Hockey Wives, ep. 4: Injuries are never easy, the Booths prepare for Russia

There is a lot that is glamorous about playing in the NHL — or any professional league for that matter — such as high salaries, playing the sport you love for a living, fame and recognition. But there are definite downsides to hockey and one of them is injury, which was the theme this week on Hockey Wives.

When a player goes down hard, often there’s a collective gasp in the arena — and afar —from fans and spectators alike. It can be scary, nerve-wracking, and tough to watch — and that’s just from a fans’ perspective. Now imagine how a wife might feel. In an opening scene, Taylor Winnik fills in the blanks for us.

While on a skating date (my theory that Dan and Taylor are on a quest to be named the ultimate cute couple of Hockey Wives holds strong) Taylor talks to her husband about how he’s recovering from an ailment that sidelined him early in the Leafs’ season. The conversation then turns to a scary incident that occurred the previous year. Any Leafs fan will recall the play last season when Winnik fell awkwardly, smashing head first into the ice and laying motionless for several seconds thereafter. In those first few seconds, it looked to be very serious and he was wheeled off on a stretcher.

“That was the scariest moment in my entire life. I thought for sure that he was going to be paralyzed,” Taylor said. “Dan plays hockey professionally. If I’m going to be terrorized by one thing that happens to him then it’s going to be a tough life for me. So I toughened up and I moved on. But the way that it looked and the way that it made me feel, I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”

Winnik ended up, fortunately, being fine on the play. But for Taylor it clearly left a lasting scar.

Along with Taylor, both Maripier Morin (MP), fiancée of Brandon Prust, and Paige Getzlaf, married to the Anaheim Ducks captain describe situations of balling their eyes out after discovering their partner in pain.

While watching a game with friends when Prust sustained an ankle injury, MP said she immediately burst into tears seeing her fiancé roll around on the ice in anguish. Paige had a similarly emotional reaction after spotting her husband for the first time following surgery on his appendix. In either of these situations, the injuries weren’t considered dire, but in those first few seconds, it’s clearly the unknown that’s the most terrifying. For fans, sure you might lose a player from your fantasy roster. For a family member the stakes are, obviously, much higher.

“In a blink of an eye, their career could be over. It’s pretty scary,” Paige says.

On a happier note, while Ryan continues to mend from his surgery, the whole family heads out to the rink to watch the Getzlaf boys — Ryder and Gavin — brush up on their skating skills. Proud mama Paige gushes about how her boys are “so naturally athletic…they had hockey sticks in their hand at one and could actually shoot the puck. It’s really cool to see them take after their dad.”

With two young sons in hockey already, Paige, who grew up in California and knew nothing about hockey before Ryan, says she’s preparing to be in the rink her whole life. Paige may also want to start studying up on the ins and outs of putting on equipment too.

“Last time I was here by myself, Ryder had to tell me what to do and I had to YouTube. It was so embarrassing,” she tells her husband, who is thankfully in attendance this time around to show Paige how it’s done.

The Getzlaf boys get on the ice and begin practicing the fundamentals — and while it’s too early to tell if we’re witnessing future NHL stars, the boys are better skaters than Taylor Winnik. So there’s that (sorry Taylor!)

Meanwhile, Ashley Booth continues her goodbye tour as she prepares to leave for Russia. It should be said, though, that judging from the reaction she keeps getting from people, you might think she’s telling them she’s moving to the bottom of the sea. Take for instance the conversation she has with her mom, Charlotte. As a daughter would do, Ashley is venting to her mom ahead of the big move, sharing her hopes and fears. They swear they’ll Facetime lots and then Ashley turns to her mom, smiling.

“Well, you can come visit me,” she says. Her mom looks hesitantly into her daughter’s eyes. “In Russia?” she asks. “I’ll probably just see you when you get home.” That, my friends, is a mom burn. Ouch.

Eventually we meet up with her husband David in a taxidermy museum that doubles as his parents’ home. Seriously, I counted at least nine dead animals and just one live animal, his golden retriever Winger, in one section of the home. The vast collection belongs to David and Ashley says she will allow him to bring twelve (12!) to their new home, once they return from Russia.

“Its not going to be looking at me while I cook its uncle,” Ashley says about, I don’t know, a deer?

In any case, the episode ends with David saying farewell to his animal friends — Winger included — and his mother. While Ashley discusses the difficulty of the last six months, she’s optimistic as they head off to their Siberian adventure. “Although this isn’t what I would have chosen for myself back in the summer and I didn’t see it coming at all, I know that we’re going to be OK.”

Other tidbits from this episode include:

• This week we finally discovered, Tiffany Parros’ kryptonite. What’s the one thing that can intimidate the most intimating woman on the planet? A savvy public relations professional, apparently. Tiffany is looking to expand her clothing line in the Canadian market and decides to visit a high-powered PR firm for assistance. “If a really ugly dude is dating a hot chick, they’re over-dating. I’m over-dating with Faulhaber,” she says of the communications agency.

• Will there be any Brandon or Maripier juniors any time soon? Definitely not, if MP has anything to say about it. The Mrs.Prust-to-be is not baby-crazy. In fact, infants may actually terrify her. “When I see you and Lola, I get anxiety,” MP says to her best friend, who just became a mom. “I cannot picture myself with a baby.”

• This week, the wives also reveal another secret: hockey players are apparently not great houseguests.

“I can’t have Dan around too much because the house can’t be clean with him physically in it,” Taylor says.

“I call him hurricane Jason…they come home and it’s like paper, money, hats,” Kodette says, gesturing the mess her husband Jason brings in when he returns home.

“Suit jackets on every chair!” laments Nicole Brown, star of season one and wife of Dustin Brown.

Three Stars of the episode:

Third star: Charlotte, Ashley’s mom

Second star: Ryder and Gavin Getzlaf

First star: Winger Booth

Best line of the episode: “I can handle so much more pain than Ryan,” Paige Getzlaf says as both are worked over by masseuses. “I’ve taken a slap shot to the forehead” he counters. “And I’ve given birth,” she replies. Touché.

Misplay of the episode: Ashley Booth and her mom, Charlotte are discussing moving to Russia. Her mom asks how David Booth will adjust to the language barrier on the ice.

Charlotte: How’s he going to know the language? Like if they’re saying ‘hit the guy with the stick’ and then they might be saying, ‘don’t hit the guy with the stick.’

Ashley: Well first off, you’re not supposed to hit the guy with the stick.

Charlotte: Okay (laughs). See I don’t know anything about hockey.