Community Lifestyle

[olafson1393]

This may be off-limits for some, or could tip toe on the borderline of personal information, but I always find myself curious, especially with the more active members of the forum, what do we all do for a living? What is our "real world" hockey background. I, myself work in mining. I have a mechanical engineering technology diploma and mainly focus on reliability of our mechanical equipment. Probably shouldn't delve into company details, but potash mining is basically the jyst of it. I work 10 hour days Monday to Thursday with the odd overtime shift on Fridays. I don't play much hockey anymore, but played house league minor hockey from 4-18. I officiated the same level for about 10 years, and coached a house league midget team for two. If I get out to 4 or 5 rec games a year I'm doing good. I probably watch 40-50 local games a year, from house minor hockey to AA and AAA peewee bantam and midget, to Senior, SJHL, and WHL. I probably catch bits and pieces of 150 odd NHL games in a season - my fianc? is a Ranger fan and actually wont let me hear the end of it if we miss two Ranger games in a row. I'll shoot for 50-60 Leafs games myself.

[Pengwin7]

I'm a structural engineer, wife, 2 kids. Pretty blah/boring, run-of-the-mill lifestyle. I dig it.
The P.eng in Pengwin7 is for the professional engineer part.

I still play two 20gp seasons of men's league hockey per year + playoffs. I'm an undersized offensive-minded defenseman, but love to criticize my like-selves in the real NHL.
I'd say I watch mosts of 3-4 NHL games each week of the 26 week NHL season, so 75-100 NHL games per year...
Usually after the wife is asleep... or if she is immersed in her phone! (LOL)
All NHL games - I don't have a good resource for JR hockey except when I vacation home to Windsor for Christmas and catch the JR tournaments.

I find playing hockey from age 8-now (40+) has been a great resource for fantasy hockey.
Some (former) forum members like to poo-poo on the forum members that suggest a keenness towards player eval that they notice from their own days of playing - at any level.
Skating in actual hockey games, though, I think gives people a better understanding at the depths of hockey/team-building thinking that fan-onlies don't get.

Pengwin7 cuts from the majority by:
a) Loving the +/- stat in hockey
b) Being PRO-veto (as fantasy hockey trades go)
c) Ragging on players that I don't feel focus on back-checking
d) Actually liking Gary Bettman & his impact on today's brand of NHL hockey
e) sigh... All of the above

[Peng also acknowledges that others will have an easier time quoting & criticizing something I've written above rather than contributing their own thoughts. edgysmileyface.]

Nice thread (some REP) - forums have a good new influx of forum members, so be fun to learn about them a bit!!!

[Axeman33]

I have no issues sharing that I am a member of the Royal Canadian Navy. I am a Weapons Engineer Technician (SONAR). I repair SONAR electronic equipment on the ship as well as the Navigational electronics.

I still play recreational hockey in a military league and as a goalie, I get asked to play in other leagues as well. This upcoming season could be different as the ship I am posted to is sailing a fair amount right up until Christmas.

Living on the outskirts of Halifax, I get to get out to watch a bunch of Mooseheads games each year. Hard to say how many. My father in law has season passes and we use his a lot but if a good team with good players is coming to town, I have no issues buying my own tix. Thankfully the wife enjoys going to the games as well.

[PenguinHunter]

Old enough to be considered a CA... even though technically a CPA now. I am the Controller for a Construction company.

Definitely the stay-at-home defensemen, the Methot to Karlsson type.

Only play maybe a handful of games in a season now... the local rec teams have 30 guys per team so I only play when they are extremely short. Play on the outdoor rink lots with local youth as part of the youth drop-in centre as a volunteer. Played Saskatchewan AA Bantam and Midget growing up, Decided to take up scholastic scholarships rather than playing Sask Junior.

Make it out to a few junior games during the season. Not as many as I would like.. but that means I get to spend more time with the kid.

I watch parts of a game every night while I am doing dishes and other chores around the house. Never sit down and watch a full game until playoff time.

I thoroughly enjoy spending some coffee breaks and some time on my lunch break on the forum, and some time on the slow days, when the bosses are busy and not needing me directly.

[Kofax]

Copy and paste the first line of Pengwin's post?

Chemical engineer (wastewater design/planning), wife, 2 kids (similarly little girls).

I played primarily house league, couple of years and tournaments on the select team in our area, nothing fancy. Played in various mens leagues for 10+ years but haven't been able to for a couple of years now as whenever I find a team I like, they seem to end up folding the following season and I've grown tired of the search. Very frustrating. I've played all positions minus goaltending and am an offensively minded big power forward type (or less mobile offensive defensman with a solid reach). I've got a couple dangles but I prefer to go around/through you.

I will actually watch a whole game once or twice a week, but will watch individual periods more regularly. Probably equals 3 or 4 games a week when it's all said and done.

[SuperMario]

I'm a call center manager (living the DREAM... woooo....) with the same wife, 2 kids (1 of each, both 3 or under).

Played goalie from the age of like 3 or 4, played mostly house league. Later in life I've kept in shape (ish) by playing for a ball hockey league here in Ottawa.

Don't get to watch as much hockey as I'd like, but get tickets to the company suite at the CTC for Sens games for about 1/3 of the home games. I probably see more games live than on TV, sadly.

[StuntMan12]

29 Years old

Currently done 2/4 of my bachelor of arts degree and am going back to school this coming September. Never got to play organized hockey because of asthma. Usually watch 20-30 local games which stem from Peewee house/rep, Midget Rep, Senior AA, WHL. Try and watch the occasional Major Midget AAA games. Subscribe to NHL Center Ice and watch as many games as I can (2 games nightly). Spend countless hours working on player projections and research. Been involved in fantasy hockey since 2003. Haven't watched an NHL game since 2007 when Philly beat down on the Canucks like 7-2. Needless to say I am constantly thinking about hockey. I know I have weaknesses in my hockey knowledge since I wasn't able to play but my best friend is a ex semi-pro player who got invites to try out ECHL and overseas back in the 90's who I constantly go to for player/hockey in general advice.

[FinnishFlash]

Tax Specialist (CPA, CA) for one of the largest accounting firms in the world (I won't specify which one). I'm not sure about PH, but I disliked the merging of the designations, but that a discussion for another day.

Played hockey competitively from age 4 to 19, topping out in Junior B. I played centre, was always more of a goal scorer and was captain of the high school team. Only play a bit of beer league hockey during the winters now and play one night of floor hockey a week year-round. More or less just to stay in shape at this point haha.

I try to watch as many NHL games as possible now, unfortunately I don't get to see as many live games as I used to.

[Eskimo Brother]

Recent graduate of an undergrad in Civil Engineering, currently working in the transportation sector.
With my girlfriend of 3+ years, who I am slowly teaching to skate and turning into a fan of watching hockey

Played hockey from the age of 6, and am still playing two nights a week now. One organized adult league, one pick up game. Played single A level my whole life and also for the high school team. Generally a mobile two-way defenceman. Left shot that plays the right side (just to mess up P7).

Only started into fantasy hockey during the 2012-2013 lockout shortened season, so a lot less experience than most around here. I try to make up for it in enthusiasm though!
Usually got to one or two NHL games a year (made it to three last season though). Watch my brother's junior A games all the time, and watch a bunch more when possible online.

[LordoftheRinks]

Great thread BTW. Married with 5 kids. I'm global director of learning & development for large (50000 employee) health care company for the past 2 years. Prior to that I spent 14 years at Big 4 consultancy / professional services firm. I've been playing hockey for more years than I care to admit to (from squirt to high school to college and beyond) and I generally play in 2 hockey leagues year-round (A or B-level and house league) concurrently or around 10-12 games per month. I'm a mobile, puck-moving defenseman, along the lines of Drew Doughty...at least in my minds-eye!. The wheels aren't as fast as they used to be but I still have the heavy shot and pride myself in that I never get beat 1:1. I've also coached at just about every level and was the resident hockey pro for several years at my then local rink before family and career became priorities. I'm a life-long Flyers fan and subscribe to the NHL package for watching games on TV. I started playing fantasy hockey about 10 years ago as a way to de-compress from the stressful consulting life style, work hours and travel.

[RizzeeDizzee]

A lot of this is in my DobberHockey bio, but I've been Intellectual Property attorney for 20 years. Not only have I never once played hockey, but I've never put on a pair of skates in my life. Golf and tennis were my sports. I started playing fantasy hockey while in law school.

[2014olympicgold]

26yrs old, went to school for Mechanical engineering and I work as a quality assurance engineer. I’m on this to give my mind a break from stuff in between AutoCad drawings loading. I started the lockout short year and really only knew of Leaf players, but knew how to play hockey. I live a boring life due to all my money going into a house and car.

Grew up playing hockey and only hockey until grade 7, and then started playing volleyball (gr7-12), then rugby in gr11 and 12. Now I’m a soccer goalie in my second ever season and I have no clue what I’m doing but my team says I’m good (based on being 6’7” it’s easier to cover that big net I guess). I play 3on3 ball hockey, 5on5 ball hockey, and 5on5 ice hockey through the week. 3on3 is terrible (I’m stopping that soon), but 5on5 ball hockey is so much fun. In that I’m a stay at home D, just because I’m not a sprinter. But in ice hockey I love skating, my long stride helps me get up to a high speed pretty easily, and I’m either a D-man or a RW (shoot left). If I’m a forward I love forechecking because in beer leagues, no one knows how to react to a hard forecheck.

Next big thing is looking to get a dog. I bounce between a lab and just a straight mutt but I recently found Potcake bread on a website and they just look great. Either naming it Rocko or Cornelius. Cornelius because I don’t want a real cheesy name, but a little Corny is alright.

[Daydream Nation]

Interesting thread.

I've been a high school science teacher for 17 years and my wife teaches 7th grade history. I have a 7-year old daughter and a 3-year old son. Never played organized hockey but as a kid we played a lot of pond hockey, driveway hockey, and roller blade hockey. Got into fantasy hockey in 2012 as a way to increase my overall knowledge of the game. Been a longtime fantasy player since the early Yahoo leagues but in the last 5 years I have completely stopped playing fantasy baseball and football. Now it is only a dynasty hockey league and a keep 8 redraft league.

In terms of going to games, I don't go to any. Before kids came along, my wife and I went to up to 5 Blackhawk games a year but the last game we went to was back in 2010. Back in the 90s when I was in college I went to around 20 games a year. My ex could get free tickets so we would cherry-pick all the best opponents to see. Even if I had more time I wouldn't go to more than 1 game a season. The Hawks really jacked up ticket prices after the 2010 Cup. I would have gone to the draft this year or this weeks's Blackhawk prospect camp but both times I was out of town on a fishing trip. None of my friends follow hockey so it is either drag my wife to something she is not really interested in or go by myself.

[lucafen4]

26yrs old, went to school for Mechanical engineering and I work as a quality assurance engineer. I’m on this to give my mind a break from stuff in between AutoCad drawings loading. I started the lockout short year and really only knew of Leaf players, but knew how to play hockey. I live a boring life due to all my money going into a house and car.

Grew up playing hockey and only hockey until grade 7, and then started playing volleyball (gr7-12), then rugby in gr11 and 12. Now I’m a soccer goalie in my second ever season and I have no clue what I’m doing but my team says I’m good (based on being 6’7” it’s easier to cover that big net I guess). I play 3on3 ball hockey, 5on5 ball hockey, and 5on5 ice hockey through the week. 3on3 is terrible (I’m stopping that soon), but 5on5 ball hockey is so much fun. In that I’m a stay at home D, just because I’m not a sprinter. But in ice hockey I love skating, my long stride helps me get up to a high speed pretty easily, and I’m either a D-man or a RW (shoot left). If I’m a forward I love forechecking because in beer leagues, no one knows how to react to a hard forecheck.

Next big thing is looking to get a dog. I bounce between a lab and just a straight mutt but I recently found Potcake bread on a website and they just look great. Either naming it Rocko or Cornelius. Cornelius because I don’t want a real cheesy name, but a little Corny is alright.

Screw the Lab... get a Ridgeback!

[Call of Doughty]

I'm a 3rd generation soldier. We are the main ground force of the Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, Darth Vader and Grand Tarkin. When called upon, we are deployed quickly and respond to states of civil unrest or insurrection, can act as planetary garrison and maintain order in the Galactic Empire. We are paid minimum wage by our CEO George Lucas, but can accumulate bonus depending upon the number of kill shots.

I took up hockey at an early age, but wasn't very successful as most pucks lasered on net missed the target. My parents were so embarrassed, they pulled me out right away.



After thwarting a terror attack at a local arena in 2009, the commish. of the AHL got wind of this news and invited me out to a game to drop the ceremonial puck. From that day forward, I was hooked on the pro game.


Since then, I've enjoyed fantasy hockey and every aspect of it. Play in three leagues and partake in a few office pools too. I'm a big Senator's fan but don't attend many games at all because I can't afford the parking - again, scrub pay!


I'm married with three beautiful children who love getting out on the backyard rink when they can.


Our dog Kylo. Not sure of the breed.