Bill Keenan - Odd Man Rush: A Harvard Kid?s Hockey Odyssey from Central Park to Somewhere in Sweden?with Stops along the Way

Copyright 2016 by Bill Keenan

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credits: Left, David Silverman; center, Magnus de Wall; right, Jonny Dahlgren

ISBN: 978-1-61321-817-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-861-7

Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Authors note:

I have changed some names in order to protect the innocentand more importantly, the guilty. Also, although some characters are composites and the narrative has been compressed in places to keep the story moving, the events portrayed in the book are accurate to the best of my recollection. Finally, in instances where foreign languages appear, if grammatically or otherwise incorrect, sorryIm still working on English.

In any event, if you want the truth, as I saw it when I wrote it, youre in luck. If it werent the truth, Id still be playing hockey, not writing about it.

Foreword

by Adam Graves

I FIRST MET Billy at my summer hockey camp in Windsor, Ontario, in 1993. He even has a Polaroid picture to prove it. I can vividly remember the young, eager, smiling kid from New York City. He was a mere seven years old, and I was twenty-five having just finished my second season with the Rangers. My career has been an open book: I played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League and was lucky enough to win two Stanley Cupswith the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 and the NY Rangers in 1994. Hockey has given me the opportunity to meet incredible people throughout my journey and I firmly believe that meeting individuals like Billy is truly the highlight of my career. I know you will enjoy his stories and how he lived for the game of hockey.

Hockey took me from a small town in Canada to New York City and the bright lights of Madison Square Garden; it took Billy from an apartment on Manhattans Upper East Side to small towns in the European countryside. We are living proof that no matter where you come from, or where you are going, our great sport is the same, and so are the characters you are lucky enough to play with along the way.

Hockey is more than just a game. Hockey is its own culturea lifestyle, which brings people together from every walk of life. It crosses barriers and transcends social, geographic, and economic boundaries like few other things can. When people ask me what I miss most about the game, the answer is always the same: the friendships, the unique teammates and coaches in the locker room, and the moments away from the ice.

Billy and I have something else in common. He not only came to the rink early but he always lingered late. I recognize this quality in myself, as I never wanted to miss a thing either. Unfortunately, there comes a time for every player when you have to say goodbye. Billy has found a way to preserve his experiences and have them live on. His perseverance was evident, as he continued to pursue his passion for hockey through adversity. If you want to hear about the real characters of the game with no punches pulled and understand the true grit that keeps us coming back to the rink day after day, keep reading. Thats what Billys story is all about.

Odd Man Rush

1. When a hockey team enters the offensive zone and outnumbers the players on the opposing team by one or more players, e.g., two-on-one, three-on-two, three-on-one, etc.

2. When a young American hockey player from New York City skates around Europe, trying to figure out what the hell hes doing with his life.

Prologue

Released from the penalty box, I haul ass across the ice as the chanting grows louder.

KEE-NAN DU ARSCH-LOCH ! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. KEE-NAN DU ARSCH-LOCH ! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.

The last time a crowd chanted my name, I was six. And dreaming.

KEE-NAN DU ARSCH-LOCH ! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. KEE-NAN DU ARSCH-LOCH ! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.

Everyone on the bench cheeks to the right to make room. Whatre they saying? I shout to our hulking Russian centerman over the roar of the 2,000 shitfaced fans, a swell of bright green and black punctuated by waving flags and glowing sparklers. The safest place during Herford games is on the ice.

Nothing. Zey chant nothing, Oleg replies devoid of emotion.

Theyre chanting something . I hear my name.

You not hear your name.

Yeah I do. Hear it? Keenan dooo something .

Fine. Zey say something. But I not hear Keenan.

Oleg, theyre saying Keenan. Keenan dooo something. I remove my helmet, spray some water on my head, and run my hand through my hair as I gaze into the crowd.

Oleg sighs. Fine. Zey are yelling, like, Keenan sucks. Keenan sucks. Keenan

Okay, okay, I interrupt him, quickly strapping my helmet back on my head. I got it.

Wait, Oleg says. Zis is not sucks zey chant. Zis is something more worse zan suck . I dont know which word zis is in English. Grinning evilly, he looks up at the ceiling of the arena. Behind , maybe? Behind circle ? Keenan is a behind circle ? But something more worse.

You mean asshole ?

He bangs his stick on the boards. Asshole ! Right. Still grinning, he adds, Zey dont like you, buddy.

Thanks for the clarification. I pick up a water bottle, spewing a stream of water on a Herford player as he skates by before squirting a few pumps into my mouth and spitting it onto the ice.

The final five minutes of the game are chaos. Still leading 10, we exchange breakaway chances with Herford but no one scores. In the last minute, with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, they blitz our goaltender, Hans, with an onslaught of shots. Hans uses every inch of both his pliable body and his sure stick to deny them. On the bench, even more chaos ensues. Word has it that some of the more hammered Herford fans are in the midst of breaking into our locker room in an attempt to steal our clothes, one of their charming traditions. Making the trip back to Neuwied in my jockstrapin a bus permanently pumping at meat lockeris not something Im excited about, but our veterans, having seen this before, assure us that our fans will counter with a strong defense.

Traditionally, after the final buzzer, both teams line up for a civil post-game handshake, but theres no chance thats happening tonight because our opponents are a bunch of arschlochs . More importantly, the participants in the Westphalia Regional Figure Skating Qualifier are already lining up to take the ice. We mob Hans in his goal crease and skate towards the Neuwied section of the arena to give our loyal, rabid fans a well-deserved stick salute while a few remaining Herford fans fire empty beer cans at us.

Moments later in the locker room, while my teammates peel off their sweat-drenched equipmentand as Oleg, Mother Russia himself, makes a show of scraping the ice from his skate bladesour goalie receives a big round of applause and a few celebratory tape balls rocketed at his face. Hans nods in appreciation with a wave and a few curses.