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The Hockey Pests
from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,
In full disclosure, I love Pests. The first jersey I ever owned had Claude Lemieux's name on the back. As a Devils fan, I secretly loved that Sean Avery stick wave in front of Martin Brodeur that necessitated the NHL to change its rulebook on the fly to cover his antics. No, I can't condone the knees and spears and slew foots and other injurious cheap shots doled out by decades of miscreants like Bryan Marchment. But, if I'm being honest, I'm sometimes in awe of that level of depravity.
Is Matthew Tkachuk the NHL's best agitator? He has many of the essential traits of the NHL Pest. And here they are:
Know your role
The Pest is a role, no different than a penalty killer or a backup goalie, only with more trash and insults thrown at you from the stands. The role entails disruption, agitation and disturbance, by any means necessary. The role asks for brutality, intimidation and mockery. If performed correctly, the Pest is a vital role, because it changes the dynamic of a game, either through becoming a magnet for ire or, from a tactical standpoint, the removal of another team's player from the ice.
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