After Kuemper left I no longer had a favorite player. My wife and I usually only make it to 1 Coyotes game a year, but we go to around a dozen Roadrunners games, so I am pretty familiar with those players too.
One game last year we were up 4-1 in the 2nd, and we were on a powerplay. Number 13 had moved to the far wall to hold the blue line, he missed the puck, the other team got a breakaway and scored a shortie. Not a real big deal, but still not good.
Later in the 2nd, number 13 mishandled a zone entry that led to a 3 on 2 the other way that ended with a SOG. After that I said to my wife “13 again?!? Who the hell is that guy?” I looked him up during 2nd intermission and sure enough “Nathan Smith.” So I said “they need to pull that guy, that is two costly mistakes.” My wife responded with an eyeroll.
The third starts, its 5-2, we are in the offensive zone passing the puck around like normal, when the other team gets it and tries for a clear. Nate Smith lunges with his stick extended and stops the puck at the blue line. It was a pretty good play on its own, and he should have been out of it now, but he pushes himself to his knees and makes an excellent pass to a forward down low from his knees while getting crosschecked. I immediately thought “Wow, good play and a great second effort!” But it isn’t over, he pops up and skates to the slot just in time for a centering pass back from the corner and buries it! An incredible 3rd effort on the same play!
We all cheered, and I laughed and said to my wife “Ha! that is the guy I said they should take out, what the hell do I know?” As the game wound down I thought to myself “He is number 13, so he probably has a sense of humor, he has one of the most generic names I could think of, so he probably isn’t anyone elses favorite player, and I saw him stick with a play he could have easily bailed on in a game that was already likely decided, which is something I respect completely. So I decided that he could be my new favorite player for however long he is in Arizona.
I know this is super random, but I am glad he is going to be around longer.
1 comment
Silly story time.
After Kuemper left I no longer had a favorite player. My wife and I usually only make it to 1 Coyotes game a year, but we go to around a dozen Roadrunners games, so I am pretty familiar with those players too.
One game last year we were up 4-1 in the 2nd, and we were on a powerplay. Number 13 had moved to the far wall to hold the blue line, he missed the puck, the other team got a breakaway and scored a shortie. Not a real big deal, but still not good.
Later in the 2nd, number 13 mishandled a zone entry that led to a 3 on 2 the other way that ended with a SOG. After that I said to my wife “13 again?!? Who the hell is that guy?” I looked him up during 2nd intermission and sure enough “Nathan Smith.” So I said “they need to pull that guy, that is two costly mistakes.” My wife responded with an eyeroll.
The third starts, its 5-2, we are in the offensive zone passing the puck around like normal, when the other team gets it and tries for a clear. Nate Smith lunges with his stick extended and stops the puck at the blue line. It was a pretty good play on its own, and he should have been out of it now, but he pushes himself to his knees and makes an excellent pass to a forward down low from his knees while getting crosschecked. I immediately thought “Wow, good play and a great second effort!” But it isn’t over, he pops up and skates to the slot just in time for a centering pass back from the corner and buries it! An incredible 3rd effort on the same play!
We all cheered, and I laughed and said to my wife “Ha! that is the guy I said they should take out, what the hell do I know?” As the game wound down I thought to myself “He is number 13, so he probably has a sense of humor, he has one of the most generic names I could think of, so he probably isn’t anyone elses favorite player, and I saw him stick with a play he could have easily bailed on in a game that was already likely decided, which is something I respect completely. So I decided that he could be my new favorite player for however long he is in Arizona.
I know this is super random, but I am glad he is going to be around longer.