Wild Blog: Ott Latest In A Line Of Villains Among Wild Fans
by Craig D. Schroepfer (@CDSWCCO)
If there is one thing that can make a playoff series more dramatic than it already is, it's the presence of a villain. Whether it's a player you detest, a guy who just rubs you the wrong way or a person you only tolerate because he's plays for your team, knowing that if he played anywhere else you would despise them, a villain just makes things more intriguing.
In Minnesota's hockey history, many players have filled this role.
During the days of the North Stars/Blackhawks rivalry, Al Secord was public enemy No. 1. It was a common occurrence to hear the crowd serenade Secord with the chant "Secord Sucks" as he skated at Met Center.
In the 14-season history of the Minnesota Wild, a few opposing players have becomes villains among the team of 18,000 during playoff encounters.
Patrick Roy has played the role of villain for Wild fans as both a player and a coach with the Colorado Avalanche.
In 2007, Brad May became the most disliked player on the Anaheim Ducks for sucker punching Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson in Game 4 of their playoff series and that's saying something, considering the Ducks had Chris Pronger and Corey Perry both on their roster at the time.
Of course, hating May was nothing new for Minnesota fans going back to his time with the Vancouver Canucks in 2003 as that team was filled with many players that were disliked in the State of Hockey. May, the Sedin twins, Jarkko Ruttu, and even current Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke were all despised here while playing for the Canucks.
However, the biggest villain that played on that Vancouver team was forward Todd Bertuzzi, who reached a rank of hate only rivaled by Secord. Bertuzzi became the biggest heel in the State of Hockey after telling Minnesota Wild fans that were waiting to buy tickets for Game 6 of their playoff series outside the Xcel Energy Center box office that they wouldn't be needing them, saying the Canucks would wrap up the series in five games.
Vancouver did not win that series as they fell to Minnesota in seven games, even though the Canucks had a 2-0 lead in Game 7. The second goal in that game was scored by Bertuzzi, telling the Wild bench to get their golf clubs ready as he skated by them. Minnesota got the last laugh though, en route to a 4-2 win.
Those two incidents made Bertuzzi become the most hated hockey player in Minnesota. Whenever Bertuzzi touched the puck, whether he played for Vancouver, Calgary, Anaheim or Detroit, boos would rain down from the rafters at Xcel.
During the 2004 NHL All-Star Game that was held in St. Paul, Bertuzzi was the only player who was jeered during the entire contest.
When you are getting booed while playing in an All-Star game, you know you are detested.
Bertuzzi is still at the top of the list of players Wild fans love to hate him, but for the first time in nearly 10 years, a player has emerged to challenge him for that spot: St. Louis Blues forward Steve Ott.
Ott has always been an antagonist during his NHL career. His job is to create havoc on the ice, get under the skin of the opposing team and try to draw them into taking a penalty.
While Ott was quiet in Game 1 of the series his antics were on display during Game 2, most noticeably when he was patting Wild forward Jason Zucker on the head after the referee blew the whistle on a play.
Ott summed up his antics by saying "I don't know, you guys watch that stuff more than me. Sometimes my brain just shuts off."
If that's the case then Ott's brain must have had a severe cramp in Game 3 as he became the scorn of the crowd at Xcel Energy Center due to his antics.
Near the end of the game Ott tried to pick a fight with Wild defenseman Marco Scandella. Scandella kept his poise and wouldn't take the bait. Teammate Jared Spurgeon skated to the aid of Scandella, only to have Ott jump him in the process.
That's right. Ott, who is 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, jumped a guy who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 176 pounds.
The end result of Ott's actions was a penalty for roughing and a 10-minute game misconduct, which was pretty meaningless since there was less than a minute to play in the game.
Ott won't see any discipline from the NHL for his antics and will be on the ice in Game 4 of the series. Wild fans shouldn't be upset about no suspension being handed down. The more Ott is on the ice, the better the chance of him doing something stupid and drawing a penalty.
Ott has a ways to go to reach the level of hate that Bertuzzi was at but for the first time in nearly 10 years, a new generation of Wild fans have an opposing player they can despise. With the current playoff format and Minnesota and St. Louis being division rivals, Ott has the best chance of any player to rival Bertuzzi.
After all, somebody has to play the heel.