The Athletic: "In one: My four wild days trapped in minor-league hell ..."

[JMCx4]

From: TheAthletic.com > NHL

In one: My four wild days trapped in minor-league hell with the Brampton Beast
by Scott Wheeler

“How would you define in one?” I asked Brampton Beast head coach Colin Chaulk the question in his office, shortly before his team ended a brutal three-games-in-three-days road trip.

“How do you feel right now?” he said, smiling, knowing I hadn’t slept in nearly three days.

I had spent several days with the Beast over the previous three months and heard players and staff use the term in one again and again. It was their rallying cry. It carried them through their lowest points.

But it wasn’t until then — after more than 80 hours of absolute misery embedded with this last-place ECHL team — that I finally understood what it meant to be in one.

In one is a feeling. It’s the product of life in the ECHL, the low-paying, minor league two rungs below the NHL. It’s the result of sleep deprivation and road trips where everything that can go wrong does. It’s doing what you love for a fraction of what most pro players make and sacrificing everything in that pursuit.

This is the story of how I got to be in one. But it's also a story of the players whose lives never leave that state and of a team, and league, few really understand. ...


Read & See more at: https://theathletic.com/206515/2018/02/02/in-one-my-four-insane-days-trapped-in-minor-hockey-hell-with-the-brampton-beast/

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[Hurricane Ron]

Holy smokes! What an eye opening article. Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[royals119]

Not an entirely accurate one either. While the city of Reading has it's problems like any other city, it isn't as bad as described in the article, and there is very little crime in the immediate vicinity of the arena. Also, the team rate for the Doubletree across the street is $90/night. Royals coach Kirk MacDonald tweeted a couple responses to the article, including the room rate.

Having travelled with the Royals quite a bit over the years, a lot of the other information is pretty accurate. The lack of sleep, poor nutrition, delays, breakdowns, late arrivals, etc are all part of life in the ECHL. When teams look listless on a Sunday after three games in three days it isn't so much the three games, it is the travel, the lack of sleep, the dehydration, etc that has done them in. Not to mention adding and subtracting players from the lineup during a trip when you don't really have time to practice together.

 

[JMCx4]

Not an entirely accurate one either. While the city of Reading has it's problems like any other city, it isn't as bad as described in the article, and there is very little crime in the immediate vicinity of the arena. Also, the team rate for the Doubletree across the street is $90/night. Royals coach Kirk MacDonald tweeted a couple responses to the article, including the room rate. ...

The author being embedded with the team is bound to get a skewed perspective on the places & situations encountered, under prevailing circumstances. And he is not likely to fact check a whole lot, since the premise for his article is to portray the "in one" nature of the lives these guys live. So while it's your right (maybe even your obligation) to rebut what's said about your town, picking on hotel room rate quotes is at the least ticky-tacky. If the Brampton organisation is as short-staffed as the article makes out, it's quite possible they waited too long to book the DoubleTree and the property management didn't have a block of rooms available at the visiting team rate. Everybody's got a business to run.

 

[Nightsquad]

Sames goes for Glens Falls NY. Makes the place sound like a frozen tundra. The arena in Glens Falls didnt get a new jumbotron courtesy of hosting the ECHL All Star game, and the arena which has hosted professional hockey since late 1970s is not ill equipped to host minor league hockey. The video boards, interior paint job, new LED lighting, all improvements done by the private ownership group who assumed control of the arena and team. The green seats are actually new seats installed within last decade lol.

The Queensbury Hotel is a destination hotel as the area is part of Lake George area, its not a pit stop for Lake George. Glens Falls sits perfectly between the lake and Saratoga Springs to the south. People dont spend a night at the Q on their way to Lake George, the lake is 15 minutes up the road lol.

 

[Hurricane Ron]

My response to the article had more to deal with the day to day life of the various team members on a road trip, than the subjective comments regarding the various locales to which the team traveled. In hindsight, the author should have eliminated his "descriptive" comments regarding Reading and Glen Falls, and stuck to the story itself. Had he described the two cities in glowing terms, it wouldn't have changed the challenges the various team members encountered on their road trip. Arriving in the middle of the night and unloading gear before heading to a hotel would be a pain in the rear, regardless of the city where this occurs.

 

[Nightsquad]

My response to the article had more to deal with the day to day life of the various team members on a road trip, than the subjective comments regarding the various locales to which the team traveled. In hindsight, the author should have eliminated his "descriptive" comments regarding Reading and Glen Falls, and stuck to the story itself. Had he described the two cities in glowing terms, it wouldn't have changed the challenges the various team members encountered on their road trip. Arriving in the middle of the night and unloading gear before heading to a hotel would be a pain in the rear, regardless of the city where this occurs.

Exactly, I was thinking it was more about the players and their hardships working their way up, or just staying in the game earning a living playing what they love. Been to Reading PA and Glens Falls NY. As an outsider I didn't find either city to fit the narrative of the writer.

Glens Falls NY is a gem of a small city located near Lake George NY. Glens Falls reminds me of the perfect small city which is vibrant yet away from the ills of big city life. [MOD] Its a mix of country, small urban city, but an almost sophisticated blue collar town if that makes sense lol. A trip to Sandy's Clam bar or the Bullpen Tavern had me loving the community whom I couldn't stand the fans when attending a game up that way many years ago. They were rough on your team, heckled the fans, but on the same night would buy you a beer down in the bar located in bowels of the civic center or one of the local watering holes after.

Reading PA, been a while but at no time did my life feel at risk anymore then any other urban area. Reading PA retains that PA diehard sports support. The Reading Phillies and Royals fan base lets you know loud and clear you are in PA, and they support Philly. Nearby outlets are a great destination, let your wives and girlfriend's do some shopping and they will want to come back for more. When in Reading check out the Pagoda overlooking the city, its a really cool place to visit and the view down the valley overlooking Reading is pretty cool. I am not disputing crime stats, or any potential risk of Reading, but it all comes down to being aware of surroundings and not venturing too far from the areas where people go to enjoy themselves or safer neighborhoods. Likewise Trenton isn't the safest community but in and around the stadium or arena life is relatively safe, especially during games when there is security and police on duty to keep people safe.

 

[royals119]

. I am not disputing crime stats, or any potential risk of Reading, but it all comes down to being aware of surroundings and not venturing too far from the areas where people go to enjoy themselves or safer neighborhoods. Likewise Trenton isn't the safest community but in and around the stadium or arena life is relatively safe, especially during games when there is security and police on duty to keep people safe.

And most importantly, don't buy or sell drugs, start trouble in a dive bar, or get into a domestic dispute. Those three things account for 90% of the crime and murders in Reading (and probably anywhere). People don't just get murdered randomly, and even dumb robbers know not to try to attack someone in a crowd of 300+ with police present. They have traffic control officers before and after the games on both sides of the arena.