(3/5/08)

Colorado's hockey lore is mostly a Joe Sakic "this" and/or a Patrick Roy "that." Both Sakic and Roy are some exemplary gentlemen who symbolize Denver/Colorado sports culture very well, and that's cool. Another exemplary gentleman who symbolizes Denver/Colorado hockey culture is a current San Jose Sharks defenseman. This Sharks player attended the University of Denver, or "DU," and represented DU Pioneers hockey very well when he won hockey's Heisman Trophy called the Hobey Baker Award. He is Matt Carle.

I have visited Denver, Colorado once already, and that trip is a major reason why Denver/Colorado sports culture is very fascinating. Then "Matty" became a Sharks defenseman when his DU playing days concluded; and when "Matty" won the Hobey Baker Award, DU hockey gained instant coolness that the Colorado Avalanche and the Pepsi Center already had AND Denver/Colorado sports culture reinforced its "cool sports culture" honor.

Last season, I got to see in-person the Hobey Baker Award trophy. This season, I got to meet the 2006 Hobey Baker Award winner when he was March's Sharks Store Meet-and-Greet feature player. Matt Carle gave an hour and 35 minutes of his time so that Sharks fans who endured the sunny and somewhat-hot afternoon weather could get his autograph and then a player-and-fan photo that a Sharks Store representative snapped. I held the waiting line's 14 th spot, and endured a 4-7 minute wait that ended when I reached the probably-granite-top bar-level table where the former DU defenseman was seated. When I approached "Matty," who wore his teal RBK Edge jersey and shorts and sandals, I first said my usual "Thanks for coming out and doing this;" and the Sharks defenseman's clear and sincere response was a simple "You're welcome."

My next words were, "You're doing a good job this season. Just keep it going." I wasn't patronizing "Matty" because he's still a San Jose Sharks defenseman; #18 is doing something right because he also was not traded, which is a move that many Sharks fans - but not me - have been demanding this season. When I told "Matty" that he was "doing a good job this season," it was an attempt to say, "I appreciate you being a San Jose Sharks player. I enjoy having you here. And I'm optimistic that your best years are still to come." I can only say so much because my player-and-fan photo snap comes so fast. The important fact is: I'm not someone who has ridiculous and impossible-to-attain standards that Sharks players have to meet or else they should get traded; that's why I believe that "Matty" is doing alright this season.

My final words were a thanks-for-the-autographs "Thank you." The Anchorage, Alaska native signed my Monday, December 11, 2007 insert (Sharks vs. Phoenix Coyotes) and my Saturday, January 12, 2008 insert (Sharks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs). I did not buy a "Carle 18" black jersey-like t-shirt or a cool 8" X 10" photo that the Sharks Store now sells; I had two inserts, which I will forever appreciate now that his autograph graces them.

Matt Carle earns a three-and-a-half fins score. I think my February 2005 Denver trip helped "Matty" earn major coolness points. Visiting Denver is the only reason I can offer regarding why the DU Pioneers are my favorite college hockey team, but I'm not a DU hockey fan because I'm not a college sports fan. If the University of Wisconsin Badgers - Sharks center Joe Pavelski's old team - are the DU Pioneers' opponent, I will always hope DU wins that game; and I'm not saying that because I recently met a former DU Pioneer. Whenever I see the DU Pioneers logo, which I still don't know what it is or how it is pioneer-related, "Matty" is the first person who enters my thoughts.

Matt Carle is the tenth Sharks player who scored his first career NHL goal when making his San Jose Sharks debut that was also his National Hockey League debut. When he wore #25, "Matty" made a great enough impact and officially started the Sharks' young defense corps; if "Matty" was not here, I can't say that the young Marc-Edouard Vlasic, or "pickles," would be here now. "Matty" is another good apple or orange that the Sharks prospects farm has produced. The former Pioneers defenseman becomes the twenty-sixth player to join my "Have A Photo With Him" Sharks team; and he will be the fifth defenseman to join the Smackdown-like team Team Marleau, which is named because its team captain is Patrick Marleau. "Matty" currently wears #18, but his March-May 2006 Sharks number was 25; I will give "Matty" his #25 because that number was also his DU number and there are no other #25 Sharks players comprising my "Have A Photo With Him" Sharks team. Matt Carle is young, and his best years are still to come.