Nonis, Carlyle on “Ice Bucket Challenge” Clock

The last thing you want when a player leaves your team? A chip on his shoulder. The Leafs have a raging habit of leaving players in that exact position. With Nikolai Kulemin, he couldn’t even wait until his first game in another jersey to express that, and he and a special guest confirmed that shortly after taking literal ice chips to his shoulders.

Unless you’ve avoided the internet entirely this week, you’ve probably heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Created to raise awareness for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Some ALS patients have trouble feeling and therefore regulating hot and cold, so the challenge was born.

It’s structured much like it’s viliage idiot cousin, the nek-nomination. But instead of drinking weird combinations or amounts of alcohol or being called out as a wuss (I told you it was stupid), the Ice Bucket Challenge encourages you to either video tape the process of dumping a bucket of water mixed with ice over yourself, or barring that, to make a donation to an ALS-centric charity. After completing the challenge, you may challenge two others to complete it within 24 hours.

So far in the Leafs organization we’ve seen completed challenges by Tyler Bozak and James van Riemdsyk. JVR challenged Phil Kessel, but it looks like he hasn’t answered the bell. Marlies goaltender Garret Sparks tried to be creative and ended up making something un-family friendly, so we’re stuck with this screen capture.

But back to Grabo and Kuley. Kulemin opens the video by saying that he accepts the challenge and that he plans on donating anyway. He proceeds to get bucketed, when Mikhail Grabovski, who for some reason pops out of the pool, wearing his helmet, and declares that he is challenging Randy Carlyle and Dave Nonis. Because of course.

Kulemin further specified on his video’s description that his personal challenges were to former Magnitogorsk teammate Rinat Ibragimov, former Leafs teammate Clarke MacArthur, and another friend who has no hockey connection to him.

From my perspective, it’s really weird to see Grabovski and Kulemin in a different jersey (especially a bright orange practice jersey..) but it’s cool to see them back together as teammates. As for the challenge, I don’t see Nonis and Carlyle acknowledging it, but I have to admit that it would be amazing if they did.