Man, I just feel genuinely happy for his entire family. He seems so deserving of everything the universe is sending his way. As humble as you would want a man in his position, supportive family, and an all around underdog who has not only stepped up to, but completely owned every challenge in his way so far. I was skeptical, not so much that he would be effective in the show, but rather his timeline could be in the 2-3 year range to find his game. Even including the outlier first five games, his PPG is pretty incredible for a rookie (physical attributes aside, even).
As far as brand recognition.. My cousins boyfriend is a Leafs/Oilers fan, but kind of an all around hockey/stats nerd like me so the few times a year we run into each other we tend to bring up semi-obscure stuff. He seemed genuinely offended that Johnny didn't win the HB last year (turned out he followed the race as a friend of theirs, Archibald I believe, was included in the fan ballot). There was a legitimate respect for him as a player / person from his social circle, no Flames fans.
Look at all the Hall/Eberle/Nuge and efen to an extent Yak jerseys floating around haha (pretty sure fans got sick of buying every first overall jersey.. Just in time for a possible bust in Yak).
I think he will do just fine
Whoever mentioned the "skate the rainbow" marketing line, I can def see that being used
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Long time listener, first time caller.
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