How We Got Here: NHL All-Star Weekend Recap

First and foremost, I can’t overstate how thankful I am for all of you. The fact that all of you people took time out of your day to subscribe to 5 For Writing is… wild.

I don’t necessarily know the direction I want to take this newsletter yet, but whether you know me personally or have followed my work over the past few years, you know that I am certainly never afraid to put myself out there.

So, I hope my weekly musings offer you some guidance, perhaps a laugh, or maybe just a small distraction from the typical workday.

For me, this is a reflection period — an opportunity to take a step back and just think about life.

And don’t worry, I won’t be shoving a hot slice of Pizza down my pants while writing these.

(If you don’t get that reference, you may as well unsubscribe right now.)

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There were no pizza incidents this weekend, but it certainly got off to a rocky start. The reason would be that I’m a dumbass who didn't check his passport expiration.

Turns out my passport expires in two days… so when I got to Canada, they immediately sent me to immigration for 1.5 hours to make sure I didn't intend on staying in the country.

PSA: Check your passport expiration date! 

The passport fiasco was nerve-wracking, but not to the same level as when I met my childhood hero: Mark Messier.

Let’s just say I completely embarrassed myself.

I went up to Mess at a bar and told him I listed him as my hero in my fifth-grade yearbook (which might not even be true).

It got really weird really fast. I promptly spent the next 10 minutes thinking to myself: “Why the fuck did I say that?”. 

Do you know how they say never meet your heroes? I disagree, but sheesh… at least prepare something better to say than I did. Hopefully, he forgets it ever happened.

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I’m sure you’re curious to hear about All-Star weekend, and it’s hard to put into words, but one thing I want to share is how cool it was to experience hockey in Canada. It was incredible to be around celebrities like Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, and all the NHL’s brightest stars, but my favorite part of the weekend was a wholesome skate on Saturday night. 

Growing up in New York, everyone always played pickup basketball. That was just the thing to do with your friends. In Toronto, there are outdoor rinks everywhere, or as Canadians say “ODRs.” 

On Saturday night, my buddy Jesse Kirschenbaum, who lives in Toronto, FaceTimed me, along with my other friends Lukas and Chase. He wanted us to meet him at 7:30 PM at a rink about one mile outside the city. I became friends with these guys at the “Chiclets Cup” in October, and they’ve welcomed me into their crew, which includes the Gretzky’s and Sean MacTavish (son of Craig).

We laced them up, and we were joined by about 12 strangers — we just played 5-on-5 pickup hockey for about an hour. No goalies. The way to score was by hitting the crossbar. I know this might not sound too exciting, but to me, it was hockey in its purest form. I didn’t grow up meeting my friends at the rink, so to see it all come together in person was incredibly eye-opening. Ty Gretzky and I kept saying how cool this was because it wasn’t a part of our childhood (he grew up in LA).

For the Toronto guys, this was a normal weekend. But for me, it was a better understanding of why the Winter Classic and outdoor games are so special in today’s NHL.

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Anyway, I wanted to dedicate the first edition of this newsletter to some backstory about how I got here. I’ll even be upfront and share that I’m writing this from the sky with a few beers in me.

In the Toronto Airport, on my way back to New York from NHL All-Star weekend, I ran into a guy that I’ve become friendly with over the last year: Matt Murley (aka “Murls”), from the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. We sat at the bar and talked for about two hours about how he transitioned into hockey media. So, after hearing his story, I thought I’d give you guys a closer look at mine.

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I’m sure a lot of you understand the fear that comes with taking risks, but there’s a quote my buddy Zach Greenberg told me that has resonated with me:

“Life becomes a lot easier to navigate when you realize that inside of every adult is just a kid still trying to figure it out.”

Or something like that.

(I may have botched the actual quote, which I’ll blame on those airport beers, but I think the premise is incredibly powerful.)

I’m about six weeks away from turning 28 years old. 10 years ago, I thought I’d have my life way more figured out than I do. These last two years have certainly had a ton of highs (like this weekend), but man, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some dark times and sleepless nights along the way.

Two years ago, I was a 25-year-old kid living at home, making roughly $35,000 a year doing a job that didn’t make me happy.

If you told me at 18 years old that this would be life at 25, I’d be pretty fucking worried. 

I was in a dark place, but the one thing that made me happy was podcasting and talking about what I’ve always loved more than anything in the world: hockey. 

On weekdays, I’d wake up at 6:45 AM and freeze my ass off on the Syosset train station platform. All I could think about was getting home and recording podcasts out of my parents bedroom, only to spend hours editing. 

That went on for 1.5 years. I put off going to the gym. I was also trying to maintain a relationship and a normal social life. It was a fucking grind, but thanks to my friend Max Mastbaum, I knew the only way I’d fail was if I stopped. 

I don’t want this to come off as a tacky motivational speech, but I hope everyone knows that I know what it’s like to feel stuck and scared to take a risk.

Let me tell you, it’s a lot scarier to never even give yourself a chance. 

So, if you’re reading this and you have something in mind that you’ve always wanted to try, just start. Because you never know what it could lead to.

And guess what: You’ll figure it out along the way, just like we did as kids.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in my first NHL All-Star weekend. The experience was beyond what I could’ve imagined. 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this. It really means the world to have so many incredible people in my corner. 

For what it's worth: Justin Bieber is the coolest dude on the planet and Tate McRae is my new celebrity crush. 

Talk to you next week.

With love, 

Jonny

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