Camil Blanchet’s big impact on a small campus

 (Photo courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

 

Bowdoin senior forward Camil Blanchet has a lot on his plate while at school. He played every men’s hockey game this season for the Polar Bears, and had been playing lacrosse as well.

Statistically speaking, Blanchet’s contributions have been modest on the ice. He tallied 32 points over 85 games, and only broke double-digit points in one season with 13 as a sophomore. After that same year, he left the lacrosse team, having appeared in a mere nine games and scooped up nine ground balls.

But besides the rigors of playing a sport and being a full-time student, Blanchet has been very active doing charity work in his community. That constant overtime presence has had a can’t-miss impact. To that point, Blanchet is one of five finalists for the 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award.

Name a Bowdoin-sanctioned service project, and chances are Blanchet has taken part. His leadership qualities have manifested themselves through his liaising role between the campus’ community-service office and his peers. He has allies with the Polar Bears football team to raise funds for cancer research. And he enlisted hockey roster-sized group of volunteers for a multi-charity half-marathon (Race the Runway) and a leadership training program (Breaking the Bubble).

The McKeen Common Good Center sees Blanchet’s shadow at a rate that rivals any classroom or athletic facility on campus. McKeen helps students connect with the community of Brunswick, Maine, and encourages them to volunteer and help the relationship between the school and the town.

Blanchet was drawn to this aspect of the Bowdoin experience when he was a candidate for admission. And now that all of his competitive athletic endeavors are behind him, community involvement will join his studies as the one aspect that will fill every week of his tenure there.

Pucks and Recreation recently got the chance to speak with Blanchet about his charity work.

How and when did you first hear about the McKeen Common Good Center?

In my application to Bowdoin, one of the essays explained the history of the McKeen Center and what they currently do. One of the first big events of the school year isn’t a football game, it’s Common Good Day. This is a day when over 500 students, faculty and staff participate in community-building activities around the greater Brunswick area one Saturday afternoon. That was my first direct interaction with the McKeen Center.

What was the fundraiser you worked on with the football team?

The football team was selling neon-pink long-sleeve shirts in a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A group of representatives from the Breaking the Bubble initiative wanted to expand the fundraiser and have our respective teammates participate. It was pretty easy to order more shirts. The football team raised the majority of the final donation. Getting other teams involved and supporting the fundraiser was a cool thing to see.

 (Photo courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

 

Can you describe the Breaking the Bubble initiative and who all you have been working with there?

Breaking a Bubble is an attempt to connect the various work that athletic teams do throughout the year with the work that the McKeen Center does. The McKeen Center has developed strong relationships with the greater Brunswick community, and has resources to support students working with the community in any capacity. It only makes sense to connect teams with the plethora of resources and experience that the McKeen Center provides.

How did you get involved with Race the Runway?

I heard about Race the Runway through the McKeen Center. It was a featured event that requested race-day volunteers. I thought it was a good opportunity for the team to give back to a community that is so supportive of us at the hockey rink. I reached out to a Race the Runway representative who works at Mid Coast Hospital and told her about our interest. It worked out to be a beautiful Saturday in the spring.

How did you hear about all of these events? Was it difficult to initially get involved with them at a smaller school (roughly 1,800 students enrolled) like Bowdoin?

It was never hard to hear about the various events that are happening. There is a school-wide email listing the week’s events, posters and, most importantly, word of mouth. As a student here, you always hear about events that are going on. It’s really about how much time you have and what you want to do.

Have you taken any courses offered by the Center?

As part of starting Breaking the Bubble, all of the student-representatives went through a formal training process with the McKeen Center. This leadership training covered the basics, like how to access different resources on campus to things like how to effectively lead a trip and ensure participants are realizing the value of their work.

Through the McKeen Center, have you ever considered going abroad on a service trip?

I have certainly considered it, but I also knew that it wasn’t likely. With hockey taking up Thanksgiving, winter and possibly March break every year, the only possible time for a service trip was in the summer. I volunteered in Rwanda at the Rwanda Biomedical Center the summer after my sophomore year, so I have had a similar type experience.

What are the best aspects of the McKeen Center?

I’m always impressed by the McKeen Center staff and how approachable they are. The people who work here, both staff and students, are always receptive to new ideas and willing to help. They are very responsive to what students want to do. Rather than create their own agenda, they support what the student has a passion for. Another amazing aspect about the McKeen Center is the breadth of programs that they offer.

For a school as small as Bowdoin, it is incredible to have the types of community engagement opportunities that we do.

- Zach Green

Quinn Hughes has a future on both sides of the contract table

If and when playing does not pan out, working in the front office of a professional sports team is a dream for fans around the world. Quinn Hughes is setting himself up to live out the latter after he is done fulfilling the former. 

The Michigan freshman has emerged as one of the premier defensive prospects for this year’s NHL Draft. Adam Herman of The Sporting News sees him ending a dry spell of genuine “superstar” talent among American-born blueliners.

His presence with the puck on the blue line earned him a spot on Team USA’s World Junior roster, and has NHL scouts excited about his potential.

In the meantime, Hughes is getting used to life on campus, where he is majoring in sports management. He described the field as being in a team’s management, or the business side of sports. It chiefly entails dealing with players and forming contracts.

This is something that many people want to do, but most don’t know how to get there. For Hughes, he can follow in the footsteps of his father.

“My dad worked for the (Toronto Maple) Leafs for 10 years,” he said. “He worked as a coach and in management, and it piqued my interest.”

Hughes’ father was the Boston Bruins assistant coach from 2001 to 2003, then worked behind an AHL bench in Manchester, N.H., for three years. He returned to the NHL in 2006 as Toronto’s director of player development. Growing up watching his father and being interested in his job is what influenced Hughes to pursue sports management.

Michigan is one of the most well-known schools in the country. With many different professional development clubs on campus, there are plenty of opportunities to make connections in the industry. Hughes has not joined one yet, but is not ruling it out further down the line.

“It’s only my first semester, so I haven’t had time to really get used to things at Michigan,” he said. “As I get older, it’s something I’ll look at.”

The sports management program at Michigan is well known, and provides a great opportunity for Hughes to learn, even if that wasn’t the reason he chose Ann Arbor.

“It didn’t really influence the decision, but it got me excited to get there,” he said. “After I committed, I found out about that.”

Going west of Lake Ontario was a somewhat unlikely twist in Hughes’ career path. He had been born in Orlando when his father was an assistant coach for the IHL’s Solar Bears.

Subsequently growing up in New England, then Toronto, Hughes was originally more of a Boston College fan than anything else. His cousin, Teddy Doherty, was a captain there in 2015-16. Both of his parents played at a current Hockey East school (Jim at Providence, Ellen at New Hampshire).

But he committed to the Wolverines because they were simply one of the first programs to recruit him.

With such a big alumni base, with many in the sports-management field, Hughes can rest assured in the connections he will have when he begins his post-playing career.

“It’s very comforting to know that there are Michigan people who want to take care of other Michigan people,” Hughes said.

Sports management is a common major among Michigan’s hockey players. With many teammates taking similar classes before him, Hughes feels that he has support in his schoolwork.

“A good chunk of the team is in sports management or training,” he said. “Coming in as a freshman, I can ask what teachers to take, what did you do for that project and just be more prepared. They’re a good resource to have.”

Most people don’t think about how NHL teams care about a collegiate player’s off-ice studies. But Hughes understands the importance of getting good grades to give teams the right impression.

“While I think they’re more interested in hockey, there are so many players,” he said. “So if someone isn’t doing well (academically), and another person is, they’ll take the good student.”

Hughes’ studies mean that he will not be passed up in the draft over his grades. But one day, once his playing career is over, a job in the front office working with contracts would be a welcome reversal of roles.

- Zach Green

Mighty Ducks movie viewership: The rookie and the re-visitor

The first Mighty Ducks movie, if not the whole trilogy it begat, can pass as a Slap Shot for kids.

It takes a protagonist team of athletes of roughly the same age as the intended audience on an age-old Cinderella path. Along that road, it spawns a slew of you cannot get out of your head, but can certainly spread to your peers’ brain books.

But with the film’s silver anniversary comes a more visible reality that, for the youngest age groups, viewership is not necessarily automatic, even for budding hockey enthusiasts. Unlike Slap Shot, where a first-time screening can be like a curious youngster’s first beer, the 1992 Disney film may not be passed down as easily.

Case in point: Pucks and Recreation boasts one correspondent who admitted to never having seen the movie. To rectify that in a fun, productive way, he belatedly broke that ice while a colleague who grew up on the film rewatched it after a protracted hiatus.

Both viewers’ assessments yielded ample encouragement for Ducks devotees who hope their childhood staple cements its place in the collective peewee pucksters’ entertainment library.

Ceremonial faceoff: Enlightening exposure

Eugene Helfrick: Growing up in Florida means a sport like hockey was never on the radar as a kid. Sure, you knew about the sport and would watch it on occasion. But in general, hockey was that “other” sport that existed on that magical surface known as ice that you only saw in cubed form.

Due to this lack of knowledge of the sport, I never saw The Mighty Ducks in theaters or on VHS. Somehow, well into adulthood and hockey fandom, I still never saw the movie that popularized so many tropes about the sport.

My question going in: Does the film hold up after 25 years, or is nostalgia its only hope for long-term appeal?

Zach Green: Conversely, I grew up outside of Philadelphia, one of the most hockey-crazed cities in the world. I am a little too young to have been able to see any of the Mighty Ducks movies in theaters, but was just the right age to watch them whenever they were on TV.

When my friends and I would play street hockey, oftentimes, one team would be the Flyers and the other would be the Ducks. It went so far that one of my friends had a Mighty Ducks mask that whoever was playing goalie would wear. 

With Eugene seeing The Mighty Ducks for the first time, this was the perfect opportunity for me to watch it again as someone who views it with nostalgia, and to get my feelings as to how the movie has held up.

First period: How the film holds up with millennials this day and age

Eugene: To start off, the film is very watchable. This may sound like weird praise, but there are many sports movies released in the ’90s (especially ones made by Disney) that are simply unwatchable today.

Obviously this is a film made for children and young adults, so much of the humor falls on deaf ears. And sure, the plot is one giant cliché, but it works. It helps that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, with everyone on board with the fact that they are in a Disney sports movie.

In fact, The Mighty Ducks doesn’t feel like a Disney film, which also helps its appeal. It is firmly entrenched in the ’90s, allowing for scenes that would never happen in a Disney film today. Just look at how, within the first 10 minutes, the lead character is shown drinking and driving, smart-mouthing a cop and swearing.

Even the kids get on with this theme, openly swearing and making mildly racist remarks in a Disney film. While it does fit with the era, it also comes off as very forced at times when you can tell that the kids are supposed to be nothing more than attitude.

Zach: I completely agree about how watchable it is. Children’s movies in general get tougher to watch as you get older, but not The Mighty Ducks. It stands the test of time, which is something that very few movies do, and is a film that I will be showing my future children. It was super-entertaining to me as a kid, and still is today.

While yes, this is a kids’ movie that does toe the line on appropriateness, it isn’t unheard of from Disney. I agree that some scenes wouldn’t fly today, but Disney has more recently made some PG-13 movies like that aren’t in the studio’s classic mold. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise comes to mind.

This is where I feel The Mighty Ducks fits in. I agree with Eugene as well when he says that it is helped by the fact that it doesn’t feel like a normal Disney movie. Otherwise, I might not be able to enjoy it as much as I still do.

Second period: The quality of the hockey scenes

Eugene: I did appreciate how authentic the actual hockey looked onscreen. This was supposed to be a peewee league, and it actually looked like a bunch of unstable kids on the ice. Players were constantly falling and skating slowly, which gave the film a little more realism in the one area where realism matters.

Zach: This was such a crucial detail that Disney got just right. They could have cast some elite hockey players for the roles, but didn’t.

Another observation I made was that the ice they played on wasn’t perfect either. Had it looked like they brought out the Zamboni before every shot, it may have been noticeable and brought me back to a reality that wasn’t real.

Third period: The quality of the humor

Eugene: The few moments that made me laugh out loud weren’t related to the film at all, just some retrospective thoughts.

Chief among them, the two NHL teams that were briefly shown in the film — the Minnesota North Stars and the Hartford Whalers — don’t exist anymore. Yet the franchise spawned by the film will be celebrating their 25th anniversary next year. Times change fast when it comes to sports franchises.

Zach: I still love the jokes in the movie. “Cake eater” is my favorite hockey insult ever, and absolves this movie of all poor attempts at humor.

In addition, I am a sucker for cheesy jokes, of which there are plenty. I now see the comedic irony of the teams featured, but didn’t ever think of that as a kid. 

Overtime: Conclusion

Eugene: In all, The Mighty Ducks is worth watching, if for no other reason than to understand some of the quotes the movie spawned. Everyone knows the Flying V and the “Quack” chant, so having the context to those jokes is nice after so many years.

The movie itself holds up well, and is fun enough to keep it as one of those classics that stay around for another 25 years.

Zach: I still love this movie, and now am going to go watch the other two. Surprising as it may be, some things never change, as evidenced by how similar our observations are on this movie.

It is a must watch for any hockey fan, regardless of age, if only to learn the jokes from the movie that have become commonplace in hockey-related conversations.

How D4: The Mighty Ducks should unfold, if it ever happens

Those who were born the year the Eden Hall Warriors gave way to a Mighty Ducks mascot have reached or are on the cusp of legal drinking age.

Is that enough time for the opening and closing slow-motion flashbacks from D3 to lose their authority? Can the vault reopen for a long-rumored/proposed D4 late in this decade or early in the next?

In the quest for an answer, the most encouraging aspect is the widespread approval of the trilogy’s veterans. In a 2014 Time Magazine piece, Matt Doherty (Averman), Elden Henson (Fulton) and Marguerite Moreau (Connie) all indicated they would want in. Joshua Jackson (Charlie) has repeatedly expressed comparable sentiments.

Technically, “when” still has yet to upend “if” on this matter. Regardless of that status, the question of “how” has more open ice to work with.

To drop the puck on Pucks and Recreation’s 25-day look back on The Mighty Ducks and all of its offshoots, a quartet of staff writers offer their ideal plotlines for a hypothetical D4.

Eden Hall ensemble

Two years ago, Jurassic World gave us one sound example of how to pick up on a ’90s film series two-plus decades later. That is, it rehashed a familiar storyline and brought back a few familiar faces, but let new blood take to the forefront. And that would be the way to go for a belated D4.

With several of the Mighty Ducks actors now focusing on other careers, there is no sense in reassembling the old flock. With that said, there is no reason to shut out the characters whose performers are still in the business. There should be enough to create a story-hopping screenplay that catches up with a handful of former Ducks in their adult, post-playing lives.

Charlie is an obvious must-have, and maybe by now he could be coaching Gordon’s teenaged son at Eden Hall. Meanwhile, to reflect the progress the women’s game has made, the school should field a girls’ team co-coached by Connie and Guy, a la Shannon and Matt Desrosiers.

Like their coaches before them, the new players carrying the Ducks torch will take everything that comes with it, including off-ice hijinks and run-ins with rival teams. A bonus narrative could revolve around the injury-prone Adam Banks trying to end his professional playing career with dignity. – Al Daniel

Like Gordon, like Charlie

The logical choice for D4 would be to bring back many of the central characters, but keep the focus on Charlie. In the same way Gordon grew distant from hockey in the events leading up to the first film, a possible plot in D4 could involve Charlie returning from his own hockey hiatus, this time as a coach of his son’s team.

Throughout the movie, the cast of the original trilogy could make cameos, with Bombay assuming a similar role as Joss Ackland’s late Hans character. Gordon could supply the hockey wisdom Conway needs in his first attempt at coaching.

By the end of the movie, returnees such as Fulton, Banks and Julie Gaffney could all make an appearance to cheer on Charlie and his son’s team as they face their main rival.

Who would be that rival? If the primary antagonist is a player from a previous Ducks movie, be it an ex-teammate of Charlie’s or a former opponent, conflicting loyalties could make for an interesting D4 plot twist. – John Morton

Aging with grace

The Mighty Ducks trilogy’s original fan base has grown over its quarter-century of existence. It would therefore make sense if the movie universe had moved on in time as well. So, if D4 is made, it should be set in the present day with a recently retired Charlie Conway.

Conway went on to have a long, successful career in the NHL, and is now coaching his son’s team. He is struggling in that role because he is overbearing on his kids, and must realize that he is becoming like Coach Reilly from the first movie. He must learn the balance of getting his players to win, but keeping it fun for them in the process.

Conway’s relationship with his son would be a major storyline in the movie. Due to his time away from the family in the NHL, he doesn’t have a great relationship with his son. Having missed many special events, he decides to coach his son’s team to rebuild their relationship. But with his intensity, their already shaky relationship becomes even rougher.

Eventually they get it together and face off against a rival team with Conway’s son winning on a breakaway with a quadruple deke because the goalie only expects the triple deke. Charlie Conway had made the triple-deke famous in the NHL, therefore the move has become commonplace. – Zach Green

The more things change…

If D4 ever happens, the time that has passed since the original three came out offers a great chance to go full circle. The kids from the original film would likely be in their 30s by now, perhaps with kids of their own playing youth hockey

D4 should focusing on two teams, one for each generation. One would be the traditional Mighty Ducks, made up of a few children of some of the original team, and perhaps a few other players. It would be most fitting for Charlie to coach the team. As Bombay’s protege, it is only fitting that he would go on to fill his shoes someday.

The tactics and style of play would now be engrained into Mighty Ducks hockey, and the team would truly be a force to be reckoned with. They are no longer underdogs, but the dominant team in the area, much like the Hawks once were.

The other side of the film would focus on the original crew, now playing on an adult-league team coached by Bombay. The guys would have grown up to be successful in their adult lives, thanks to the shift in focus from winning to teamwork fun as the original films progressed.

Along with the success in their day-to-day lives, the hobbies of the original crew would be shown. Among these would be reflecting on their “glory days” of hockey, watching their children play for their former team and playing their own games. – Andrew Wisneski

Ex-sitcom stars who should follow Jennifer Aniston back to TV

 

Jennifer Aniston is reportedly the next A-lister seeking seconds on the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg wrote last week that the former Friends ensemble staple is teaming with fellow movie mainstay Reese Witherspoon for a series revolving around a fictitious morning talk show.

The finer details of the show, and whether anyone will even pick it up, remain to be seen. But assuming Aniston returns to sitcom acting, in addition to executive producing, her perceived success will hinge on the angle a given viewer takes.

As long as no one is holding it too high up the Friends measuring pole, it ought to have a fair shot at achieving respectability. What it does to live up to that standard is, well, up to its own creative minds.

Regardless, Aniston’s former castmate, Courteney Cox, mustered six seasons as both the protagonist and co-executive producer on Cougar Town. Elsewhere, Seinfeld alum Julia Louis Dreyfus cracked the old show’s supposed “curse” via The New Adventures of Old Christine, and is still shattering it with Veep. Former Seinfeld executive producer Larry David later proved his mettle as a lead actor on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Ed O’Neill went from 11 years of Married…with Children to 12 years of minor film credits to (so far) eight years of Modern Family. Rashida Jones has reeled off her supporting success on Parks and Recreation to land the title part on Angie Tribeca.

Aniston may have garnered more movie fame than each of the aforementioned, but those other track records prove that this reported move is far from daring.

In that spirit, the Pucks and Rec writers have selected their own handful of former sitcom staples who would make top-shelf candidates for another go-round, whether that’s behind the scenes, before the camera or both.

Steve Carell

Carell has been focusing on movies since leaving The Office after eight years in 2013, he has been focusing on movies. But his sense of humor and sarcasm is well-suited for television, as he can display his personality more.

In The Office, he often had the opportunity to chime in on events happening in the world and country while the show was being filmed. He also would make numerous references to pop culture, sports and different fads of the time.

In his movie roles, he has not enjoyed as much free reign, so a return to TV would be welcomed by those who enjoy his type of humor. – Andrew Wisneski

Mila Kunis

It has been nearly three years since Kunis cofounded Orchard Farm Productions in association with ABC Studios. But while the former That ’70s Show standout has continued acting in movies and as a voice regular on Family Guy, nothing definitive with her executive-production imprint has come to life yet.

ABC could have an easy sparkplug to the solution in Sarah Hyland, who as Haley Dunphy emitted a mild Jackie Burkhart vibe in Modern Family’s formative years. In multiple interviews over this decade, Hyland has been apt to embrace the comparisons to Kunis.

While Modern Family still has at least two seasons yet to come, it will end eventually. When it does, a new show with Kunis and Hyland as sisters is all but obligatory.

If the two were both full-timers in front of the camera, it may be hard to ward off comparisons to Frasier and its old dynamic of Kelsey Grammer and deuteragonist David Hyde Pierce. But that would be a small price to pay. – Al Daniel

Jerry Seinfeld

Since his eponymous NBC show ended, Seinfeld has tried a few other projects, such as the stand-up documentary, Comedian. He was also the star in the animated Bee Movie, where he reunited with several former Seinfeld mainstays, including Michael Richards and Patrick Warburton.

Despite continuing his stand-up career, Seinfeld could benefit more by bringing his observational comedy back to a wider audience. With his web-based talk series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, now on Netflix, he could think about using that opportunity to parlay back to the small screen, perhaps with a mix of some fellow Seinfeld alums and a new cast of characters. – John Morton

Will Smith

Smith broke into the acting scene with the title role on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He spent six seasons on the show, and was nominated for two Golden Globes during his tenure. 

As the ’90s rolled along, Smith’s performance spring-boarded him from being known as a rapper into someone who is now more well known for his acting. He has since starred in movies like Men in Black, I am Legend and Suicide Squad. 

In order to attract Smith to return to the small screen, a role would likely have to be made just for him, and he would probably want to direct the program as well. This would likely make money for the network, though, as the Fresh Prince was a hit, and plenty of people will want to watch Smith for the nostalgia. – Zach Green