Ryan Reaves Wild

Where Are All the Reavo Haters Now?

NHL Wild
Bossman

Becoming a fan of Reavo (Ryan Reaves) is not just something that happens at birth. No one starts out their hockey fandom as a fan of Reaves. You have to absolutely fucking hate him before you are allowed to love him. Until last year, I despised both Ryan Reaves and Marc-Andre Fleury. Why? Because the 2021 playoffs (and frankly, every other series in the Wild’s existence) haunt me to this day:

Little did I know then, this shit talking fighter and brick wall future Hall of Famer would be wearing a forest green sweater just 2 years later. There’s no way you were a fan of Reaves in those days unless you lived in Sin City or were an annoying bandwagon expansion fan.

Fast forward past his stint in New York, Reavo debuted in a Wild sweater on Black Friday. The guy INSTANTLY becomes a fan favorite. And the best part about it was that Bill Guerin, the entire Wild fanbase, and even he himself knew he wasn’t here to play hockey. Ryan Reaves was brought here to pump up the boys and light up anyone who even breathes on our players:

That hit led to this fight:

Where Are All the Haters At Now?

Outside of firing up the team, laying out hits, and throwing haymakers what has Reavo been doing lately you ask? SCORING. You heard that right. In the last two weeks, our boy Reavo has 2 goals and 2 assists. Reavo even notched himself a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on Sunday night. I personally think there should be an additional Art Ross trophy for 4th line guys who kick each other’s asses. Because Reaves would currently be the front runner:

So to all the dummies out there who say “He can’t score”, “he sucks at skating” or “he doesn’t fight anymore, all he does is dump the puck”. I would ask where all of you are now that he’s on the board in multiple games. As stated above, this man pulled off a Gordie Howe hat trick. Gordie Howe has a statue made of him, I’d say that’s pretty cool that we’re throwing Reavo’s name in the same conversation.

And hearing interviews with him just solidifies my ultimate fandom. Seems like he couldn’t be a nicer guy. My good friend Gage Ausmus from our Has-Beens Podcast once said the biggest criminals on the ice are the nicest citizens off it. And while I know it’s unlikely that Reavo will be here after the season, I think we should all appreciate the value he does bring the Wild before he leaves and we have to hate him again.