My boss, Nigel Hannaford, had a fascinating motto at his school.It went like this ... "Prorsum semper honeste."What it means, is interesting. Play the game, be honest, upright and a man of your word.Hockey doesn't always lend itself to that, of course, nor does life. But these are wise words for any man who faces an immense challenge.If only the world, had more men, and women, of this mettle.Now let me add one, in French ... "Éviscéré comme un poisson."Gutted like a fish.That is how the province of Alberta and much of Canada feels, after the Edmonton Oilers lost a Game 7 heartbreaker of heartbreakers, to those dastardly palm tree poseurs, the Florida Panthers.This, after coming back from a 3-0 game deficit. The glory was there for the taking, and then, not.To be totally honest, I spent the day psychologically preparing myself for defeat. To be crushed by the results of Game 7.It's just my nature.The thought hit me, when I saw an Edmonton weather woman say the Cup parade would be on Friday."Oh no!" I thought, a sure jinx. Counting one's McChickens before they've even hatched!Calm down, I thought, calm down. Connor McDavid is the best player in the NHL, he will not let this happen.It started off OK ... I heard that the Oilers captain took it upon himself to have his mentor, former GM Sherry Bassin and his daughter flown down to South Florida and provide them with tickets for Game 7.The former co-owner of the Erie Otters selected McDavid, who was 15 years old at the time, No. 1 in the 2012 Ontario Hockey League Draft. McDavid has said in the past that Bassin became like a second father to him, always watching out for his best interests after he moved from his native Newmarket, Ontario to the southern shore of Lake Erie.“Special, special player, even a better person,” Bassin said via text before his scheduled flight to Florida.If anyone exemplified "Prorsum semper honeste," it is Connor McDavid, and his never-say-die teammates.Yes, they lost the crucial Game 7 overtime nailbiter, 2-1, falling just short of a historical comeback.But no one can say they gave up, or that they stopped fighting until the last second. Or that Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner did not match his opposite number, Sergei Bobrovsky, save for save.Both goalies seemed to get better as the game went on — the Russian especially, who would stop 23 shots in all and was pivotal to a Panther victory in the hard fought series.Both teams "played the game" as it should be played, no nonsense, just hard-nosed hockey ... honest and upright. Officials were fair. The coaches, Kris Knoblauch and Paul Maurice, were both exemplary. Nobody took any cheap shots.Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, who scored the winning goal, said after the game, “It was the toughest 12 days of our lives.”That doesn't make it any easier to take, of course. I fear the Tuesday hangover that awaits. The dashed dreams of children across the land.Kids who worship McDavid.That disappointment will never go away, hate to say. Been there, done that. The Game 6 3-2 loss suffered by my Detroit Red Wings to the hated Montreal Canadiens in the 1965-66 Stanley Cup final, still stings to this day. I've played it over and over in my head, a thousand times.That's the worst thing ... the instant replay in our minds. Replaying it over, and over, and over again.The missed chances, the great saves, the massive hits, the bad bounces.Despite this devastating loss, and it is devastating, the Oilers, all of them, and the staff, can hold their heads up high.It came down to one game. Just one game.Which could have gone either way.And it was great to see McDavid nab the Conn Smythe, the series MVP. Nobody can ever take that away. Even tho, Panther fans showed no class, in booing him for this amazing accomplishment. It was a no-brainer.Only Reggie Leach and Roger Crozier managed to do that, on the losing Cup team.A Calgary sportswriter once told me, if you walk two blocks away from Amerant Bank Arena, and ask somebody who the Panthers are.They probably wouldn't know. That's the sad part. I shut off the TV after the Cup presentation. It was too much to bear seeing the Cup paraded in palm tree land.
My boss, Nigel Hannaford, had a fascinating motto at his school.It went like this ... "Prorsum semper honeste."What it means, is interesting. Play the game, be honest, upright and a man of your word.Hockey doesn't always lend itself to that, of course, nor does life. But these are wise words for any man who faces an immense challenge.If only the world, had more men, and women, of this mettle.Now let me add one, in French ... "Éviscéré comme un poisson."Gutted like a fish.That is how the province of Alberta and much of Canada feels, after the Edmonton Oilers lost a Game 7 heartbreaker of heartbreakers, to those dastardly palm tree poseurs, the Florida Panthers.This, after coming back from a 3-0 game deficit. The glory was there for the taking, and then, not.To be totally honest, I spent the day psychologically preparing myself for defeat. To be crushed by the results of Game 7.It's just my nature.The thought hit me, when I saw an Edmonton weather woman say the Cup parade would be on Friday."Oh no!" I thought, a sure jinx. Counting one's McChickens before they've even hatched!Calm down, I thought, calm down. Connor McDavid is the best player in the NHL, he will not let this happen.It started off OK ... I heard that the Oilers captain took it upon himself to have his mentor, former GM Sherry Bassin and his daughter flown down to South Florida and provide them with tickets for Game 7.The former co-owner of the Erie Otters selected McDavid, who was 15 years old at the time, No. 1 in the 2012 Ontario Hockey League Draft. McDavid has said in the past that Bassin became like a second father to him, always watching out for his best interests after he moved from his native Newmarket, Ontario to the southern shore of Lake Erie.“Special, special player, even a better person,” Bassin said via text before his scheduled flight to Florida.If anyone exemplified "Prorsum semper honeste," it is Connor McDavid, and his never-say-die teammates.Yes, they lost the crucial Game 7 overtime nailbiter, 2-1, falling just short of a historical comeback.But no one can say they gave up, or that they stopped fighting until the last second. Or that Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner did not match his opposite number, Sergei Bobrovsky, save for save.Both goalies seemed to get better as the game went on — the Russian especially, who would stop 23 shots in all and was pivotal to a Panther victory in the hard fought series.Both teams "played the game" as it should be played, no nonsense, just hard-nosed hockey ... honest and upright. Officials were fair. The coaches, Kris Knoblauch and Paul Maurice, were both exemplary. Nobody took any cheap shots.Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, who scored the winning goal, said after the game, “It was the toughest 12 days of our lives.”That doesn't make it any easier to take, of course. I fear the Tuesday hangover that awaits. The dashed dreams of children across the land.Kids who worship McDavid.That disappointment will never go away, hate to say. Been there, done that. The Game 6 3-2 loss suffered by my Detroit Red Wings to the hated Montreal Canadiens in the 1965-66 Stanley Cup final, still stings to this day. I've played it over and over in my head, a thousand times.That's the worst thing ... the instant replay in our minds. Replaying it over, and over, and over again.The missed chances, the great saves, the massive hits, the bad bounces.Despite this devastating loss, and it is devastating, the Oilers, all of them, and the staff, can hold their heads up high.It came down to one game. Just one game.Which could have gone either way.And it was great to see McDavid nab the Conn Smythe, the series MVP. Nobody can ever take that away. Even tho, Panther fans showed no class, in booing him for this amazing accomplishment. It was a no-brainer.Only Reggie Leach and Roger Crozier managed to do that, on the losing Cup team.A Calgary sportswriter once told me, if you walk two blocks away from Amerant Bank Arena, and ask somebody who the Panthers are.They probably wouldn't know. That's the sad part. I shut off the TV after the Cup presentation. It was too much to bear seeing the Cup paraded in palm tree land.
