The Many Faces of Scott Hartnell

If you are a casual hockey fan and watched the Flyers-Lightning game on Tuesday, you saw what you probably consider to be one of the most stupid plays by a player who does not deserve to feel the ice with his skates ever again. If the "casual hockey fan" applies to you, then you don't know Scott Hartnell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt5bb2BZsHs

Right off the bat, I will tell you that Scott is my favorite Flyer. His numbers may not be the flashiest (24 goals, 19 assists in 80 games in 07-08). His fighting may not be the most punishing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt5bb2BZsHs&feature=related). His hair may not be the most well-kept.

 But the point is that Hartnell will play in every game, fight against the best, and grow his hair out as long as he wants. And as an added bonus he'll sometimes "forget" how to skate and crash into the opposing team's goalie every once in a while.

Go ahead and laugh at the glove-throw. Hartnell admitted that he was tired and did the first thing that came to his mind to try to save the game for his team. So he threw part of his equipment at Ryan Malone, hoping to distract him on a breakaway that could have potentially stole the W away from the Flyers (apparently Biron felt the need to make up for it by giving away the game to the Devils two nights later). Malone received a penalty shot. Biron got a skate on the puck and sent the game into overtime, where Mike Richards had other ideas.

The point of this post is not about the Flyers and their inconsistencies in net, their ever-changing defense, or their seemingly unstoppable offense - it is about the Hart(nell) of the team. This is a player who has the intangibles - size, skill, personality, fire, and above all, heart. This is a man who is not going to net you 40 goals a year. He's not going to skate coast-to-coast with the Simon Gagne's of the NHL. But the man can play. Just by watching him it is evident that Scott Hartnell is someone who tries his hardest when he is on the ice. He may get sidetracked in exactly what he is supposed to do out there, as evidenced by his recent third period benching against the Islanders, but he is always trying to bring himself to the game. He doesn't allow the game to come to him. His finesse is not what will kill a team, but rather his ability to bring himself and everything that comes with himself, to the game.

Look no further than the NHL's top goal scorer, Jeff Carter, to see how valuable a player like Hartnell is. Carter's 18 goals are the byproduct of the six-foot-two, two-hundred and ten pound man who stands a stride from the crease, throwing his body into the opposition regardless of their size. On the power-play, Hartnell draws bodies to him in front of the net, opening the offensive zone for the rest of the team. If someone takes a cheap shot at a teammate, Hartnell will let them know about it - with force. He may take a bad penalty, or not think sometimes, but you can always count on Hartnell to give you his all.

Hartnell's presence on the ice can always be felt. Whether banging bodies in front of the goal, getting into a fight, "tripping" into a goalie to take him off his focus, or throwing a glove at Ryan Malone on a breakaway that could decide the game - he'll be noticed.