Recent Sightings...?

[FantaSteve]

With the end of the hockey season, I think it\'s fair to say that the majority of players spend their summers at \'home\', where they grew up.

Assuming most of us are in Canada, and a high number of players are Canadian, I think we can expect some sightings in the coming months.

This post was spurred by my own sighting last night...

There I was, driving South on Bayview (in Toronto, between 401 and Lawrence) and I realized (aka my girlfriend told me) that I needed to stop into Shoppers Drug Mart and buy some overpriced cosmetics and smelly soaps and stuff. After expertly parking my car (I prefer reversing into the spots, makes for a quicker getaway) and walking into said establishment, my eye was immediately drawn to a large amount of bleach blonde hair on a 30 something year old Whoa-man. The roots of this coif, as minimal as they were, exposed the fact that the carpet did not match the drapes. I obviously immediately recognized this woman as a hockey players\' wife. It did not take me long to confirm my theory, as a quick sweep of the toileteries aisle revealed said hockey player: Jason Arnott. He was triumphantly weilding a package of paper towels and, although he was wearing Birkenstocks, seemed to be magically skating up and down the aisle, guiding his son in the ways of quilted vs. non-quilted toiler paper.

I recognized the opportunity and made my move - feigning interest in the latest advancements in room deodorization, I deftly moved closer to the Captain of the Nashville Predators. When close enough I \'accidentally\' knocked a box of baby wipes from the shelf, near JArn\'s feet. Eye contact was made, and I expertly faked shock in recognition. A polite \"hello\" from me was met with a subtle \"hey\", which conveyed the fact that he was not in the mood to speak with a 20 something male with a box of baby wipes in his hand. Undeterred, I asked him the single most important question, one that all of Dobberhockey would\'ve been proud of...

\"Mr. Arnott, sir, can you please give me a short term and long term upside on Alex Radulov in a full category rotisserie league, and whether Mr. Trotz will ever grant him the respect and free reign he deserves?\"

Surprised, but without missing a beat, Jay Ar-Is replied with:

\"Next year, 75 points with a good mix of penalty minutes and solid +/-, but I see him exploding the next season with 90 points and 40 plus goals.”

Amazed by his succinct insight, I thanked him for his time and offered to wipe the dirt off his son’s face (I still had the baby wipes remember). He was, admittedly, creeped right out by my offer but was gracious in avoiding me for the duration of his shopping experience.

By then my girlfriend had a basketful of stuff we probably already had at home, but in the interest of picking my battles I happily paid for it all. After discussing Optimum Points with the cashier for nearly 3 decades, we left Shoppers, both pleased with our time spent there.

As I was pulling out, I saw Arnott in the parking lot. In my attempt to wave I accidentally hit a parked car in the lot. I obviously drove away hurriedly, ending my brief encounter with a real life NHLer.

In conclusion… I made up most of this story, but I did see Jason Arnott last night. I didn’t acknowledge him, nor he I. He was a lot bigger than I thought he was. His shoulders were larger than my increasing feeling of inadequacy. Oh, I also did not make up any of the stuff about my girlfriend’s purchases. Shoppers Drug Mart is the female Future Shop (Best Buy for the American readers).

Anyone else seen any players?

[Crazynuck]

great story... really had me going with the question about Rads. Would have been amazing if he actually said that.

the correct intersection of the shoppers is bayview and york mills my old stomping grounds. not many hockey players in that area. Prince lives there though.

[ridinryan44]

Haha, that was an awesome post.. thanks for th entertainment!

[ridinryan44]

Crazynuck wrote:

Prince lives there though.

maybe you should move Cnuck??

[Sin Bin]

Crazynuck wrote:

great story... really had me going with the question about Rads. Would have been amazing if he actually said that.

the correct intersection of the shoppers is bayview and york mills my old stomping grounds. not many hockey players in that area. Prince lives there though.

Didn\'t know he lived in Toronto. He is not quite the size of Arnott though :woohoo:

[Crazynuck]

Sin Bin wrote:

Crazynuck wrote:

great story... really had me going with the question about Rads. Would have been amazing if he actually said that.

the correct intersection of the shoppers is bayview and york mills my old stomping grounds. not many hockey players in that area. Prince lives there though.

Didn\'t know he lived in Toronto. He is not quite the size of Arnott though :woohoo:

He married a girl from Hamilton and lives in TO on the bridlepath or one of those insanely rich streets. I heard they might be divorced now.

My last sighting was Don Cherry on Indian road in Mississauga all dressed up for church i\'d assume on a Sunday morning.

Does Spezza\'s sister count.... she lives across the street. But he is never around. Always play some road hockey hoping he\'ll ask to join in.

[Dobber]

Man, you weave a funny tale, I should bring you on board!

York Mills and Bayview - I lived there three years ago. Worked near there, too. Funny, never met any hockey players around there...

[bwhee]

I swore I saw Brian Rolston at the Stone Temple Pilots show the other night, but I cannot confirm. It was pretty dark.

[Chuk]

Crazynuck wrote:

Sin Bin wrote:

Crazynuck wrote:

great story... really had me going with the question about Rads. Would have been amazing if he actually said that.

the correct intersection of the shoppers is bayview and york mills my old stomping grounds. not many hockey players in that area. Prince lives there though.

Didn\'t know he lived in Toronto. He is not quite the size of Arnott though :woohoo:

He married a girl from Hamilton and lives in TO on the bridlepath or one of those insanely rich streets. I heard they might be divorced now.

Oh man did I get a good laugh at this one..... I live close to there now and still have a lot of friends in the area.

I even have more info for your stalker needs Crazynuck....

I never knew that he married a girl from Hamilton but I was made aware of his house when a friend of mine saw him one day and followed him home. (Yes a stalker in training). Needless to say it was big news in my circle of friends for a bit but that was quite a while ago.

Then about 2 months ago I am having dinner with some friends who were house hunting and decided to go check out a place on the Bridle Path. If they can afford it, good for them as the houses are HUGE.....but...

The place they walk into is PURPLE. Not the outside but the interior. Maybe not every room but all the areas they checked out were. So my friend says to the agent \"Who the hell lives here Prince?\"......

They were asked kindly to leave as the laughter that followed was disturbing the neighbors.


That area might not have a lot of NHLers but there is a restaurant at Yonge and York Mills that is very expensive that many of them eat at.

Besides that I should see Don Cherry at a golf tourney next week and I am attending another that I am expecting some NHLers. Alan Mccauley is usually at one of them as he has been there since he was a rookie, even after his trade to San Jose. He introduced me to Patrick Marleau, when they both attended dinner one year.

[Crazynuck]

when you live in the area word gets around about the famous ppl that move into the block.

[repenttokyo]

Crazynuck wrote:

great story... really had me going with the question about Rads. Would have been amazing if he actually said that.

the correct intersection of the shoppers is bayview and york mills my old stomping grounds. not many hockey players in that area. Prince lives there though.

doesn\'t prince live in minneapolis?

[angus]

bwhee wrote:

I swore I saw Brian Rolston at the Stone Temple Pilots show the other night, but I cannot confirm. It was pretty dark.

Sure it wasn\'t Jason Lee from \"My Name Is Earl\"?

[shallowfrozenwater]

i saw Joe Sakic in the mall here in Winnipeg last week. i really shouldve asked if he was gonna hang\'em up or not ... and ask him about Forsberg too.

[lockedge]

angus wrote:

bwhee wrote:

I swore I saw Brian Rolston at the Stone Temple Pilots show the other night, but I cannot confirm. It was pretty dark.

Sure it wasn\'t Jason Lee from \"My Name Is Earl\"?

Jason lee is a scientologist. I doubt he\'d support a band with a singer who does drugs.

Though it\'d be cool if it WAS Brian Rolston. I mean, it\'s just rare to see athletes in amongst regular joes.