With the NHL season officially underway as of this past Wednesday, we thought it would be nice to chat with the Seahawks' own pair of hockey aficionados - Jon Ryan and Luke Willson - to get their take on the upcoming season.
As it turns out, it wasn't as bright of an idea as we would have hoped. The Seahawks veteran punter and second-year tight end, both natives of Canada who spent their childhoods playing and following the sport, admitted they don't keep tabs on the league like they once did.
"After going to school in Texas for five years and spending the past year-and-a-half in Washington, it sounds bad, but I don't follow it as closely as I used to," said the La Salle, Ontario native Willson, who played left-winger through his senior year of high school and saw action in the Midget AAA League before playing collegiate football at Rice.
Willson did say he's a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who missed the playoffs a season ago.
"They're an Original Six team," Willson said, referring to Toronto's place among the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Rangers as the group that made up the NHL for 25 seasons (1943-67). "I grew up about four hours from there and my dad liked to root for them, too."
Ryan can relate with Willson's take on today's NHL. The Regina, Sask. native and former Midget AAA League goalie noted he's also a fan of the Maple Leafs, but struggled when asked to offer up a prediction for the NHL’s 2014 campaign.
"It's hard to follow in the U.S.," Ryan said. "In Canada, the first 15 minutes of every SportsCenter were dedicated to hockey, so it was a little easier. I went to the Stanley Cup final with my girlfriend last year and the L.A. Kings looked pretty good, but I have no idea what to expect this year."
We'll give Ryan and Willson a pass on their lack of NHL predictions. But Ryan did offer up one more nugget worth sharing, crediting his goalkeeping background on the ice to aiding his outlook on the football field.
"They’re similar,” Ryan said. "They’re both high-pressure positions. As a goalie, you're kind of on your own back there most of the time, and the same thing goes for being a punter. It's the same mentality."