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The meme wars have begun in the Barzal vs Boeser Calder Trophy race

Brock Boeser is having a fantastic rookie campaign. He leads the Canucks in scoring with 40 points in 42 games and is seventh in the NHL in goal-scoring with 22 goals.
Brock Boeser skates with the puck for the Vancouver Canucks.

Brock Boeser is having a fantastic rookie campaign. He leads the Canucks in scoring with 40 points in 42 games and is seventh in the NHL in goal-scoring with 22 goals. He’s on pace for 41 goals and 75 points, far outpacing even the most optimistic expectations for his season.

Normally, a rookie on pace for 40+ goals would be running away with the Calder Trophy race and, if he does reach 40 goals, it will be hard to argue against him. There’s just one problem: Mathew Barzal.

The rookie centre for the New York Islanders is having a phenomenal season, racking up 47 points in 46 games. He’s tied with Sidney Crosby for 13th in the NHL in points and just came off a three-game streak where he had 10 points. Barzal is the only player in the NHL this season with two 5-point games.

Barring a late run by Charlie McAvoy or Clayton Keller, it seems like the Calder Trophy will come down to either Boeser or Barzal.

The argument against Barzal is that he has a lot more help in Brooklyn than Boeser does in Vancouver. Barzal is third on the Islanders in points behind John Tavares and Josh Bailey. While Barzal doesn’t play with Tavares and Bailey at even-strength — he centres the second line with Jordan Eberle on his right wing — he does play with them on the first power play unit.

Boeser, on the other hand, leads the Canucks in both goals and points. He’s lost his original linemates in Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi and has continued to produce while playing with Thomas Vanek and Sam Gagner. While he is on the first power play unit, it’s pretty easy to argue that he helps the power play far more than the power play helps him.

But who needs reasoned arguments when you could have memes instead?

The subreddits for the Canucks and Islanders’ fanbases have each made their case for their preferred rookie of the year and have put their money where their mouths are. Seriously, they’re dropping some real money on ludicrous memes to argue for Boeser or Barzal.

The previous memes in the “wars” between r/Canucks and r/NewYorkIslanders pale in comparison to u/d0t1q turning to Tyrone.

 

 

“Barzal is softer than two-ply and doesn’t skate good.”

A little context: Tyrone is actually Gordon Hurd, a former journalist and TV presenter from Cameroon. He’s known far more now for his Fiverr account, where people can pay him to do a short testimonial video in his signature, compelling style.

A basic video, of the type shown above, will run you $55.88 Canadian. That’s right: someone on the Canucks subreddit paid over $55 for that video. Worth every penny.

The Islanders subreddit couldn’t let such an attack stand without a response, so they turned to Tyrone’s longtime nemesis: Rog. There’s a long story as to why these two are considered nemeses and it has to do with 4chan, anime, and the delight young people take in making a middle-aged man say “waifu” and “kawaii.”

In any case, Rog was called upon to respond on behalf of Barzal and the Islanders.

 

 

“Mat will be making the whole team better while Boeser waits for a clappy at the hashies like that guy with a tinted visor at shinny. Take a power skating lesson, Brock.”

That is vicious. Also, hilarious.

Rog, real name Roger Stockburger, didn’t go quite as viral as Tyrone after their anime battles, so doesn’t charge quite as much for his video testimonials. It’s $6.21 Canadian for a basic video, though this one likely ran u/brunoamandrill twice that because of the length of the script.

You have to give these fans credit for their passion as well as their contributions to the gig economy. The meme wars may not have much impact on the actual Calder race, but they are certainly a fun sidebar.