Two centuries ago, a form of stickball called “hurley” was adapted to a frozen pond, and ice hockey was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia. In those days, the players were called skatists and there was no blaring entertainment between periods, no megacontracts or agents.
Since then, of course, hockey has grown and developed into a whole new game in a much different world. This week, Tribune feature writer Mike Conklin introduces us to the Chicago Wolves, a scrappy underdog team in a league that many have never heard of. “The hockey culture at this level is like a time-warp in sports,” observes Mike. “These are mostly accessible, friendly athletes from small towns in the U.S. and Canada where the clocks have stopped–probably frozen.”
Mike has enjoyed a prime rinkside seat for more than 20 years, as a Tribune sportswriter and author of the Odds & Ins column for seven years, and as a reporter at the Winter Olympics (France ’92 and Norway ’94). He’s also a hockey parent, spending many Sundays shivering in the Lake Forest Academy arena and watching his son play. Over the last few years, writing the INC column and then feature stories for Tempo, Mike hasn’t covered much hockey. That absence allows him the perspective to fully understand how the game has changed over the years.
So what’s so interesting about the Wolves, the second-fiddle team in a sport that gets marginal attention? “I wanted to do this story,” Mike explains, “because I love David vs. Goliath tales, and the Wolves are sort of the ultimate David.”