Please recall our jubilation in the discovery of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger's own personal blog, in which we went as far as to say that "our concerns for new material evaporate." Since then, in true Puck Daddy tradition, we've completely forgotten about the damn thing for nearly two months.
His legal, devastating hit on Mike Green of the Washington Capitals last night jogged the 'ole memory about Pronger Blog, and it turns out we've missed a fruitful bounty of material and some spectacular insight into the mind of The Suspension Waiting To Happen.
As Kitt Amundson of the Examiner showed everyone yesterday, you can really take any form of Q&A and infer that it's your own work as long as you don't disclose its origins. With that, please enjoy this exclusive interview with Chris Pronger that isn't actually cobbled together from three different reader mail blog posts on ChrisPronger.com.
Q. Hey Chris what is your favorite beer?
Guinness. (Ed. Note: Goes great with Elbow Macaroni.)
Q. Chris what is the real reason you left Edmonton? I NEED to know. - Mike
Some of you have occasionally asked what happened with Edmonton. For those of you wanting to know I direct you to re-read the numerous articles then and since regarding my departure. It was an unfortunate situation that happened 3 years ago and all parties involved, in particular the Oilers, have moved on and I respectfully ask that you do as well. The Oilers are on the up swing with a very exciting and energetic team that is very fun to watch. Think about the present and the future with the exciting Oilers not on what happened with me or the glory days of the 80's. Enjoy what is in front of you. Too many times we forget to enjoy the present until it is the past.
Q. How does it make you feel when other teams' fans boo you? Does it bother you? Does it motivate you? Or are you so focused on the job at hand that it doesn't really register?
To be honest it is quite an honor to be booed believe it or not. In my opinion that means they appreciate the way you play they just hate that you are on the other team. It does motivate you because you want to put the crowd in its place and quiet them with your play. It is hard not to hear the whole crowd boo but there does come a time when you get in a zone (clear the mechanism) while playing much like Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) in the movie "For Love of the Game".
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"You want to put the crowd in its place" ... any chance Pronger hasn't had a fantasy in which he's the size of Godzilla and he's Kesler-stomping 18,000 people?
Anyhoo, we kid Pronger but his blog actually has some pretty interesting insights about the nuts-and-bolts of hockey -- sticks, skates, etc. -- than other "player blogs" do not. Here's Pronger with either a great dissertation on the selection of hockey tape or a glimpse into his cultural world view:
Q. Is white tape better than black?
Pronger: White or black is a personal preference. I personally use and have used white tape since before I can remember taping my hockey sticks. Of course we all try different things, I too have switched it up from time to time to test drive the look of it but I have always gone back to white. An old wives tale about white tape was that defenseman should use white tape because it is easier for forwards to see the puck on your stick and when it was being passed to them. A lot of goal scoring forwards use black probably for the reverse effect. So that goalies cannot see the puck on their stick.
There you have. Wit (OK, not so much wit) and wisdom from Chris Pronger himself. Meanwhile, the NHL presents this clip of "A Day in the Life of Chris Pronger," in which we learn his stunningly small skate size for a player his height.
