heckeyleague

[heckeyleague]

flirting: omggg haha that amulet is so neat! Do you mind if I hold it?

[heckeyleague]

fucking kill me not fucking vegas fuck off fuck off fuck off

[heckeyleague]

hey man the team hasn’t had follow through in years and our blueline has been shaky at best and i’m willing to bet the team was actually injured to shit. and absolutely nobody could hit the broadside of a barn. idk that blaming your franchise goalie very publicly is a good idea.

been thinking about it a lot since last night but honest to god every deboer quote i see gets worse lmfao

[heckeyleague]

been thinking about it a lot since last night but honest to god every deboer quote i see gets worse lmfao

[heckeyleague]

hahahahaha holy shit man

[heckeyleague]

takin' a bite out of his candy cane

col@dal 04.28.25 | round 1 game 5

[heckeyleague]

society if gary bettman was not nhl commissioner

[heckeyleague]

— richard siken, the worm king’s lullaby

[heckeyleague]

hi— know i’ve been quiet on this blog recently. i’m here, i just uhhhhh. man. frankly i’ve been having kind of an awful time of it lately in a lot of different ways, and part of that is not having the energy to watch hockey a lot. i keep up w scores and stuff but i could not tell you the last time i watched more than a period or two of a hockey game outside of playoffs.

also it’s been... i’m at a real rough spot with knowing that something i love so deeply does not love me back at all bc of who i am, and that’s all so exhausting. i wish it was easier for me to separate this thing i love from the way it treats its non cishet white male fans, but… unfortunately right now i’m having a really hard time doing that lol.

anyway! i’m around, and i’ll be around here sometimes but maybe not super active. here’s to a minimally soul-crushing season, yeah?

[heckeyleague]

It took a lot of work at every level, but I think now people finally understand what I’ve always known. I’m not a grinder. I’m not a gimmick. And, in general, I’m just not a big guy. But I don’t need to be. I’m a hockey player.

Johnny Gaudreau. August 13, 1993 - August 29, 2024

[heckeyleague]

I don’t blog about sports, but early this morning my favourite athlete Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau was knocked off his bicycle and killed along with his younger brother the night before their sister’s wedding. He had just turned 31 years old, married his next door neighbour and had a toddler daughter and a 6 month old son (who were planned to be flower girl and ring bearer at the wedding).

I adored Johnny because he was a such a small streak of lightning in a game full of huge dudes who were regularly a whole foot taller than him. His skills were just fucking phenomenal and he was so exciting to watch. I screamed with joy and cheered him on so loudly I lost my voice on many occasions. He represented his country for International Competitions and is the highest US point scorer.

I could get technical and talk about my favourite goals of his, his stickhandling, dangles, on ice spatial awareness etc but it is all on film for anyone to see, just too much to choose from. Nobody moved like Johnny Hockey.

As a person he was a sweet, kind guy who was universally liked in the sport and beyond. I do not follow celebrities on social media, but on hockey forums there are endless stories of his voracious love of mac and cheese (so much so Kraft put him in a TV ad) and skittles candies that he had a hockey stick covered in them and auctioned for charity.

In interviews he always talked hockey and his family. Whenever asked about new contracts and paycheques he would just shrug and say ‘yeah I bought my dad a boat so we can go fishing’ or ‘I just got a cool new wheelchair lift installed in my holiday home so my cousin can come and spend time with me’, or change the subject and talk about his dog, his wife and kids or The Birds. He was a real gem of a gentleman, modest and always ready to give credit to his team and dad (legendary NJ coach Guy Gaudreau) who motivated Johnny to skate as a toddler by placing skittles candies on the ice for him to fetch.

I’m am so sad for him, his family. This is just a blurb of feels about someone I counted down the days for until I could see them make magic on ice. I wish I could write a good tribute, dammit. Thank you Johnny Hockey.

[heckeyleague]

💔

[heckeyleague]

sports are like. it shouldn't have ended like this. don't leave. it can't end like this. don't go. why is the love not enough

[heckeyleague]

is this team going to be unrecognizable in the fall or am i being overdramatic

[heckeyleague]

i get they needed to dump the contract but :( bye faksa i will always remember you sliding on the wall :(

[heckeyleague]

just remembered we lose capfriendly in a few days too fuck

[heckeyleague]

i’m actually losing it a bit what the fuck is nill’s plan