On the bus to Saint John

As I stepped aboard the Halifax Mooseheads bus Sunday morning I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to be able to find a seat.  We were packed like sardines.  A total of 35 in our travelling party and everyone was doubling up.  Even the coaches who normally get their own seat were shoulder to shoulder.  One of the reasons for the lack of space was due to majority owner Bobby Smith and a good friend who also lives in Arizona. They were in the stands Friday night for the home opener and now wanted to see the team on the road.

Rarin’ to go! Anybody have a fanbelt?

A 68 game Major Junior Hockey League season can be long and sometimes draining –  yet here I was in Sydney, Cape Breton on the eve of another season.  It was a delightful warm night and the players had just polished off a delicious steak dinner.  The bus was making its way back to the hotel when Gabriel Desjardins blurted out, “I’m so excited.  I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Equipment trainer Ian Cox shot back, “Gabe, I don’t know anyone who is more excited to play the game than you.”

I smiled and thought to myself.  Don’t you just love players who play with passion.  Here is young Gabe, one of the youngest players on the team and can’t wait for the puck to drop.  This unbridled enthusiasm is not for a Game 7, not for a playoff game but for a regular season opener.  That should tell you a lot about this 2^nd round pick (24^th overall) who last season put up impressive numbers (13 goals, 25 points) on a pretty bad hockey team.  Imagine, you haven’t even turned 17 years old and yet your smiling face is plastered on the side of a bus which is seen in almost every corner of Moose Country.