Hockey – A Lifetime of Memories to Enjoy

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By Larry Daniels

As a small boy, I used to watch Detroit Red Wings hockey on my little 13” black and white television being broadcast on WXON Channel 20, in Detroit. The Wings were still struggling to win games back then, but I was overjoyed when they scored a goal. It was one of my favorite things to do. I always dreamt of being able to skate like them and shoot the puck.

One day, on a crisp winter afternoon, I stopped by my neighbor Tommy’s house after school to see what he was up to.

When he opened the door, hockey equipment was being gathered up in a hasty manner. “I’m going to play hockey down the street, you wanna go?” Tommy asked. I was thrilled on the inside, but reality soon sunk in and took that feeling away. “I can’t even skate and I don’t have any hockey stuff,” I dejectedly told him. Tommy lent me some old shin pads and with my Mom’s help, got me ready to go outside in the frigid air.

Tommy took me to a forest that was about a half mile from our house. Sounds of laughter and older kids goofing around were in the still air. It was cold. Stupid cold. After a long walk, we reached a clearing. A good-sized frozen pond appeared before us. The ice had been freshly shoveled and there were a few large tree roots popping out of it. I couldn’t help but think, “how cool is this?”

Tommy introduced me to all the older guys and asked if I could play goal. They quickly said, “sure” and I was thrust into the goal with a spare stick, pads, boots instead of skates, and my baseball mitt from home.

I had no idea Tommy could skate, but he hung with the big boys with no problems. I soon learned that the object of their version of the game was to score goals and not keep score. Pure hockey. Man, it was fun to be out there. I was actually sweating. My Mom dressed me like that kid in “A Christmas Story “ who couldn’t put his arms down. In a breakaway situation, the two oldest kids came barreling down on me at full speed. As the puck was shot, I performed the horizontal pad stacking maneuver I mimicked from TV. Both kids hit me flying and crashed into the ground at the edge of the pond. They got up and started looking for the puck. I was hurting a little and just tried to relax for a minute. As I moved my legs apart, the puck popped out. I had made the save.

“Nice save!” one of the guys said and I felt like a million bucks. We played on and had a lot of fun. There was no score kept but if I was to give you a guess, it was probably like 42-38.

My time playing hockey was extremely short lived. I could not pick up the balance required to skate. It never stopped me from watching it on TV, however. Go Wings, go!

Steve Yzerman – “The Captain”

Steve started his career with Detroit in 1983. His talent was immense. The Wings selected him to be their Captain prior to the 1986-1987 season. He was 21 years old.

In the 1988-1989 season, Yzerman scored an incredible 65 goals and 90 assists. The Wings were not yet contenders for the Stanley Cup, and I think it was at this point that Steve changed his game to concentrate on defense. With the front office focusing on getting players that could help Yzerman win, they started doing so. Three Stanley Cups, and the rest is history. He remains my favorite Detroit athlete of all time.

Wayne Gretzky – “The Great One”

Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all time. Many would argue that Gordie Howe should be given that title, however. I love Gordie but I didn’t get to see him play. I watched Gretzky play and destroy all the records. Gretzky’s career lasted from 1979 to 1999. He scored 894 goals and had 1,963 total assists in the NHL. He was the MVP 10 times – greatest of all time. Gretzky was very quick but not lightning fast. He didn’t blast the puck, but he was the best hockey sniper of all time in terms of accuracy. When Gretzky went behind his opponent’s net with the puck, he was very dangerous, and a teammate would usually score.

This year, about 15,000 fans celebrated in a socially distanced Raymond James Stadium to mark this year’s Stanley Cup win by the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 30th, 2020. They even had a separate boat parade down the Hillsborough River earlier in the day. The effect of Covid-19 greatly diminished a chance for Tampa Bay to celebrate with their team. It is a shame that the lifetime dream of these players whose careers began on little ponds somewhere could not be celebrated more. Congrats, Lightning! You were the best in a year that wasn’t what any of us had planned.

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