37-year-old defenseman Brooks Orpik is a polarizing player among Capitals fans, but there’s one thing we can all agree upon: his durability is astonishing.
Orpik, an old school, physical defenseman, won the Stanley Cup in 2009 and is set to reach the 1,000 NHL game plateau (935) next season. While he’s had his struggles this year after seeing his minutes climb, the ageless wonder has been able to put up good shot-attempt numbers when partnered with talented puck-moving defenseman and playing in a reduced role – such as on the third pairing last season with Nate Schmidt.
While his dedication on the ice and during the summers has continued his career, Orpik has also been resolute when it comes to his eating.
Orpik recently named his Top 10 Restaurants of Washington DC (spoiler he loves Beuchert’s Saloon the most), but it was this passage about his improved eating habits that stuck out the most to me.
As a veteran player he follows a pretty strict diet in order to stay in top physical shape. He’s also a reformed junk food fanatic—chicken wings and Wendy’s Frostys were staples during his younger years with the Pittsburgh Penguins. These days, he and his family head to their organic farm outside Boston during summers off.
It’s hard to imagine that there wasn’t a day Orpik didn’t eat kale. He binged on Frostys like a normal human being.
Orpik also uttered this line to The Washington Post’s Alex Prewitt in 2014 when talking about his food habits.
“Loved Frostys,” Orpik said as he passed a Wendy’s. “Used to be a staple of mine.”
So were milkshakes, frozen pizza and late-night street-meat from some dude named Cheech over three seasons at Boston College, before Orpik knew the difference between good weight and bad weight. So were soda, frozen waffles and boxed macaroni and cheese during his early, skinnier days with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So were chicken wings, burgers and Italian food, heavy with cream and white flour, old favorites on road trips.
“And that’s the stuff you eat after a couple beers,” he said, pulling into the same parking spot he found when shopping here the previous afternoon. “Looking back, it was pretty gross.”
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