A Tale Of Two Cities: Ben Lovejoy
- Updated: March 17, 2015
(Photo credit to author)
Every now and then a hockey player strikes you as being a little different than the rest. One guy that doesn’t let all the fame and fortune get to his head. A real person with real feelings who isn’t afraid to express how they feel to the fans or to the press. For me that player was Ben Lovejoy.
First time I met Ben, the Anaheim Ducks had just acquired him in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the team had just come home from a road trip. He was walking around the Honda Center looking a bit confused. Ben came up to us and asked, “Is this where we go in?” My friend pointed to the player’s entrance. The players and coaches had forgotten that he had never been to the Honda Center as a player for the home team before after he had played a few games with the Anaheim Ducks on the road.
I saw Ben Lovejoy on TV before. Ben was on the HBO show “24/7 Road to the Winter Classic as a Pittsburgh Penguin”. The Ducks current coach Bruce Boudreau was on the same program as the coach of the Washington Capitals. Ben had become infamous for being the player who in his rookie game with the Penguins scored a goal, got in a fight, and instead of the Gordie Howe hat trick of getting an assist, he had the misfortune of getting a puck to the face. He will be forever immortalized with his own hat trick named the “Ben Lovejoy Hatty.” A Goal, a fight, and a puck to the face. He was the only guy I’ve ever seen take a puck to the face but was still happy, almost to tears for getting the game shovel. I was ecstatic that we got the one and only “Ben Lovejoy.”
I had posted a few pictures of the Anaheim Ducks players that I had taken at a game when a lady by the name of Kim, a Penguins fan from Pittsburgh started liking them and talking to me about Lovejoy. Her daughter had been a huge fan of his since the 2010-2011 season when she was 6 years old. She was telling me how Molly saw photos of Ben reading to an elementary school and volunteering to see children at a local hospital and became her favorite player. Little Molly was devastated when Ben was traded away to Anaheim and cried. I felt so bad for the girl that I wanted to do something nice for them. I decided to go to the team store and get them a Ben Lovejoy Anaheim Duck’s “shirtsy” and have Ben personalize it for Molly for Christmas. For the next two seasons Kim and I watched Ducks games together and kept each other updated with Anaheim Ducks and Ben Lovejoy news. She would send me photos of her and Molly with Ben Lovejoy signs she made for him during warm ups when the Anaheim Ducks would play at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
We saw Ben mature as a player in the last two seasons. His role as a defensemen for the Ducks increased. His wife Avery had a baby girl last year right before the outdoor game versus the Los Angeles Kings. And he had an injury to his hand from a fight, it was really rare to see him fighting. He was always really outspoken and wonderful to the fans.
Monday, March 2nd was the trade deadline this year. We patiently waited to see what would happen with the Anaheim Ducks, who was staying and who was getting traded? A notification popped up on my phone, “Ben Lovejoy traded.” I texted Kim right away. She asked “Where?” I looked into it further. Ben Lovejoy was traded for Simon Despres…wait that sounds like a Penguins player? Unbelievable, Ben was traded back to the Pittsburgh Penguins for their first round draft pick! I could just picture Kim and Molly’s excitement! It was with so many mixed emotions as I was sad my new favorite player was gone, but if he had to go anywhere I was happy for him that he was going back to a familiar place with familiar teammates in Pittsburgh. It was like the Penguins didn’t want to trade him, they just wanted him to get some experience and then get him back.
Little Molly was getting her favorite player back in Pittsburgh. The fans in Anaheim really liked Ben Lovejoy as he was wonderful to the fans. He was very down to earth and everything I would want Molly to have as a role model. We’re going miss you Ben Lovejoy. Good luck in Pittsburgh, you will always have friends to welcome you back here in Anaheim.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things SoCal hockey and the rest of the California sports teams! All Cali, All the time!
Related Posts
About Guest Writer
