Thursday, February 28, 2013

Jacob Markstrom: One of a Kind



(s/t to @Nellay )

By Nathan Mallett


Jacob Markstrom is one of the hottest prospects in professional hockey. The 6’6” goalie phenom, taken with the first pick of the 2nd round in the 2008 NHL draft by the Florida Panthers, has shown the ability to dominate hockey games. Fans in Florida anxiously await the day he becomes the “#1” for the Panthers.

And make no mistake, that day is not too far off.


Last weekend, Markstrom was in net for the Panthers as they battled Eastern Conference heavyweights Pittsburgh and Boston. Despite playing well in the two games, both losses, he was reassigned to San Antonio on Monday morning. It’s a numbers game in Florida and with a roster spot needed for a forward, Jacob lost…this time.

 Markstrom boarded a plane in Ft. Lauderdale bound for San Antonio with a stop in Houston. What was supposed to be a quick layover, turned into something from a movie.

After learning the flight to San Antonio was delayed for three hours and following a lengthy Twitter Q&A session, Markstrom decided to grab a bite to eat at an airport restaurant. While there, he was chatting with some other folks destined for San Antonio.

“They made another announcement while I was in the restaurant that the flight was delayed until 9am the next day. There were some other people in the restaurant, and they were pretty [upset], so we decided to get a rental car” said Markstrom.

 Following along on Twitter, fans were treated to tweets related to the adventure. There was a photoshopped “Due Date” movie poster. There was a  picture from Markstrom showing the five complete strangers inside the car as they drove the three hour trip along a darkened IH-10. Finally, there was this gem:
After a couple of hours of silence, Markstrom finally tweeted:
The four “strangers” that had shared a 3 hour car ride with a possible future NHL All-Star, had no idea who he was. To them, their travel partner was just your typical 6’6” kid with a Swedish accent.

“No, no. They had no idea.” Markstrom stated as if that’s just the way he prefers it.

Markstrom talks about his day long adventure as if it was just another day. But to many of us, the thought of such an adventure is mostly left to Hollywood scripts. For Jacob Markstrom, blue chip NHL prospect and future goalie of the Florida Panthers, it was just a way to get back to work.

We Rampage fans have seen the very best of Jacob Markstrom on and off the ice. We’ve seen him dance on the ice while waiting for a broken pane of glass to be fixed. He has adopted the “double fist pump”, performing at center ice after home wins. He’s always willing to chat with fans at events and his never ceasing smile is infectious. Watching him practice is a breath of fresh air; always having fun and making teammates laugh.

He won’t be here much longer. We all need to enjoy him while we can. Soon, he will be called up again. And when that happens, Jacob shouldn’t have to worry about a return trip to San Antonio. Unless it’s to pack up an apartment, giant paper Christmas tree and all.
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