Could This Be The End Of The Otters?

Dickie Dunn - The Redwood City Hockey News

Frankly this reporter is starting to see a trend develop. The Otters are a team that has been nearly hand-picked, cultivated and nurtured with one single goal in mind. (NO! not win Dave a damn T-shirt), but to compete for and win the 2nd most holy of grails in sports, The Stanley Keg.

But recently, I have noticed a lack of focus, and quite honestly, a lack of TRUE desire. Oh sure, I keep hearing, “we wanna win” but it seems like some players are just more interested in blogging cute BS stories and videos, or covering themselves elk urine and sitting in a tree waiting for a furry woodland creature to wonder by. I have even overheard one player talking about the color of toilets that he is picking out for his new home that he is building.

I don’t think that I am alone. The fans notice, the other teams notice and apparently so does management. Otter GM, Aden Nolet, was observed, what could only be described, as an, all-out tantrum after Wednesday night’s loss by the Otters top development team, Oasis. After Oasis’ loss, young Nolet ran around his lavish Atherton playroom/ office and began smashing toys in a fit of rage.

Many that witnessed Aden were amazed at the youngster’s vocabulary. “I was not aware he even knew those words” claimed mother and Otter defenseman, Jules Nolet. “ I am going to start to pay more attention to those episodes of Wonder Pets that he watches”.

Are my expectations too high?

I don’t think so.

This season, 4 of the top sportsbooks in Manitoba, picked the Otters as odds on favorites to “win it all”. Even thought the team suffered the loss of Rob Caplin, the mercenary player who sighed to end his career in Redwood City, the Otters still sported a plethora of talented players. Mid season acquisition of Sergi Anufriev added the catalyst to the famed “Russian 3”. David Warner, the most decorated of the Otter players, returned after serving a 32 year ban imposed by both the United States Amateur Hockey Association and Canadian Hockey Board of Regents for his financial improprieties that lead up to the now infamous BU/ Cornell – “Game that Never Was”.

http://home.comcast.net/~thfblog/site/?/page/The_Game_That_Never_Was/

The other key players that round out the Otter lineup are: Tom “the gardener” Muthig. Tom the elder statesman of the team quietly leads by example, yet has not been as productive in goal scoring as was expected of him.
The before mentioned “elk urine connoisseur” Alan Nolet who has missed several of the last Stanley Keg games while out “hunting” is now under investigation by the Las Vegas Vice Squad after several of his broadhead arrow tips were discovered during the raid on a seedy Vegas massage parlor called “Brandy”.

While I cannot question the loyalty of some of the Otter “role players” such as Chuck Jewett, who is playing with an undisclosed “upper-chest issue” and defenseman, Alan Scheer, who has put his social life on hold to play hockey on Friday nights, I am starting to wonder about plucky forward Ted Brown, who is rumored to be quietly trying to start is own hockey league in Belmont.

This might be the last chance for the Otters to achieve what so many around these parts are counting on! The Stanley Keg! If this season ends in disappointment like so many of the past seasons, one can only wonder what lies in store for the wacky band of misfits.