Interview with Dupuis on the Sutton hit
Can anyone write a FanPost about anything? I've never tried this before...
But, I found some interesting comments by Pascal Dupuis about the Sutton hit and the aftermath. The comments, unfortunately, appear in a column by Ron Cook where he's making some point about how hockey players play through painful injuries "with no regard for their health" and it's so hardcore. But we'll ignore his opinions and look at the quotations. First, what Dupuis remembers about the injury:
"The first thing I remember was the ref saying, 'Stay down. It's pretty bad. The trainer and doctor are coming,' " he said. "I knew it was bad. My helmet was a bucketful of blood."
Dupuis also reveals that Max Talbot immediately called his wife to let her know that he was okay, and that Chris Kunitz gave him a ride home that night. He also says that his parents were watching the game when it happened. I can't imagine watching that hit happen to your son.
When he got home, Dupuis immediately wanted to watch the hit on the internet:
The first thing he did after showing his wife the doctor's stitch work was get on the Internet to see Sutton's hit. "I watched it from every angle," he said. "It was pretty bad."
It's a little strange to imagine Dupuis jumping onto the computer and typing "Dupuis" and "Sutton" into YouTube just like the fans. But, I'm starting to get the impression that the coaches and the players are a lot more plugged into online fan activity than they let on. For example, on an episode of the Dan Bylsma show, when they are talking about player nicknames, Bylsma says in passing "haha I saw that one on Pensblog." We know that Crosby can recite the standings and where he falls in the scoring race. And most of the players are young enough to be part of the plugged-in generation, and rich enough to buy fancy computers and laptops. It's human nature to be curious when people are talking about you. In fact, I bet Sidney Crosby will print out this post and tape it up in the locker room with a note, "Cari on Pensburgh finally figured out Fanposts."
Finally, from the same column, Jordan Staal made a comment that might get him in a bit of trouble:
As Penguins center Jordan Staal said the other day, "They'll replace you pretty quickly if you start complaining about injuries too much or missing too many games."
I'm sure he meant that the team expects players to come back as soon as they can. But, he implies that players might come back too soon because they are worried about their jobs. I'm not shocked that this happens or anything -- we all know that players feel pressure to play through injuries in sports -- but it's interesting that he said it to a reporter.
The full column is available here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10025/1030894-87.stm
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I get why pro athletes would rush to come back—there’s always someone coming along who’s desperate for their job. But I’m also a bit surprised Staal would say that to a reporter.
I love that other players besides the ones we watched helped Dupuis out. I cringed when I read the bit about his parents being there, too. And the idea of him punching in his own name and Sutton’s into the YouTube box, maybe watching Ghostwalker40’s video along with us…! It seems odd, and funny, but I’m sure hockey players will vanity-Google and keep tabs on the competition like anyone else. And it seems reasonable that Dupuis would want to get another view of Sutton’s hit before he accepted any apologies.
To any Penguins who might be reading: If anyone teases you because of a cocktail I came up with for you or something else I posted, I apologize in advance. ;-)
"Darling, you say Brooks Orpik 'checked' that guy. He did not 'get under him and put him into the wall'."--Beloved to me, Winter 2007
Cocktails With the Penguins, where Pens fans toast victories and drown defeats.
Awesome post. Thanks for sharing Cari.
To be honest, I don’t think Staal was stretching the truth all that much (do you have a link to the article with that quote, btw?). Having read a good number of hockey, football and baseball autobiographies, that seems to be the prevalent sentiment in any locker room – complain and be replaced. I know one story in particular, the autobiography of former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski, really amazed. This guy admitted to having more concussions than even listed on his medical records and sometimes two or three a game. Now, retired and away from the game, he’s lost his sense of smell and taste because of it. Sometimes these guys will literally put their bodies through the gauntlet just to get that playing time.
I can’t remember who it was exactly (Maybe Niklas Kronwall on Detroit), but he goes home and watches all of his hits on youtube. It’s almost like they can’t believe they are really doing what they’re doing. Either that or he’s an egomaniac. Your pick.
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I grew up watching race car drivers on all levels who’d endured horrific crashes one weekend cheerfully strap in the next weekend. Even now, in NASCAR Sprint Cup, you’ll see a driver who’d been fighting the flu all day run off Victory Lane to throw up (Tony Stewart) or race with a broken foot (Carl Edwards). So I don’t consider playing hurt peculiar. The story of Bill Romanowski you just shared made me wince a little, though. And I never like to see a hockey player sustain an injury that lasts.
I can sort of understand why Kronwall or anyone else would watch his own hits on YouTube. What a player does will be endlessly discussed by the media and the fans—sometimes the NHL organization. It probably helps them to see what the fans are seeing, especially if they have to try defending their actions.
"Darling, you say Brooks Orpik 'checked' that guy. He did not 'get under him and put him into the wall'."--Beloved to me, Winter 2007
Cocktails With the Penguins, where Pens fans toast victories and drown defeats.
by GreenEyedLilo on Jan 25, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
The Staal comment also appears in the Cook column. This is the link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10025/1030894-87.stm
I will edit the post to make the link easier to find.
And it makes sense that players watch their hits on youtube, even though most probably wouldn’t admit it. If someone posted video of me doing my job, I would definitely watch, if only to see how my presentation might look to others.
Plus, youtube makes footage really easy to find, and often you get a better look than you get in the NHL highlights. I watch Ghostwalker40 because he shows the goal, the celebration, and the replays. The NHL video just shows the puck going in and then it’s over.
I don’t think Staal meant any harm by his comment as in criticizing the coaches and what not. I agree with most of you that if you complain or start acting like you can’t do your job you’re going to be replaced, and I think he meant it more as in we have tons of players that could easily fill your spot, so you have to be careful.
This article by Cook wasn’t so bad either, more just him trying to prove he’s a good writer or something. Maybe he just finished reading a Dickens novel and thought he would throw in some literary devices. He’s still an ass though.
A bee in a bird's nest never made no honey, and a bird in a hive sang no song.

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