I wrote an essay last summer that deserved a Peabody. It was titled Jonathan Quick Tweets Pics of Rabbit Giving Birth in his Backyard. The photo post was about a humble goaltender — a few weeks removed from winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe– observing the circle of life through the window of his LA home, live-tweeting all the while.
On Monday, I came across an even better NHL nature story on Tumblr (thanks to elqiao) with a less gnarly ending. Nashville Predators defenseman Hal Gill saved the life of an owl. Here is part 2 in the new RMNB series, NHL Players and Nature.
“Owl” Gill
On January 10th, a few days before training camp officially opened for all NHL teams, Hal Gill was returning to his Nashville home when he came across a Great Horned Owl that had been struck by a car. It appeared to be dead in the middle of the road. At 11:11 PM, Gill (@Skillsy75) tweeted this photo to his 59,000 followers.
I’m a fan of the hashtags.
Friend and Toronto Maple Leaf James van Riemsdyk responded to Gill’s tweet with a video.
Gill loaded the injured owl into his car and drove it to Walden’s Puddle, a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center just outside of the city.
Over the course of the next two weeks, Gill tweeted the facility and got updates on the condition of the owl.
Un-Fatality! Awww.
Gill’s unselfish deed will now replace my other memory of him: getting demolished by Alex Ovechkin after he injured Sergei Fedorov.
Here’s hoping the owl has some owl babies!
