Thursday, April 09, 2015
How a Hamburglar Brought a City to Life
As I write this, the Ottawa Senators have two games left in the regular season, including a tilt tonight with the President's Trophy winning New York Rangers. They might make it to the playoffs, they may not. Regardless of the results, this run has been one of the most spectacular I have witnessed and a reminder as to what we are sports fans to begin with.
It was a pretty lacklustre year for the team. Win won, lose one, win one, lose two, tie one...they were spinning their wheels and it appeared they would be one of the franchises looking to win the Connor McDavid sweepstakes, as fans would sarcastically root against their team for better odds at the number one overall pick.
But then in a freak accident back in February that knocked out their number two goalie Robin Lehner and top six forward Clark McArthur, Andrew Hammond, an undrafted 27 year old, was called upon to backstop the team and tank nation figured the Senators might finish in the bottom five. Hammond didn`t impress all that much in his pro career, so how well could be possibly do playing at the highest level of hockey in the world?
I don`t know how, I don`t why, but Hammond has been awesome. And to top that, the team playing in front of him, coincidence or not, has been playing their best hockey all season since he got the start in goal. The youth movement has taken over, and the confidence of these younger players has been growing to the point that, even if they fall short in their quest for a post-season spot, the future looks extremely bright for years to come.
Hockey has been fun to watch again. The play has been exciting. The story of Andrew Hammond, the Hamburglar, is one of the best feel good stories in the NHL: A guy who played in the BCHL (where?) because he wasn't good enough the WHL junior league. A guy who played for Bowling Green, a college hockey program that doesn't exactly attract the top talent in the hockey world But here he is, with only one regulation loss in over 20 games, named player of the month in the NHL for March, is carrying the team like no else could, And the fans, wondering if the team will ever be able to contend again like they did years ago, now have many reasons to be optimistic this team will contend for a championship in the foreseeable future.
How far they go remains to be seen. It could end by this Saturday evening, or the run may continue, But I can honestly say I haven`t had this much fun being an Ottawa Senators fan in a long, long, time. GO SENS GO!!!
It was a pretty lacklustre year for the team. Win won, lose one, win one, lose two, tie one...they were spinning their wheels and it appeared they would be one of the franchises looking to win the Connor McDavid sweepstakes, as fans would sarcastically root against their team for better odds at the number one overall pick.
But then in a freak accident back in February that knocked out their number two goalie Robin Lehner and top six forward Clark McArthur, Andrew Hammond, an undrafted 27 year old, was called upon to backstop the team and tank nation figured the Senators might finish in the bottom five. Hammond didn`t impress all that much in his pro career, so how well could be possibly do playing at the highest level of hockey in the world?
I don`t know how, I don`t why, but Hammond has been awesome. And to top that, the team playing in front of him, coincidence or not, has been playing their best hockey all season since he got the start in goal. The youth movement has taken over, and the confidence of these younger players has been growing to the point that, even if they fall short in their quest for a post-season spot, the future looks extremely bright for years to come.
Hockey has been fun to watch again. The play has been exciting. The story of Andrew Hammond, the Hamburglar, is one of the best feel good stories in the NHL: A guy who played in the BCHL (where?) because he wasn't good enough the WHL junior league. A guy who played for Bowling Green, a college hockey program that doesn't exactly attract the top talent in the hockey world But here he is, with only one regulation loss in over 20 games, named player of the month in the NHL for March, is carrying the team like no else could, And the fans, wondering if the team will ever be able to contend again like they did years ago, now have many reasons to be optimistic this team will contend for a championship in the foreseeable future.
How far they go remains to be seen. It could end by this Saturday evening, or the run may continue, But I can honestly say I haven`t had this much fun being an Ottawa Senators fan in a long, long, time. GO SENS GO!!!
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