I'm taking a break from the countdown to mention something I read on The Players Tribune. It was a piece written by San Jose Sharks forward Joel Ward.

The article is titled Step by Step and it's a look into what makes a player like Ward tick. It also serves as a reminder that life is not easy and nothing is simply handed to you. You have to put in the work, even when your at your lowest.

Ward's piece centers around his relationship with his Barbados born father who moved to a Toronto suburb and fell in love with the sport of hockey. It was his father who introduced him to hockey and it was his father that believed his son would someday play in the NHL. Ward's father knew his son was special but would not live long enough to see his som fulfill that dream. Ward's father had a stroke and died during one of his youth hockey games when he was just 14.

It would have been easy for Ward to pack it in, but he didn't, even hitting the rink after his dad's funeral and the rest is history.

When San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson inked Joel Ward to a 3-year deal in the summer of 2015, he wasn't just adding another offensive weapon, he was adding a bonafide leader to his locker room.

Ward is coming off one of the best seasons of his career (21g 22a). His play on the ice and his leadership off the ice would become major contributors to the Sharks success.

Up until I re-joined HB as the Sharks blogger I hadn't paid much attention to Ward's career. That's my loss. Ward is a fiery player that plays the game with an emotional edge. He plays with an edge that can change the pace of a game and literally propel his team to reach another level. We saw it early in the season when San Jose needed a lift and we definitely saw it in the playoffs in some critical moments....like a game-tying goal in the Stanley Cup Final.



Some players are like that and some are not. We don't often get to know an athlete outside of the jersey, but thanks to an outlet such as The Players' Tribune we get an inside look into the lives of professional athletes.

I was very moved by the article and as a father myself, I strive to have that type of effect on my own son. I highly recommend you take a few minutes and put the Pokemon app down to enjoy something hockey related during our sports dry period.

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Puck Drops on the 2016-17 season in....



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Thanks for reading,
Steve

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