I've lately come across a few pieces of writing that stood out as excellent which all dealt with the sport of hockey, just different things related to the game.
The first piece to note here was about the sport itself in "The Hockey News" by Jeff MacGregor for ESPN. Written about his experience as first a young and now adult hockey fan, it's a short and thoughtful column that makes me think of the Chris Jones column "Best Day Ever" about time with the Stanley Cup.
The second hockey piece I particularly enjoyed was by Tim Rohan for the New York Times and dealt with potential greatness. "A Prodigy on the Way to Stardom" is about 16 year-old Conner McDavid, currently playing in the Ontario Hockey League and expected to be the first pick in the 2015 NHL draft. I love coming across and posting about writing on sports phenoms and with McDavid having already drawn favorable attention from the likes of Bobby Orr (his agent), Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky, he's definitely in the phenom category.
The third piece to mention here was a poignant look at someone in the game by Sarah Hampson for the Toronto Globe & Mail. "NHL veteran Dominic Moore opens up about his wife, their life and her death" is about the former San Jose Shark whose wife Katie was diagnosed during the last Stanley Cup Playoffs with a rare cancer and passed away in January. Very well done writing from Hampson that brought in the history of both Moore's brother Steve whose career ended by Todd Burtuzzi and and Katie's father who died unexpectedly a year before her passing.
