Omelet Boys

Kasperi Kapanen doesn't normally eat in the mornings. But today, he had to make an exception.
That's because Evgeni Malkin and Chad Ruhwedel cooked breakfast for the entire team before practice after losing the January shootout competition - called Omelet Boy - earlier this month at Fenway Park.

"I think it went well. Nobody's thrown up yet, so it's been good," Ruhwedel said.
"It was fun to see both of them doing it," Bryan Rust said. "They were both actually really good sports about it. They were ready to go, they were attentive, they weren't grumpy. I think it was a fun morning."
A few of the guys, Kapanen included, thought Malkin might come to the rink with Dunkin Donuts and takeout from First Watch. But the superstar center donned the chef jacket and hat that team chef Geoff Straub picked up for him, and got to work alongside Ruhwedel. He's certainly come a long way since 'Cooking with Geno' back in 2009.
"I don't care about having to make the omelets, I care I went 20 times in the shootout and lost," Malkin grumbled good-naturedly. "I still can't believe. But the omelets, it's easy. We have Chef Geoff, he helped a little bit. But the guys did not order crazy stuff. They ordered like, two scrambled eggs, three, with a little bit of cheese sometimes. Pretty much all the same. It's nothing bad. But no more!"
Straub and his team always have 12 ingredients for omelets made to order, along with different oil and butter choices. Guys can get their eggs however they like - though they're all usually consistent with what they ask for, no surprise there.
"He's got all the orders down, memorized," Ruhwedel said. "You don't even have to say what you're having that day. So I had him helping me, and watching when I'd get distracted and lose track of a certain omelet. He was crucial in my success today."
Malkin and Ruhwedel didn't get any contributions into their makeshift tip jar, which was an empty coffee cup. And of course, they got some chirps, like Brian Dumoulin complaining that his eggs were a little soupy. But for the most part, Straub said they did a decent job feeding a room full of pro hockey players.
"They've got soft hands, that makes it easy," Straub said. "The flipping technique needs some work, but the cracking technique, the stirring, the seasoning… spot on."
Rust and Zucker put their orders in with Ruhwedel, since he was the only one there when they were ready to eat. The defenseman had arrived bright and early decked out in a chef's getup that he already owned. "I did a little hibachi dinner for my dad's birthday a year or two ago when he was in town visiting, and we had some fun with that. So I decided I could bring my own getup," Ruhwedel said.
When rating his overall experience, Zucker gave Ruhwedel a couple of extra points based on his appearance, marveling at how the jacket and apron fit perfectly. But Zucker did want to deduct one based on the hat's backwards Penguins logo.
"But is that his fault?" Rust asked. "100%!" Zucker replied. "Attention to detail."
Zucker enjoyed his two eggs over easy, though if he had to nitpick, one of the yolks was slightly more done than he would've liked. "It was more of an over medium than an over easy. But he still did a great job," Zucker said.
While Ruhwedel awarded himself one Michelin star, his teammates operated on a scale of 1-10. Zucker gave him a Ruhwedel a 6.9/10, while Rust scored him a little higher.
"I would give him high eights for his performance and execution, and he was very early," Rust said. "I would have given him an 8.9, but he gets an 8.1 because of his backwards Penguin."
Zucker gave a 7.1 to Malkin, who arrived a bit later than his fellow chef. He served the likes of Marcus Pettersson, who got three scrambled eggs, and P.O Joseph, who got two over easy. "Geno did a pretty good job, actually," Joseph said. "It's perfect."
The only order that Malkin wouldn't fill belonged to Sidney Crosby, as he didn't want to mess with the superstitious captain's routine.
"Oh, yeah, he's a special guy," Malkin grinned. "He only works with Chef Geoff. He never changes his mind, you know?"
After Kapanen finished his eggs, he told Malkin that he had no cash for the tip jar, and that he'd get him next time. "You think I'll do this again?" Malkin exclaimed. "Maybe!" Kapanen said. "I hope you lose the next one," Malkin retorted.
Either way, Malkin is off the hook for making breakfast, as the Penguins switch up the penalty for the last man (or men) standing each month. So far, Joseph had to drive the equipment truck, and Dumoulin
had to practice in a random assortment of gear
. We'll have to see what they come up with for February.
"It's fun. Dumo had to wear old gear, we had to do omelets," Malkin said. "It's a long season, you know? Sometimes it's tough, so much traveling. So we need to do fun stuff sometimes. This is fun. it's nothing crazy, but it's fun."