Thought-Provoking Pressers

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Thought-Provoking Presser Questions

 

Some time ago I released the first of these media spots in which I try to deal with some of the interesting presser questions that have been posed.  I enjoy going through the various pressers just to see how imaginative the questions can get…….or the alternative.

 

Leading off are a few questions asked by  Eldredman @Eldredman  of the San Diego Marlins.

 

 How did you end up in the position you currently play?

 

This is interesting because in many cases, I think, the position chooses you as opposed to the other way around.  Your set of unique skills may be best utilized in a position that you would not necessarily consider.  Wendel Clark comes to mind.  Wendel played as an offensive defenceman with the Saskatoon Blades during his two year Junior career.  On joining the Toronto Maple Leafs he was quickly converted to a forward where he experienced great success. 

Red Kelly is another example of this.  Kelly played defense for the Detroit Red Wings earning first-team all-star honors six times in a seven-season stretch from 1950-51 to 1956-57.  After being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs he became a center where finished sixth in NHL scoring in 1960-61 and cracked the top 10 in Hart Trophy voting twice.

 

Do you have any game day superstitions?

 

Athletes are generally superstitious, but hockey players are the worst.  Sid Crosby was voted the most superstitious player in the NHL.  He takes the same roundabout route avoiding visitors in the locker room. He sets up his stall the same every game, tapes his sticks the same way every game, and eats a PB&J sandwich at 5 p.m. sharp EVERY. GAME. Jocelyn Thibault would pour water on his head six and a half minutes before a game.  Brendan Shanahan wore his junior hockey shoulder pads in Detroit, listened to Madonna pre-game.  Karl Alzner taps his stick exactly 88 times before the national anthems conclude.

 

Dressing “the Right Way” is a familiar superstition.  This superstition is quite common for most players as they are in the locker room getting dressed for the game. A lot of players say that they have to get dressed in the same order every time because they believe that doing that pre-game ritual every time brings them the good energy they need for the game. A well known goalie by the name of Patrick Roy, would lay out each piece of his gear on the floor and get dressed in the same order every time before he would head out of the locker room.  That certainly worked for him !!!

 

Brent Seabrook, defenseman for the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, had a laundry list of superstitions and was considered both the most superstitious player on the team as well as the most difficult to room with on the road. Seabrook’s meticulous habits mostly involved different eating and sleeping routines, including eating seven Hershey’s kisses before every game. The most mysterious, however, was his habit of reviewing nine words over and over in his head prior to each game – words that only he and the Blackhawks’ mental skills coach knew.

 

Why is the Sky blue?

 

Ya, well I thought this question fell into the same league as “Why are oranges round?” and “Why do puddles have bottoms ?”  However, on further research it appears that there is a scientific reason.  According to NASA sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air. Blue light is scattered more than the other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.

 

Of course ancient people did not have NASA around so they came up with a myth.  Long long ago, when Queen Athena ( Zeus's daughter) was born, Zeus blessed her with two boons for when she came of age. After almost 15 years, Athena was told to think up two things to ask for. The poor girl couldn't make up her mind.  You see, Athena wasn't what you would now call the goddess of wisdom and war, at 16, she was much more selfish and over- confident.

 

And I bet you can't guess what she asked for in the end!

1) To have a city in Greece named after her( Athens)

2) To have all the people of the world see her face every day of the year.( what you are seeing are only her eyes)

 

Thus, The sky is blue, just like the color of Athena's eyes…

 

Thank-you to youloser1337  @youloser1337of the Minnesota Storm for the following two questions:

 

What is the most inspiring thing you have seen / done?

 

Several years ago I went to visit my homeland, Scotland.  My wanderings took me to the Isle of Skye where I went on a hike to the Quiraing.  Talk about mystical.  You could almost hear the spirits talking to you.

 

 

Which NHL arena would you love to see a home game at?

 

This seems to be a straightforward question/answer, but it really isn’t.  Every NHL arena is loud, vibrant and filled with energy.  Back in the day I was able to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in Maple Leaf Gardens on a somewhat regular basis (my high school had box seats).  The Gardens rocked on a regular basis, but when the Habs came to town the place was insane.  I would like to, once again, see the Leafs and the Habs at Scotiabank Arena preferably during the playoffs.  That is unlikely to happen unless I win a lottery….a BIG lottery.

 

I would like to acknowledge hylands @hylands of the Malmo Nighthawks for the following:

 

Did you grow up watching hockey or have you recently gotten into it ?

 

I think that the answer to this in large part is determined by the culture in the area in which you grew up as a child. In small town Northern Ontario ( < 1000 pop.)  there were no gyms for basketball, no movie theatres, frequently no high speed internet….anyway you get the idea.  One thing that stands out in these hamlets was the outdoor ice rink and the baseball diamond.  You were pretty much expected to play both of these sports.  If you couldn’t afford the equipment, the community found it for you.  This is still true today.  There are communities in which hockey is the ONLY sport available for both boys and girls.  For me I grew up playing and watching hockey.  There weren’t too many Saturday nights that didn’t find me in front of a TV somewhere.

 

Do you enjoy rivalries within sports, or do you not care for them?

 

I generally agree with rivalries in sports.  As I alluded to earlier, in Toronto, when the Habs came to town, insanity reigned supreme.  Rivalries bring out some of the best performances from an athlete.  Unfortunately, sometimes rivalries can bring out the worst in both players being overly aggressive and fans resorting to violence.  This has been carried to extremes in the United Kingdom where hooligan firms have sprung up with the sole intent of creating mayhem, particularly when a close rival was visiting.  This chaos has been responsible for severe injuries and even death.

 

Any books that you would recommend?

 

So, OK, not a very complex question.  Just toss out a couple of titles (whether you have read them or not).  I, for one, don’t think it is that simple.  For example, if I were to suggest “Species of One” by Matt McMahon, people might think that I am an extremely sensitive person.  Or ”Wuthering Heights” might lead people to believe that I was a classic intellectual.  My EReader tells me that I have read about 475 books and have spent some 2500 hours reading them.  They are books that range from Louis L’Amour to Jane Austen,  classic fiction to the history of bootlegging.  A better question might be to provide a “playlist” of books.  That way the underlying message as to who you are might be a bit more accurate.

 

Thanks to my friend and Habs fan Ledge and Dairy @Ledge and Dairy from the Riga Reign for this one:

 

The team is having a NO; GOD PLEASE NO  moment, do you think  we will be able to turn around the situation?

 

 Ledge is referring here to the fact that Riga, who had been in first place, is now in third and being chased closely by the fourth place team.  In the past few seasons the Reign has had a playoff spot snatched (dare I say stolen) from them at the last moment.  In fact last season it came down to the number of goals scored or some such stat that determined the wild card berth.  I reflect once again on my pet whine, the ridiculous results frequently rendered by the sim engine, STHS.  Last season, on paper, Riga certainly had enough horsepower to make the playoffs.  But, for some unknown reason ALL of our Big Guns performed at an underwhelming level.  My own player, Isau DaMoose was getting second line minutes and a few power play minutes.  BUT, when you looked at the index, on several occasions, his Time On Ice was actually less than that of fourth line players.  How is that even possible !!!   Time to look for a new sim engine or retweak STHS so that it rewards players for grabbing up all that TPE.  The results and generated stats have to be a little more consistent for them to be realistic.

 

Greg_Di @Greg_Di of the Calgary Wranglers came up with this one:

 

If you could give one piece of advice to a rookie before the playoffs, what would it be ?

 

This is a frequently answered question.  And the answer is simple enough.  Being able to do it is another thing.  My advice would be “Relax.  Enjoy the moment.  It doesn’t come very often.”

 

Peace @Peace of the Toronto Legion must have been hungry when he asked:

 

 Hotdogs over a campfire or a barbeque?

 

My “go to” method would be to cook the hotdogs on a charcoal grill.  That way you get the control of a barbecue and the smokiness of a campfire.  BUT my true answer would be “at a baseball game”.  It has been a very long time since I was able to see one despite the fact that The Jays have been back in Toronto for a month.

 

Peace also posed this question:

 

 How do you keep yourself entertained on the VHL now that we've missed the playoffs?

 

I have been a proponent of some kind of off season activity for those of us who did not make the playoffs. There is the lottery tournament.  But I think there should be something more.  If a player misses the playoff, the lay off is a very long period of time.  The time it takes to sim the playoffs plus the off season.  I think that the league loses some players during this time.  So, from the point of view of retention, I think there should be some kind of other tournament introduced.  Perhaps an over/under 500 TPE with a few EXP points thrown in to sweeten the deal.

 

diamond_ace @diamond_ace  and Domg5  @Domg5of the Prague Phantoms collaborate on the questions in their pressers.

 

Do you prefer outdoor hockey or arena hockey?

 

 

As a kid growing up in Northern Ontario, we only played on natural outdoor rinks.  When I moved to The Big Smoke for high school we played on outdoor artificial ice surfaces.  I really didn’t play on arena surfaces on a regular basis until I was 19 years old.  So, ya, I like playing hockey outdoors.  But that comes with its pitfalls, mostly related to weather.  If it snows you have to manually clear the ice surface on a regular basis, sometimes as often as every 20 minutes or so.  The other weather related problem can be the temperature. At -20 degrees C, or colder, it can be a little uncomfortable.

 

 Do you think it's better to build a team with good trades and good signings or building it with the draft over a few years?

 

I am not a GM, nor do I have anything to do with team management.  That being said, I think I would want to build my team with a blend of the above.  Building from within via the draft is essential.  But tempering that group with some veterans, or acquiring role players through a trade is important as well.  For example, let’s say you need a left wing, but there aren’t any of any quality available through the draft.  Then it becomes necessary to trade to fill out your roster well.

 

Word Count = 2109

 

Claiming for Weeks of Sept. 5, 12, 19, 26

Edited September 1, 2021 by Eynhallow

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