’s get started…
"steemit user & my good pal Beeg/TheBear"
SHORT & SWEET – MY STORY
I am a blue collar guy from Canada who grew up on a gravel road, out in the country (my parents still live there). I started skating when I was 3, in a CanSkate program, after which my parents made me choose between figure skating and hockey. For me, it was a no brainer! However, in hindsight, I wish I would’ve said both… Have you seen the edge work on figure skaters?!?! It’s unbelievable!
"Canada Day on Parliament Hill"
HOCKEY… HOCKEY… HOCKEY…
I left home when I was 16 and was fortunate enough to play five years of junior hockey for one of the best organizations in the country, the Pembroke Lumber Kings (PLK). My final year I was named captain, and was fortunate enough to win the League Championship, the Eastern Canadian Championship, only to lose in overtime in the semi-finals of the National Championship. My first encounter with Beeg actually happened before college, when my PLK team played his Green Mountain Glades team down in Vermont.
I was blessed to receive a scholarship and join Beeg at The University of Massachusetts-Lowell… what a time we had… I would need a dozen more blogs just to go through all the shenanigans of our 8-person suite we lived in. Somehow, through all that, I was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team all 4 years. Those years at UML shaped and molded me into the person I am today, also introducing me to the guys who will forever be my best friends, my family. And of course, we also got to play some pretty competitive hockey. My sophomore year we lost in the Hockey East finals to Boston University. I was named to the Hockey East All-Tournament team but that didn't ease the sting of losing. That summer I was invited and participated in my first NHL development camp with the Boston Bruins. Things were peachy, things were going amazingly well, until I fell off the ladder, right back to the bottom floor. I led our team in points my sophomore and junior season, but senior year, I tore my groin, missed the majority of the season and tried to rush back. It’s been a grind ever since.
HITTING THE ROAD – “SUITCASE”
This sport has taken me all over the world, to places I never imagined visiting; I have met some pretty amazing people along the way as well! Hockey has afforded me the opportunity to live in some beautiful places... here we go (don’t mind the run-on)… It all started with the Houston Aeros, then the Las Vegas Wranglers (reunited with Beeg, go figure), a cup of coffee with the Rochester Americans and Texas Stars (Austin, TX), to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, South Carolina Stingrays (Charleston, SC), and finally the Providence Bruins (accompanied by my first NHL training camp with the Boston Bruins)…. Not bad eh?... and those are only in North America!
North American teams are big on charity and kid events as they should be. From reading to classrooms, giving full school speeches about staying in school, Movember, etc. It was in Las Vegas when I first participated in the St. Baldrick’s charity for childhood cancer. I quickly found out I look terrible with a shaved head, so here’s to hoping the hairline takes it time pulling back! All kidding aside, it’s a cause I would support over and over again.
EUROPE – YEAR 1
I then decided to take my trade overseas, and spent my first season living in Italy (the food… are you kidding me?!?!... if you haven’t been, go for the food alone!) I was able to spend Christmas with my girlfriend in Monte Carlo, Monaco and tour Italy (Torino, Milan, Verona {Romeo & Juliet}, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, San Gimignano, and finally Pisa). I consider myself very lucky for that opportunity.
EUROPE – YEAR 1
Year 2 took me to a tiny town in southern Denmark. My girlfriend, who is Danish, and still has family living there, was thrilled about the chance to go back and visit them. This year afforded her and I to spend Christmas in Berlin, and another day in Copenhagen (both beautiful cities that I would recommend visiting).
PRESENT
As luck may have it, at the time of writing this, I just signed a deal to join SC Riessersse of the DEL 2 league for the upcoming season. The club is located in a ski resort town in Bavaria… could be worse places to live. With that being said, I best be off to pack my bags, a flight is right around the corner. Another year, another adventure, except this time it’s not just about hockey ---> full STEEM ahead… I'm on-board, don't get left behind!
"packing up - until we meet again"
Now all you have to do is upload a video of you and @thebear fighting on the ice so we all know you are real hockey players =P
That would probably make the front page... I know I would upvote the shit out of that!
front page for all the wrong reasons haha... fighting a teammate, that would certainly generate a little buzz eh?
Doesn't have to be a real fight =P Could be "practice" for the rink haha
You'd get more if you were a Pens fan..
welcome aboard :)
haha a welcome with open arms, thank you! sadly I'm a Leafs fan, my childhood team... I think they may finally be on the way up. fingers crossed
Was Mighty Ducks the movie a big motivator for you for getting into Hockey growing up as a kid?
Mighty Ducks was certainly a classic, one I've watched almost too many times. I think it was more my every Saturday night that was more influential to be honest. My dad would have Hockey Night in Canada on with Don Cherry and I was always glued. It was a live and breathe hockey childhood
Thanks for the reply. Yes, same here I grew up watching it too many times as well. I had the jersey and would roller blade around lmao.
haha that's awesome! I never had the "Mighty Ducks" movie jersey, but I do have a Paul Kariya "Mighty Ducks" jersey. I actually played roller hockey competitively. My first time to Europe was for the World Championships in France. Amazing experience.
Welcome to the site!
If you don't mind me asking, how well do the "feeder" leagues to the NHL pay? Same goes for overseas? For instance, players who may ride the bench or aren't ready to play in the NBA can go to Europe or China and make exorbitant amounts of money. However in tennis, the Challenger (think ranked 100-200) and Future tournaments (ranked 200-1500) pay awful and it's hard to make a living playing tennis outside of the top 100.
Also, just out of curiosity, how widespread is PED use in hockey?
Look forward to insights from a pro athlete on many things.
Thank you for the welcome!
Hockey is a sport you can make a living playing in the minors, granted it's a far cry from the NHL though. Guys typically give it a run in North America for a number of years before heading over to Europe, and there is big money to be made in Europe, especially the top leagues. Pay is tax free, housing and vehicle accommodations are provided, so you're only cost really is groceries. The top leagues in Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and Finland can pay very handsomely, sometimes north of 100k Euro. Since it's tax free and accommodations/vehicle is covered, it's easy to see how some players can make a great living. Eventually the ride ends, along with the high salary, and unfortunately not every player prepares themselves for that.
As for PEDs in hockey, I can honestly say I don't know anyone who has ever taken any. It's so difficult, and quite frankly a gamble, because there are constant random drug tests. A player would be crazy to jeopardize his career and taint his reputation using any form of enhancement drugs.
Excellent reply. Again welcome and good luck on your journey
Thanks you for the kind words! I just couldn't sit on the sidelines, especially with the potential of Steem. My friend has pushed cryptos hard, on a lot of us, I'm just happy I finally joined! Best of luck to you as well!
Awesome post. My kids all started in CANSKATE too.
Although being a Habs fan all my life, It was great to read your post. BTW my wife is from Aarhus, DK.
Cheers!
Small world isn't it?! Denmark isn't a big country, but Aarhus wasn't far from me at all. I was in Haderslav, well Vojens, a tiny town which was basically a suburb. CanSkate is a great program, not only learning wise but also to see if the child is even interested. I'm still fascinated at how well figure skaters move around the ice
Living here in the Boston area and lifelong Bruins fan, would have love to see you wear the Black and Gold. I wish you all the best in your journey .
Thank you very much! It would've been a honour.
GO BOLTS!!!
And welcome!
Thank you! I'm excited about the potential we have here
Great story man, fantastic journey.... from one hockey player to another. Keep the dream alive in different ways but keep enjoying what you're doing.
Let's get you back on here now that the season is over!
2Kz
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