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Rivalry week!

 

As defined by Miriam Websters dictionary, Rivalry, the noun is defined as the act of rivaling : the state of being a rival : COMPETITION. I began to go down the rabbit hole of Miriam…and Webster and i kept coming back to three words rivalry, competition and competitor…words and definitions have meaning, but a true rivalry is so much more than just a standard words associated with it…Today I will dive into a few of my favorites, from my childhood and of course the VHL!

 

First things first, I grew up going to Seattle Thunderbirds games with my dad. We had season tickets and rarely missed a game! For those that don’t know, the Thunderbirds played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) which is part of the Canadian Hockey League. This is a Major Junior hockey league that spans all over Canada and parts of Washington and Oregon in the United States. For those that remember, the 90’s in junior hockey or hockey in general were the so entertaining and exciting! Almost like a golden age of hockey…old time hockey, hard nosed players mixed in with the skill and finesse of todays game. The biggest rival the Thunderbirds had were the Portland Winterhawks. Their tribute to the Chicago blackhawks jerseys clashed beautifully with the T Birds blue and green of the Hartford whalers theme. But what made the rivalry great was the players…T Bird greats and NHL alums like Brendon Witt, Turner Stevenson, Patrick Marleau and Oleg Saprykin to the gritty role players that were always down to hit and of course drop the mitts…Brett Duncan was a absolute wildman, with 343 pims in 64 games from the D spot too! Little Tyler Willis was a beauty and 300 pim guy himself!…and Kevin Popp and Lloyd Shaw were beasts on the blue line. 

 

A rivalry needs two willing participants and the winterhawks definitely provided that! Adam Deadmarsh was an absolute stud, 99 points and 212 pims in 65 games! Some of my other favorite players to hate were John Badduke (367 pim guy), Joey Teterenko, and NHL studs like Marian Hosea and Andrew Ference. 

 

Every game was a battle and complete gong show…fights on the ice, fights in the stands…and 12 year old me having the time of my life! Nothing better than yelling “Portland sucks!” with my pops and 8,000 of my closest friends lol…a close second would be when the Birds would light the lamp and The “Hey Song” by Gary Glitter started blaring out of the arena speakers. 

 

Ok, now to the VHL…few individual rivalries have the complexity and intrigue of my favorite two defenseman studs Brian Payne and Jake Thunder. Both are VHL veterans and both tearing it up on season 87. 

 

Let’s talk a bit about the Payne train…the two time Jack Wilde award winner, has been a main stay at the top of the stat board for the past few seasons for the Warsaw Predators. A well rounded for the but tough nosed player, Payne is usually near the top in points, plus minus and of course hits (Payne train!). This season (87), Payne has started a bit slow out of the gates, but is still on pace top tier numbers in assists and hits. And he’s still got a solid hold on the #1 penalty minute crown! He may not win a third Jack Wilde, but he still good be in the mix with a strong finish. 

 

Now let’s talk about HC Davos Dynamo and Jake Thunder. Thunder won the Dustin Funk trophy in season 85 and has continued his accent to the top of the defensemen ranks over the past few seasons. A steady presence on the blue line, Thunder has a veteran presence about him that (not just cuz he’s old) that makes him a valuable piece of any post season run for the Dynamo. Thunder is definitely a playoff producer with 23 points in 16 games during last seasons playoff run. 

 

This is a great rivalry because once good friends, they are now both vying for VHL glory and have become bitter enemies…they did have a chance to settle it up and go Mano y Mano as they say last season…during that tilt, the Payne train was derailed by a few Thunder bombs and bragging rights were secured until the next tilt. I know Payne has been training and waiting for his day of redemption. 

 

In closing rivalry’s are what life and especially hockey are all about. Whether its riding the Payne train or raining down Thunder storms, I hope that my player Rip Wheeler will someday be mentioned in the same breath as these two VHL greats in the making. 

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