The 65th in our 118-part series.
Brian Gionta
There was a very brief period in our lives as hockey fans when we paid even the slightest bit of attention to college hockey (then we realized if we ever learned what the Pairwise system was our brains would explode) and that brief period happened to be when Brian Gionta was a senior at BC. Our biggest impression of the guy was that he was a Punk with a capital P. Cocky as all get-out and quick with a high stick and accompanying smirk when the other guy got called for it. We were confident that if a miracle occurred and he ended up on the big team, he’d surely have that punkiness beat out of him, replaced with Kool Aid-induced businesslike fair play. How little we knew of Brian Gionta, eh? Six years later he’s a key part of the top line, setting team records for goals, drinking the Kool-Aid to the point where he’s coming to camp without a contract — and yet, he’s just as much a punk. How else do you explain the fact that he’s 3 apples tall and yet he’s the only Devil who knows how to crash the net? (Wait, there are other explanations for that?) Every fourth or fifth shift from him seems to end in him giving the ref a stern look until a guy from the other team is carted off to the box to serve a penalty he didn’t commit, an event marked by Gio flashing his teammates his signature self-satisfied grin. But somehow this doesn’t turn into a Sean Avery love-him-on-your-team/hate-him-on-another situation, because Gio never mouths off or shows up the other team — he just plays like a guy who learned to be an NHLer in a dressing room run by Scott Stevens. Gio’s also one of the many Devils who plays best when he’s got a chip on his shoulder. Here’s hoping the need to prove he can produce on a Gomez-less top line is chip enough for our Little Ball of Punk to find his way back to the team-leading goal scoring territory.
Correct me I’m wrong, now, Ookies, but isn’t Gionta kind of a hottie? Or do I just not see him enough? :D
Gio is an extremely pleasant-looking man. For some reason he just doesn’t do anything for me personally, but he’s always seemed to me to be one of those guys who is just indisputably hot. I realize that’s an issue of subjectivity, but Gio is the kind of good-looking that I just can’t imagine someone not at least recognizing.
he’s 3 apples tall
So true. It never ceases to amaze me that I’m just as tall as he is. Wth is up with that?
isn’t Gionta kind of a hottie
Gio? Feh, he’s ok looking.
Gio is also, in addition to being nice looking, very, very personable. He gives interesting, genial interviews, and is always laughing when they show him on the bench. He’s a good little Devil.
How many inches is 3 apples?
Just thinking right now, I can only remember him as he’s smiling widely. Maybe because he does that all the time.
(See? Learning about the EC already.)
(See? Learning about the EC already.)
I’m so proud of you, Patty!
3 apples is officially 5’4″, I think, but I doubt he’s even that tall.
How many inches is 3 apples?
5 foot 7 inches. Which is I believe 67 inches (12 inches to a foot right? Imperial is lost on me)
170 centimeters!
Patty, you’re such a good learner!
3 apples is probably a hell of a lot shorter than the Devils claim it is. In the very spurious world of Devils’ height stats, I feel like Gio’s is strangely inflated to 5’7″, but that’s to keep Sergei Brylin’s ridiculous listing at 5’10″ from being exposed as the total lie it is.
3 apples is probably a hell of a lot shorter than the Devils claim it is.
Hee! That’s like Derek Roy’s 5’9″ listing. He doesn’t even tell people he’s that tall. Of course, he’s usually using his height to justify his falling down.
I like Gio. He just seems like the kind of guy you ought to like.
Hee Patty you should be proud, because I’m pretty sure I don’t have any recollection of what he looks like.
off to NHL.com I go…
Never mind. He doesn’t do anything for me either. Although it could still be those pesky NHL profile pictures.
But still!
You’re right, Mags. I’m 5’6″ and that’s 66″. Because I need a cabinet that is taller than I am and I have to know that.
I can’t imagine meeting a hockey player in person and finding out he’s shorter than I am. I don’t know if I could handle it. I met Niko Kapanen once and I was surprised he was taller than I am because he’s so much shorter than the other players.
At the A-S Game in SJ I met Theo Fleury. I am 5’7″. He was listed at 5’6″. He was CONSIDERABLY shorter than I am. So I’m surprised to discover players who are legitimately tall now, since I totally believe they’re all lying hugely about their heights. I really assume half the guys are well shorter than I am. If I ever discover Sid’s taller than I am, I’ll be stunned.
It works the other way, too, Schookie. I always hear that Modano is 6’4″, but when I saw him in person, I thought surely it was 6’7″.
Yes! Paul Martin is listed at 6’1″, and when I walked next to him I thought his legs went up to my ears. There is no WAY he’s only 6’1″.
I just figure that anyone listed at 6’0″ or under is 2-4 inches shorter than listed. Everyone else is 1″ shorter than listed. :)
In all my (ok, only 7 years) as a hockey fan, I’ve only been physically intimidated by height twice: once when I was in an arena freight elevator with half of the Coyotes training camp roster wearing their dark suits (Cale Hulse is scary, yo), and once the first time I saw Portland player Max Gordichuk, who was an honest-to-god 6’6″ and not pre-pubescently skinny like most jr. players.