A Different Path (BAP)
 

Drunk already. It was only 4 o'clock but since Patrick had his last final today he figured it would be okay. "God statistics is hard," he thought as he pounded another beer.

15 minutes and 2 beers later his phone started ringing. "Hmmm, a New York City area code? Must be my suitemate Alex," Patrick thought.

“Hiroow?” he howled into the phone. On the other end, a man not named Alex was just then questioning his decision to make that phone call but proceeded nonetheless.

“Hi is this Patrick Cosgrove?” the scratchy voice asked to now completely hammered student.

“Of course it is, but may I ask who is calling my good fellow. I’ll have you know I’m no one to be trifled with, so if you’re trying to sell me something then you’re outta luhhhh.”

All of a sudden he trailed off as something caught his attention across the room. “Look Patrick, this is Glen Sather the New York Ranger’s GM. You and I both know you’re not getting drafted this year, but we think you have some skills to really help this team, so we’d like to sign you to a small deal maybe start you in the AHL and work your way up. What do you say?”

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. “S***. Must be the connection up in Ithaca. I don’t know why anyone build a school in that s***hole, let alone put a hockey team up there. We sent him a contract already anyway and if he’s interested he signs and we got ourselves a new player.”

The next morning came too soon for Patrick. “God how much did I drink last night. I actually thought I was talking to Glen Sather. Man that guy sucks. He’s managed to outspend everyone on the worst players despite the cap.” As he headed off to the gym he remembered checkout from the dorm was that night and that he needed to check his mail one last time before he left Cornell for the summer.

Putting that key into the keyhole turned Patrick’s summer from one of preparation for another ECAC season with Cornell University Big Red to one of preparation for the AHL. Inside was a envelope request and when he got the thick envelope with the New York Ranger’s logo on it, he knew his conversation with Glen Sather hadn’t been made up.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Nice start. I'm following. :cool:

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

thanks man. thought i'd go in a different direction and do a grinder bap. haven't seen one so i thought it would give it some seperation from everyone else's

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

LOL i laughed when he woke up and was like "OMG what a crazy dream!!" haha

Great beginning man, hoping the rest is just as funny as this last post.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Great job man. You should have had Sather sign you to a contract worth $30,000,000,000,000,000,000 to make it ultra realistic. How does he keep his job in a place like NY?

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

DT - it isn't surprising. Look at Darcy Regier in Buffalo. He's screwing the team over and he just signed an extension for next season. :y5::rolleyes:

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

i loled at that its so true.

probably one or two more updates before games start

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

“It wouldn’t be the same,” Patrick decided. No more packed arenas, giving his regards to Davey after every goal, and certainly no more saluting the fans after every game. “That,” he decided, “would stay.” Something he could do to honor his time as a Cornell hockey player.

The decision had been made after talking to his parents. His dream had been to play for Cornell and never thought that he would be good enough to even dream of the AHL let alone the NHL.

Now though on the flight from Ithaca to New York he was about to find out just what the Rangers really thought of him. Getting off the plane at LaGuardia Pat knew that he would have to get himself a cab. He was no prize prospect and he knew it.

Walking around Madison Square Garden Pat was confused. Where was he supposed to go? Players only? That sounded good enough.

“Hey kid what you think you are doing?” a huge Russian Cosgrove recognized as Nik Antropov asked.

“Sorry I’m lost. I’m supposed to be having a meeting with Mr. Sather,” he explained unsure of what he was supposed to do next.

“Yah. The office is that way,” Antropov said pointing in a different direction.

After about ten minutes Patrick finally found the GM’s office. “Hey kid you’re late! Look we’re taking a flier on you so don’t do anything to mess that up.” Sather stated matter-of-factly. “Look you’re technically an Unrestricted Free Agent as you weren’t drafted. Right now we’re not sure about your potential, but you’re a physical player and you’ve shown you might be able to put some pucks in the back of the net.”

“Hey kid, name’s Jim and is this Ken Gerander. I’m the General Manager of the Hartford Wolfpack and Ken’s Head Coach. Look, you knew you weren’t starting at the big club and here’s the thing, until you prove otherwise we’re not sure you deserve an NHL contract, so what we’re going to do is sign you to the league minimum which is $36,000 and if you do well enough, then the Rangers are going buy out the contract and make it 2-way so you won’t have to go through waivers at any point. Sound good?”

“Yes sir,” Pat stated. He was just looking forward to getting on the ice.

“Well we look forward to seeing you in Hartford kid. The train is the cheapest and fastest way to get there. Don’t want to cause too much expense for us eh? Hehe.”

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Nice. I just started a BAP Goalie with the Rangers/Wolf Pack. :D hopefully you can score some goals and hit some guys. :wink:

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

i've only played two games but recorded points in both so far which is amazing. i'm playing on superstar default sliders because its too easy to score on allstar no matter who you're playing as be it sniper or grinder

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

“Welcome to Hartford kid,” were the first words out of Head Coach Ken Gerander’s mouth as I walked in the door of his spartan office. “Look we have some goals for you to strive for this year. Firstly, be physical. You’re here because you can do that and we expect 295 hits from you as a result. Second we want a plus/minus of 7. The mark of a good defensive forward is a good plus/minus and this is must for the end of the year. About 135 shots should do and try and get 30 points. These two aren’t important just goals you’ll want to work towards.”

“Sure, sounds good to me sir,” Patrick said.

“Look kid, call me Coach or Coach Ken or Ken. I’ve been around this organization for a long time and I’ve learned that dictatorial coaching rarely works. Calling me sir just buys into that notion. I know you’re coach at Cornell was a real douche. Schafer always had his panties in a twist about some prospect getting called up and plays a real defensive style. We like to open things up here and score some goals. We’re not great at it but we try.”

“Okay Coach,” Patrick said using the most formal name out of habit. “I’ll try my best to accomplish this.”

“That’s what we like to hear. Now you’ll be working mostly with J.J. Daigneault since he’s our defensive coach, but occasionally you’ll be with me on offense.”

“Okay Coach,” Pat said unsure why he would be working on defense if he was already good at it.

“And Damien Hess? He’s going to be your best friend by the end of the year. But right now you’re going to hate seeing him. Go meet him in the gym now and practice starts in two hours.”

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

1st game: Springfield Falcons @ Hartford Wolfpack:

3-1 Hartford

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

5:03 Potter (1) (Fahey, Byers)

2ND PERIOD:

No Scoring

3RD PERIOD:

13:20 Moore (1) (Unassisted)

14:17 Byers (1) (Cosgrove, Graham)

19:27 Brule (1)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G:0
A:1
P:1
+/- :0
Hits: 2
Positioning: A-
Team Play: B-
Stats: A+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

2nd game: Bridgeport Soundtigers @ Hartford Wolfpack

4-3OT Bridgeport

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

2:58 Colliton (Unassisted)

12:44 Cosgrove (1) (Byers, Graham)

18:29 Walter (Unassisted)

19:03 Dupont (1) (Pyatt, Bell)

2ND PERIOD:

14:57 Kohn (Colliton, Rechlicz)

3RD PERIOD:

14:16 Dupont (2) (Pyatt, Bell)

OT

0:38 Callahan (Thompson, Gervais)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G:1
A:0
P:1
+/- : -1
Hits: 3
PIM: 2
Positioning: A-
Team Play: C+
Stats: A

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

“Watch yourself punk,” a thickly Russian-accented voice said after Pat walked into the locker room. It had been Artem Anisimov, the Wolfpack’s first line center. “This is stupid Coach. He score before me so he gets powerplay? He a stupid grinder. Not scorer.”

“Look Artie, not now we’ll talk about this later. Not now,” Coach said calmly as he walked in from his office. “You guys played great out there tonight. It’s tough getting that loss but I thought we showed real character after leading the entire last game and then coming out and giving up some early goals and battling back. The one negative I want to point out is that Cosgrove. You played a great game kid until OT. We put you and Brodie out there because you two had scored tonight and we thought you could get it done, but you can’t be taking a stupid tripping call that early in overtime son.”

“But coach I was going for the puck and he passed it right before I got there and then fell. It isn’t my fault that he couldn’t stand up…”

“SHUT UP KID!” Coach Daigneault screamed. He was always playing bad cop to Gernander’s good cop. “YOU COST US A GOAL! You shouldn’t even have been on the ice. This game should have been over after you and Brodie scored. TWO OWN GOALS?!?! REALLY!? Defense show up at 5:30 tomorrow morning. We’re going to be doing wind sprints! Cosgrove you’re excused.”

“Perfect,” Pat thought. “Now I have to spend even more time with that dick Anisimov.”

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

With a few days between games, other than practice there wasn’t much to do. Drinking was out of the question for Pat since he was only 18 and he didn’t feel like getting a fake I.D. or getting in trouble with the law. Speaking of law he should probably get an agent. Even though Pat Cosgrove was just a lowly minor leaguer even they needed representation. His first call was to the law firm Complex Litigation. Not knowing much about Hartford, Pat knew this place because of his devotion to Bill Simmons. Simmons’s friend John O’Connell was a lawyer there and Pat knew that he maybe as a sports fan maybe he could help him out.

“Hi, I’m here to find some representation,” Pat said nervously not sure whether he had made the right decision or not coming here. “Oh I know who you are son. You’re that nice boy from Cornell that the hockey team signed. You’ve done pretty well so far I heard from my husband.”

“Thank you ma’am. I don’t have an agent and this is the only law firm I know about so I was wondering if they might have anyone that could represent me.”

“Oh I’m sure they do honey. By the way, how did you hear about us?”

“Well I listen to Bill Simmons and his friend John O’Connell works here. So I thought I would stop by.”

Wouldn’t you know he’s the only person with an opening today. He’ll be available in 15 minutes hon so have a seat over there.”

As Patrick waited for his meeting he thought about his performance so far this season. Just two games in and he was already both exceeding and falling below expectations. He had produced points in both games but had been shoddy defensively and had cost his team a game with a stupid penalty just 10 seconds into overtime against their biggest rivals. Plus to make matters worse Artie was in a funk and as the highest rated prospect on the team he always got what he wanted and right then it was making Pat’s life miserable.

“Hey don’t let me interrupt kid.” said the man standing in front of Pat. Around the same height and build was a man who clearly thought highly of himself. “I don’t have a lot of time so we’ll keep the meeting short and out here in the lobby. I know who you are and what you need. I can do those things. I looked over the contract you signed and you could not have gotten a better deal considering your prospects at the time. You seem like a nice kid so I’ll do this pro bono until they sign you to a legitimate contract. Trust me, the way you’re playing, it shouldn’t take long. Now I just have to find out how to become certified and we’re good to go.”

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

game: Hartford Wolfpack @ Hamilton Bulldogs:

score

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

1:56 Chipchura (PP) (Weber Maxwell)

2ND PERIOD:

18:27 Stewart (Russell Janik)

3RD PERIOD:

4:16 Maxwell (PP) (Pacioretty Chipchura)

13:03 Chipchura 2 (Glumac Pacioretty)

15:25 Russell (White Dandenault)

19:45 Flinn (Maxwell Trotter)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G:0
A:0
P:0
+/- : -2
Hits: 5
Positioning: A-
Team Play: C-
Stats: D-

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Awful. That would be the only way to describe the hockey up here in Hamilton folks. Our Wolfpack got destroyed 6-0 by the Bulldogs and it was never close. That Cosgrove kid that Schoenfield signed was okay but the rest of the team never got it together.
Catch you later back in the states,
Jeff Jacobs

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Really enjoying this. I'm usually a FIFA or MLB guy, but this is really good. Keep up the good work.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

It'll be interesting to see if Cosgrove does anything in this BAP :)

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

5th game: Hartford Wolfpack @ Worchester Sharks:

Score 0-3

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

No Scoring

2ND PERIOD:

6:00 Zalewski (Jones, Traverse)

3RD PERIOD:

15:44 LaRose (PP) (McGinn, McLaren)

19:52 Morris (EN) (Buckley, Zalewski)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G:0
A:0
P:0
+/- :0
Hits: 4
Positioning: A-
Team Play: D-
Stats: C+


sorry skipped a game. forgot the stats and stuff. lost 2-0 on two pp goals

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

“Hey Coz man, you suck dude,” said Tommy Pyatt good-naturedly. Pyatt was a jokester and Pat had enjoyed playing with him on the power play even if only for 20 seconds.

With Hartford’s loss against Worchester it was our 4th in a row. Pat knew he could have done better. Having taken 14 shots in the last three games alone he should have scored at least once but none had been successful. He just hoped he wouldn’t be cut.

“Hey rook!”

All of the coaches had taken to calling Pat “Rook” because he looked and acted like a scared little kid off the ice. Usually he kept his head down because of his low status on the team even though he was 3rd line and had managed to snag some power play time from the scorers.

“Come on kid. I don’t have all day.” Ken Gerander usually didn’t get mad so when he did you knew to listen.

“Look son, you’re not playing half badly. In fact I’m impressed you’ve even scored at all. You’re no scorer and the coaches know it. You’ve looked real good in you’re conditioning and Damien says you’ve gained 10 lbs. 15 of muscle and lost 5 of fat. You’re probably the only guy other than Brodie and Mark who goes to the weight room regularly.”

“I like your work ethic and your physical play. Those are the positives. The negatives are that you turn the puck over regularly, you take bad penalties and you can’t shoot worth a lick. So we’re putting you on the 2nd line. Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Wow Coach, I don’t know what to say,” Pat stammered.

“Say thanks rook. You deserve it. Word is if you make 1st line the Rangers are going to buy your contract. So keep it up.”

Ken Gerander smiled. He knew he had a player and a leader in this kid even if the kid didn’t know yet. All Pat Cosgrove knew was that he had some new linemates to get used to in two days and that he had some celebrating to do with Tommy and Brodie, his best friends and now linemates.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

6th game: Philadelphia Phantoms @ Hartford Wolfpack:

Score 2-0

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

16:09 Clarkson (Kalinski, Curry)

2ND PERIOD:

No Scoring

3RD PERIOD:

19:58 Syvret (PP) (EN) (Raduns)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G:0
A:0
P:0
+/- :0
Hits: 4
Positioning: B+
Team Play: C
Stats: C+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Why They Suck
By Jeff Jacobs:

This just in folks: The Hartford Wolfpack suck. Scoring only 7 goals in your first 6 games is bad enough. Scoring all of them in the first 2 games is even worse. Hartford has not scored in 245 minutes of hockey. The Wolfpack are without a true leader, scoring or otherwise. Dane Byers leads the ‘pack with 3 measly points in 6 games. AHL rookie Patrick Cosgrove is close behind with 2. It’s bad when a kid, a grinder, not expected to do much is close to the lead in points.
Captain Mark Bell has done little to show that he deserves the C but he is also the only starter to post points. First-liner’s Artem Anisimov and Andreas Jamtin have yet to show up on a score sheet. These two may soon get the boot in favor of Tommy Pyatt and newly promoted Cosgrove. This kid has been the only bright spot. You always know when he’s on the ice. His physical play has amped his teammates and Pyatt and Brodie Dupont figure to benefit from his playand hopefully this physical line can put it together. Tonight’s game is against Manchester and I for one hope that Hartford will do something to show that they won’t be on the bottom of the barrel that is the AHL.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

7th game: Manchester Monarchs @ Hartford Wolfpack:

Score 3-4 SO

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

No Scoring

2ND PERIOD:

2:30 Voynov (PP) (Lewis, Martinez)

4:50 Gauthier (PP) (Cliché, Azevedo)

15:43 Pyatt (PP) (Bell)

3RD PERIOD:

6:50 Zeiler (Clune)

11:09 Dupont (Cosgrove, Denisov)

17:12 Cosgrove (Pyatt)

Bell SO winner

Cosgrove SO clincher

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G: 1
A: 1
P: 2
+/- : 1
Hits: 6
Positioning: A-
Team Play: B-
Stats: A+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Sweet man score the game-tying goal with under 3 to go and the SO winner.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

Great job man. Hopefully the Rangers in your dynasty are smarter than they are in mine and call you up...

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

well according to my bap i'm not a part of the rangers organization yet. i need to get to the first line but yeah. sather is a moron he won't call me up unless they start sucking.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

yeah, and he'll send either chris drury, nikolai zherdev, or henrik lundqvist down to the AHL to make room for you, because, as stated, sather is a moron ;-)

Good job with this, though.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

he probably should send zherdev down. he sucks.





fyi i won't be doing updates til tuesday if anyone cares. in ithaca for the weekend so no xbox around

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

8th game: Portland Pirates @ Hartford Wolfpack:

Score 2-1

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD:

4:00 Mancari (PP)

18:21 Schutz (PP)

2ND PERIOD:

4:03 Fahey (Weise)

3RD PERIOD:

No Scoring

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G: 0
A: 0
P: 0
+/- : 0
Hits: 2
Positioning: A
Team Play: D
Stats: C+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

9th game: Worchester Sharks @ Hartford Wolfpack:

Score 6-3

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD

3:59 Barnes (Byers, Nightingale)

5:33 Desjardins (PP)

6:44 Ouellette (Potter, Weise)

16:48 Desjardins (PP)

2ND PERIOD

2:48 Desjardins (PP) (Traverse Buckley)

8:46 Morris (Armstrong Joslin)

18:12 McGinn (PP) (Joslin Mitchell)

3RD PERIOD

4:12 Dupont (PP) (Pyatt Potter)

19:40 Buckley (EN)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G: 0
A: 0
P: 0
+/- : 0
Hits: 2
Positioning: A
Team Play: D+
Stats: D+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

ouch, those statistics are ROUGH!!!

you and cory urquhart (love that name haha, sounds like an orc from Lord of the rings) should learn how to score more, haha.

but then again, this is a different path.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

10th game: Albany River Rats @ Hartford Wolfpack:

Score 3-5

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD

17:36 Reed (PP)

2ND PERIOD

8:37 Cosgrove (SH) (Sauer Wiikman)

11:43 Cosgrove (Pyatt)

3RD PERIOD

1:17 Samson (PP) (Hughes)

6:59 Dupont (PP) (Bell Pyatt)

9:38 Cosgrove (PP) (Didiomete Barnes)

15:33 Hughes (Gillies Reed)

19:56 Cosgrove (EN)

Patrick Cosgrove Statistics:
G: 4
A: 0
P: 4
+/- : 2
Hits: 5
Positioning: B+
Team Play: B-
Stats: A+

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

lmao just when i say how rough your stats are you come out and score 4 goals in one game! Nice job!

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

STATS:
Through 10 Games:

<table align="center" bgcolor="#000099" border="3" bordercolor="#ff0000" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td align="middle" bgcolor="#ffffff"></td><td align="middle">..Patrick Cosgrove..</td><td align="middle">RW</td><td align="middle">#21</td><td align="middle">6'0</td><td colspan="2" align="middle">185 lbs</td><td align="middle">77</td><td colspan="3" align="middle">GRINDER
</td><td colspan="2" align="middle"></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#ff0000"><td colspan="13">_</td></tr><tr><td align="middle">YEAR</td><td align="middle">TEAM</td><td align="middle">LEA</td><td align="middle">GP</td><td align="middle">G</td><td align="middle">A</td><td align="middle">P</td><td align="middle">PPG</td><td align="middle">SHG</td><td align="middle">HITS
</td><td align="middle">SHOTS</td><td align="middle">PIM</td><td align="middle">+/-</td></tr><tr><td align="middle">2008-09</td><td align="middle">Hartford</td><td align="middle">AHL</td><td align="middle">10
</td><td align="middle">6
</td><td align="middle">2</td><td align="middle">8
</td><td align="middle">1
</td><td align="middle">1
</td><td align="middle">39
</td><td align="middle">64
</td><td align="middle">26
</td><td align="middle">-1
</td></tr></tbody></table>

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

sorry i stole your table dt. i really like it though. it makes it a lot easier. and written update either tonight or tomorrow

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

ok.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

“Hey rook get in here.”

Hearing Coach Gerander’s voice the past few weeks had never been a good thing especially with our recent trouble winning games. But this was different. We had just played our best game of the year. A 5-3 win over Albany. The River Rats are with us at the bottom of the conference, and we needed the game badly so as to gain some momentum before we got a whole week off.

“Seriously now. I don’t have all day.”

Pat hurried into the office hoping for some good news. Maybe he would be getting called up to the first line or even the Rangers. It wasn’t to be

“Hey Pat, great game out there today. Just wanted to let you know you’ll be getting game puck, but try to be a bit more physical and you really need to work on the plus/minus which I understand is very hard to control, especially since we’ve had a rough start.”

“Alright everyone. I think we know who gets game puck. Pat Cosgrove with 4 goals 5 hits and a plus/minus of +2. Brodie you were okay too. No but seriously guys. This is what we needed. Go out and celebrate. Tomorrow you have off then back to work Monday and Tommy, Brodie and Pat are exempt from sprints that day. So lucky you guys.”

TWO DAYS LATER…

“Hey rook I need to see you after practice. You and I have a meeting with Schoenfield.”

After two hours of working on a new powerplay line with Tommy Pyatt, Mark Bell, Brian Fahey and Cory Potter, Pat was exhausted and just wanted to go back to his apartment, but he knew he had a meeting with Hartford GM Jim Schoenfield which could potentially set him up with an NHL contract.

“Hey kid, Ken, thanks for coming. After your performance on Saturday, we decided to put you on the first line with Mark and Artem. Now we’ve heard rumors that you and Artie don’t get along to well. Is that true?”

“No sir. We just don’t know each other very well.”

“Well as stipulated by your contract, since you made the first line, the Rangers will be buying out your contract and signing you to a one year two-way deal. This will give you a slight pay raise and if you get called up it’ll go to 330,000 pro-rated of course. You should be excited kid.”

“Thank you sir. I won’t let you guys down.”

“Hopefully not kid but you need to hit the gym with Damien, so get to it.” Coach Gerander said with a chuckle.

Re: A Different Path (BAP)
 

You thiefing bastard! How dare you steal my table! I can't believe it! I'm so...eh, that's enough of that. I don't care that you took it. Glad you like it! :)