Meet the BSH Writer: Bill Roark

Introduction and Disclaimer

First, I’d like to start off by saying, I am Bill Roark and I am, most definitely, not Bill Matz. This is part of the mostly fictional, but partially binding agreement I worked out to avoid legally changing my name when joining BSH. While Bill Matz (@BILLadelphia) is known as “your director of fun and games” on the BSH podcast, I’m “Just Another Bill” (@PuckTherapy) on Twitter. So again, to clarify....not Bill Matz, but follow me on Twitter anyway, because I’ll be sticking around Broad Street Hockey for a while.

History

I grew up with hockey and became fascinated and addicted to the sport, almost instantly. What began with trading cards and all the other childhood collectibles turned into sleeping in jerseys and playing in as many leagues as I could physically accommodate (some would argue more than I could physically accommodate). I soon found myself playing in dek hockey tournaments with NHL players like Donald Brashear, Stephan Richer and Patrick Roy and in roller hockey leagues against members of the Team USA Roller Hockey Program.

Hockey became my life. Summers were spent on the water and fall through spring were paced by where we were in the Flyers schedule. Was Lindros in the hunt for the Hart? Who was the next player to break out? How could I watch the draft?

An analyst and fanatical enthusiast of the sport by nature, I absorbed every player’s style, team’s system changes, CBA tweaks and I relentlessly found a way to watch every Flyers game, even if I had to “watch” it through a scrambled Prism broadcast. If you never had this experience, imagine watching a game while underwater, without goggles...it wasn’t exactly the 4K viewing experience, but it was Flyers hockey.

Taking everything I learned from experience, analysis and an understanding of the game, I began writing prospect profiles for websites like www.hockeysfuture.com and others. In recent years, those sites and profiles have come and gone, but I’ve found new ways to contribute by entertaining and ranting on Twitter.

I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join Broad Street Hockey and share my unique blend of humor and hockey knowledge. It might not always be pretty and it might not always be PG-13, but it will definitely, always, be the truth, as I see it. Also, I am still not Bill Matz.