Starting in 1997, and for the next four years, Jaromir Jagr would begin a tear that would see him completely dominate the NHL level. During that four year span, Jagr would lead the league in scoring, tallying 446 points in 302 games.
At that same time, a displaced Pittsburgh Penguins fan took notice in the game and quickly fell in love with it. Being pre NHL Center Ice days, opportunities were limited in getting to see his favorite team play, but determined to learn more about the game, he watched whatever was available to him on TV.
Unlike any other sport, hockey is truly one that you have to actually see to believe. TV doesn’t do it justice. The speed that these athletes play at is just remarkable. Everything about the sport has a certain grace that is just intoxicating. Watching it on TV got me close, going to my first game created a monster.
Looking back at it, that was maybe the best thing that could have ever happened for me as a hockey fan. If I grew up only watching the Penguins play, and no offense to those who live in their team’s respective market, I don’t think I would have been as big a hockey fan as I turned out to be.
I got the opportunity to see everything that was out there, because, well that was my only option. Some weeks it was either watching the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche beat the pulp out of each other or nothing at all.
How tragic.
Not blessed with the size nor athletic ability to pursue the game I loved, I did whatever I had to do to continue to stay close to the sport, enter the writing.
My name is Anthony Murphy, and for the second time I will be taking over the editor duties of The Rat Trick, and I couldn’t be more excited about coming back on board.
How does a lifelong Penguins fan make his way to a Florida Panthers’ fan website? Read the story above. More than I love the Penguins, I love the game of hockey.
I left this site two years ago to pursue other writing opportunities that I thought was a dream situation.
It wasn’t.
After struggling with my writing, I took time off it. Something was wrong. For so many reasons I won’t get into here, baseball I have always felt as my ‘first love’ in the sporting world. I thought that and football would give me a better chance to further my name out there.
During that time off, I reflected on what might have gone wrong, all the while the Stanley Cup playoffs were taking place. It might be easy to place the Penguins winning the Cup as the main reason for me getting back into things, but it was more than that.
I found the beauty again. The grace of it all. I can’t really describe it, I just knew that was the problem with my writing.
After working the kinks out on my own site, I looked for an opportunity to try and get back to where I once was. Almost on instinct I checked this site out.
Here we are.
What I hope to bring to this site the second time around, isn’t anything flashy. I called my last website ‘Grinders’ Gazette’ because I offered ‘gritty, hard working coverage of all things hockey’. I bring that same mentality to The Rat Trick.
I have always admired those kind of players. Not always the most talented of players, but always the ones willing to go to work, and do all the dirty things necessary to succeed. I may not be the best writer in the world, but that doesn’t mean I can’t work harder than anyone else in providing you, the reader, the best Panthers’ coverage out there.
I put everything I have in my writing, and I hope it shows. I’m huge into analytics so I you will definitely see that incorporated here.
Trying to stay as objective as possible, I love what the Panthers have going on. An opportunity to follow them and share my views on them is beyond exciting.
It doesn’t hurt that getting the opportunity to watch Jagr play again gives me the ultimate nostalgia feeling.