What We Learned on 24CH: Pucks and Nets [S3:E16]

by Erica, Staff Writer and Fundraising Specialist, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC. — The narrator begins this episode by talking about the humble hockey puck: it’s the only thing that’s the same everywhere in the league. Oddly enough, in a game where consistency can turn into championships and coaches try to eliminate any variable that won’t work out in their favor, the only thing that always remains the same is the puck. It’s one thing in hockey that can be controlled – and the players who try to control it are the reason why the Canadiens are one of the biggest sporting franchises on Earth. Here’s what we learned this week:

Hockey players – they’re just like us! 24CH has spent three seasons now, not only giving fans a glimpse into the fascinating world of professional hockey, but also trying to show that the Montreal Canadiens are just a bunch of regular guys who happen to be good enough at sports to get paid handsomely for their talents. Deep down, Dustin Tokarski is still the kid who wants to win a Stanley Cup. Max Pacioretty sees his teammates engaging in a game of… volley-soccer? And immediately decides to join in. David Desharnais, just like any NHL fan, passes a security check before entering an arena. And everyone playfully ribbing each other when they’re in a good mood – Tomas Plekanec had a four-point night in a win over the New York Islanders, and Jiri Sekac wouldn’t leave him alone about it.

Carey Price is enjoying the ride. Many players, like Tokarski, will appear on 24CH and be praised for their humility by their families. Carey Price is quite the opposite – he’s rarely been seen off-ice during this entire season of 24CH. His humility is shown in a brief segment where a camera crew follows him and his wife, Angela, as they take their dogs out for a walk on a quiet day off. Price’s segment is all about opposites: he appreciates his days off, and takes time to think about the things in life that aren’t hockey but are important. At the same time, he’s been trying to get the most out of his time in hockey, knowing that an NHL career won’t last forever. He says that he and Tokarski get along well, but doesn’t speak much about the bond that they share as goaltenders. He seems to be in a really good place, both on and off the ice. And yes, his dogs are very cute.

Pucks! This episode gave us a glimpse inside the Sherbrooke, Quebec head office of Sher-Wood, official puck supplier of the NHL. Sher-Wood has made the NHL’s game, practice, and commemorative pucks since 1988. After a brief “how it’s made” sequence (spoiler alert: chunks of rubber are baked into molds), we see how some of the 3000 game pucks supplied to the Canadiens every year are prepared for ice time. They’re screen-printed on both sides with custom logos, frozen, and hand-delivered to the Canadiens organization in a cooler, where they are kept until needed for play. Pucks are regularly switched out to avoid inconsistencies in temperature so that the puck doesn’t bounce. Turns out that a lot goes into regulating the only constant in an NHL game.

Puck action is unpredictable, just like the ending narration tells us, because players, unlike pucks, don’t all come from the same mold. Maybe they’re not as different as we think they are.