Hockey bloopers?

I stumbled upon what might be the most delightful segment of the NHL's website, which also backs up my opinion that hockey players are more fun. The "Lighter Side!" highlights the silliest moments of the season thus far. If silliness makes you giggle like me, you'll love the handful I've selected. Cue the foolishness!

Nail Yakupov's stick vs. Ryan Ellis's skate

First up is the classic hockey gaffe. A player never intends for it to happen, but the pesky hole between the boot and blade of a hockey skate attracts sticks like you wouldn't believe. The victims of this particular incident are Nail Yakupov of the Edmonton Oilers, inventor of the celly "Yakupoving", and the skate of Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis. The evil skate hole has claimed other victims, yet none can match the hilarity of Yakupov and Ellis.

Either Yakupov didn't know his stick was caught up, or he thought it could easily be dislodged. It's all the same to me. Usually the player with a stick in his skate gets tripped up. What causes me to laugh out loud is the fact that Yakupov yanks on his stick, which pulls Ellis's feet out from under him. Ellis doesn't just trip; he falls flat on his back and butt, and therein lies the humor.

Jonas Hiller skates in open ice...and loses

Leaving the safety of the blue crease to play the puck is routine for goaltenders. The opposing team dumps the puck down the ice whilst killing a penalty, so the goalie skates out to settle it and reset the team for another attack. This time, however, Hiller found himself doing a split as the pesky black biscuit slipped past him.

Luckily for Hiller, TJ Brodie hustled to pick up the puck before any damage could be inflicted. Usually when a player falls for seemingly no reason, jokes are made about not seeing the blue, red or goal line. Hiller seemed to find a secret pit located between the goal line and right circle (or left circle; it depends where you're standing). The camera found Hiller in good spirits after as he laughed it off. So silly.

If you want a trade, just ask.

Zack Kassian, a forward on the Vancouver Canucks, attempted to avoid a too many men call by jumping the boards. In theory, it's a great play; however, Kassian's execution needs work. Maybe he should get his eyes checked. Or maybe he needs to be reminded repeatedly which team he's on and what color the jerseys are for that game before the puck drops.

Hey, buddy...YOU PLAY FOR VANCOUVER. I personally enjoy the moment when he's about to swing the other leg over the boards but hesitates because staring back are four Blues players and a coach. One can only imagine what was going through his head. It's like walking into the wrong classroom. It takes a moment to understand what you've done, but once you do, you immediately regret the decision. Innocent mistake or not, it's just awkward. Unless you weren't the one leaping into the wrong bench. In that case, it's quite funny. I hope the general manager doesn't take that as a hint to trade you, Kassian.

To wrap up the foolishness, I've selected a recent favorite photo shared by my idol, John Buccigross. Captioned "Am I doing this hockey right?" and "I'm really loving this tape job" back on November 14, it still makes me laugh. Buccigross posted it again November 26 with the caption "Hi. Remember me? It's still stuck." My first question upon first view was where is the video for this?! I feel the video of this awkward and rare incident should headline the Lighter Side! Maybe one day I'll find it. And when I do, somebody better be there to catch me when I fall over laughing. Stay silly, my friends.

Filthy dangles

While the NHL is teeming with flashy players, none do it better than the rookies. Whether it's the novelty of being a fresh face or possessing more developed skills, freshmen in the NHL know how to charm a crowd.

Sophomore forward Tomas Hertl missed most of his rookie season (Dec. 19- Apr. 11) due to a knee injury he suffered in December 2013 and still managed to finish with 37 goals. Hertl contributed nearly half the goals in his second career NHL game as the Sharks routed the Rangers 9-2 last October. He tied a franchise record for goals in a game and became the second youngest player to score four goals in a game, but that's not why fans left with mouths agape. Hertl demonstrated just how filthy his mitts are. Let's break down the barrage of offense courtesy of our Czech superhero.

SJS vs. NYR 10/08/2013

4-1 SJS - Hertl buries a shot from the top of the crease off a feed from Desjardins
6-1 SJS - Hertl goes five-hole on Biron after a breakaway pass from Thornton at the blue line.
7-2 SJS - Hertl completes the hatty on a power play goal from the slot, redirecting a Demers pass.
8-2 SJS - Hertl turns a cross-ice pass into a breakaway and scores top shelf with his stick between his legs.

Wait, what? Between the legs AND top shelf?! This kid is not from Earth. No words can do it justice, either. My eyes get bigger and my jaw drops lower with each viewing.

Goal number four is the cherry on top, icing on the cake, and having your cake and eating it, too. It's hard to avoid cliches when describing inhuman displays of athleticism. Had his fourth goal been his only goal, the hockey world would've reacted less. By itself, that move is enough to leave players and fans everywhere speechless. Precede the dangle with a hat trick, and you have an unforgettable performance.

Seth Griffith, a rookie on the Boston Bruins this season, scored his first NHL goal in a win against the Sharks on October 21. The forward from Ontario sees a decent amount of ice time, averaging 14 to 15 minutes per game. During a game in which he spent the least time on the ice, Griffith scored the game winner in style. Some might say it was luck, but I'm going with style. It's one of those goals that I picture the player smirking after as if to say "Deal with it." The kid is smooth.

After blocking a shot in his own end, Griffith picked up the puck and split the defenders. With quicker feet, he would've easily beat both guys. Unfortunately, Griffith got caught up with the weak side defenseman just inside the Devils blue line before coasting in a tangled mess towards the net where he made something out of nothing. Next to breakaway dangles, scoring backwards between the legs while a defenseman breathes down your neck is quite breathtaking.

The future of hockey is promising. Rookies continue to hypnotize crowds with their saucy mitts and habit of going top shelf where mama hides the cookies. (Thank you, John Buccigross, for the fun hockey lingo.) Crowd-pleasing goals like Hertl's and Griffith's build hockey's reputation as being fun to watch; it doesn't matter if you understand hockey because it's easy to recognize a sick goal.

I'm a slacker

My latest obsession involves balancing and slowly moving along a long strip of nylon webbing, somewhere around one to two inches wide, strung between two anchor points. The goal is simple: walk end to end. The execution of that goal can be frustrating, but it's insanely fun. With the right people, the frustration goes away. This is the wonderful sport of slackline. 

I started slacklining by accident. What started as an attempt to take photos for a class assignment turned into being coerced onto the beginner's line. My friend Kevin was nice enough to force me to try it. "You can't come to a Platty Slack meeting and not try it," he insisted. Given my awkward nature and tendency to embarrass easily, I was nervous learning something new in front of people I'd just met, but I didn't fight Kevin on his request. My curiosity and desire to learn beat out any part of me trying to avoid inevitable embarrassment. Plus, it looks so darn fun.

As per usual, my mind jumped to the worst case scenario: that everybody was watching and waiting to laugh at my feeble attempts to slackline. And, as usual, I was wrong. The members of Platty Slack welcomed me with open arms, words of encouragement and high-fives. So many high-fives. It's intoxicating to be in an environment with almost excessive positivity. Each time I failed, Kevin was there to tell me what I did right and what to do better next time. He's just happy to share his passion with others. 

Much like at a Ben & Jerry's, everyone oozes happiness at slackline. Even when I grew frustrated with the 1-inch flowline (see image to the left) I couldn't help but smile. That's the best part of slackline, the fun. Club president Steve Larson will congratulate you after finally walking the line, but as long as you're having a good time, he's pleased. Actually, any member of slackline does the same. Slackers have a passion for what they do, but more than that they love to share it. 



Slackline is severely underrated; even more underrated are those who practice it. I constantly state that the track team is where I belong. My teammates are on my level of weird, yet one or two people manage to rub me the wrong way. With Platty Slack, I've never felt more accepted by a group of people. It's hard to put into words why. This feeling inspires me to avoid those who bring me down. Why waste my time on individuals who are content with tearing me down? The past few months I've been consistently happy, and I attribute that to the people I surround myself with. I cut out the negativity and focused on who and what makes me happy. Platty Slack plays a key role in that and I couldn't be happier.