Brain Freeze: ALS

Holy Ice Bucket Challenge! Since my post one week ago when Campbell and Marchand were the only ones to take the challenge, it has spread like wildfire! Not only have most of the Bruins accepted the challenge, but also other NHL players and not to mention everyone and their mother on Facebook.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is suppose to spread awareness about ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that impacts the brain and spinal chord, causing progressive paralysis. (Also known as Lou Gehrigs’s Disease). I know it seems foolish that all these people are dumping buckets of ice water on themselves, but Carl Hamilton, the Director of ALS Therapy Development Institute in Massachusetts, told the Boston Herald that they are already seeing a boost in donations and awareness. 10 times the number of online donations increase everyday. So ridiculous or not, this challenge is doing what it was created for.

Pete Frates, Beverley Mass resident, created the Ice Bucket Challenge with his family. The 29 year old has lived with ALS since 2012 and as an active member of the community he is always trying to spread awareness of this horrible disease. From a small Massachusetts native to the entire NHL and even the city of stars, this challenge is making the rounds. Some people who have accepted the challenge are, Mayor Marty Walsh, Zdeno Chara, the star child Sidney Crosby, Lance Bass, Matt Lauer, and even Martha Stewart. Some people try to get creative with the challenge and there have been some pretty good ones, but by far my favorite has been Andrew Ference’s.

Check out this post from this highly ambitious Tumblr member!

Ice Bucket Count

For those wondering on which teams have done the most ice bucket drops heres the count

Goes- Team Name - people done / people challenged {this includes coaches, gm, owners, a few reporters}

Anaheim Ducks - 3/7

Arizona Coyotes - 8/10

Boston Bruins - 18/30

Buffalo Sabres - 0/3

Calgary Flames - 0/2

Carolina Hurricanes - 13/21

Chicago Blackhawks - 1/6

Colorado Avalanche - 8/13

Columbus Blue Jackets - 1/2

Dallas Stars - 16/25

Detroit Red Wings - 1/2

Edmonton Oilers - 3/7

Florida Panthers - 2/4

Los Angeles Kings - 0/1

Minnesota Wild - 1/2

Montreal Canadiens - 0/1

Nashville Predators - 2/8

New Jersey Devils - 0/2

New York Islanders - 3/6

New York Rangers - 3/8

Ottawa Senators -1/5

Philadelphia Flyers - 1/2

Pittsburgh Penguins - 19/27

San Jose Sharks - 5/9

St. Louis Blues - 2/7

Tampa Bay Lightning - 5/11

Toronto Maple Leafs - 2/6

Vancouver Canucks - 1/2

Washington Capitals - 0/2

Winnipeg Jets - 2/8

Free Agents - 0/5

That means every team has had at least 1 person nominated

143 NHL players or associates have done the challenge

246 players have been challenged

58% of the people challenged have done the challenge

It's not just the NHL that is getting involved either, the MLB, NFL, and other major sports teams are challenging fellow teammates and friends also! Marty Walsh held a community Ice Bucket Dumping and challenged New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago to get involved.
Even country stars Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, and Lee Brice accepted the challenge.

Luke Bryan has been challenged and we are all patiently waiting for his response.

Also for those who still think this challenge is dumb and pointless, take a gander at this...

So I say, bravo Pete Frates! The Ice Bucket Challenge, no matter how silly it may seem, is working! Now I'm going to go donate $100 to the ALS Association and I encourage everyone who reads this to educate yourselves and donate if you can! Have a lovely rest of your Monday everyone!

Since I'm drawing a blank on what to write about this week, this post will be a little man crush monday and little fun-facts about the Bruins and what some of them have done this summer. NESN and the Boston Bruins reported this past friday that 4^th liner Gregory Campbell accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge. This challenge, which involves throwing a bucket filled with water and ice on your head, has gone viral recently on the internet. Campbell accepted the challenge from a close friend of his in support of Pete Frates. Former BC college baseball player, Frates was diagnosed with ALS in March 2012 and Campbell uses the Ice Bucket Challenge to bring awareness to ALS. This is where my man crush monday ties in. Campbell is always willing to help out in any way he can, even if that means dumping a garbage can of ice cold water on his head and filming it.

Just in case that wasn't entertaining enough, he challenges Brad Marchand to take the Ice Bucket Challenge as well. “I know Marchy and I always kind of battle on different levels, so I love calling him out on anything, to be honest with you,” Campbell said with a laugh. “I don’t know how far it’s going to go, but I know that obviously, the Bruins are a huge part of the community in and around Boston, and hopefully the awareness that this raises just by getting it out on social media will help tremendously with the cause.” It didn’t take Marchand very long to try and one-up Soupy. Marchand accepted the challenge and called on fellow teammates Torey Krug and Chris Kelly as well as AHLer Andrew Bodnarchuk and his brother Jeff Marchand to take the Ice Bucket Challenge also.

Marchand not only dumped a large bucket of ice and water his head, but also had two buckets of water thrown on him from above. Anything you can do I can do better? Let's see if the new challenge members can do one better!

While Campbell and Marchand have been keeping cool during the offseason David Krejci turned up the heat in his personal life and married Watertown, MA native Naomi Starr. The two have been together for roughly 4 years and tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor wedding at Šternberk castle in the Czech Republic. None of Krejci's teammates were in attendance, it seemed that the dapper groom and beautiful bride wanted a simple and intimate wedding.