Interview - The Ultimate Hockey Trip
Posted 5:53 PM ET | Comments 1
When I first heard of Joe Stiger and his hockey trip idea on XM Radio I said to myself; “Wow, what a great idea! What I would do to be able to accomplish something like this…” I had to get in touch with him and find out more about it.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Joe and pick his brain on his “Ultimate Hockey Trip” idea and the beginning of Army’s Pit at the Mellon Arena.
Joe, thank you very much for taking time and sharing your thoughts with the HockeyBuzz community.
Devils Advocate (DA) First of all, for those non Penguins fans, tell us a little about Army’s Pit.
Joe Stiger (JS) During an episode of Inside Penguins Hockey the team termed Army's Pit "The unofficial fan club of Colby Armstrong". In a nut shell- that's what it is. I've been following the career of Colby Armstrong since the day the Penguins drafted him in 2001. As a 1st round draft pick it's just something that fans tend to do and Colby's style of play lent himself to being a fan favorite. Fast forward to the lockout of the 2004-05 season and I suddenly had money to spend on traveling to see the game since I wasn't paying any money to see it at home. The Penguins organized a bus trip of season ticket holders to Wilkes-Barre and that's where I really got to see what all Armstrong had offer. He played with a chip on his shoulder, made very hard to play against him and the team, and always seemed to put in timely offense when the squad needed it. After about a half dozen more trips I couldn't wait to see many of those guys up in Pittsburgh, Armstrong especially. So he was recalled halfway through the 05-06 season and immediately meshed with Sidney Crosby on and off the ice. After the season ended my friend who shared the seat next to mine concocted a banner in support of Armstrong. After mulling over several options I went with the inspiration from the book by Shawna Richer- The Rookie- which followed Crosby during his rookie year. In a blurb near the end of the book it stated Armstrong was called "The Arm Pit" by Crosby. So since the location of my season tickets could conceivably be the 'Arm Pit' of Mellon Arena I just went with "Army's Pit" and the rest is history. It's been 57 games in a row as I write this and it has been a staple I suppose of Penguin home games. I met Armstrong at a signing and he told me he saw it every game and loved it so with his blessing it will remain there until he's no longer a Penguin.
DA - We heard of Steve Williamson who did “30 games in 30 nights” visiting all NHL cities for a games in one trip. When I heard about your “Ultimate Hockey Trip” and was just excited to share it with all other hockey fans. Tell us about how you came up with the idea.
JS - The trips to Wilkes-Barre are what turned me on to the idea of traveling to as many places I could to watch the game of hockey. Up until November 18 it had only been trips to see the Penguins and their affiliates in Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling. Having now been to WBS, Wheeling, Washington, New York, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Hershey, and Cleveland to watch hockey as well as the entry draft in Columbus it's sort of become a hobby. It was on the trip to Hershey (the inspiration for the trip was to buy a game puck) to see the Bears play Albany that I thought about Williamson's trip and thought how crazy and great it would be to go to every pro team in the continent's arena. So while starting in Pittsburgh and figuring the end in Montreal since so many refer to it as the Mecca of hockey I just geographically plotted what would be the best course of action across the US and Canada to see all 84 team's buildings.
*** The Ultimate Hockey Trip itinerary
1. NHL- Pittsburgh Penguins- Mellon Arena - Travel 60 Miles to...
2. ECHL- Wheeling Nailers- Wesbanco Arena- Travel 138 Miles to...
3. ECHL- Johnstown Chiefs- War Memorial- Travel 147 Miles to...
4. AHL- Hershey Bears- GIANT Center- Travel 47 Miles to...
5. ECHL- Reading Royals- Sovereign Center- Travel 69 Miles to...
6. NHL- Philadelphia Flyers- Wachovia Center- AND
7. AHL- Philadelphia Phantoms- Wachovia Spectrum- Travel 115 Miles to...
8. AHL- Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins- Wachovia Arena- Travel 80 Miles to...
9. AHL- Binghamton Senators- Broome County War Memorial- Travel 56 Miles to...
10. ECHL- Elmira Jackals- First Arena- Travel 145 Miles to...
11. NHL- Buffalo Sabres- HSBC Arena- Travel 65 Miles to...
12. AHL- Hamilton Bulldogs- Copps Coliseum- Travel 42 Miles to...
13. NHL- Toronto Maple Leafs- Air Canada Centre- Travel 2 Miles to...
14. AHL- Toronto Marlies- Ricoh Coliseum- Travel 166 Miles to...
15. AHL- Rochester Americans- BlueCross Arena- Travel 87 Miles to...
16. AHL- Syracuse Crunch- War Memorial at Oncenter- Travel 146 Miles to...
17. AHL- Albany River Rats- Times Union Center- Travel 270 Miles to...
18. AHL- Portland Pirates- Cumberland Civic Center- Travel 95 Miles to...
19. AHL- Manchester Monarchs- Verizon Arena- Travel 36 Miles to...
20. AHL- Lowell Devils- Paul Tsongas Arena- Travel 30 Miles to...
21. NHL- Boston Bruins- TD Banknorth Garden- Travel 47 Miles to...
22. AHL- Worcester Sharks- DCU Center- Travel 39 Miles to...
23. AHL- Providence Bruins- Dunkin Donuts Center- Travel 85 Miles to...
24. AHL- Springfield Falcons- MassMutual Center- Travel 25 Miles to...
25. AHL- Hartford Wolfpack- Hartford Civic Center- Travel 57 Miles to...
26. AHL- Bridgeport Sound Tigers- Arena @ Harbor Yard- Travel 66 Miles to...
27. NHL- New York Islanders- Nassau Coliseum- Travel 45 Miles to...
28. NHL- New Jersey Devils- Prudential Center- Travel 13 Miles to...
29. NHL- New York Rangers- Madison Square Garden- Travel 67 Miles to...
30. ECHL- Trenton Devils- Sovereign Bank Arena- Travel 172 Miles to...
31. NHL- Washington Capitals- Verizon Center- Travel 193 Miles to...
32. AHL- Norfolk Admirals- The Scope- Travel 190 Miles to...
33. NHL- Carolina Hurricanes- RBC Center- Travel 161 Miles to...
34. ECHL- Charlotte Checkers- Bobcats Arena- Travel 93 Miles to...
35. ECHL- Columbia Inferno- Carolina Coliseum- Travel 78 Miles to...
36. ECHL- August Lynx- Richmond County Center- Travel 175 Miles to...
37. ECHL- South Carolina Stingrays- North Charleston Coliseum- Travel 314 Miles to...
38. NHL- Atlanta Thrashers- Philips Arena- Travel 26 Miles to...
39. ECHL- Gwinnett Gladiators- Gwinnett Center- Travel 479 Miles to...
40. NHL- Tampa Bay Lightning- St. Pete Times Forum- Travel 143 Miles to...
41. ECHL- Florida Everblades- Germain Arena- Travel 111 Miles to...
42. NHL- Florida Panthers- BankAtlantic Center- Travel 656 Miles to...
43. ECHL- Pensacola Ice Pilots- Pensacola Civic Center- Travel 121 Miles to...
44. ECHL- Mississippi Sea Wolves- Gulf Coast Coliseum- Travel 329 Miles to...
45. ECHL- Texas Wildcatters- Ford Arena- Travel 87 Miles to...
46. AHL- Houston Aeros- Toyota Center- Travel 192 Miles to...
47. AHL- San Antonio Rampage- AT&T Center- Travel 271 Miles to...
48. NHL- Dallas Stars- American Airlines Center- Travel 666 Miles to...
49. NHL- Nashville Predators- Sommet Center- Travel 308 Miles to...
50. NHL- St. Louis Blues- Scottrade Center- Travel 350 Miles to...
51. ECHL- Cincinnati Cyclones- US Bank Arena- Travel 61 Miles to...
52. ECHL- Dayton Bombers- Nutter Center- Travel 64 Miles to...
53. NHL- Columbus Blue Jackets- Nationwide Arena- Travel 142 Miles to...
54. AHL- Lake Erie Monsters- Quicken Loans Arena- Travel 168 Miles to...
55. NHL- Detroit Red Wings- Joe Louis Arena- Travel 157 Miles to...
56. AHL- Grand Rapids Griffins- Van Andel Arena- Travel 180 Miles to...
57. NHL- Chicago Blackhawks- United Center- Travel 17 Miles to...
58. AHL- Chicago Wolves- Allstate Arena- Travel 79 Miles to...
59. AHL- Milwaukee Admirals- Bradley Center- Travel 93 Miles to...
60. AHL- Rockford IceHogs- Metro Centre- Travel 138 Miles to...
61. AHL- Peoria Rivermen- Peoria Civic Center- Travel 94 Miles to...
62. AHL- Quad City Flames- i Wireless Center- Travel 362 Miles to...
63. NHL- Minnesota Wild- Xcel Energy Center- Travel 245 Miles to...
64. AHL- Iowa Stars- Des Moines Events Center- Travel 670 Miles to...
65. NHL- Colorado Avalanche- Pepsi Center- Travel 534 Miles to...
66. ECHL- Utah Grizzlies- The E Center- Travel 650 Miles to...
67. ECHL- Phoenix Roadrunners- US Airways Center- Travel 18 Miles to...
68. NHL- Phoenix Coyotes- Jobing.com Arena- Travel 279 Miles to...
69. ECHL- Las Vegas Wranglers- Orleans Arena- Travel 259 Miles to...
70. NHL- Anaheim Ducks- Honda Center- Travel 30 Miles to...
71. NHL- Los Angeles Kings- Staples Center- Travel 114 Miles to...
72. ECHL- Bakersfield Condors- Rabobank Arena- Travel 117 Miles to...
73. ECHL- Fresno Falcons- Save Mart Center- Travel 156 Miles to...
74. NHL- San Jose Sharks- HP Pavilion- Travel 81 Miles to...
75. ECHL- Stockton Thunder- Stockton Arena- Travel 606 Miles to...
76. ECHL- Idaho Steelheads- Qwest Arena- Travel 647 Miles to...
77. ECHL- Victoria Salmon Kings- Save on Foods Mart Centre- Travel 69 Miles to...
78. NHL- Vancouver Canucks- General Motors Place- Travel 606 Miles to...
79. NHL- Calgary Flames- Pengrowth Saddledome- Travel 189 Miles to...
80. NHL- Edmonton Oilers- Rexall Place- Travel 1,944 Miles to...
81. ECHL- Alaska Aces- Sullivan Arena- Travel 2,752 Miles to...
82. AHL- Manitoba Moose- MTS Centre- Travel 1,303 Miles to...
83. NHL- Ottawa Senators- Scotiabank Place- Travel 138 Miles to...
84. NHL- Montreal Canadiens- Bell Centre- GO HOME
DA - Give us some stats that you have come up with.
JS - The biggest stat of all is that the total mileage of the trip would be 20,317 miles. How long it would take to go to every arena is up in the air because that would be very reliant on the schedule makers of the NHL, AHL, and ECHL. I haven't planned it in enough detail to figure out the cost of the trip but if I were to hit some sort of lottery or stumble upon, ohh, $5 million dollars I'd like to try and take away each team's home jersey or puck. The trip from Dallas, TX to Nashville, TN would be a bit scary since that is 666 miles apart. It was difficult to try and fit Anchorage, Alaska in since it's so far removed from other cities but going to and from there would require the most travel (4,696 miles).
DA - What would be some highlights of the trip for you, personally, along the way?
JS - The idea would also be to take in all the local ambience each city has to offer. So a trip to Portland, Maine would need to have a lobster dinner, going to Philadelphia would include runnning up the steps like Rocky Balboa of the Philly Museum of Art and then eating a cheesesteak and so on. Obviously cities like Moline, IL (Quad City Flames) or Pensacola, FL (Pensacola Ice Pilots) I'd just try and research and figure out what I would be doing before and after the game to get an idea of what life is like for a hockey fan there. I would also obviously blog the trip since so many hockey fans are internet savvy and take as much notes as possible, ranking everything from in-game presentation to sight lines to what it's like to watch a game amongst the locals. It's always been a life dream or goal of mine to write a book and I couldn't think of a better topic than this if it were ever possible.
DA - How close is such a trip in coming to reality?
JS - I hate to come off sounding like all I have to do is hop in the car, grab my wallet, and just do this. Unlike Steve Williamson I don't think I have the finances now or the foreseeable future to accomplish this. Also unlike Mr. Williamson, 84 cities is much harder to plan for and tackle than 30 cities. Obviously it's not possible to do all 84 cities in 84 nights but the shortest amount of time in possible would be ideal. Could I do it with the funding, while leaving behind my home, girlfriend, and family? That's hard to predict. I guess you could term this my ultimate fantasy and if there was anyone out there who would have the means to do this and wanted to include me I'd be hard-pressed not to do it.
DA - What kind of publicity have you gotten so far with this?
JS - I mapped out the idea of this trip and sent it to Seth Rorabaugh of Post-Gazette Empty Netters because the Penguins were off for 5 days so I thought it could potentially fill in some interesting space for his blog. Since then the only person to want to talk to me about this have been The Devil's Advocate of HockeyBuzz.com. I actually got publicity during the lockout for taking the trips to Wilkes-Barre (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05030/450101-61.stm) then I had the Ultimate Road Trip idea. I suppose it just hasn't made it's way through the internet enough to get any substantial publicity yet. (Joe’s idea was also featured on XM Radio’s “Around the rink in 90 seconds bit)
DA - Any other final thoughts you would like to add?
JS -While on the road to Wilkes-Barre I was afforded the opportunity to meet a lot of that year's team. From current NHL players (Marc-Andre Fleury, Maxime Talbot, Michel Ouellet, Kris Beech) to career minor leaguers (Mike Sgroi, Shane Endicott) but none were classier guys than Darcy Robinson. Darcy was a consistent healthy scratch during his time in the AHL but after the second game I attended there I met him in the restaurant and he was the nicest player I've met to date. He thanked me for travelling all the way to watch them play, talked about the lockout with me, signed a team yearbook I had, and told me he'd bring Fleury in to meet me the next night. The next night the Penguins lost to Syracuse 7-2 and coach Michel Therrien put a curfew on the team that kept them in for the night as a result. Not really thinking anything of it (in terms of meeting more of the team) Robinson came into the restaurant, risking fine due to the curfew, and apologized to me for the way the team played and thus not having the chance to meet more of the guys. It was just a touching selfless act that I hold with me now. Darcy passed away at the beginning of this season while playing over in Italy during a game. While I'm not sure how many people heard of the incident or have heard of Darcy Robinson it should just be said how much of a great and classy person he truly was.
DA – Joe, thank you again for the time you have taken with HockeyBuzz and myself. Please join our HockeyBuzz community and visit us often. Also make sure to update us should this trip come close to becoming reality.
Anyone up for a hockey trip??!!
Keep an eye out for my interview with Steve Williamson of “30 games in 30 nights” as I will delve into his trip and what it was like. ** If you have any questions for Steve email me, the best one will make it into the interview.
Should you have any further questions for Joe you can direct them to me at: [email][email protected][/email]
I had the opportunity to catch up with Joe and pick his brain on his “Ultimate Hockey Trip” idea and the beginning of Army’s Pit at the Mellon Arena.
Joe, thank you very much for taking time and sharing your thoughts with the HockeyBuzz community.
Devils Advocate (DA) First of all, for those non Penguins fans, tell us a little about Army’s Pit.
Joe Stiger (JS) During an episode of Inside Penguins Hockey the team termed Army's Pit "The unofficial fan club of Colby Armstrong". In a nut shell- that's what it is. I've been following the career of Colby Armstrong since the day the Penguins drafted him in 2001. As a 1st round draft pick it's just something that fans tend to do and Colby's style of play lent himself to being a fan favorite. Fast forward to the lockout of the 2004-05 season and I suddenly had money to spend on traveling to see the game since I wasn't paying any money to see it at home. The Penguins organized a bus trip of season ticket holders to Wilkes-Barre and that's where I really got to see what all Armstrong had offer. He played with a chip on his shoulder, made very hard to play against him and the team, and always seemed to put in timely offense when the squad needed it. After about a half dozen more trips I couldn't wait to see many of those guys up in Pittsburgh, Armstrong especially. So he was recalled halfway through the 05-06 season and immediately meshed with Sidney Crosby on and off the ice. After the season ended my friend who shared the seat next to mine concocted a banner in support of Armstrong. After mulling over several options I went with the inspiration from the book by Shawna Richer- The Rookie- which followed Crosby during his rookie year. In a blurb near the end of the book it stated Armstrong was called "The Arm Pit" by Crosby. So since the location of my season tickets could conceivably be the 'Arm Pit' of Mellon Arena I just went with "Army's Pit" and the rest is history. It's been 57 games in a row as I write this and it has been a staple I suppose of Penguin home games. I met Armstrong at a signing and he told me he saw it every game and loved it so with his blessing it will remain there until he's no longer a Penguin.
DA - We heard of Steve Williamson who did “30 games in 30 nights” visiting all NHL cities for a games in one trip. When I heard about your “Ultimate Hockey Trip” and was just excited to share it with all other hockey fans. Tell us about how you came up with the idea.
JS - The trips to Wilkes-Barre are what turned me on to the idea of traveling to as many places I could to watch the game of hockey. Up until November 18 it had only been trips to see the Penguins and their affiliates in Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling. Having now been to WBS, Wheeling, Washington, New York, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Hershey, and Cleveland to watch hockey as well as the entry draft in Columbus it's sort of become a hobby. It was on the trip to Hershey (the inspiration for the trip was to buy a game puck) to see the Bears play Albany that I thought about Williamson's trip and thought how crazy and great it would be to go to every pro team in the continent's arena. So while starting in Pittsburgh and figuring the end in Montreal since so many refer to it as the Mecca of hockey I just geographically plotted what would be the best course of action across the US and Canada to see all 84 team's buildings.
*** The Ultimate Hockey Trip itinerary
1. NHL- Pittsburgh Penguins- Mellon Arena - Travel 60 Miles to...
2. ECHL- Wheeling Nailers- Wesbanco Arena- Travel 138 Miles to...
3. ECHL- Johnstown Chiefs- War Memorial- Travel 147 Miles to...
4. AHL- Hershey Bears- GIANT Center- Travel 47 Miles to...
5. ECHL- Reading Royals- Sovereign Center- Travel 69 Miles to...
6. NHL- Philadelphia Flyers- Wachovia Center- AND
7. AHL- Philadelphia Phantoms- Wachovia Spectrum- Travel 115 Miles to...
8. AHL- Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins- Wachovia Arena- Travel 80 Miles to...
9. AHL- Binghamton Senators- Broome County War Memorial- Travel 56 Miles to...
10. ECHL- Elmira Jackals- First Arena- Travel 145 Miles to...
11. NHL- Buffalo Sabres- HSBC Arena- Travel 65 Miles to...
12. AHL- Hamilton Bulldogs- Copps Coliseum- Travel 42 Miles to...
13. NHL- Toronto Maple Leafs- Air Canada Centre- Travel 2 Miles to...
14. AHL- Toronto Marlies- Ricoh Coliseum- Travel 166 Miles to...
15. AHL- Rochester Americans- BlueCross Arena- Travel 87 Miles to...
16. AHL- Syracuse Crunch- War Memorial at Oncenter- Travel 146 Miles to...
17. AHL- Albany River Rats- Times Union Center- Travel 270 Miles to...
18. AHL- Portland Pirates- Cumberland Civic Center- Travel 95 Miles to...
19. AHL- Manchester Monarchs- Verizon Arena- Travel 36 Miles to...
20. AHL- Lowell Devils- Paul Tsongas Arena- Travel 30 Miles to...
21. NHL- Boston Bruins- TD Banknorth Garden- Travel 47 Miles to...
22. AHL- Worcester Sharks- DCU Center- Travel 39 Miles to...
23. AHL- Providence Bruins- Dunkin Donuts Center- Travel 85 Miles to...
24. AHL- Springfield Falcons- MassMutual Center- Travel 25 Miles to...
25. AHL- Hartford Wolfpack- Hartford Civic Center- Travel 57 Miles to...
26. AHL- Bridgeport Sound Tigers- Arena @ Harbor Yard- Travel 66 Miles to...
27. NHL- New York Islanders- Nassau Coliseum- Travel 45 Miles to...
28. NHL- New Jersey Devils- Prudential Center- Travel 13 Miles to...
29. NHL- New York Rangers- Madison Square Garden- Travel 67 Miles to...
30. ECHL- Trenton Devils- Sovereign Bank Arena- Travel 172 Miles to...
31. NHL- Washington Capitals- Verizon Center- Travel 193 Miles to...
32. AHL- Norfolk Admirals- The Scope- Travel 190 Miles to...
33. NHL- Carolina Hurricanes- RBC Center- Travel 161 Miles to...
34. ECHL- Charlotte Checkers- Bobcats Arena- Travel 93 Miles to...
35. ECHL- Columbia Inferno- Carolina Coliseum- Travel 78 Miles to...
36. ECHL- August Lynx- Richmond County Center- Travel 175 Miles to...
37. ECHL- South Carolina Stingrays- North Charleston Coliseum- Travel 314 Miles to...
38. NHL- Atlanta Thrashers- Philips Arena- Travel 26 Miles to...
39. ECHL- Gwinnett Gladiators- Gwinnett Center- Travel 479 Miles to...
40. NHL- Tampa Bay Lightning- St. Pete Times Forum- Travel 143 Miles to...
41. ECHL- Florida Everblades- Germain Arena- Travel 111 Miles to...
42. NHL- Florida Panthers- BankAtlantic Center- Travel 656 Miles to...
43. ECHL- Pensacola Ice Pilots- Pensacola Civic Center- Travel 121 Miles to...
44. ECHL- Mississippi Sea Wolves- Gulf Coast Coliseum- Travel 329 Miles to...
45. ECHL- Texas Wildcatters- Ford Arena- Travel 87 Miles to...
46. AHL- Houston Aeros- Toyota Center- Travel 192 Miles to...
47. AHL- San Antonio Rampage- AT&T Center- Travel 271 Miles to...
48. NHL- Dallas Stars- American Airlines Center- Travel 666 Miles to...
49. NHL- Nashville Predators- Sommet Center- Travel 308 Miles to...
50. NHL- St. Louis Blues- Scottrade Center- Travel 350 Miles to...
51. ECHL- Cincinnati Cyclones- US Bank Arena- Travel 61 Miles to...
52. ECHL- Dayton Bombers- Nutter Center- Travel 64 Miles to...
53. NHL- Columbus Blue Jackets- Nationwide Arena- Travel 142 Miles to...
54. AHL- Lake Erie Monsters- Quicken Loans Arena- Travel 168 Miles to...
55. NHL- Detroit Red Wings- Joe Louis Arena- Travel 157 Miles to...
56. AHL- Grand Rapids Griffins- Van Andel Arena- Travel 180 Miles to...
57. NHL- Chicago Blackhawks- United Center- Travel 17 Miles to...
58. AHL- Chicago Wolves- Allstate Arena- Travel 79 Miles to...
59. AHL- Milwaukee Admirals- Bradley Center- Travel 93 Miles to...
60. AHL- Rockford IceHogs- Metro Centre- Travel 138 Miles to...
61. AHL- Peoria Rivermen- Peoria Civic Center- Travel 94 Miles to...
62. AHL- Quad City Flames- i Wireless Center- Travel 362 Miles to...
63. NHL- Minnesota Wild- Xcel Energy Center- Travel 245 Miles to...
64. AHL- Iowa Stars- Des Moines Events Center- Travel 670 Miles to...
65. NHL- Colorado Avalanche- Pepsi Center- Travel 534 Miles to...
66. ECHL- Utah Grizzlies- The E Center- Travel 650 Miles to...
67. ECHL- Phoenix Roadrunners- US Airways Center- Travel 18 Miles to...
68. NHL- Phoenix Coyotes- Jobing.com Arena- Travel 279 Miles to...
69. ECHL- Las Vegas Wranglers- Orleans Arena- Travel 259 Miles to...
70. NHL- Anaheim Ducks- Honda Center- Travel 30 Miles to...
71. NHL- Los Angeles Kings- Staples Center- Travel 114 Miles to...
72. ECHL- Bakersfield Condors- Rabobank Arena- Travel 117 Miles to...
73. ECHL- Fresno Falcons- Save Mart Center- Travel 156 Miles to...
74. NHL- San Jose Sharks- HP Pavilion- Travel 81 Miles to...
75. ECHL- Stockton Thunder- Stockton Arena- Travel 606 Miles to...
76. ECHL- Idaho Steelheads- Qwest Arena- Travel 647 Miles to...
77. ECHL- Victoria Salmon Kings- Save on Foods Mart Centre- Travel 69 Miles to...
78. NHL- Vancouver Canucks- General Motors Place- Travel 606 Miles to...
79. NHL- Calgary Flames- Pengrowth Saddledome- Travel 189 Miles to...
80. NHL- Edmonton Oilers- Rexall Place- Travel 1,944 Miles to...
81. ECHL- Alaska Aces- Sullivan Arena- Travel 2,752 Miles to...
82. AHL- Manitoba Moose- MTS Centre- Travel 1,303 Miles to...
83. NHL- Ottawa Senators- Scotiabank Place- Travel 138 Miles to...
84. NHL- Montreal Canadiens- Bell Centre- GO HOME
DA - Give us some stats that you have come up with.
JS - The biggest stat of all is that the total mileage of the trip would be 20,317 miles. How long it would take to go to every arena is up in the air because that would be very reliant on the schedule makers of the NHL, AHL, and ECHL. I haven't planned it in enough detail to figure out the cost of the trip but if I were to hit some sort of lottery or stumble upon, ohh, $5 million dollars I'd like to try and take away each team's home jersey or puck. The trip from Dallas, TX to Nashville, TN would be a bit scary since that is 666 miles apart. It was difficult to try and fit Anchorage, Alaska in since it's so far removed from other cities but going to and from there would require the most travel (4,696 miles).
DA - What would be some highlights of the trip for you, personally, along the way?
JS - The idea would also be to take in all the local ambience each city has to offer. So a trip to Portland, Maine would need to have a lobster dinner, going to Philadelphia would include runnning up the steps like Rocky Balboa of the Philly Museum of Art and then eating a cheesesteak and so on. Obviously cities like Moline, IL (Quad City Flames) or Pensacola, FL (Pensacola Ice Pilots) I'd just try and research and figure out what I would be doing before and after the game to get an idea of what life is like for a hockey fan there. I would also obviously blog the trip since so many hockey fans are internet savvy and take as much notes as possible, ranking everything from in-game presentation to sight lines to what it's like to watch a game amongst the locals. It's always been a life dream or goal of mine to write a book and I couldn't think of a better topic than this if it were ever possible.
DA - How close is such a trip in coming to reality?
JS - I hate to come off sounding like all I have to do is hop in the car, grab my wallet, and just do this. Unlike Steve Williamson I don't think I have the finances now or the foreseeable future to accomplish this. Also unlike Mr. Williamson, 84 cities is much harder to plan for and tackle than 30 cities. Obviously it's not possible to do all 84 cities in 84 nights but the shortest amount of time in possible would be ideal. Could I do it with the funding, while leaving behind my home, girlfriend, and family? That's hard to predict. I guess you could term this my ultimate fantasy and if there was anyone out there who would have the means to do this and wanted to include me I'd be hard-pressed not to do it.
DA - What kind of publicity have you gotten so far with this?
JS - I mapped out the idea of this trip and sent it to Seth Rorabaugh of Post-Gazette Empty Netters because the Penguins were off for 5 days so I thought it could potentially fill in some interesting space for his blog. Since then the only person to want to talk to me about this have been The Devil's Advocate of HockeyBuzz.com. I actually got publicity during the lockout for taking the trips to Wilkes-Barre (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05030/450101-61.stm) then I had the Ultimate Road Trip idea. I suppose it just hasn't made it's way through the internet enough to get any substantial publicity yet. (Joe’s idea was also featured on XM Radio’s “Around the rink in 90 seconds bit)
DA - Any other final thoughts you would like to add?
JS -While on the road to Wilkes-Barre I was afforded the opportunity to meet a lot of that year's team. From current NHL players (Marc-Andre Fleury, Maxime Talbot, Michel Ouellet, Kris Beech) to career minor leaguers (Mike Sgroi, Shane Endicott) but none were classier guys than Darcy Robinson. Darcy was a consistent healthy scratch during his time in the AHL but after the second game I attended there I met him in the restaurant and he was the nicest player I've met to date. He thanked me for travelling all the way to watch them play, talked about the lockout with me, signed a team yearbook I had, and told me he'd bring Fleury in to meet me the next night. The next night the Penguins lost to Syracuse 7-2 and coach Michel Therrien put a curfew on the team that kept them in for the night as a result. Not really thinking anything of it (in terms of meeting more of the team) Robinson came into the restaurant, risking fine due to the curfew, and apologized to me for the way the team played and thus not having the chance to meet more of the guys. It was just a touching selfless act that I hold with me now. Darcy passed away at the beginning of this season while playing over in Italy during a game. While I'm not sure how many people heard of the incident or have heard of Darcy Robinson it should just be said how much of a great and classy person he truly was.
DA – Joe, thank you again for the time you have taken with HockeyBuzz and myself. Please join our HockeyBuzz community and visit us often. Also make sure to update us should this trip come close to becoming reality.
Anyone up for a hockey trip??!!
Keep an eye out for my interview with Steve Williamson of “30 games in 30 nights” as I will delve into his trip and what it was like. ** If you have any questions for Steve email me, the best one will make it into the interview.
Should you have any further questions for Joe you can direct them to me at: [email][email protected][/email]
love this interview buddy one of the best great trip I would love this trip going to a minor league game would be fun.