Ever meet a player and be disappointed/surprised?

[JFleegs]

Met Yzerman he was nice, quiet but i was also a bit star struck haha he took a photo with me and signed my jersey. Daneyko is the man, smoked cigars with him at an Ahl allstar game. He was showing videos of his fights and demanded he signed my ticket and put all his stanley cup winning years on it, really cool guy.

 

[newjerseydamo]

Ken Daneyko met up with fans before the Devils game in Vegas. Took a moment to chat it up with everybody. Daneyko even requested this photo with me and another guy wearing his jersey.



Another buddy who made the road trip from Australia got to meet him before the next game in LA. Daneyko let him try on his Stanley Cup ring. Definitely jealous @newjerseydamo!

Yes yes I did. Was great. My seats were perfect to meet the whole crew.
Definitely an enjoyable moment, then witnessing a 3-0 shutout.

 

[tntkid]

Patrick Roy would ignore fans and was awful when Colorado came to town when he coached.
He was even worse when Colorado got their ass kicked.

He is a miserable old man.

Patrick Roy was the most indignant piece of **** I've ever met.

 

[Demandedace]

Met a few of the Caps a couple of times:

Ovechkin - Great guy, but it is obvious that English is his second language, so when he's tired after practice his ability to translate quickly on the fly is off and it aggravates him (you can also see this in his post-game interviews). He's excellent with fans though and it's not all just the publicity stuff (which is still amazing), prior to moving to his new place a few years ago he would constantly play street hockey and video games with neighborhood kids. He's just an overall good-natured guy

Holtby - Super friendly but quiet

Carlson - Nice guy but he's what you would think of when you hear the phrase "surfer bro"

Beagle - I literally thought he was just a puck boy when I first met him. He looked like he could have been 100lbs soaking wet and was actually carrying two buckets of pucks, hella friendly

Laich - Very nice guy, most "gentlemanly" of all (unsurprising)

Joe Beninati - Smiled and held the door at Kettler open for my girlfriend at the time and was very polite to her, she said he is shorter than she thought (I wasn't there this time)

Bonus - Mr. Ovechkin (Ovie's dad) is beloved by all at Kettler. I'm not sure how often he still goes nowadays, but he used to be at morning skates semi-frequently and was extremely gracious and accommodating to the droves of fans (and his English isn't so hot either, mind you)

Ovechkin's old street/house was always a hoot because they were all normal houses in Arlington and then you get to his house which was decked out with Caps stuff and his NHL Hondas. It was extremely obvious which house was his even to a passerby

 

[Steve Zissou]

This guy is one of the biggest dicks I've ever met, not just as a young hockey player idolizing him along with so many other fans, but also just as a person in general.

 

[jonlin]

WC 1997 regulation rounds in Turku I was hanging in a bar with a guy from USA. After chatting for awhile he introduced himself as Jim campbell and was here for WC. Played in St Louis at the time and he was a really nice guy. Hes luggage was lost in Germany and the team played that evening, so he couldnt participate. I showed him around the city and later that evening we went clubbing with team USA and Canada players. Many of the players were cocky as hell and back in the time it was all about partying. The teams stayed in Naantali resort and ofc there was a afterparty with lots of chicks invited. Went out with them a few other nights aswell and Canada went on to take the gold( probably with some players pretty tired after all partying...). Stayed in touch with jim for several years. He was a really nice person even though he never really panned out as a player.

In particular I remember Mark Recchi and Rob Blake being cocky as hell drunk. Behaved like owning the world and being really lousey against girls.

 

[Neutrinos]

A friend of mine is a bouncer at one of the bars here and he was saying today that Drew Doughty came by and tried to skip the line and not pay cover. My buddy said no sorry back of the line and he ended up going "you do know that I am Drew Doughty right?" or something along those lines and then proceed to tell him he didn't care and sent him to the back of the line.

Seen Lawson Crouse at the bars a few times and he seems like a cool dude. One of my best friends growing up is cousins with one of Crouse's best friends and we use to all play NHL together. He was a nice guy for sure.

I've heard ******** stories about Corey Perry but one of my Dad's good friends lives beside him at his London home and he apparently plays road hockey with the kids every once and a while. I've heard mixed about Kadri.

Seems like your friend let his ego get in the way of what's good for his boss' business

 

[tiburon12]

in march 2008, in the middle of the Sharks 18-2-2 (something like that) finish to the season, and after acquiring Brian Campbell, i got to attend a morning skate and get the players to autograph my jersey. I had flown from Connecticut to watch a few games in SJ and LA, and on a whim we contacted the Sharks to see if we could meet the team. The responded, took my dad and I to practice, talked with Doug Wilson a bit, then met 99% of the team and had them sign my jersey as they left the arena. The only player who didnt sign was Patrick Marleau. He just walked right past us, pretending not to see

One day i'll get him to sign it

 

[meefer]

As a teenager I had the chance to work at the Orr/Walton hockey camp. Met a number of players: Sittler/Lanny/Palmateer (hey, I'm a Toronto kid) and others. A few things stood out: Sittler was a cool guy, and when challenged by me about the lack of power on his slap shot, he had me stand behind the net and then let one fly from centre ice at my head, I dropped like a stone in fear, he laughed his a** off, but skated over and shook my hand...all in good fun. Palmateer was hilarious in the dressing room when the pros and a select group of the teen workers would suit up for some games at night, he'd smoke his stogie and tell some of the most outrageous stories. Orr stood out for the way he cared about the kids. He had endless patience with them and especially their parents on drop off and pick up days and he really wanted them to have a good experience. Shaky Walton, not so much, but nothing I remember as being bad.

 

[Stand Witness]

Seems like your friend let his ego get in the way of what's good for his boss' business

You are assuming the bar needs Doughty to bring in business.

Let me tell you, it does not.

 

[BrendanGallagher11]

Ive met a bunch of players.

Hall, sedins, murray, Matthews, laine, maata, etc..

The only ones who werent down for a picture or signature were kucherov vasilevsky and ovechkin

Hahaha

 

[jonlin]

Ive met a bunch of players.

Hall, sedins, murray, Matthews, laine, maata, etc..

The only ones who werent down for a picture or signature were kucherov vasilevsky and ovechkin

Hahaha

The "Russian factor"

 

[Dreakon13]

My impressions having seen a few Sabres outside of the arena... is that Eichel would probably even stiff arm a little kid asking for his autograph at the wrong time. Can't blame him for ignoring fans in some cases though, since it wasn't necessarily the time or place to stop and sign for people. But still.

And O'Reilly literally signed like 15 photos for some guy at one point on his own time, almost too nice since that was obviously some punk planning to sell them.

 

[542365]

I've been to a few Blues Season Ticket Holder signings and the players are typically cordial, but clearly don't want to be there(and I can't say I blame them). Only player that has ever really stood out to me was Vince Dunn this year. He was chatting people up and at least seemed like he was having a good time. Brayden Schenn looked absolutely miserable lol.

Saw Al MacInnis and John Davidson while I was at a PGA Tour event. It was probably 8-10 years ago and some friends and I got tickets to the event for free so we decided to check it out. We were following the group with Mike Weir for some reason and as we were walking up the second or third hole my friend and I heard John Davidson(before I knew it was him, they were in front of us and wearing sunglasses) say to this freakishly tall man that they should check this bush we walked past for his ball from the last time they played here(it's obviously a really nice course). My friend whispered to me "rich bastard" and we chuckled. We got to the green and Davidson took his glasses off and I recognized him, so I freaked out a little bit(I was probably 16 at the time). That made me take a closer look at the guy he was talking to and I got along side him and looked behind his sunglasses to see his eyes(so creepy, I know) and saw it was Chopper and about died. Both of us asked for an autograph near the end of the day when the group we were following was on 16 or so. He was super nice and signed it no problem and talked with us for a few minutes. I think this was before he worked for the Blues in any capacity, so I think he was just being a genuinely nice guy. Always liked him, but even more after that.

Also "met" Alex Pietrangelo at a golf course a couple of years back. It started raining really hard so we all had to pull our carts into the shed, and when we pulled in I immediately recognized him. I just walked up to him and told him I didn't need a picture or an autograph or anything, I just wanted to shake his hand. He laughed and shook my hand and was cool as could be.

Saw Bernie Federko on the streets in Nashville and said hi. He was nice too. Never really had a terrible experience with a hockey player. Baseball players have been much worse.

 

[VainGretzky]

Met Coffey in the 80's super nice humble guy, came across that way anyhow

 

[atilla the honeybun]

I ran into the ducks when i was a kid on the ottawa canal and corey perry was a complete dick. Teemu was super nice though.

Not surprising

 

[HenrikW]

I've met several of my home-town heroes but the most lasting memory is meeting Peter Forsberg after he won his first cup with the Avalance. He took the time for every single kid that wanted to say hi to him. He helped me hold the Stanley Cup, signed my shirt and cap and wished me luck in my hockey career. I wore that shirt for an entire year and threatened my mother that I would run away from home every time she asked about it. I still haven't washed that shirt btw. Good times

Lo

 

[x Tame Impala]

Seems like your friend let his ego get in the way of what's good for his boss' business

Seriously. Doormen/bouncers are generally prone to being douches so it's not all that surprising. If your bar/club is anything worthwhile then you can't let stuff like that happen.

 

[Syrinx]

I worked for a hockey radio show in a little town outside of Cleveland in the early/mid 90s. We covered ECHL/AHL around Ohio/PA/WV. When the Cleveland Lumberjacks moved from the Richfield Coliseum to Gund (now Quicken Loans) Arena in 1994, Gordie Howe came to drop the first puck. He was in the media lounge between the first and second period grabbing a bite. A few of us joined him at his table and missed the second period listening to him tell stories. He was fantastic.

 

[Neutrinos]

You are assuming the bar needs Doughty to bring in business.

Let me tell you, it does not.

No, I'm assuming the owner of the business wants rich celebrities patronizing his establishment

Let me tell you, he does

 

[El Cohiba]

No, I'm assuming the owner of the business wants rich celebrities patronizing his establishment

Let me tell you, he does

Ehh, a lot of clarification is needed here. If it's a sports bar in London, ONT, sure, Doughty's presence will help bring in business. If it's a peeler bar in the United States, no one will care or notice that Drew Doughty is there. He may drop some money, but he's far from the only guy with money to blow who will attend. If the establishment cowtips to Doughty at the expense of others, the other patrons may leave and go to another establishment. I know I would if my service level was impacted due to staff catering to the beck and call of another customer being a jerk. So, in that scenario, the establishment stands to lose as others leave.

Regardless of the specifics, nothing excuses the celebrity to act like a giant tool. Wait in line like everyone else. You play hockey. You're not making the world better playing a game.

And for a personal reference. I once was at a club during the Super Bowl weekend and saw LaDanian Tomlinson. In Dallas. Much bigger name (in a football crazed state) than Doughty is anywhere. He waited in line with his friends like the rest of us.

 

[Neutrinos]

Ehh, a lot of clarification is needed here. If it's a sports bar in London, ONT, sure, Doughty's presence will help bring in business. If it's a peeler bar in the United States, no one will care or notice that Drew Doughty is there. He may drop some money, but he's far from the only guy with money to blow who will attend. If the establishment cowtips to Doughty at the expense of others, the other patrons may leave and go to another establishment. I know I would if my service level was impacted due to staff catering to the beck and call of another customer being a jerk. So, in that scenario, the establishment stands to lose as others leave.

Regardless of the specifics, nothing excuses the celebrity to act like a giant tool. Wait in line like everyone else. You play hockey. You're not making the world better playing a game.

Again, I'd be willing to bet the owner of the bar doesn't want Doughty waiting in line

If it were my bar, I'd want him to come right in, enjoy himself, and hopefully bring some teammates with him the next time he visits

Being known as "the bar where the LA Kings hangout" isn't going to be bad for business

 

[The Senators Guy]

I've met Carey Price at a store... Yeah?

 

[Stand Witness]

No, I'm assuming the owner of the business wants rich celebrities patronizing his establishment

Let me tell you, he does

No. There is a lineup to get in with or without Doughty at the door. They literally don't need his business.

Ehh, a lot of clarification is needed here. If it's a sports bar in London, ONT, sure, Doughty's presence will help bring in business. If it's a peeler bar in the United States, no one will care or notice that Drew Doughty is there. He may drop some money, but he's far from the only guy with money to blow who will attend. If the establishment cowtips to Doughty at the expense of others, the other patrons may leave and go to another establishment. I know I would if my service level was impacted due to staff catering to the beck and call of another customer being a jerk. So, in that scenario, the establishment stands to lose as others leave.

Regardless of the specifics, nothing excuses the celebrity to act like a giant tool. Wait in line like everyone else. You play hockey. You're not making the world better playing a game.

Clarification: It is not. I dont know if the other poster is expecting this to be a place with 10 people in it but I am talking about a packed to capacity every night kind of bar.

 

[Stand Witness]

Again, I'd be willing to bet the owner of the bar doesn't want Doughty waiting in line

If it were my bar, I'd want him to come right in, enjoy himself, and hopefully bring some teammates with him the next time he visits

Being known as "the bar where the LA Kings hangout" isn't going to be bad for business

It isn't in LA. NHL players frequent the same 3 bars here all the time with no special treatment. No one cares who you are.

It also isn't the bar where "bottles" are being bought. It is a bar that advertises dollar beers. It is packed regardless and makes a ton of money doing so.