I admit it, this is all my fault. There you were, flying through the season, one of the best players on the ice, getting through your second season in a row without major injury and what did I do? I started crowing about how you were definitely going to get twenty goals this year. There was no way you couldn't! It was a sure thing! It was all locked up! Take it to the bank, plan the party, buy the cake, what could possibly stop you?
What was I thinking?! The Hockey Gods are everywhere! They see and know all! I'm sure they read the blogs every day and write down stupid declarations like "There's no way Jochen Hecht isn't scoring twenty goals" and then make a list of all the cruel and dastardly ways they can smite the player or team involved and destroy the heart and soul of the blogger.
I really should know better by now, Yo-Yo. I'm sorry. I should have said, "There's no way the Sabres don't trade Ales Kotalik!" Or "There's no way Andrew Peters makes it through another year without suffering a major injury!" I should have cursed someone I couldn't care less about.
Would it help to know that I really, really miss you? Whether other people want to admit it or not - or have even bothered to notice - your absence is clearly felt by your team. Sloppiness with the puck? Forwards not getting back on defense? The penalty kill suffering? Everyone skating around like crazed toddlers who've been playing hockey for a year? That's all stuff that you would help. You're really careful with the puck. You always play strong at both ends. You're one of the best penalty killers on the team. You never, ever panic. No matter who the opponent is or what the score is, you always play hard for sixty minutes which seems to still be a difficult concept for some of your teammates to grasp.
I don't care if you're quiet. I don't care if you don't scream and yell. I don't care if you're not an offensive juggernaut. I love you, I miss you, please come back soon. And please, please forgive me for getting you into this mess in the first place. I'm working on some kind of sacrifice to the Hockey Gods right now.
Love,
Heather B.
