Gamesmanship on Board

When it comes to Kraken players connecting with teammates, many of those get-to-know-each-other opportunities occur in the hours spent on the team plane flying from city to city. For some members of the Seattle squad, that bonding happened over a game called Super Tock. But not, as discovered, without some controversy.
What is Super Tock and how did it make its way to becoming a hot topic in the locker room? In a way, Yanni Gourde was just paying it forward. He first learned of the game from now Pittsburgh goalie Louis Domingue when the two Quebec natives were both in Tampa Bay. In Seattle, it's now Gourde toting the large game board onto the plane for every road trip and teaching his fellow skaters.

It's not an easy game. The website, boardgamegeek.com, likens it to Pachisi (some might know it as the Parcheesi version), a game with a cross-shaped track and circles originating in ancient China. Kraken forward Morgan Geekie says it's similar to the board game, Sorry!.
Players - usually playing with partners - work to get their marbles "home" with moves being dictated by playing cards that are drawn throughout the game. It's a game heavy on strategy with many options per card played.
It can take a while to get the hang of and rules can be added as the game goes along. How the game is played dictates how quickly play moves. Carson Soucy (one of the many to learn the game from Gourde) says a match could last anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
"There's so many different moves," Soucy says. "Literally, you lay a card and there could be like three, four different moves you can make … It definitely took a while to learn. Just because there's so many different moves. It takes a couple trips to feel actually confident with the plays you're making and if you're switching different marbles."
Nonetheless, Soucy was a fast learner. So much so that, Gourde, the player with the most experience, ranked the defender second only to his own skills at the game.
This is when things got interesting. Who else ranks highly, Yanni?

"I started with [Will] Borgen as my partner, and then I switched," Gourde says, his eyes widening and grin developing. "The last road trip I played with Geekie. He was not so good at first and then he had a great last road trip. He was super happy about it.
"Borgen might be…well, in the rankings, he might be the lowest. He was good at first but now he's struggling."
Full grin from Gourde. Hmmm, intriguing. Time to seek out more information. What's missing from Borgen's game, Yanni?
"He is just not making the right plays," says Gourde, yes, still grinning. "He's playing too much offense. He's got to think defense a little bit more. He's got to hold his anchor (a piece in the game)."
Having stumbled into some true intrasquad drama-fans know the Kraken are a close-knit group-there's a need to settle matters with an impartial source for input on the rankings.
(It's worth noting defenseman Haydn Fleury ranked highly for many teammates in the Super Tock standings, but an injury prohibited him from traveling with the team while he recovered.)
"I think [the best player] has got to be Gourde," says Soucy, who was informed of Gourde's rankings ahead of his answer. "[Gourde] taught us the game and he is number one. We'll never say he makes too many mistakes.
"I'm just going to go off what he said and say I might be the second best now, just because of 'Borgy's' recent struggles. I'd bump Fleury down to three [only because he hasn't been playing]. Then I go Borgen at four and Geekie at five. Only because Geekie's new to the game."

Now it's imperative to seek out Borgen himself. Gourde had happily alerted his former Super Tock partner to the topic of discussion at hand. And the defender was more than ready to return the favor of analyzing his teammates' play.
"I know where he ranked me. He texted me, I don't need to hear it," Borgen said with a friendly smirk. " 'Gourdo's' offended. Or he's getting defensive because he's nervous that I'm slowly becoming the No. 1 player. He's scared I'm going to take over that position. So, he wants me off the table because of that."
Borgen says while he himself plays a fairly mistake-free game. Gourde plays too offensive of a game, even deeming him "a cookie monster."
OK, how does Borgen rank the Super Tock talent on the Kraken?
1. Himself
2. Gourde ("even though he won't do that for me!")
T-3 Haydn Fleury
T-3 Soucy
Ok, let's just all agree there's some disagreement here. It shouldn't come as a surprise, the most talented hockey players in the world made it to the NHL because they're ultra-competitive. But what gives? Why the fallout between two formerly loyal partners in Gourde and Borgen who are still clearly friends and loyal teammates?
Perhaps Soucy can provide the straight story. He had a little different evaluation of Borgen's play.
"Gordo and me, we like honesty," says Soucy, laughing at the follow-up question about board game play. "If we make a mistake, we like to say 'hey, you know, I made a mistake that's on me.' Whereas Borgen … he's a little bit hardheaded. He doesn't admit when he makes mistakes. Even though we all think it's a mistake. He will say it's the right play."
And this is, in part, how Geekie - the latecomer to the top rankings - got the opportunity to show his talent. His teammates noticed the center frequently working crossword puzzles on the plane. Without Fleury, the Super Tock crew scanned for a fourth and they looked to the guy who was hinting at his smarts all along.

Geekie had been watching the group play for some time, and while he was stressed to jump in, he found himself quickly having a lot of fun. But even the new guy wasn't immune to some chirps.
"You can just see the wheels turning, especially Geekie when he's coming in," Soucy said. "He lays a card and was looking at all the marbles and then it's like two minutes later. He doesn't know which one to move. There is a ton of strategy. It makes it fun."
Smartly, Geekie won't rank himself highly, at least not yet. He plans to get a Super Tock board of his own and play with his wife this off-season. For now, he prefers to steer clear of the Super Tock conflict.
"I know there's some turmoil out there," Geekie says. "But it's all in good fun."
Of course, but, still, why the shade for Borgen.
"I think it was just a few mistakes on the very last game," Geekie says, tongue firmly planted in cheek, too, as he also rated Soucy ahead of Borgen. "And I think you know going in, it kind of leads into next year and you know, guys slide towards the end of the year. They don't close out very well. I won't name names, I'm sure they have already."