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Sopath · 09-08-2020, 04:16 AM

Original Sin is a concept that is rooted deep into the Western World and beyond. A simplified explanation of the concept is that sins of your predecessors are your own. While the idea has grown less popular over time it is rooted too deeply to be simply disregarded like spoiled milk. Everyday people continue to apply Original Sin in their evaluations, even in the world of hockey.

There is a young man who has impressed scouts across Ireland enough that his name is even on the lips of scouts in the SMJHL. The young man is a product of our very parish. He’s a man by the name of Bás O’Bigbers. He walks into a room with an assertive strut and speaks with a stout voice. A voice stronger then his more than average frame would suggest is possible. He wears his hair with a length greater than average for a Swords boy and it always seems to trail behind his head with a glide. It is as if he grew it so that defenders could see something as he skated passed them. O’Bigbers hasn’t been the talk around Dublin over the last year simply because of his unique appearance it has been because of his colossal ability to score goals. O’Bigbers has broken Swords records that have stood for many years as if it was birthright to do such and this might be the most appropriate way to understand Bás O’Bigbers and his complicated arrival.

Bás O’Bigbers is not the first young lad from Swords Ireland to attract scouts from, not only across Ireland but, beyond the Emerald Isle. Eighteen years ago another young boy from Swords was setting records at a whirlwind pace, a boy named Guts O’Bigbers. Guts was quite different from Bás in terms of style however he was quite similar in terms of the phenomenon that he was. Guts was a player who was known for his quick speed and incredible ability to make his teammates better with his incredible playmaking. His ability was so strong that SMJHL scouts descended upon Swords as if the town possessed The Holy Ark of the Covenant. Guts became a darling prospect that every GM seemed to believe had been their own little discovery just for them. In a brief moment Guts went from being the boy who could to the “chosen one” in the Isles. So it was that Guts became an early 2nd round pick, taken 9th overall, in the S38 SMJHL Draft by the Vancouver Whalers. It was a glorious moment for the Emerald Isle to have a new and exciting prospect to bring their country glory. It was a dream for the people of the Parish of Swords that one of their own was going to bring honor to the place they called home. The pressure was too much.

Guts had a competent rookie season in his rookie year but it didn’t quite feel enough. Guts would end up going 33rd overall in the S39 SHL Draft. While still a good position overall it was an immense plummet from the promise that his pre-junior performance had given. Perhaps it was the crushing disappointment to have gone from being viewed as one of the 10 best prospects of his draft class to falling outside of the top 30 in just one year that would lead him to falling apart. Perhaps he felt the pressure of the Emerald Isle collapsing upon him all at once. Guts would play a few more years of hockey before retiring leaving an unremarkable sum of stats and a potential that was wasted.

Clearly in the years away from the spotlight he hadn’t lost his love for the game because he taught his young boy the old sport. Bás was born when Guts was in the process of going through the S38 SMJHL Entry Draft Process and was a source of joy for Guts even when times began to become tough. Bás has been on the ice since before he could walk and while he has certainly echoed his father’s love for the game he does not share his father’s sense of playmaking. Some people might call Bás’ less than enthusiastic appetite for passing to be a deep flaw that makes him an inadequate player. What this criticism fails to consider is that when one’s pure goal scoring ability is as vigorous as Bás’ one does not develop a playmaking game. One is the entirety of the play. Bás came within a few goals of breaking the legendary Pedro Sarantez’s single season goal scoring record in Dublin Juniors. It seems the only record Bás couldn’t surpass was a legend of the Emerald Isle itself. Bás is a lad who was put on the earth for one reason, and that reason is to score goals and not to break records he is unaware of.

The excitement built up in me when I waited in the pressbox for an interview with the young prospect. After waiting for fifteen minutes, and changing my first question fifteen times, the long haired light framed fellow who I’ve seen score so many beautiful goals walked in. His introductory sentences were built with words that wouldn’t be loved by a grammar teacher, but I could understand the young man. What I wanted to know was how he felt dealing with the fact that his father’s unfulfilled potential has been speculated as the source of a great deal of foreign skepticism. He stared at me with eyes that struggled to consider the words I had just said. “Oi me oul fella done good on his commitments to anyone whoever asked him for a pint or a days sweat.” And this is how Bás answers everything. The meaning of his words is clear but I can’t help but wonder if he’s speaking in pub riddles or his mind has been occupied exclusively by hockey.

I pressed on further about the topic of foreign skepticism regarding his game. “Oi fella the Guinness don’t flow down in Canada like it do on the Emerald Isle. Aint be expecting wisdom to pour them a cold one over there even if they beg.” There must’ve been so many better ways to express a lack of interest in the opinions of critics. Instead Bás chooses to wield his words in the most unwieldy of ways that is so bizarre it must be on purpose. Or perhaps his brain really was just a puck. Bás was recently listed as the 27th best prospect available in the upcoming S56 SMJHL Entry Draft. Far below where his father was taken in his respective draft. While the scouts certainly have drooled over his offensive ability, he’s been called a “liability in his own zone.” I was curious if he thought much of the criticism of his lack of interest in defense. As he took a sip of Guinness, which I hadn’t noticed until just now and don’t know where it came from, he says “way I see it, if I score on me own goalie we aint likely to bang on much.”

While I am excited at the prospect of what Bás might mean for the nation on the ice, I don’t share the same enthusiasm for what he might be off the ice. Bás is a nice young man but he’s not interested in much beyond scoring goals and drinking Guinness. He’s not going to sit here and yell about what the critics say because I’m not sure he’s ever read anything written by a critic and in fact I seriously doubt he can name any. Not that that matters much when he can score goals the way he can. I can’t say that he’s going to erase the skepticism left behind by his father’s failure but he won’t be phased by it either.

Owyn Eolas - Swords Hockey Tribune. Ireland

DeletedAtUserRequest · 09-09-2020, 09:10 PM

Good read!

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LordBirdman · 09-09-2020, 10:20 PM

An interesting prospect to be sure. Scoring goals and drinking Guinness are highly valued attributes across most SMJHL teams.

Sopath · 09-10-2020, 03:49 AM

09-09-2020, 10:20 PMLordBirdman Wrote: An interesting prospect to be sure. Scoring goals and drinking Guinness are highly valued attributes across most SMJHL teams.

I'm hoping I get half my rookie contract in pints of Guinness

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