For host Roger Bennett, who started "Men In Blazers" as a Grantland podcast focusing on soccer in 2011, hockey has been a second love since he immigrated to the United States from England in 1993.
He became a fan of the sport when he attended a Washington Capitals game at US Airways Arena, the former Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. He was amazed by the performances of Olaf Kolzig, Peter Bondra and Craig Berube, and knew that he had to somehow play a big role in promoting the game.
"It's an honor, a joy and a delight," Bennett said. "I've learned so much not just about hockey, but about life itself by talking to these gentlemen."
Bennett learned about Oshie's pregame ritual with captain Alex Ovechkin that includes three high-fives and a hard elbow, individualized handshakes with teammates, how someone his size (6-feet, 195 pound) plays a big game, and the optimism he injects into the locker room.
"Oshie is, to me, not only a hockey hero but a life hero," Bennett said. "To watch a guy game to game, to watch this joyful, exuberant and incredibly hard-hitting … to see guys lock into him and try to take him to the shadow realm, and instead they bounce off him. To be able to talk to him about that, ask them why that is, he just looked at me and said, 'little guy syndrome.' It's amazing."
