Sharp to keep it cool during the Circus Road trip

DP · Nov 16, 2010

EDMONTON -- For player and fan alike, there is one part of the schedule that is never a mystery. Come November, the Chicago Blackhawks and their United Center counterparts, the Bulls, head out of town as the elephants head in.

It’s the first extended trip for the Hawks and the first real chance for them to bond. And for some they might experience a little newcomer hazing in the form of practical jokes.

The ringleader for such antics is forward Patrick Sharp, and he’s looking forward to some new and old meat.
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Though it’s been an up and down start to the season, is there ever a bad time to pull some pranks?
Patrick Sharp: “I think it’s a good time for us to have some fun. It’s the first time we’re going to be on the road together for a significant period of time. Lots of new faces, so it will be a good bonding experience. And a lot of these new guys don’t know my tricks on the road so it should be easy pickings.”

So you’ve been slow to pull out the pranks so far?
PS: “There’s been nothing so far because we’ve had just one day trips but now that I have a main target, we’ll have some fun.”

Spill the beans. Who is the No. 1 target?
PS:“Well, No. 1 on the hit list is Brent Seabrook, my former roommate. We tried it out and it lasted about three nights. I couldn’t take his superstitions or his constant calling to his girlfriend on the phone and his I-chat on the computer. It was just embarrassing.

Wait a minute. You’re the newlywed, and he’s doing all that stuff?
PS:“He’s the puppy in love over there so he’s going to be the main target. I am looking forward to spending some time with my new roommate, Jake Dowell, another Wisconsin boy. Just like my old roommate Adam Burish. That should be fun. Of course, [Patrick] Kane and [Jonathan] Toews are always targets, but there’s a lot of new faces. This Viktor Stalberg guy is a little too pretty for our liking. Dowell and I want to mess with him. Jack Skille talks way too much for a first-year player. He’s probably a top-3 target as well.”

It sounds like Seabrook makes Burish look like the Lady Byng of roommates, right?
PS:“Yeah, Burish is a professional. He was a model roommate. Seabrook is like "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" when you go into the bathroom. There’s one little hand towel and the bathroom is a mess. I have to use the lobby restroom every time I want to go to the bathroom because ours is just a mess. There is so much food ordered to the room; we have such an expensive room service bill. I don’t want to pay for that. Let’s see, what else. He sets his alarm to go off at 3 p.m. everyday because it’s a superstition. I like to sleep from 2-4 on game days and the alarm is going off every 10 minutes starting at 3. So it just didn’t work out.”

You mentioned some guys on the hit list. Who do you stay away from for fear they might not take it as a joke?
PS:“Marty Turco. He’s an awfully nice guy, but I don’t know what the other side of his personality is, and I don’t want to find out. Plus he’s been around a while so I’ll leave him alone. I sit beside [Fernando] Pisani in the lockerroom, so I’m going to give him a pass. He could mess with my equipment or something. Plus, he has that Italian temper. One guy I do like, well, it's two guys, but it’s really the same guy are the Slovaks: Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Two of the same people. Wherever Hoss is, Kopy is right there doing it. They are always fun targets because I get the biggest reaction out of those two.”

Is there a new trick or two in your bag of pranks?
PS:“Well, I like to get room keys without them noticing so I can get in their room and do some damage. I did mess around with Seabrook a little when he was my actual roommate. I put some hand cream on the ear of the telephone and then was texting guys to call our room, and he’d pick up the phone. He fell for it twice. In the same day.

When a team is struggling a little as you guys have been, is it even a better time to loosen it up?
PS: “Yeah, I think it’s all the more reason. It’s my personality. It’s the way I like to unwind and even prepare for a game. I did it in the Stanley Cup finals last year. You can’t get much bigger stage than that. I don’t see why I can’t do it in November now. As for the team, we play our best hockey when we are loose. I mean we’re not going to be goofing around in warm-ups before the game, but it’s always nice to unwind and have some fun.”

Are the coaches ever in play? Like the new guy, Mike Kitchen?
PS:“I stay away from coaches but broadcasters are definitely in play and have been abused in the past. I’m not going to say it was me, because no one really knows who was in charge of tornadoeing Pat Foely’s room.”

I would think (radio announcer) John Wideman would be a target. He hasn’t been around as long as Foley or others.
PS: “I don’t know, if I did something to old Johnny he might go off the deep end. We might lose him for good.”
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Lol, this is why Sharp is one of my favorite players.

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Sharp to keep it cool during the Circus Road trip

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Sharp to keep it cool during the Circus Road trip

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