01-13-2016, 05:32 PM
<div align="center">Year of the Backup
![[Image: 91a53008896937df3f0cc98198128a07.jpg]](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/91/a5/30/91a53008896937df3f0cc98198128a07.jpg)
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It has been a very turbulent time for Seattle goaltender Phil Osgoode. With Season 27 just about to get started, we have seen a resurgence of activity on his part after what can only be called a quiet fade out into inactivity.
The resurgence was all spurred on my an email sent to Osgoode’s personal email address from Jack Burton, the man, the myth, the legend, and of course the Seattle GM. What could have that email said to provoke such a rapid change over?
“Well to be honest, my motivational drive was almost gone. I had played 3 seasons as a back up and it is very hard to stay motivated for just 6 games a year. At first, I just stopped writing articles but then, I slowly stopped going to practice. No one said anything to me and I don’t think I was even missed. I thought that this might be the end for my hockey career, so I started to look around for some other jobs. I figured I have to start somewhere.â€
This is indeed a sad tale. Under-motivate, under-appreciated, under-the-radar, and overall underwhelmed. Osgoode, who was showing a lot of promise and who had even gotten the media’s attention (and the attention of the entire SHL community) with his hashtag #BestBackup, was slowly fading out of existence.
“I think it was about 5 weeks that he stopped playing and practicing hockey,†said his agent Phil Knight. “He’s been through so much already I think he had to make up his own mind. Only he can decide his fate. To Hades with the commission cheques! Some players are just not cut out for the competiveness of professional sport. There was only one thing for it… and that was to let him go. If the day where he wanted to come back came, I would be there.â€
Osgoode was almost afraid of Knight calling him and giving him the hairdryer treatment*… but when the call never came, he figured he had made the right choice.
**As opposed to popular belief, the hairdryer treatment involves neither salons nor hairdressers. You do not purchase this, nor use it to cure or correct an existing hair condition. It is actually a term coined by Mr. Wayne Ricebridge of Kent. Wayne was a very career-driven man who upheld an important job and wore a suit to work each day. He did his very best to make himself look as presentable and professional for his colleagues and clients as possible. However, as his wife would not hesitate tell you, if he spent as much time cleaning up the house as he did himself, they would have the most beautifully kept house in all of South-East England. Conversely, she would tell you that if he prepped himself for work as much as he cleaned the house, he would be more unappealing as a banana super-glued shut. It came from this dichotomy that the phrase was born.
It was late at night and Wayne had just gotten home from a “devilishly long day at the office†and had thrown his coat down on the sofa and was loosening his tie when Mrs. Ricebridge came flying out of the bathroom. Her face was caked with a green mud mask, her hair was bunched up in a towel, and her wet slippers made a deafeningly squeaky sound (probably the same sound you’d expect a mouse to make while climaxing). She came charging at him yelling and wagging her fist violently at him, which also happened to be holding in its grasp a hairdryer, with the cord dragging limply behind, like the decorations of a newlywed’s car, serving as a reminder that the further you travel down the road, the more flaccid the decorations become. As Wayne listened to his wife’s screams, he was reminded of the time he was a sailor caught in a gale. The force with which she yelled at him made him think of that strong wind. It was as if he could feel the heat from her breathe blast through his face. He watched her frantically wave the hairdryer around in her hand for emphasis as she continued to bellow at him, probably getting more and more red in the face (with the mask of green mud, he’d never be sure). In fact, it almost felt like having a hairdryer being blown in your face. It was at this moment he suddenly became aware that he wasn’t listening to a word she was saying, but he thought he had gotten the gist of it… and it was the next thing he said that made history:
“All right, all right, don’t give me the hairdryer treatment. I’ll call your mother tomorrow.â€
And with that, he threw his tie down on the sofa and went into the den to pour himself a glass of scotch, leaving a rather perplexed looking wife, dripping water on the carpet that she had worked so hard to clean that day.
Osgoode spent the time with his family. They had a wonderful Christmas period and caught up. He had never felt better. Perhaps this distraction was exactly what he needed, but all he could think of was that his hockey career had taken him away from his family and he didn’t think he wanted that. So all was well and good for Osgoode… until that email appeared, then everything happened at once.*
*Actually that is not technically true. This saying has been debated and argued for over fifty years by scientists and philosophers and they have come to the understanding that “at once†is equal to one hundred billion years.
The email was from his former GM and coach, Jack Burton. It was just a one line email and all it read was: “Look at the name of the S27 Lockerroom – 8pm tonight†This was a very mysterious email to receive and he was so utterly bemused by it that he went down to the arena to check it out. It was in the evening and the arena was closed but the doors were still open. He crept around inside until he say the familiar door of the changeroom. Everything looks the same… except there was a sign with fancy lettering which read “S27 – Year of the Backupâ€. Osgoode scrunched up his face trying to figure out what that meant. What could it mean? He slowly pushed the change room door open.
The lights sprung on and about 15 familiar faces jumped out yelling “Surprise!†There was a shower of confetti, balloons, and banners of celebration everywhere around it. The Seattle Riot players rush towards Osgoode and smothered him in a group hug, rubbing his hair and slamming him on the back. Osgoode beamed through the roof. Standing at the back of the change room was Jack Burton who was in a wide stance and had his hands folded around his chest. He was smiling and nodding.
When the screaming and congratulations died down, Burton approached Osgoode and said “Now I know you must have a lot of questions, but here’s the gist of it: You are our starting goaltender. We want you here and we want you to stay. You’ve been a great guy to have around and we intend to keep you happy.â€
At this point an unidentified Riot player yelled out “#BestBackup becomes #BestStarter,†causing the team to erupt in another roar of cheers. Burton waited for it calm down, and then handed Osgoode a blank piece of paper.
“Your contract expires at the end of this off-season – in just a few short days. I want you to write down how many seasons and the total worth of your next contract. You’re a Riot player and I need you to know that. We treat our players like family. Go on, write down whatever you’d like.â€
“Are… you serious?†Osgoode managed to stammer.
“I was never one for jokes.â€
Osgoode flung his arms around his coach, his eye shining with tears. He handed back the sheet of paper to Burton and went to join his teammates, who had already dug into a cake that he had only just realized that was there.
“Hey, you didn’t write anything down!†exclaimed the coach.
“I know. I want you to write up a contract. I just want to focus on getting back into game sharpness and helping us bring home a Cup. We can’t do that if I am draining all of our resources!â€
Burton’s eyes twinkled.
---------
And so it came to pass that we see Osgoode back at practice, trying to make up for lost time. This will be the first time he’s played more than 2 consecutive games in the SHL. He goes into his first real rookie season with a GAA of 2.80 and a save percentage of 0.890. These are not sterling numbers but it’s a great starting point and hopefully his teammate’s exclamation comes true for the English netminder:
#BestBackup becomes #BestStarter
Word Count: 1,500
</div>It has been a very turbulent time for Seattle goaltender Phil Osgoode. With Season 27 just about to get started, we have seen a resurgence of activity on his part after what can only be called a quiet fade out into inactivity.
The resurgence was all spurred on my an email sent to Osgoode’s personal email address from Jack Burton, the man, the myth, the legend, and of course the Seattle GM. What could have that email said to provoke such a rapid change over?
“Well to be honest, my motivational drive was almost gone. I had played 3 seasons as a back up and it is very hard to stay motivated for just 6 games a year. At first, I just stopped writing articles but then, I slowly stopped going to practice. No one said anything to me and I don’t think I was even missed. I thought that this might be the end for my hockey career, so I started to look around for some other jobs. I figured I have to start somewhere.â€
This is indeed a sad tale. Under-motivate, under-appreciated, under-the-radar, and overall underwhelmed. Osgoode, who was showing a lot of promise and who had even gotten the media’s attention (and the attention of the entire SHL community) with his hashtag #BestBackup, was slowly fading out of existence.
“I think it was about 5 weeks that he stopped playing and practicing hockey,†said his agent Phil Knight. “He’s been through so much already I think he had to make up his own mind. Only he can decide his fate. To Hades with the commission cheques! Some players are just not cut out for the competiveness of professional sport. There was only one thing for it… and that was to let him go. If the day where he wanted to come back came, I would be there.â€
Osgoode was almost afraid of Knight calling him and giving him the hairdryer treatment*… but when the call never came, he figured he had made the right choice.
**As opposed to popular belief, the hairdryer treatment involves neither salons nor hairdressers. You do not purchase this, nor use it to cure or correct an existing hair condition. It is actually a term coined by Mr. Wayne Ricebridge of Kent. Wayne was a very career-driven man who upheld an important job and wore a suit to work each day. He did his very best to make himself look as presentable and professional for his colleagues and clients as possible. However, as his wife would not hesitate tell you, if he spent as much time cleaning up the house as he did himself, they would have the most beautifully kept house in all of South-East England. Conversely, she would tell you that if he prepped himself for work as much as he cleaned the house, he would be more unappealing as a banana super-glued shut. It came from this dichotomy that the phrase was born.
It was late at night and Wayne had just gotten home from a “devilishly long day at the office†and had thrown his coat down on the sofa and was loosening his tie when Mrs. Ricebridge came flying out of the bathroom. Her face was caked with a green mud mask, her hair was bunched up in a towel, and her wet slippers made a deafeningly squeaky sound (probably the same sound you’d expect a mouse to make while climaxing). She came charging at him yelling and wagging her fist violently at him, which also happened to be holding in its grasp a hairdryer, with the cord dragging limply behind, like the decorations of a newlywed’s car, serving as a reminder that the further you travel down the road, the more flaccid the decorations become. As Wayne listened to his wife’s screams, he was reminded of the time he was a sailor caught in a gale. The force with which she yelled at him made him think of that strong wind. It was as if he could feel the heat from her breathe blast through his face. He watched her frantically wave the hairdryer around in her hand for emphasis as she continued to bellow at him, probably getting more and more red in the face (with the mask of green mud, he’d never be sure). In fact, it almost felt like having a hairdryer being blown in your face. It was at this moment he suddenly became aware that he wasn’t listening to a word she was saying, but he thought he had gotten the gist of it… and it was the next thing he said that made history:
“All right, all right, don’t give me the hairdryer treatment. I’ll call your mother tomorrow.â€
And with that, he threw his tie down on the sofa and went into the den to pour himself a glass of scotch, leaving a rather perplexed looking wife, dripping water on the carpet that she had worked so hard to clean that day.
Osgoode spent the time with his family. They had a wonderful Christmas period and caught up. He had never felt better. Perhaps this distraction was exactly what he needed, but all he could think of was that his hockey career had taken him away from his family and he didn’t think he wanted that. So all was well and good for Osgoode… until that email appeared, then everything happened at once.*
*Actually that is not technically true. This saying has been debated and argued for over fifty years by scientists and philosophers and they have come to the understanding that “at once†is equal to one hundred billion years.
The email was from his former GM and coach, Jack Burton. It was just a one line email and all it read was: “Look at the name of the S27 Lockerroom – 8pm tonight†This was a very mysterious email to receive and he was so utterly bemused by it that he went down to the arena to check it out. It was in the evening and the arena was closed but the doors were still open. He crept around inside until he say the familiar door of the changeroom. Everything looks the same… except there was a sign with fancy lettering which read “S27 – Year of the Backupâ€. Osgoode scrunched up his face trying to figure out what that meant. What could it mean? He slowly pushed the change room door open.
The lights sprung on and about 15 familiar faces jumped out yelling “Surprise!†There was a shower of confetti, balloons, and banners of celebration everywhere around it. The Seattle Riot players rush towards Osgoode and smothered him in a group hug, rubbing his hair and slamming him on the back. Osgoode beamed through the roof. Standing at the back of the change room was Jack Burton who was in a wide stance and had his hands folded around his chest. He was smiling and nodding.
When the screaming and congratulations died down, Burton approached Osgoode and said “Now I know you must have a lot of questions, but here’s the gist of it: You are our starting goaltender. We want you here and we want you to stay. You’ve been a great guy to have around and we intend to keep you happy.â€
At this point an unidentified Riot player yelled out “#BestBackup becomes #BestStarter,†causing the team to erupt in another roar of cheers. Burton waited for it calm down, and then handed Osgoode a blank piece of paper.
“Your contract expires at the end of this off-season – in just a few short days. I want you to write down how many seasons and the total worth of your next contract. You’re a Riot player and I need you to know that. We treat our players like family. Go on, write down whatever you’d like.â€
“Are… you serious?†Osgoode managed to stammer.
“I was never one for jokes.â€
Osgoode flung his arms around his coach, his eye shining with tears. He handed back the sheet of paper to Burton and went to join his teammates, who had already dug into a cake that he had only just realized that was there.
“Hey, you didn’t write anything down!†exclaimed the coach.
“I know. I want you to write up a contract. I just want to focus on getting back into game sharpness and helping us bring home a Cup. We can’t do that if I am draining all of our resources!â€
Burton’s eyes twinkled.
---------
And so it came to pass that we see Osgoode back at practice, trying to make up for lost time. This will be the first time he’s played more than 2 consecutive games in the SHL. He goes into his first real rookie season with a GAA of 2.80 and a save percentage of 0.890. These are not sterling numbers but it’s a great starting point and hopefully his teammate’s exclamation comes true for the English netminder:
#BestBackup becomes #BestStarter
Word Count: 1,500
