Bobby Holik Takes the Time to talk Favorite Moments On and Off the Ice

Bobby Holik Takes the Time to Talk Favorite Moments On and Off the Ice

By Max O’Neill

                  A wish came true when Bobby Holik answered my tweet a while back and agreed to an interview; unfortunately, things came up and we had to wait till April 6^th, 2013. It is safe to say it was well worth the wait. We talked about a range of things for over half an hour, including concussions, stadiums, movies, his favorite memories and players in the league.

            Mr. Holik told me something that was very surprising - he stated that his favorite memory was not winning the Stanley Cup - it was in fact just lacing up the skates with his teammates, grabbing his stick, and jumping on the ice while surrounded by the crowds cheers or jeers.  Since the end of the lockout he has been working with young players in various leagues, such as the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He told me one player from every team that were the nicest players he had the opportunity to work with: Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers now Winnipeg Jets, Brian Leetch from the New York Rangers, Patrick Elias, Martin Brodeur and Bruce Driver from the New Jersey Devils, and Ron Francis from the Hartford Whalers. His favorite arenas to play in were both the Montreal Forum and the Bell Centre and Madison Square Garden. He also said he did not like the atmosphere in the Nassau Memorial Coliseum, but who can blame him?

Holik said something that drove home the differences between injury diagnosis while playing back in the 80’s and 90’s and even the early 2000s and playing now; it was that he probably sustained a concussion but did not want to lose his job. So, even if he felt dizzy, he would just man up and keep playing. Thankfully, he did not mention that he still has residual effects from suffering head trauma. However, there are many players in all sports who still do. For me this brings up memories from the summer of 2011 when three enforcers died: Derek “Boogeyman” Boogard, Wade Belak and Rick Rypien. Those three players had a combined 2078 penalty minutes.  Mr. Holik and I both do not like the staged fighting where players ask other players, “Dude you wanna go?” or “Yo, you want to dance?” when they are not actually mad at each other, they just know that it will ignite their teams for a possible comeback and fire up the crowd. He does not believe this kind of staged fighting adds anything to the game.

Playing for the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils on both sides of the Hudson River Rivalry was something Holik enjoyed immensely. Probably because of the hatred between the two side’s fans and that sometimes the games have playoff implications. He thought that all of the trades at the 2013 trade deadline added veteran depth and he liked the Jaromir Jagr to Boston trade. He also said it is too early to know which trade was the best and helped out the teams the most.

He is a big war history buff, so his favorite movies are military history movies. He has seen Argo and Zero Dark Thirty recently. He also said that becoming an American citizen was a great experience. He said that at first when he was retired he still looked at the game as a player, but he has developed his view into looking at it like a broadcaster. Overall, I think he is a very nice man and I am thankful that he let me interview him to get some experience under my belt.