This Shelley is a poet of the fists

Great piece in today’s weekend Journal about Jody Shelley of the Columbus Blue Jackets, currently leading the NHL in fighting majors with 22.

You just have to love a good ugly pugilist like Shelley. Every team has one, perhaps two. They patrol the ice in rare shifts, taking to the ice only to right a wrong committed against one of the more talented players or to change the momentum of a game.

For years, the NHL has been trying to tone down the fighting and in fact, it has worked.

The piece notes how fights are down 22% to the lowest level in 26 years. Not good news, this.

.,,Mr. Shelley isn’t very popular at NHL headquarters. The league has labeled him a “repeat offender” and hit him with two suspensions and more than $20,000 in fines.

Brad Stuart, a San Jose defenseman, called him “an embarrassment to the game”.

Naturally, the fans love him.

“He’s the man” says Doug Carpenter, a season ticket holder. When Shelley takes the ice (averaging only six minutes a game) “you get the feeling something big is going to happen”.

Shelley’s jerseys are also the biggest sellers in the concession stands.

When I lived in Boston, I was a huge fan of pint-sized pugilist PJ Stock, a mere 5-10 and 190 pounds who often fights beasts like Shelley who go 6-4 and 225. He’s a decent writer believe it or not too.

I took the following fairly amusing description from hockeyfights.com:

Comments: After a couple of nice uppercuts by Quintal they slowed along the boards, that they were gonna end it, they both looked exhausted. It looked like the ref asked PJ if they were done. He shook his head and opened up with a big right then switched to his left as Quintal was dropping big rights. They trade punch after punch, Stock with the left, Quintal with the right. Quintal switches up to his left and gets in a couple good shots then meets a hard right by Stock. Both players exhausted, Quintal sneaks in another uppercut and PJ tries throwing a couple more, but all the mustard's off of both players shots and its over.

Ahh...I love it. And the playoffs are just around the corner.