Embarassing player encounters

[Yamer]

I forgot one. Not really embarrassing, for me anyway.

In about 2002, I was at one of the local Red Deer bars. I can't even remember what it was called at the time, it has changed names so many times I can't even count. I think it was called the Manhatten at the time, it's right beside the Gents Club. Don't even ask what it is called now.

Anyway, this was back before there were a rash of fights and stabbings so it was a pretty popular place. Me and a few friends had been standing in line for about three quarters of an hour, and the line behind us kept growing. We finally got in, and stuck around for a little more than an hour. It was pretty crowded, and it took a good half hour just to get our first drink. We didn't feel like being packed in there like sardines any more, so we headed for the door. I remember getting to the exit, and there was this weird looking dude trying to talk his way in. He looked like he was at least 40-45, and he had a pair of the oddest eyes I had ever seen. Almost 85% pupil. He looked so damn familiar. The doorman wasn't buying anything he was selling, and just as I was about to pass by them both, the guy whips out this white card and showed it to the doorman.

I instinctively looked up to see what it was. It had the NHLPA logo on it, and as far as I could tell it was a union card of some sort. The guy got a real big smile on his face like "No way he denies me now, I'm a big shot". I look at the doorman, and he just shakes his head and points to the back of the line! I still couldn't figure out who this guy was. I didn't think of it again until the 2003 playoffs.

I was watching Anaheim play, and the camera panned to the bench. There, standing behind the players was the same guy who tried to get into the bar a year ago. It was Mike Babcock.

I could not for the life of me figure out why he would want into a bar in Red Deer of all places. I found out later when I was at RDC that he was the coach of the College Kings back in the late 80's.

Mike Babcock, who would go on to win a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal as a head coach, was trying to get into what went on to become one of the biggest dives in Red Deer. And I saw him get rejected!

[jkstuart12]

A couple weeks after Mike Keenan was hired I saw him walking through the Stampede grounds (this was during Stampede). I knew I had to go shake is hand so I proceeded to walk over to him. As I was walking over I was trying to figure out what I was going to say, but when I got to him I just froze. He just looked at me and I was like "Umm, can I shake your hand", he laughed and shook my hand. I thanked him and he walked away. I kind of felt like an idiot.

[Itse]

I drive a cab in Helsinki and have run into quite a few Finnish athletes over the years, including some NHL'ers. Mostly nothing new for this thread. There is one story that's a little more personal though.

At the end of a propably boring nightshift I picked up this kind of heavy-built middle-aged guy from the airport (who looked vaguely like someone, but then again doesn't everybody), who traveled with a big and kind of scrubby looking sports bag, despite dressing pretty smart, and told to drive to what is basicly an upper-class neighbourhood. In retrospect the bag was already a pretty big clue, because very few people use those for traveling, but this is the "embarrasing encounter thread", right?

Pretty soon he asked me if I knew some scores of NHL-games from that night. This being Finland, from our POV games regurarly end in the middle of the night, so it's pretty unusual for someone to ask for fresh scores at something like 5 AM (or what ever it was). Another clue for sure.

Me being bored and this being something like a 45-minute drive, I try starting a conversation to pass the time. Hockey was mentioned, so that's the topic, and usually it's best to talk about something generic like the national team, 'cause everybody has an opinion about that and you know which side we're all on. Now this was something like 2005, but last years firing of Finlands head coach, Raimo Summanen, was still a pretty hot topic, in media and elsewhere.

I think you can see where this is going.

So few minutes later I go off on one of my rants-that-go-nowhere, gossipping away about all sorts of opinions I've heard about the national team and Summanen. Summanen was a very controversial character at the time, so there was plenty of heavy stuff. The customer doesn't say much, just enough to keep me going (or so I thought at least).

So we get to the customers house, he hands me a credit card, I swipe it, stop... look again... sure enough, it's a hockey organization card for Mr Raimo Summanen. Thankfully, I was moderately pro-Summanen, which I guess helped since he didn't look pissed, just a little more tired than he looked before the trip started.

I obviously felt like a fool, and went on to coup de gracé myself by giving some really stupid explanation as to why I hadn't recognized him earlier.

He didn't tip.

(For reference, Summanen played something like 100-150 games in the NHL, and has a Stanley Cup ring for playing some playoff games for the Oilers in '84. Right now he's the head coach of the top team in the KHL (Avantgard Omsk), who are currently on a 16 game winning streak. I still think I was right being pro-Summanen. I still also think I just might apologize if I run into him again.)

[TopChed]

Originally Posted by puckluck

Wow what a jerk faced goof. If I ever see him in public I'm going to punch his beak in. You can call and tell him that too.

Check for white text next time haha

[Thumper17]

Originally Posted by Jero Miginla

I rarely post here but I am an avid daily reader. This thread is too hilarious for me to not post a few of my stories which range from funny to pretty cool.

1) I was 18 years old, drunk and at Cowboys. Most of the flames were there and a lot of people were going up and shaking there hands. Being a smart-ass, young and drunk, I go up to Jordan Leopold and and scratched my head like I am trying to recognize him. I asked "you're Elvis Stojko right?". Leopold laughed and seemed to think I was funny but I did the same thing to Chris Simon and he was not so thrilled.

1b) That same night at cowboys it was also my good buddy's 18th birthday. We were chatting it up with Marcus Nilson and he bought my friend a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

2) The flames were playing the Ducks at home and thanks to a family friend connected with the Duck organization my dad and I were able to go into the lockeroom after the game. We were standing at Teemu Selanne's stall and chatting with him when he proceeds to get ass-naked right in front of us and continue chatting completely nude. I still laugh about it today because unfotunately every time I see him on tv or hear his name I think about Teemu's peenu (if you know what I mean).

3) Thanks to the same family friend with the Duck's I was able to go down to the rink when we were visiting California. I was able to hit the ice with a few of the guys after practice and got to use Paul Kariya's skates, gloves and stick because they were the closest fit at the time. That was pretty neat.

Well, come on. Good size or what?

[THEflamesFAN]

One of my friends is a lifelong (// Buddy with Freddie B.) She gave me a cool X-mas present and called him in Ontario from here. Cool gift. He sure loves tall, loud, blondes!! LOL!

[united]

CP poster Zunie75 gets embarassed by Dana Tyrell and Ty Rattie every spring during shinny. What a plug.

[IliketoPuck]

Had a few encounters with some NHL guys.

I've run into Warrener, Regehr and Mike Babcock a few times in Sasky. Rhett actually bought me a beer, it was right after the '04 run when he still had that crazy gash on the bridge of his nose. After the most recent Wings cup win, Babcock cruised around the lake with the Cup on the front of his pontoon boat, pretty cool. He's good friends with one of my good friends dad, so I usually see him a couple times a summer.

I've run into Vernon and Lanny and MacInnis a couple times in Whitefish, they were out at the Northern grabbing a few beers and I got to shake hands with them. I think I made some stupid comment to MacInnis about slap shots, but I was tanked up so I could have said pretty much anything and looked like an idiot.

[THEflamesFAN]

LOL!, l"ll never forget. I sold my first truck to a guy named Ritchie Whitefish!! Dion deal both ways, loved that truck lol!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I forgot one. Not really embarrassing, for me anyway.

In about 2002, I was at one of the local Red Deer bars. I can't even remember what it was called at the time, it has changed names so many times I can't even count. I think it was called the Manhatten at the time, it's right beside the Gents Club. Don't even ask what it is called now.

Anyway, this was back before there were a rash of fights and stabbings so it was a pretty popular place. Me and a few friends had been standing in line for about three quarters of an hour, and the line behind us kept growing. We finally got in, and stuck around for a little more than an hour. It was pretty crowded, and it took a good half hour just to get our first drink. We didn't feel like being packed in there like sardines any more, so we headed for the door. I remember getting to the exit, and there was this weird looking dude trying to talk his way in. He looked like he was at least 40-45, and he had a pair of the oddest eyes I had ever seen. Almost 85% pupil. He looked so damn familiar. The doorman wasn't buying anything he was selling, and just as I was about to pass by them both, the guy whips out this white card and showed it to the doorman.

I instinctively looked up to see what it was. It had the NHLPA logo on it, and as far as I could tell it was a union card of some sort. The guy got a real big smile on his face like "No way he denies me now, I'm a big shot". I look at the doorman, and he just shakes his head and points to the back of the line! I still couldn't figure out who this guy was. I didn't think of it again until the 2003 playoffs.

I was watching Anaheim play, and the camera panned to the bench. There, standing behind the players was the same guy who tried to get into the bar a year ago. It was Mike Babcock.

I could not for the life of me figure out why he would want into a bar in Red Deer of all places. I found out later when I was at RDC that he was the coach of the College Kings back in the late 80's.

Mike Babcock, who would go on to win a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal as a head coach, was trying to get into what went on to become one of the biggest dives in Red Deer. And I saw him get rejected!

That's the second story of Mike Babcock getting rejected in this thread! I'm starting to feel sorry for him haha!

[SeeBass]

A buddy of mine called me one day at home and I screened my call and didn't pick up cause I didn't feel like talking.

Winds up he and his father-in- law were going out for dinner with a friend of his father- in- law and wanted me to come along.

The father- in- laws friend that I missed out on was Bobby Orr.


I also got into a minor shoving match with Trevor Linden in a bar in Vancouver and I was also a doorman in Toronto when a brawl broke out with Shane Corson and some other guys from Team Canada against some guys looking for trouble. I had grabbed Mcsorley and threw him off a guy. Mcsorley was talking to me after that and saying things like he was glad that there are not guys like me in the NHL or he would be out of a job. I am 6"8' and about 300 pounds and apparently I threw him airborne about six feet away into a wall.

[JBR]

I've had several embarrassing encounters with Robyn Regehr.

Sincerely,
Ales Hemsky

[hansmoleman]

when i was about 15 or so playing i think peewee, we used to always play against lanny mcdonalds son out at springbank. lanny was the coach and his son was a really dirty player. i remember after one game specifically his kid was being extra dirty and ended up getting the boot for a knee or something. my dad was also a coach and after the game we were shaking hands and my dad said to lanny "the best thing punch imlach ever did was trade you out of toronto" im not sure really what this means to this day but i was upset because i thought my dad was making fun of lanny and i liked him and his moustache.

also an ex-girlfriend of mine of mine was out with the girls one night, and at the end of the night her skanky roomate decided to bring a group of guys home to their apartment. me and a few of my buddies were on our way over as well and got wind of some other guys being there while we were on the way there. apparently she thought we wouldnt be happy and waited to buzz us in while the guys snuck out the fire escape. i was furious untill she told me they were all players for the carolina hurricanes, i got her to look at the roster and it was joe corvo, matt cullen and i think sergei samsonov. i was disappointed because id never met an nhler and wanted to have a few beers with them.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by hansmoleman

when i was about 15 or so playing i think peewee, we used to always play against lanny mcdonalds son out at springbank. lanny was the coach and his son was a really dirty player. i remember after one game specifically his kid was being extra dirty and ended up getting the boot for a knee or something. my dad was also a coach and after the game we were shaking hands and my dad said to lanny "the best thing punch imlach ever did was trade you out of toronto" im not sure really what this means to this day but i was upset because i thought my dad was making fun of lanny and i liked him and his moustache.

also an ex-girlfriend of mine of mine was out with the girls one night, and at the end of the night her skanky roomate decided to bring a group of guys home to their apartment. me and a few of my buddies were on our way over as well and got wind of some other guys being there while we were on the way there. apparently she thought we wouldnt be happy and waited to buzz us in while the guys snuck out the fire escape. i was furious untill she told me they were all players for the carolina hurricanes, i got her to look at the roster and it was joe corvo, matt cullen and i think sergei samsonov. i was disappointed because id never met an nhler and wanted to have a few beers with them.

Not sure I would want to have a few beers with a bunch of players that were probably plugging my gf earlier.

[normtwofinger]

I saw Theo Fleury at Outlaws back in the day. After about 20 minutes of him being there, the DJ annouced, 'Theo Fleury is in the house..." He put his 3 drinks in air. So pathetic.

[FlameFanStuckinEDM]

Not really embarrassing, but cool at the time. When I was about 12 years old (1990), my family decided to do a trip to Southern California. I had an Aunt and Uncle who lived in Redondo Beach and were good friends with the equipment manager of the LA Kings. The Kings were going to be playing the Flames one night during our trip.

We got to go to the practice facility and watch the Kings practice. I got to go into the dressing room before practice and got everyone's autograph. I talked to Wayne and bunch of the guys, except Bernie Nicholls, as he was gone to a funeral. When I first went to meet Wayne, he was busy talking to another guy's wife on the phone. No idea what they were talking about though. I play goal, so I was talking to Kelly Hrudey and Mario Gosselin a bit more than the other players. Mario G. asks me who my favorite team was and the entire room falls silent and all eyes are on me. Not wanting to get into too much trouble, I sheepishly say the Flames and there is a huge groan. I think there were even some threats of being thrown out of the dressing room. But I quickly said I like the Kings second and that seemed to calm the masses a little. We stayed to watch the practice for a while, but it was kind of boring and so we went and did some other stuff. I wasn't until later that I was told the Flames would be practicing next and I could have met them as well. I was soooo pissed.

The night of the game between the Flames and Kings, my Uncle's friend comes up to me and asks if I would like to go into the Kings dressing room after the intermission. I think it was after the first intermission and I was waiting downstairs watching the Kings walk back to the ice and then they let me into the dressing room. It was pretty cool. I remember they had what was at the time the biggest TV I had ever seen. There were a couple of the undressed players riding bikes watching the game on this huge TV. I think the Flames ended up winning the game 5-3.

At the end of our trip we are waiting for our flight in the airport and my Uncle's friend comes up to us and has a couple of autographed pucks (signed by Hrudey and Vernon) and he has an Autographed stick of Mike Vernon's that he hands me. That was awesome as Vernon was my favorite player at the time.

So we get on the plane and I have to put the stick in the closet at the front of the plane. I got to sit in first class with my Grandma because my Aunt worked for Air Canada at the time. As I we are waiting for the plane to fill up, Ed Whalen comes up to me and asks me if the goalie stick in the closet was mine. We talked to him for a little bit and he ended up sitting behind us on the way home. I was really excited to meet him because of his work on the 2&7 broadcasts and Stampede Wrestling.

One funny encounter with a player was in the 98-99 season which was my first year working at the Dome as an Usher. Back then there was one day during the season that they allowed the staff to tour the building and go into the Flames dressing room. It was one weekend when the Flames were away and there was a huge group of us in the room. I believe it was Robert Reichel who was injured at the time and he was in the dressing room with his family and he had the weirdest look on his face. It seemed like he was wondering what the hell was going on with all of these people in his dressing room. He seemed a little pissed off as well.

A couple of years later when Montreal was in town playing the Flames, I was still working as an Usher and I was walking downstairs to go for my break. As I get down to the area under the bleachers, Gino Odjick stops and asks me how he can get back up to the press box. I completely forgot about the elevator that he could have taken and I gave him directions for how to get there by walking through the crowd and up all those stairs, but I didn't realize this until after a few minutes. As I was walking back upstairs to my section, I see Gino (who looks kind of ticked off) walking on the mezzanine level looking for the right access to the stairs to get all the way to the top. I kind of hid behind some fans hoping he wouldn't see me and recognize me.

[zunie75]

Originally Posted by united

CP poster Zunie75 gets embarassed by Dana Tyrell and Ty Rattie every spring during shinny. What a plug.

I do not deny that this is true. But being lit up by an NHL player and future NHLer is almost an honor.

On a plus note, poster "United" couldnt score on me last monday!

[valo403]

Originally Posted by FlameFanStuckinEDM

The night of the game between the Flames and Kings, my Uncle's friend comes up to me and asks if I would like to go into the Kings dressing room after the intermission. I think it was after the first intermission and I was waiting downstairs watching the Kings walk back to the ice and then they let me into the dressing room. It was pretty cool. I remember they had what was at the time the biggest TV I had ever seen. There were a couple of the undressed players riding bikes watching the game on this huge TV. I think the Flames ended up winning the game 5-3.

Man, I would not want to be the next guy to use one of those bikes.

[Aeneas]

Originally Posted by JBR

I've had several embarrassing encounters with Robyn Regehr.

Sincerely,
Ales Hemsky

Careful, an oiler fan will post a video of Hemsky "embarrassing" someone other than Regehr and call it "Hemsky owns Regehr"

[Jordan!]

Jordon + Jordan Leopold + Superstore = Broham's for Life