Fort Nucks: Turtleneck boy

It came down to Troy Stecher: score or else.
There were no fans in the stands, no points on the line, no game to be won. This was much, much bigger than that.

After practice last Wednesday in Vancouver, the Canucks held a team shootout. The rules were simple: score and you're out. They shot youngest to oldest and didn't stop until one player was crowned shootout loser.
Eriksson was the only player to score in the first round and it took 11 rounds before last place was determined. It came down to Michael Del Zotto and Stecher, and after a Del Zotto goal, it was score or else for Stecher.
He missed. He's been wearing the or else ever since.

Stecher's punishment for finishing last was determined by Sam Gagner, who said the young defenceman had to wear a turtleneck to every Canucks team sanctioned event for the five-game road trip we're currently in the midst of.
"He looks ridiculous," laughed Gagner, ahead of team meetings Tuesday morning in Washington. "He's doing well though, give him credit. He's wearing them with pride. He's our turtleneck boy."
This was the first time this season the Canucks have held a punishment shootout and there was nearly a rule put into place that if either Jacob Markstrom or Anders Nilsson let in three straight goals, they'd get the punishment as well.
Gagner, leaning towards a turtleneck for the loser before Stecher claimed the prize, ixnayed the goalie punishment for a hilarious reason.
"Marky would have just let three in and gladly claimed the turtleneck punishment. He wears them all the time! Guys are always on him for it. It's a European thing, has to be."
Stecher, playing in his 100th NHL game Tuesday against the Capitals, was given one turtleneck from Markstrom, prompting an emergency-shopping trip for a few more. He's now the proud owner of a rainbowish array of turtlenecks: grey, green, maroon and maroon. He is not, however, a proud wearer of said turtlenecks.

Leaving the team hotel last Friday in Toronto, I asked Stecher if he wouldn't mind taking a selfie with Brock Boeser to promote our upcoming Q&A at Twitter Canada. He declined.
"I look awful," he said, pointing towards his turtly neck. "I'll do it once I get this thing off."
Has the look grown on Stecher over the last few days?
"It actually has! The joke's on them - it was super cold in Toronto and Montreal, and my neck was warm the entire time, so I got the last laugh."
There won't be any laughing if Stecher is caught without a turtleneck before we return to Vancouver late Sunday.
Asked what the punishment is for such an infraction, Ben Hutton piped up: "We'd shave his head…or brand him…or something..."
"I could definitely come up with something worse than that," added Erik Gudbranson, in a slow, low, sinister tone.
No comment from a wide-eyed Stecher.
As for Stecher's shootout moves, he won't be losing sleep over them anytime soon.
"I have one move: backhand, forehand. So basic. Marky knows it by heart, so I don't stand a chance. Luckily I'll never be called upon in a game!"