SPORTS WRAP
If the Stanley Cup parade doesn’t come to you, you could go to it. An Owatonna family rode in the Carolina Hurricanes championship celebration on June 20.
Eric Fink, a scout for the team, with his wife Beth and sons Max and Zac, appeared on the hockey operations float. Thirteen-year-old Max said, “It was pretty crazy because there were like 100,000 people there and they’re all cheering for us.” He realizes fans don’t likely know who the scouts are, let alone their families.
Zac helped fire up the crowd. “I saw a couple of signs that said, ‘Tarps Off’ so I just took off my shirt and went crazy.” After asking dad, “You got to get the parents’ approval.”
Eric and Beth were at the Game Six clincher in Las Vegas with Eric on the ice for some post-game festivities.
The boys were told they were going to Raleigh, North Carolina, not knowing they would be in the parade, says 11-year-old Zac. “They just said we’re going to it. Then a couple days after, my mom (said each scout) can only take one person on the parade float. And then some other scouts let us go.”
Eric says they had a blast even in the staging area. “They got to see all the players. The Stanley Cup was there. So, we were able to get a picture with the cup with all of us. They got a bunch of autographs.”
Beth called it a “whirlwind of a week” but was happy to see Eric “be rewarded for all the hard work and time” he puts in.
Eric says winning is special. “Amazing. That’s what everybody wants to do. As a hockey player or coach or scout.”
He’s been with the team since 2019. “I love it. The organization is great to work for. The people are great.” He generally scouts in the upper Midwest but travels internationally on occasion.
The boys are both involved in multiple sports but say hockey is their favorite. Each has his own superstition. Zac touched the Cup, “I just remembered right after to knock on wood because I didn’t want to jinx myself.”
Max stumbled onto his own strategy of just watching the end of each playoff game. “The first couple of times I could only watch the third period because I didn’t make it (home in time). I had practice. Then they won the first series. So, then I just kept doing it.”
New OHS softball coach
Abby Olson is excited for her next challenge. She is the new Owatonna varsity softball coach after eight seasons heading the JV program.
Her coaching inspiration is “being with kids. Ranging from the age of five to 18, I have been with them all. Being a teacher at the middle school, I’ve found my passion of being with kids.
“Being quirky with kids and building relationships with kids and teaching them life skills on and off the field, have given me the opportunity to give back what my coaches gave to me.
“It’s bringing that positive, productive culture where teenage girls work together. And when they can work together there’s so much beauty on and off the field, the memories that last a lifetime as well as the amazing plays they can do for each other,” said Olson.
The Huskies graduated two seniors and will bring back a group of talented players with a great work ethic according to Olson.
She wants to keep opposing teams guessing. “Organized chaos is what I always feel like my mentality and philosophy of coaching has to be. There was a time where I was playing against a coach up in the Twin Cities and they threw their clipboard and said, I have no clue what she’s going to do next.”
Herself a three-sport athlete at Blue Earth Area High School who went on so play softball at St. Cloud State University, Olson encourages players to be involved in multiple activities. “Can you be a good student? Can you be a good teammate? Can you manage the different sports that you’re involved in, while still maintaining the rest of your life together? And if you can do that, that’s a beautiful thing.”
Jeremy Moran coached the Huskies the last eight seasons.