Esquire 324 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 My sister works at an arena in the Toronto area and told me over a couple of beers that John Tavares has been taking part in "high level shinny" games at her arena. Naturally I was a little skeptical, but still asked if she could score me an autograph to which she told me that I could probably meet him and get it myself. So, I headed across town after work and when I got to the arena he sure enough he was there. My sister brought me to the managers office and it was just me, my sister, the manager, and my buddy there when John came into the office before suiting up. He was kind enough to sign a few pictures I took of him at his last Oshawa Generals home game last season as well as my Team Canada flag I got at the Canada/Sweden exhibition game this winter. After he was done I thanked him for taking time to sign some autographs, wished him luck for next season, and shook his hand. It was only about a total of 5 minutes but I just laughed when I thought of the scenario when it was done: meeting the number one draft pick in a community arena office with my sister and a buddy. We stuck around with about 5-10 other people to see what the "high level shinny" was all about and turns out JT wasn't the only OHL'er there. Judging by the numbers on the respective team helmets they were wearing, also on the ice were John Kurtz (Sudbury Wolves), Mitch Fillman (Saginaw Spirit), Matt Russo (St.Mike's Majors), someone from the Brampton Battalion, someone from Western, and a whole bunch of others I didn't have time to check out because I had to leave. And according to an arena attendant, P.K. Subban also plays there but couldn't make it out last night. All in all, it was pretty damn sweet. Like I said, there were only about 5-10 people watching this game and there were no refs, no whistles, and no scoreboard. Just pure hockey talents flying up and down the ice. What a country!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest E_S_A_D Report post Posted July 7, 2009 It's always neat running into hockey players. Two weeks ago I chatted with Jeff Carter at a bar. Last night I met and talked with Justin Abdelkader at a restaurant in E. Lansing. It's kind of fun. Jeff Carter was far nicer than Abdelkader, funny too, considering Jeff is quite a star for the Flyers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esquire 324 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 It's always neat running into hockey players. Two weeks ago I chatted with Jeff Carter at a bar. Last night I met and talked with Justin Abdelkader at a restaurant in E. Lansing. It's kind of fun. Jeff Carter was far nicer than Abdelkader, funny too, considering Jeff is quite a star for the Flyers. Nice! My experience with Tavares was exactly like I had expected meeting an 18 year old hockey player would be: shy, quiet, strong hand shake. I assume that the older a player gets, the more comfortable they become with interacting with fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HawksFan4Life 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 Not always. I've heard stories about Jonathan Toews- how outgoing he is. Many people rave about that. Although I have also heard that Kane is nice, but very shy. I also have Tavares' autograph. I mailed a pic that I printed from the internet, and he signed and personalized it to me. I was very happy. Glad you met him though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esquire 324 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 Not always. I've heard stories about Jonathan Toews- how outgoing he is. Many people rave about that. Although I have also heard that Kane is nice, but very shy. I also have Tavares' autograph. I mailed a pic that I printed from the internet, and he signed and personalized it to me. I was very happy. Glad you met him though. I hear ya. Of all the people in this year's draft that I'd peg to be the most approachable it would have to be Matt Duchene. They ran a "Day in the life" kinda thing during the draft and came off as very vocal and funny. Like I said, I'm not expecting much from an 18-year-old kid who's been under the hockey spotlight for most of his life. Some people are talkers, some aren't. During the trade deadline, the Fan 590 were talking about Bouwmeester and how he used to physically shake during interviews and how to this day, he's still a shy guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingslogo19 281 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 Sweet story, thanks for sharing it. Always like hearing about when people meet nhl players Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest REDWINGSFTW Report post Posted July 8, 2009 Tavares= A 80 point guy nothing more if he had great skating ability he wud then be unstoppable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
