What are you Playing For?

Team Blade had a big win last night in our first Tuesday Night C-Division Men’s League game of the season. 5-0 with some pretty nifty goals for the boys. The semi-primetime game at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. was attended by zero fans, but that is beside the fact. Two goalies on either end and a few extras on the bench can still prove for a good game.

After playing junior hockey, I really didn’t think that I would lace ‘em up again competitively. I wasn’t planning on it, but wound up having a defense coach take a chance on me at D-3 school pretty last minute.

After my short college stint, I knew that that would be the end of my competitive “career”. I knew there wasn’t a next step for me. But that really isn’t the reason we play the game.

We play the game because we love it.

That’s why on any given weeknight at the rink I play at there can be 15 guys on a men’s league team showing up to play some hockey, despite it being 10:30PM on a Tuesday and everyone still having to get up for work early the next day. It’s the reason why the park rinks can get almost too packed in the winter to even make a move without running someone over, but you still keep playing.

There was a great article in City Pages a little while back that discussed the culture of hockey and the want of players to move through the ranks as quick as possible. It isn't a bad thing to want to move up, that is a huge reason why hockey is so competitive.  One question that really stuck out to me in the article was posed by an ex-NHLer and now agent, Neil Sheehy. He asks each one of the younger clients that he councils this question.

Why do you play hockey?

Players usually think it is a trick and he has to assure them that it is a very basic question with a simple answer. He is looking for players who 1) love hockey and 2) love hockey because it is fun.

I’ve lost about two steps to my game. My buddy on the way home last night after our game said that it looks like I still think I can fly on the ice. I’m still a decent skater, but I know my hands get me into trouble because my feet can’t keep up anymore.

I loved my time playing competitively and it felt great moving through the ranks even when it was uncertain. But it is still just as fun for me to play once a week in a summer men’s league. It is still great to play pickup hockey at the park with a few buddies and some people you just met. It is fun being able to step on the ice and get better (even if my feet don't keep up the same way anymore). So why do you play? And if it isn’t for the love of the game, what are you playing for?

Play hard, play fair and have fun

-Taylor

Zurowski, Cory. "Game Misconduct: The Assault on the State of Hockey." Weblog post. CityPages. N.p., 21 Jan. 2015. Web.

The Hockey Reduced Trade Agreement

We recently had to increase our shipping cost to our neighbors to the north. It wasn’t a decision we made lightly, but after shipping a few units to Canada, we realized that the cost we incurred was just too high for us. We looked at all major shipping providers and even some unorthodox methods of getting a Pügi up north, some including a canoe and the Boundary Waters. However, the costs again were just too high.

It got us to thinking that there should be something done about this. There should be a Protectionist Act on all hockey items crossing the border from Minnesota to anywhere in Canada and vice versa. While the North American Free Trade Agreement helped some industries in the Americas, it didn’t solve the issue of logistics.*

Our idea might need to be pitched to the major shipping providers instead of government officials, however we do feel that our officials could get behind this proposal. I've seen our Governor skate before. It might be a very biased proposition (considering it would only benefit hockey companies), but we at Pügi feel that shipping from Canada to Minnesota or Minnesota to Canada should be considered domestic shipping for all hockey related items.

For example; we shipped five Pügis to Michigan (another state that could be added into the Hockey Reduced Trade Agreement) and one to Ontario. One Pügi in a package weighing under four pounds cost around $19 to ship.

This was the price that I kept coming up with online until finally we just went into a store! We think our products are great, but come on...

That was the cheapest shipping that we could find out of the major carriers. That one Pügi to Canada cost more than a package that weighed close to twenty pounds! Now I understand that there is about three hundred miles more to travel over land (approx. 550km?), but if that larger package was being sent to the furthest region of the contiguous United States, it still would have cost less. 

While I don’t know how positive the reception from carriers would be, I do think that Minnesotan and Canadian hockey companies would be very happy about the H.R.T.A. or the Hockey Reduced Trade Agreement.

Below I have listed a few resources if you feel as passionate about the issue as we do. Drop a line to the carriers and let them know what a great idea the H.R.T.A. is and that you mean business

https://www.ups.com/upsemail/input?loc=en_US

https://www.usps.com/help/contact-us.htm

http://www.fedex.com/us/office/customersupport/officeprint/faq/index.html

http://www.dhl-usa.com/en/express/shipping/customs_support.html

And if you don’t feel the same way, we still apologize for the increased shipping prices if you’re in Canada! 

Play hard, play fair and have fun!

-Taylor

*I don't claim to know anything about the North American Free Trade Agreement, nor do I think I should ever mention anything political again on this blog...

The Small World of Hockey

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to set up at the Stick it to Cancer tournament in Blaine, MN. For those of you who have been to the National Sports Center, it is pretty commonplace in our hockey lives; but I know first hand that watching someone see if for the first time is entertaining. Eight rinks in one complex is pretty dang impressive. As the tourney proved, the place is a Rink Rat’s dream. Give your kids a few quarters and they’ll keep themselves entertained for hours (a few at our booth).

The Stick it to Cancer tournament is a benefit event to help fight breast cancer. All of the 64 teams participating volunteer six combined hours of their time for helping run the tournament. The referees are also volunteering their time. It is an undeniably great cause and absolutely great to see so many people turn out to raise money for cancer research. 

There is a theory floating around out there that I share with others (this Lets Play Hockey piece by John Hamre nails it). It might also tie into the success of this tournament as well. I’ve discussed it with other hockey players too, they all agree with me.

There is something about the hockey community that makes it feel a lot more connected than other social circles.

I was set up at a booth with Travis Baker from Blade Hockey (go check them out) and each person that we spoke with for more than three minutes we could figure out that at the very least, we knew someone who knew someone in common. I know that isn’t the greatest example, but think about the circles we plug ourselves into through the sport. Our core team, our hockey camps, our spring leagues, the coaches we know, our opponents; it is all part of the same ecosystem that keeps evolving and creating more bonds. And maybe there are other sports that do this, but I haven’t heard of too many stories that could rival hockey narratives.

Think about the connections you have made through hockey. Think of all the people that you know because you share the same love of the sport.

My Easter was spent with family and friends, as usual, and I am extremely lucky to have so many of those people in this area. But my family consists of ex-pro hockey players, a USHL player, youth hockey players, a DEL coach, an NCAA coach, high school hockey coaches, all around enthusiasts; and because of the friendships that have formed over the years through hockey, an MN Wild beat writer and another ex-pro-now-coach.

Through running Pügi's social media pages, I see the hockey community growing even faster and with a wider reach than in prior generations. There are kids with awesome Instagram accounts showing off their mitts and connecting with other hockey players from around the world, there are guys like Jeremy Rupke running websites and posting YouTube video tutorials helping coach kids and adults that want to get better and endless pick-up games formed. Let’s keep the community growing and thriving; make some buddies the next time you’re at the rink! You never know what teams they've played for, who they've coached or have been coached by or who they are related to in some form.

Maybe the reason that it is such a strong community is that we enjoy both hearing and telling those kind of stories; it becomes a sort of verbal history that we get to pass on to others. We have a culture of our own that shapes its history through goals, assists, hits, blocked shots, missing teeth, nights on the town, training, off seasons, playoffs, wins and loses. 

Play hard, play fair and have fun

-Taylor

P.S. ScramBoll Eggs- the sleeper product in our lineup! They were flying off the table. The last day of the tournament, we were using our training tools in front of the booth and folks had to stop by and ask, try and then walk away with a couple. The ScramBoll Eggs work wonderfully. Instead of rolling predictably, they bounce and get away from you like a puck might when it is being battled for. They are a great tool to toss in your bag or for the driveway. Well, that is my pitch on those.

The Importance of Great Goaltending

If your NCAA Bracket looked anything like mine after the first two rounds of the tourney, you probably aren’t too happy with Minnesota teams. I had the U of M winning it all, beating Mankato in the Championship.

But if this weekend of hockey proved anything, it is the importance of goaltending. Eight of the twelve games played in the tournament were won by teams with four or more goals. In six of those games, the winning team held their opponents to only one goal.

At all levels we see good goalies influence his/her team’s play. It is easy to rally behind a goalie that you can trust. I might be partial since I am from here, but let’s take a look at the Minnesota Wild. Since Devan Dubnyk has joined the team, his record in net has been 26-6-1. He was just named the NHL’s player of the week for the second time this season.

Having the ability to play knowing that you have solid goaltending gives a team the ability to go out, score goals and not have to worry as much about their defensive zone. I guess we will see what happens in Boston for the #FrozenFour and also in the NHL Playoffs.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25127031/watch-goalie-scores-goal-finnish-announcer-completely-loses-it

But, then again, maybe we should just hope for goalies who can pull that off.

Play hard, play fair and have fun

-Taylor