Before I get started on this extremely biased and potentially controversy article, I’d like to take a moment to thank my parents for everything they have given me in life. Recently I was able to obtain a scholarship to Yale University and it wouldn’t have been possible to do such a thing without their constant help, support and guidance throughout my hockey career and life. Yale is a very prestigious University and therefore it doesn’t come cheap. I am lucky enough to have parents that worked extremely hard in their lives earning a living and instilling good morals and ethics upon my brothers and I. I consider this scholarship a great family achievement and I am happy to share it with them. On that note, I’d also like to thank our coaches, especially Willy, for helping me through the whole process.
Anyhow, our game tonight was unfortunately canceled due to power outages; as I’m sure my fellow blogger Garret Noonan will tell you. Therefore, I have been given a good opportunity to take some time and write another blog article. Thus, the “Who Is The Best” blog is about to be created. For most of these categories, I’m sure I will stir up conflict and arguments, but that’s half the fun. I’m still looking for an equal challenger in NHL10…
THE BEST PING PONG PLAYER –And the acknowledgment goes to… Cole Ikkala. Ikky has managed to climb to the top of the Vernon Vipers “BCS Poll/rankings” for his exceptional ping-pong skills. The top 8 or so players on the team every now and then switch spots, but I think its clear to say that Cole is the best player. Connor and Kellen Jones are close seconds and thirds even though at the moment I retain the 2nd spot on the list and the top contender for the belt. Kak (Bryce Kakoske), Mike (Collins) and Stevie (Weinstein) are also commendable with the paddle.
THE BEST PASSER- This one might be up for great debate, but I’d have to give this award to Stevie Weinstein. If you ever watch Stevie, his head is always up when he is carrying the puck, looking for that good headman pass. I’ve seen some pretty sick passes from Stevie that are almost always tape-to-tape and usually have a lot of zip on them due to his massive Pectoral muscles.
THE BEST SAUCE PASSER- Bryce Kakoske. I think everyone will agree that Kak throws some pretty filthy sauce. Usually Caesar. One of the funniest quotes of the year came from Kak as he threw a lopsided, yucky sauce pass and exclaimed, “That was plum sauce... And I hate plum sauce”.
THE BEST NHL10 GAMER – We haven’t gotten the chance to have a big full team NHL tournament, however I have won the last two 5 man tournaments and maintained the title. My neck hurts a lot these days because the crown is so heavy… Honorable mention goes to Garret Noonan because he held the crown before me.
THE BEST WRIST SHOT- Cory Kane. Kaner has probably the hardest wrist shot that I have ever seen for this age group at least. Most Vipers fans will probably recall Hunter Bishop as having the hardest and most accurate wrister, which is probably true. However, Kaner is the first player I have ever got the chance to skate with that has stuck a puck in the net 5s+ times in warm-ups before games. Makes for a good laugh watching Krauser or the goalies try and hit the puck out.
THE BEST (FASTEST) SKATER- I have to give this one to Jonathan Milhouse or Rob Short. Milly is silky smooth and when he wants to go, he goes. Milly has scored numerous goals this year where he has just flat out burned by defenseman and left them in his dust. On the flip side, Shorty probably has the most back door tap in goals in BCHL history simply because he skates so hard to the net and catches defenseman off guard. A skate off might be in order to get the decision, but until then I have to call it a tie.
THE BEST DRESSED PLAYER- And the honor that has no award goes to…. Patty McGillis. I knew Patty had to potential to be a model when on the first exhibition game of the season, he showed up with white dress shoes on. Boy did he hear it from us! To no ones surprise, he hasn’t worn them since. Nowadays he just wear some flashy crocodile skin dress shoes and a nicely trimmed beard. To say the least, he is always looking good, as most boys from Calgary do.
THE BEST HITTER- The Jones twins have been known to throw a lot of solid body checks, but overall I have to give this honor to your captain, Kevin Kraus. Krauser can throw a pretty mean hip check and believe it or not, they are very difficult to initiate. Regardless, it takes a lot of skill to line these hip checks up and time them right.
THE BEST AT BEING A GOOF (FUNNIEST PLAYER)- Braden Pimm is hands down the smelliest goof of the team. Large emphasis on smelly. Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend the fact that Pimmer 20 years old, however everyone loves the guy. He is almost always up to something but is one of the funniest guys I have ever met. I will always remember the first time I met Pimmer as he told a hilarious story about his adventures on the way back to training camp last year. I distinctively remember Chris Crowell proclaiming how big of a dummy he was and my first impressions did not disappoint.
THE BEST JOKES – Mike Collins is probably my leading candidate for the best humor. For a lot of reasons I can’t fully describe the sniper from Boston’s antics, however he does bring up a lot of funny lines in court and always has a quick, witty reply to personal attacks. Gotta love Mike’s Aunts as well and his accent. Hearing him and Noonan talk about paaarking their carrr always gets a good laugh.
THE BEST FIGHTER- Garret Noonan and Darren Robak have some good dusts in practice (as jokes) however, Krauser has had the best fight this year so I’ve got to give him the nod thus far.
That is basically about as much as I can think up in regards to the Best of the Bests. Hope I didn’t cause any problems. Until next time.
The “Who Is The Best” Blog – Adam Thompson # 28
