The appeal to fans of HBO’s 24/7 that leads up to NHL Winter Classic is the behind the scenes access it gives them to the teams and players they follow. Beyond practices and the locker room access there can be a more candid conversation by the players about what they think about other people in the league. That side of it is out in full force in the past week as Flyer forward Jody Shelley and Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky are having a war of words.
During the preview show for the 24/7 Flyers-Rangers series last week Jody Shelley had choice words for what he thinks of Dubinsky and his game…
Brandon Dubinsky plays like a little weasel. He's a guy you like to get at.Dubinsky, never bashful for a juicy quote, responded yesterday in talking with Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News:
"First of all, if I was him, I'd keep my mouth shut if I don't play, especially since I never see him on the ice," Dubinsky said of Shelley, who has played in only 10 of Philadelphia's 23 games this season. "He's usually just yapping from the bench, and I guess now he's yapping from behind the video camera. So that's about all I have to say."
But that was not all Dubinsky had to say.
"Jody Shelley - it won't be long before he's out of the league, because he's a terrible hockey player," he added.This is the kind of stuff that HBO and the NHL wants to drive up interest in the show along with the sport, but this is not something that will go over well with Rangers’ coach John Tortorella. Tortorella does not seem to be too keen on his players spouting in the media, especially when Dubinsky is struggling to find his own game this season. It is fun for fans to read this kind of stuff and it is part of what intrigues about 24/7 as a series, but now is not the time for Dubinsky to be getting drawn into a war of words as he sits on the fourth line himself. More focus from Dubinsky on reclaiming his spot in the top six of the Rangers forward lineup would be better served than worrying about what a fourth line goon had to say about him. The best way for Dubinsky to shut Shelley and everyone else up would be to put a hurting on the Flyers where it counts; the scoreboard.
