Beginners Hockey Workshop Awards

Unlike the Ducks and the Kings, the hockey season for participants in the Kings Beginning Hockey Workshop with Daryl Evans continues. I know that I didn't report on the "big game" we played on April 24th, but it's been a busy crazy time in our family! It was a surreal experience that seemed a total haze for me. My mom had just suffered a heart attack and was scheduled for a double bypass, so my mind definitely wasn't on the game. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to give much more of an assessment of the game other than, "It was fun," and "I was terrible." I didn't score any goals, but one of my passes was finished off, so I did get an assist. The Purple Team lost this game, but it was kind of bogus. Our goalie allowed two goals to the kids on the Yellow Team. Without the charity goals, we'd have won by a goal.  Not a big deal. It was still a lot of fun. However, the most memorable moment came at the very end of the game. Yellow sqaud's #16, the goon I mentioned, was in the corner, checking one of my linemates, Ben Salisbury. Our goalie was pulled, and I hopped on the ice. The puck was in the corner near the goon and Ben. I got to skate at least half the length of the ice, turn at the last moment, and give him a good hip check. I must admit... knocking him to the ice was the BEST part of the night for me personally. Of course, in a real, competitive game, I would've been penalized for boarding, charging, and probably given a 10-minute misconduct. However, even though I'm not a violent person, by any means, I must admit... it was so satisfying to check the goon.

Okay, enough with the past. Now fast forward to the present. We also had a three-practice extension of the Beginning Hockey Workshop. It was a little smaller than the first session, but it was still well attended. The "Noah's Ark" theme continued. We still had the pairs of Salisburys and Wells. We lost the Dearmans and Manzellas, but we gained another Slee and a pair of Ballards. The practice really did extend our learning and gave us more practice on the ice to improve our skills. My skating has definitely improved immensely. I can skate backwards... not well, but not as poorly as before. I can stop and slow down, and I can turn on a dime... of course, the dime has to have a two-foot diameter, but it's better! I could definitely use a lot more work on skating with the puck because I can't stickhandle very well while moving.

Our second big game was this past Tuesday, May 21st. It was a great game. Much better than the last one. On the first shift of the game, I saw one of my linemates breaking out, and I got an outlet pass to him for a goal. Of course, it helps that Wolf has a wicked good wrist shot for the beginning group. I also got a centering pass to little David Wing who finished it off for another goal. The best part of the game was that my little girl, Genevieve, was in attendance, cheering on Team Purple. I really appreciated how she refrained from laughing each time I fell. Now that I'm skating a lot faster and taking more risks in lateral movement, I seem to fall a lot more. I guess since our teammate Fell is gone, someone else has to pick up the slack of eating ice the most.

It felt like a much faster game, and that might have been because we were playing on the other rink and had harder ice... Who knows? Maybe it was because we had all improved in our skating. For whatever reason, the game flew by, and I actually felt really good on the ice... well, except when I ran into the huge Asian American guy, Tony Liu. It was a comedic moment... much like when a cartoon character runs into a brick wall. I'll let you think about who was the brick wall. If you guessed me, then you're right on one! I bounced off of him and staggered back, but I stayed on my skates! Cool, huh? In the first week, I definitely would have fallen. I probably would have fallen in the second and third weeks as well. Unlike the run at the goon in the first game, this was totally accidental. I mean, come on, I'm not stupid. Tony's a nice guy, he's a lot bigger than me, and he's no goon. AND did I mention that I'm not a masochist? Two days later, I'm still feeling soreness in my neck and shoulders from the collision. Definitely an accident

Just for fun, I have some of my own awards to hand out... mostly to Team Purple players because I got to know them a little better, but we're all winners for taking the risk of learning how to play the game we love...

• Most Likely to be Drafted by an NHL Team: It would be diplomatic to say that we all have the same chance (slim to none really), but the truth is that Little David Wing has the best shot at being a pro. He's a spitfire! He's tenacious, has good hockey sense, and seems to love the game.
• Best Defenseman: This is a tie for me. Kao and Terry both had a knack for breaking up plays and bringing the puck back up ice.
• Best Skater: Feldman. He can skate forwards, backwards, and laterally. I rarely see him fall because he's so strong on his skates.
• Most Inspirational Player: The younger Ballard. I can't remember her first initial, but I think it's a G. Her smile was infectious. I really hope that I look that happy when I'm out on the ice, because that's exactly how I feel. Every time I was tired, I'd look over at Ballard and feel re-energized.
  
• Toughest to Play Against: Another tie. Because of his size and reach, Liu was really hard to get around. However, I also thought that Nishime was really hard to play against. She had great hockey sense and would lift my stick off the puck whenever I tried to go around her.
• Best Linemate: Dan Wincensten was a very generous player, but more than that, the times I was out there with him, I felt like we actually started developing a little chemistry. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and I knew that he'd have a good scoring chance if I could just get him the puck.
• Best Hair: Zack Byerley. He had just the right length of curls peeking out of the back of his helmet. Very Jaromir Jagr (post-mullet days).
• Best Imitation of Steve Kasper: Ben Salisbury. His shadowing of the goon was reminiscent of Steve Kasper's work on Gretzky... not that the goon was anywhere near as good as Gretzky (or as classy), but Salisbury did a great job sticking to him.
  
• Unsung Hero: Darren Slee. I can't explain it, but he had nice things to say about everyone, and he just went out and worked hard.
  
• Coach of the Year: Was there any doubt? Daryl Evans led a rag tag bunch of players and whipped them into two teams! It won't be a movie like the Bad News Bears or the Mighty Ducks, but it was inspirational for all of us!

What if I gave myself an award, you may ask? If I was very generous, I'd say, "Most Likely to be Craig Janney," because I'm not a top tier playmaker, but I'm steady at making the right pass. If I was joking around, I'd say, "Most Likely to be Mistaken for Paul Kariya." Hey, gotta represent my Asian brothers and sisters!

I can't wait till June when we come together for four more days. I feel like we're playing more as a team: communicating on the ice, making unselfish plays, and supporting each other.