Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
18h ago
More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
Whether you cheer for the Blackhawks, the Maple Leafs, or any other NHL team, they all have one thing in common: a full roster of players.
However, that’s not yet the case for Matt Giesbrecht’s favourite team.
The Regina man is cheering for the NHL’s newest franchise: the Seattle Kraken.
They’re set to start building their team at the expansion draft Wednesday.
But for Giesbrecht, not knowing anything about the roster isn’t a problem.
“It’s not like I’m just trying to bandwagon jump … If that’s what people want to say, then go for it. If it goes super well like Vegas did when they started up, we make a bunch of big playoff appearances, then suddenly I’m the smartest guy in the room,” he said.
He actually isn’t a hardcore hockey fan, but sees the Seattle expansion as a good chance to get into it.
“It just never really was my sport. And then, I got super into the XFL, for however short-lived that was, and when that went under, I needed something new to go after. So, I figured, new hockey team coming up,” he explained.
“You can’t be accused of bandwagon jumping if there’s no wagon to begin with, so I jumped into the deep end before it even started.”
He’s incredibly excited for Wednesday’s draft, even though he doesn’t know too many of the players who might be selected. He has a friend who’s switching over to Seattle as well, and that helps quite a bit.
“He’s been my sounding board that I throw lots of screenshots at. I say ‘Hey, is that guy any good?’ Then, he’ll say ‘No, that guy’s useless.’ I’ll be like ‘Okay, good to know.’ I’m learning on the fly here,” he said.
“Once it gets started up, boy, you better watch out. I’m going to be finding names to put on a jersey.”
Kraken jerseys aren’t available for sale yet, but he already has a hat, a shirt and a mug.
He also has a message to other Saskatchewan hockey fans.
“If there’s more people out there, by all means, I’m looking forward to meeting some people who are going on this journey.”