Small roundup

Here's a photo of Guy taken at Saturday's alumni game in Ottawa:

Photo source:  Facebook / Fondation franco-ontarienne

A few video links I found:  Here's Guy (in English) on why you shouldn't buy a counterfeit jersey (from last year's awareness campaign) and a brief Dallas Stars highlight video (the blood in that first shot!).  

Finally, here's a State of the 'Stache update, screencapped from RDS this evening:

As my friend Ron says, it's a pubestache with 36 years experience.

The first encounter.

Since I've recently posted about meeting Guy at the Match des Etoiles in Ottawa, I decided that I may as well do a write-up about the first time I met him.  Yes, the encounter on Saturday was actually my second time meeting him.  The first was in October of 2008 in Montreal.

I learned in the spring/summer of 2008 that the parking garage at the Bell Centre is a great place to meet Habs players after practices.  By then, I'd pretty much determined that I was going to try to meet Guy no matter what it took to do it, so I enlisted my friend Aisys (WordPress link), who'd been at the garage before, to help me.  Also involved were the Montreal contingent, Kathy (who writes the Drummondville Voltigeurs blog Seven Thousand Volts and also writes at AllHabs.net) and Alex.

We got to Montreal via Greyhound.  The bus happened to stop right outside the Bell Centre, which was rather convenient, so we headed straight to the garage.  Players spotted right away (the Habs were hosting the Bruins that night, it was the first home game of the season actually):  Phil Kessel, Cam Neely, and Aaron Ward (who was wearing his ENORMOUS Stanley Cup ring he'd won with the Hurricanes).    

It took a while for the Canadiens players to start exiting the garage, and by the time they did, there was a good amount of people waiting.  (Enough that security had to put up a barrier.)  Some of the players gunned it out of the garage, which I honestly couldn't blame them for because I'd been told that autograph seekers in Montreal can be crazy -- there've been stories of them chasing the players' cars down the street.  But many stopped to sign and take pictures.  I'd been forewarned that the coaches are the last to leave, so I braced myself for a long wait.

I was actually not paying attention when Carbo finally appeared.  I heard Aisys say "Lisa..." and then a huge swarm of people around Guy's car (a beautiful convertible).  First impression of Guy Carbonneau:  incredibly gracious.  I'm not kidding when I say there was a huge swarm, but he signed for everybody.  I had my Dallas Stars replica jersey for him to sign, which I handed to him quietly because honestly, how do you find words when your hero is right in front of you?

Guy signing my jersey (photo by Aisys Adona)

Through my absolute terror I asked for a picture, and Guy removed his sunglasses.  (I wonder how many players think to do that when asked for pictures.)  Aisys then took this photo:

Look at me.  I really do look terrified.  Furthermore than that, I don't have any piercings!  (I didn't begin to get really actively interested in body modification until 2009.)  I should note that the young woman next to Guy in the car is his daughter Kristina, and I couldn't help but think that it must be strange to have all this attention centered around your father.  The Carbonneau daughters grew up with it and I'm sure they're used to it, but still.

My impressions of Carbo from both encounters -- he's very kind and obliging but also very quiet.  Whereas the other alumni players on Saturday were quite chatty, Guy was over there doing his thing.  Which is in line with what I've read about him in the locker room.  Quietly leading.  Words are not his forte (unless you incur his wrath) -- he shows you what he can do.  Which, in turn, reminds me of myself.  I'm much the same way.  (Though I can be quite long-winded on this blog.)

I guess it can be seen as somewhat crazy that I travelled all the way to Montreal for an autograph and a picture, but it was something I wanted to do, and in the end I'm glad I did it.  We spent the rest of the day touring the city, ate lunch at St-Hubert (yum), visited the Bell Centre store (yikes are souvenirs ever expensive in Montreal), relaxed in a park (I won't tell you what I wrote on a park bench, though perhaps you can guess), almost got interviewed by CBC News (Aisys told the reporter in regards to me "she's a big Guy Carbonneau fan"), and then jumped on the subway to catch the bus back to Ottawa (it was interesting to watch the throngs of people in Habs jerseys come up from underground, on their way to that night's game).

The other thing I learned:  hockey is very serious business in Montreal.  Which was underscored later on in the season and the following March, when the Canadiens relieved Guy of his duties as coach.

So that's the story of the first encounter.  I would wait four years to meet him again, and four years has seemingly made a huge difference for both of us.  Guy went from coach to TV analyst, undergoing two hip surgeries which were necessitated by the wear and tear of his playing career; and I found my way out of a huge personal rut, losing my own father along the way.  (My father's thoughts on the first meeting at the time:  "You need your head examined."  Oh dear.)

Will there be a third time?  Who knows.  For now, I'm grateful for the first two.  

And we're going for the hat trick

Third post, then this is it for today, I promise.  You may notice that the blog has a new layout.  Yes, after doing this blog for over a year, I decided to give it something other than the basic Blogger layout.  

The header photo is by photographer Bob Fisher and originally appeared in the December 1986 issue of Les Canadiens.  (Note the then-new Stanley Cup ring on Guy's hand.)  Image edited by me.

A post that has nothing to do with Carbo

I hope the readership will forgive me for doing this, but I'm going to do an off-topic blog post.  Well, maybe it's sort of on-topic because it is about hockey.

There are very few current players that have managed to capture my imagination and my loyalty the way Guy has.  That is not to say that I don't love the current NHL (lockout aside), but I guess I just like the old guys.  One of the exceptions to this rule has been goaltender Pascal Leclaire.  Regulars to this blog will know that I am an Ottawa Senators fan, and Leclaire came to our team in 2009 when he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Antoine Vermette.  At the time I was furious -- Vermette was one of my favorites (and a player who I believe has a lot of parallels with Carbo).  But in time I warmed to the goalie.  I was struck by his personality and humility.  Those who have played with him have said that he's a great teammate.

Unfortunately, Leclaire battled injuries throughout his career and the expectations when he came to Ottawa were high.  The injury bug hit him again with the Senators and he never did live up to those expectations.  But I was still a fan anyway.  Being a goalie fan is tough -- goaltenders have so much responsibility and often are the first to get blamed after a loss.  I'll admit that I got into a few Twitter fights defending Leclaire.  

Tonight on L'Antichambre, Leclaire announced his retirement from hockey at the tender age of 30.  It's very sad -- he had such great potential, drafted 8th overall in 2001 by Columbus, but again, in the end the injuries were just too much.  As of last season (while rehabbing from hip surgery) he was working as a hockey analyst with Radio-Canada, the French language arm of the CBC.  I hope that he can continue his TV career, or perhaps even become a goaltending coach at some point.  (Edit:  per RDS, he is working as an agent, consulting with young players.)

Best of luck in your retirement, Pascal.  I'll miss you on the ice.

A brief update

Found this neat, short promo for Guy on RDS the other day.

Also, of course this blog is doing updates on Movember -- here's a good read from the blog Hab It Her Way on why the cause is so important.

The blogger meets Guy

This afternoon I was fortunate enough to attend a Habs alumni game in Ottawa, at the University of Ottawa sports complex.  This event was sponsored by the Franco-Ontarienne foundation and Desjardins.  And yes, Guy was on the roster.  I feel so lucky to have now seen him play "in person," even if it was years after he retired from the NHL.  He may be older and he may perhaps be a little slower, but everything that Diane Lau wrote in her marvelous 1999 essay Carbonneau at Ice Level still holds true today.  The man is absolute magic on the ice.  It is quite easy to imagine him taking flight.

After the game, there was an after-party at the Draft sports pub, which is also located in the sports complex. This is Guy Carbonneau, after all, and I found myself needing a beer to shore up my confidence to talk to him.  (Fortunately refreshments were provided with the price of the ticket.)  I finally made my way to the table where the Habs alumni were signing autographs, got my program signed by the team, and made my move.  I asked Guy for a picture.

I was temporarily thwarted by a malfunctioning camera flash.  Oh no!  "The flash is not on!" said Carbo, attempting to instruct the person I'd enlisted to take the picture.  This man, kind soul, absolute class act that he is, patiently waited through FIVE failed pictures.  In a panic, I hit every button on my camera that I could possibly think of and finally got the damn thing working.  Then, Guy graciously stood for another picture.

Here is the result.

Yes, that is your blogger, complete with blue hair and piercings.  As for Guy, this post could also serve as a State of the 'Stache update as the Mo is coming along quite nicely.  I didn't mention the blog -- I thought that would possibly be overkill -- but I did shake Guy's hand and tell him that I was one of his biggest fans, which I'm sure he's heard a million times before but in my case I believe it is really true.

I wonder if he noticed my necklace.

As a final note on this encounter, while I was waiting in line someone gave Carbo an absolutely beautiful photo of him to sign, a black and white of him when he was quite young.  It's rare when I find a Carbonneau photo I haven't seen before.  I wish I'd thought to ask the person where they got it.

I'd like to thank the Franco-Ontarienne foundation and Desjardins for putting on such a great event.  It was a blast!  Thanks especially to Philippe who was so kind and helpful when I ordered the tickets.

Finally, from heroes on the ice to heroes who I believe are far more important -- today is Remembrance Day.  I capped off my day by attending Poppy Day at my local tattoo studio.  Please take a moment today to remember those who have served and who currently serve, who protect us and fight for our freedom.

Lest we forget.  (tattoo by Genevieve Soulard, The Wizzard's Den, Petawawa ON, Canada)

HHOF talk and Movember

I'd like to thank blog reader James for giving me a heads-up about this:  I haven't been watching TSN much these days due to the lockout but the other day the NHL on TSN crew did a special Quiz feature on players who should next make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Said Michael Peca:

I'm going Carbonneau. We always talk about offensive numbers when it comes to the Hall of Fame, but some guys do just as much with the intangibles to help their teams win championships, and Carbonneau is a great example. You ask anybody from the teams he's won Stanley Cups with, they would tell you that he was as big a part of the team as anybody.  (link)

Way to go, Michael Peca!  Also of note is this Hockey News blog post from four years ago that I recently found, which also makes the case for Carbo.  As of 2013, Guy will have been HHOF eligible for ten years, and pardon my expression but it's bloody ridiculous -- induct him already.

It is also November and you know what that means -- men all over everywhere are growing facial hair in support of men's health.  Guy is once again taking up the cause this year, which means that it's time for the second annual State of the 'Stache.  His Mo was on display the other night on L' Antichambre on RDS:

It's still in the embryonic stages as you can see.