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Whither Wink

With less than two months to go to the Stanley Stick Championship series, one of Sunday Morning Road Hockey's biggest impact players has yet to make a dent in the season.

Notorious gameshow host gone bad, Wink, has been mysteriously absent all season, neither officially retired nor occasionall active. In fact, the fellow founding father has only played one game in the past two seasons. And the roadsters are missing him.

"It's sad," says Gump, who's been on the receiving end of Wink's mighty slapshots from the far end of the court. "He's the guy who brought me through, he was the guy who was always giving me pointers and helping me on defense."

It's that defensive contribution where Wink's absence has been most noticeable. Never the most mobile player, Wink built his career on taking care of business in his own end, sweeping the crease of opposing forwards prowling for loose rebounds, thundering emboldened wingers into the fence when they tried to lead rushes up court.

"He's definitely a solidifying influence on defense," says Cowboy Bill. "He's always reliable. He knew what he could do, and he did it really well."

"He brought a physical game," says Nibs. "He's a power defenseman."

He could also score, usually opportune blasts from the point, or even from his own goal line, his dipping, curving ropes eluding the outstretched pads or flailing trapper of stunned goalkeepers.

"He has one of those shots that you knew would always get you a couple of goals," says Cowboy Bill.

Perhaps Wink's most missed contribution are the intangibles, his passion and accountability. With Wink on their team, roadsters knew they'd have to take responsibility for their own play, own their mistakes.

"He knew how to get his team riled up," says Gump. "Every game you look at the stick pull to see who you've got who can cleat the net out, and you always hope you have a guy like that on your team."

With Wink holding fort in the defensive end, his teammates could flood the offensive zone, taking chances for creative plays they might not otherwise venture.

"You look for his calm demeanor," says Scooby. "He gives you a lot more confidence to go for it on the offensive side.

"He's probably one of the smartest guys out here," says Gump.

And, apparently, one of the most missed.

"He's one of the founding fathers of road hockey," says Gump, a little wistfully.

"It's kinda cool seeing these older guys, hearin gtheir stories," says Scooby, who joined the league three seasons ago. "Their experience definitely makes a difference."

"It feels like our dad ran away," says Cowboy Bill.

Posted by jaysuburb at March 16, 2009 10:05 PM