We call it Heckler's Grove for a reason - that's where we needle the players and give them a little razing during the game. It's also the place where we hang our "Signs of Love" - a visual razing to go with our verbal jousting during the game. However, the March 2nd game against the Wilkes-Bare - Scranton Penguins - AHL Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins - was a coup like no other.
The "Baby Pens" have a strong bench of prospects. In fact, they currently have a total of 7 first round draft picks on their roster right now:
- Colby Armstrong -round 1 #21 overall 2001
- Kris Beech - round 1 #7 overall 1999
- Konstantin Koltsov - round 1 #18 overall 1999
- Milan Kraft - round 1 #23 overall 1998
- Francois Leroux - round 1 #19 overall 1988
- Brooks Orpik - round 1 #18 overall 2000
- Alexandre Daigle - round 1 #1 overall 1993
Out of all of these, Alexandre Daigle was the absolute best "target" for Heckler's Grove. He has been planning a comeback this season, and was signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh on October 4, 2002.
 Daigle was the "toast of the town" when he signed a $12.5 Million deal for the Ottawa Senators in 1993. Unfortunately for the Senators, it turned out to be what some people consider the worst draft pick ever made by any National Hockey League team. According to an Ottawa Sun article by Bruce Garrioch, Daigle only played professional hockey to make his father proud.
Of course, all of this, plus the fact that he dated Pamela Lee Anderson in 1998, plus the fact that his production company set up a show for Sheryl Crow at the Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal in 2002, plus the fact that Kid Rock is - as of this writing - engaged to Pamela Anderson and has recorded a duet with Sheryl Crow, all gave Heckler's Grove a tremendous amount of ammunition to tease Daigle with a sign.
Game 1 - 3/1/03
The sign for Mr. Daigle read as follows:
ALEXANDRE DAIGLE
WHICH WAS A BIGGER BUST
YOUR NHL CAREER, OR YOUR TIME
WITH PAMELA LEE ANDERSON???
I BET KID ROCK KNOWS...
Mr. Daigle's on-ice reaction wasn't anything spectacular. He ran into one of his teammates during warm-ups while reading the sign for the first time, but that's nothing abnormal considering some of the reactions we've gotten from other players. What we didn't know at the time was Daigle's OFF-ICE reaction. It was reported that either Daigle or the coaching staff of the WBS Penguins had made a formal request of Cincinnati Gardens Management to have the sign removed. The sign remained for the entire game, and we left happy as the Ducks pulled out a 3-1 win over the Baby Pens.
Later that night, Heckler's Grove received an e-mail from a Ducks season ticket holder stating "Daigle had run up and ripped up the sign that was hanging in Heckler's Grove". WOW! That kind of reaction from any player is unprecedented. That did mean however that we had to pull together another sign for the next game. |
Game 2 - 3/2/03
The sign for game 2 read as follows:
"ALEXANDRE DAIGLE IS BIG ON
TALENT, BUT SHORT ON SUBSTANCE"
WHO SAID THIS???
A) JACQUES MARTIN
B) PAMELA ANDERSON
C) SHERYL CROW
I BET KID ROCK KNOWS THIS TOO...
 As the sign was being hug on the wall, we walked away to get some help. Assistant coach Mike Yao walked up, took the sign off the seats, and crumpled it into a large ball. When asked what he was doing with something that didn't belong to him, his only reply was that he was taking the sign to the dressing room and putting it above Daigle's stall.
 Head coach Glenn Patrick was at the top of stairs leading down towards the ice, and ran interference for Yao has Yao was asked to take the small version of the sign into the locker room for Daigle. As Yao disappeared into the visitors locker room, Patrick nearly tripped one of the Heckler's grove members down the stairway. When confronted, he also ran down the stairs and into the locker room area.
Needless to say the reaction of the crowd, and specifically inside Heckler's Grove towards the Baby Pens was less than polite. The Baby Pens won the contest 3-1, so the Ducks came away with a split during this important weekend game against our divisional rival, but there was an obvious, bigger victory at hand.
You have to wonder about the priorities of a hockey club when the head coach and assistant coach of a visiting hockey team have to play pacifier for a player who - by all rights - should be having a stellar season in the NHL. No one can deny Alexandre Daigle's level of talent, but you certainly have to question the level of maturity when a fans sign can get a player so upset. I think it's also fair to question the priorities of the Wilkes-Bare - Scranton staff by confronting the fans in their home arena, destroying something that didn't belong to them, all for what - some words on a sign?
The Wilkes-Bare fans in attendance were some of the best people we've had the pleasure to meet. They have followed their team to Cleveland then down to Cincinnati for at least 1 of the 2 games at Cincinnati Gardens. It was unfortunate that the coaching staff of the team has placed a black mark on what would have been an otherwise great weekend of hockey in Cincinnati for everyone - Ducks AND Pens fans.
As stated in the Heckler's Grove Cheer List:
Hockey players are some of the nicest, most giving people in professional sports. They might be the "enemy" while they're playing against us, but they deserve our praise and support after the game is over.
Jonathan Sim (now with Nashville) and John Erskine understood it when playing for Utah last year. Rob Brown, Steve Maltais and Norm Maracle for Chicago understood this year. A lot of the visiting teams are having fun with this. Let's hope the management of the "Baby Pens" grows up before they visit Cincinnati again... |
