Unsung Heroes - Joe Nixon

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

Unsung Heroes - Joe Nixon

 

 

This week's theme is unsung heroes, and who is more unsung on any team than the bench boss, the door jockey, the hat wearer, the backup goalie? Enter Joe Nixon @Bonzaijoe.

 

It's not easy being the goaler playing second fiddle to a league MVP.  In spite of the endless stretching, training, taking shots, taking runs, practice during team scrimmages, you're bound to be on the ice less than the star player. The natural predisposition to patience that most goalies show can help with this somewhhat, but in the end, the fact remains that you're just not considered as good as the other guy by your peers and coach. Being a goalie is such a mental position, one's sense of confidence in their own abilities is just as important as any physical trait, and if that confidence is shattered can ruin a player's ability to get in front of the puck and make those game-changing saves. Mental fortitude is hella important, and when a goalie fails in a key moment, well...

 

 

It can ruin their career, even if they weren't at fault.

 

Enter Joe Nixon. A recent acquisiton to The Bears, Nixon came up as the backup in Vancouver's system where he enjoyed mediocre success and was made to look like a Norwegian dam more than once. Nixon was the consumate backup, a good enough player to slot in for a minimum of games to give your best goalie a chance to recover from the more hellish of stretches. After a brief stint with The Dragons, Nixon was acquired for a song by The Bears, where over 6 games he's posted a 3-1-1 total for a nearly 0.75 win average. It's not a lot of games, but in a league where every point counts, Nixon has stolen some wins that Rayz Funk may have been to worn out to pull out of his own ass. 

 

 

Nixon is a fountain of moral support, and part of what makes The Bears such a great team despite being inexperienced on paper. His attitude, persevearance, and high fives help us all be better players. Say what you will about intangibles, we've been a beter team since he's joined us, and I for one am happy that he's a Bear. Not every team can pull an accountant off of the streets and have them play lights out when the starter can't do his thing. Not every team runs a tandem of two B+ level goalies until one of them breaks out. Some teams just know who their guy is, and need the other guy to be ready to roll when the going gets tough.

 

This article isn't being written to praise an all-star goalie. It's here to give thanks to the guy who can be relied on to get a couple of extra wins and round out a team, a guy who is always there when needed. The guy who can be relied on to step up. To our backup, our benchwarmer, our door holder.

 

Thank you Joe Nixon.

 

508 words

TPE for week ending December 22, 2019

Bonus TPE for Unsung Hero event

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by HenrikZoiderberg

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

Tagging for underdog bonus.

[zepheter 586]

why did I read richard nixon 

[Banackock 8,032]

No Nixon bad