Sean Monahan’s recent journey has been well documented since he signed a five-year contract to join the Columbus Blue Jackets. From overcoming the loss of his best friend Johnny Gaudreau to being a leader inside the locker room, Monahan’s presence and demeanor makes him beloved by everyone that knows him.
Monahan is a team-first player that does everything he can to make himself available for games, even if he’s battling through pain or injuries. This season especially, he’s played most of the season banged up. While he did sit for a couple of games, he’s grinded through his issues to help the Blue Jackets stay within striking distance of the playoff race.
To most on the outside, they know Monahan as a quiet leader, someone who lets his actions on the ice do most of the talking. But then when he does speak up, everyone listens. He has the respect of his peers.
Today, we’re going to reveal a different side of Monahan you might not be as aware of. They say in life sometimes, you have to look out for the quiet ones.
In this case, that statement couldn’t be any more true. Monahan might not always speak up. But if you’re around him, you better watch your back.
Why? You may already be his next victim. Let’s meet Monahan, the beloved Blue Jackets’ team prankster.
Monahan Loves to Prank
It turns that this has been an ongoing thing ever since Monahan joined the Blue Jackets. He may have been like this before. But in terms of the quantity of pranks that are pulled in the room, multiple players confirmed that his antics can happen on a daily basis.
What kinds of pranks are we talking about? Based on what we have been able to confirm, it might not be to the level of Marc-Andre Fleury, at least not yet anyway.
No. The things that Monahan and some others (we’ll get to that part later) do are actually very innocent and not over the top. But the acts done are quite hilarious.
In particular, there are a few things that Monahan does that teammates have said they’ve been a victim of. We will begin with raisins.
You might be wondering how does someone prank another with raisins? Because of how available these snacks are, they make for an easy weapon for Monahan to perform his next dastardly deed.
According to multiple Blue Jackets’ players, Monahan takes a bunch of raisins and puts them in pockets. Jeans pockets. Coat pockets. Raisins have been found in various forms of pockets.
Imagine reaching into your pockets only to find a bunch of raisins waiting for your hands to grab. That’s the kind of thing all Blue Jackets’ players are on high alert for on a daily basis.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of raisins that go around here,” a smiling Monahan admitted. “They’re everywhere.”
Sean Monahan is the beloved Blue Jackets’ prankster in the room. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
But that’s only the beginning of the shenanigans. Apples are another snack found in abundance. One Blue Jackets’ player admitted he found apples in his socks. I mean, how can you not laugh at that? It truly is a fun-loving prank that isn’t over the top crazy. It is a reminder that Monahan is always on the lookout.
Even when talking with Monahan for this piece, he was eyeing down a player across the room. We asked him if there was a player who is more aggressive with their retaliatory pranks? With a big smile on his face and staring him down, Monahan said with conviction.
“Yeah, number 27.”
Yes, Zach Aston-Reese was identified as someone who constantly goes back at Monahan in a fun-loving way. Aston-Reese was willing to share one thing he did to Monahan.
Apparently, it was Monahan’s birthday. He was born on October 12. Aston-Reese ordered a delivery of 40 gallons of apple juice to arrive at Monahan’s house. That’s certainly taking apples to a new level.
The backstory on the apple juice comes from new Strength and Conditioning Coach Barry Brennan. The team drinks apple juice after a hard workout in order to replenish. So Aston-Reese decided to make sure Monahan knew he was replenished. Imagine 40 gallons arriving at your front door. Where are you putting all that juice?
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That’s still not all. A couple of players admitted to having Monahan leave certain items on their car windshield.
One was a sunny-side up candy egg. The equipment guys had to do a little maintenance on the victimized player’s windshield wipers.
The other item that players have found on their windshield were hockey cards. Not just any hockey cards though. They are signed Monahan hockey cards.
“That’s happened (hockey cards),” Monahan said. “A couple eggs on the windshield too.”
“That’s great. That’s fun,” quipped one Blue Jackets’ player when there were several Monahan signed cards found on their car window.
There may be more antics going on within the room. This gives you an idea of how close the guys are, but also how much fun they’re having too. A couple players admitted that Monahan has a circle of players that get involved with his antics. However, no one was willing to fess up which players were part of this “inner circle.”
Monahan’s Motivation
Hockey players go through the long grind of a season full of ups and downs. For Monahan, his pranks are a way to have fun while lightening the mood.
“You come to the rink. You put in a lot of hard work together whether it’s in the gym, on the ice or in videos,” Monahan said. “So when you’re here, you enjoy it. I like to mess around with the guys a lot. It keeps a fun atmosphere. You give it, you’re going to get it. That’s what keeps it light around here.”
The players are have fun with it. Laughs are shared. And most importantly, the pranks don’t go too far that it offends anyone.
“It just lightens it up,” defenseman Damon Severson said. “That’s what I enjoy too. That’s why I like being part of that stuff. You got to be able to take a joke and give a joke. It’s all innocent things. It’s not going to hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s not going to ruffle anyone’s feathers. It’s just all for fun.”
The Blue Jackets are having more fun these days. They’re carrying a four-game winning streak heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. They need to keep winning just to be able to stay in the playoff race.
Monahan may look all innocent and quiet most of the time. But that’s likely because he’s already thinking about the next prank he’s going to pull on one of his teammates. It’s his overall demeanor and approach that truly makes him the beloved Blue Jackets’ prankster.
