The Washington Capitals’ Brian Pothier is my wife’s favorite player. Oh, she enjoys watching lots of Caps on the ice, and after her Hockey ‘n Heels evening she’s developed a few crushes (Laich, Jurcina… and perhaps others but I’m afraid to ask).
It was on the day of the Capitals’ uniform unveiling in June 2007, when she served as OFB photographer for the day, that she decided that she liked Pothier best.
Why Pothier? We were grazing on the food and drink in the player/media area before the event when I pointed out Pothier sitting a few feet away. He was with his wife and children; the youngest munchkin was standing between Pothier’s legs, trying to put spaghetti into dad’s mouth as he spoke to his children.
“Daddy’s going to go skate around for a little while . . . you can watch me through the window, okay? I’ll be back soon,” he reassured them. It was like a dad telling his kids, “I’m going out to mow the lawn — don’t worry, I’m not leaving, you can watch me through the window!” Except Pothier’s lawn-mowing was watched by a legion of fans. It was a sweet scene; most hockey players are generally down-to-earth nice guys, but seeing this moment up close was really heartwarming. And having witnessed said moment, Mrs. OC was an instant fan of Brian Pothier.
Pothier’s hockey career — and life — took a dramatic turn 11 months ago from a brutal collision with the Boston Bruins’ Milan Lucic. The resulting concussion has not just prevented him from playing hockey, but it has wreaked havoc with his family life as well.
With the Bruins in town, The Washington Times‘ Corey Masisak published a top-notch article in Wednesday’s paper, available online here. I heartily encourage everyone to read Corey’s article through the end . . . it’s not only a piercing tale of Pothier’s struggle as a hockey player and father to recover from his injury, but it shines a bright light on the truly scary nature of concussions.
A quote from Pothier in Corey’s article:
“My goal right now is to be able to function like a normal person. I
want to be able to go to the park and play tag football with my kids,
and be able to run and chase them as fast and as hard as I want to and
not feel like I am going to explode.”
Corey, thanks for providing this terrific insight into Brian’s fight to return to normalcy. My wife and I, and all of us at OFB, wish Brian the best of luck for a full recovery.
4 Comments
Pothier is an awesome human being!
What a wonderful story about his interaction with his son. That’s so sweet! I heart him too.
What a great antidote to the black eye that Sean Avery gave the game last week.
Thanks, Brian, for reminding us that gentlemen and family men still have a place in the world, and certainly a place in hockey.
And thanks OFB for printing articles like this, reminding us that the guys on skates are human beings.
Cheers, and happy holidays to all my friends in the OFB community.
TW
Great story and as a father of two it really hit home. I was pleasantly surprised then Saturday morning as I sat watching the injured Caps skate with my 3 year old to see Brian skating with the boys. Best wishes on his recovery and whatever he decides to do.
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