And he admittedly loves to push the line as far as he can take it, whether it's a faceoff strategy that actually resulted in a rule change across the NHL this season, or a pregame antic during warmups.
As captain of the Syracuse Crunch in 2007-08, Konopka was reading the newspaper while having coffee at a Winnipeg hotel the morning between games with the Manitoba Moose. An article about Alexandre Bolduc caught Konopka's eye.
"That night in warmups, I brought the sports section onto the ice with me and laid it down at center ice," Konopka said. "I said to [Bolduc], 'It says here in print you'll fight anyone. You have five guys to pick from. You pick who you're going to fight first and we'll pick who you're going to fight second.' ... We won that game."
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/186709631.html?refer=y
Anyone know which rule change this is?
But unlike many bruisers, he can play a regular shift and is especially strong in the faceoff circle, winning 58.8 percent of his draws. One strategy he used was to grab the opposing center's stick in the defensive zone and pass the puck with his hand to a teammate. That's now a minor penalty.
"They call it the 'Z Rule,'" Konopka said. "I knew they'd eventually catch on to it. It was an advantage. I'll find another one."
http://twitter.com/Russostrib/status/290677693010292736Konopka on Hoppy: "Just like me, there's a little period in there where you have some uncertainty, but he can win you over pretty quickly."
Last year in the playoffs for Ottawa, Konopka was fined $2,500 for warning the Rangers' Brian Boyle to "strap in."
"I thought I was being a good guy to warn him," Konopka said.
This one:http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/186709631.html?refer=y
Anyone know which rule change this is?
But unlike many bruisers, he can play a regular shift and is especially strong in the faceoff circle, winning 58.8 percent of his draws. One strategy he used was to grab the opposing center's stick in the defensive zone and pass the puck with his hand to a teammate. That's now a minor penalty.
"They call it the 'Z Rule,'" Konopka said. "I knew they'd eventually catch on to it. It was an advantage. I'll find another one."
Badass.
Edit: Wouldnt it be so sick if someone brought a Fat Head Poster of Hoppy and held it up during a game? If i saw that on TV id probably die of laughter.
"Koivu is a superstar that maybe doesn’t get enough respect around the league and he should," Konopka said. "Heatley is a world-class player and we have to make sure those guys are taken care of and they feel very comfortable and nice. If they want to sit down at center ice and read the paper, they should be able to do that without anyone touching them."
Sounds like he's exactly what this team needs...
Wild Card *****es!!!!!
Hoppy needs a twitter account
Post full of win.Sounds like he's exactly what this team needs...
Wild Card *****es!!!!!
Agree with all of these.Loving this signing so far. Just for the entertainment.
AWESOME PICTURE
Tweeted this last night