Hershey Bears goalie Hunter Shepard was lying in bed in his Charlotte hotel room Saturday afternoon, napping in preparation for a game against the Charlotte Checkers later that night, when his phone started buzzing.
He picked up.
The call was from Hershey’s vice president of hockey operations, Bryan Helmer, informing him there was a flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas leaving in about 90 minutes, and he needed to be on it.
From napping in Charlotte to an NHL bench in Vegas: Inside Capitals’ goalie Hunter Shepard’s wild day – The Athletic
So many times a news article crosses my feeds of “this guy was called up or sent down” between the Washington Capitals and the Hershey Bears.
In the sentence or two of news, there can be an entire day of planning and coordination to get someone from Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas, NV by game time. I love getting a glimpse into the insanity of rushing across the country on the off-chance you’ll be needed in a game.