What Are They Up To This Summer?

Summer, the time to sit outside on a patio and relax in the beautiful warm weather. For most hockey fans, summer is bittersweet because although the weather is beautiful, there is nothing quite like going to a packed Bell MTS Place and cheering on the Jets. Unless you are a huge fan of baseball or the CFL, there isn’t much else to watch during the long summer months and most hardcore fans are impatiently waiting until training camp starts and the players return.

For the players on the other hand, they get a nice change from the long, physical season where they can relax, recuperate, and do the other things they enjoy throughout the summer. So what do the Jets actually do during summer when they aren’t busy training?

The simple answer is that they go fishing.

It’s no secret that some of the Jets are huge fans of heading onto the lake in their boat and catching a couple fish. In fact, this very activity landed Dustin Byfuglien in hot water (pun intended) when he caught a massive sturgeon when the team was on their first road trip. The controversy was not because he was fishing during the season, it was because he was ruled out of the previous game due to injury, and decided to go fishing while still unable to play.

If the Jets are fishing during the season, it follows that they would spend plenty of time fishing during the off-season as well. This time, it was with an old teammate, former captain Andrew Ladd who held his second annual fishing fundraiser with all proceeds going to charity.

The event was for the Ladd Foundation which seeks to raise money and donate it to organizations that impact the health and wellbeing of young people. It’s a great cause and plenty of NHL players took part in the fishing event. First up was Tyler Myers who caught a decent size sturgeon to begin the day.

Not too long after, in true Byfuglien fashion, he hauled in a massive sturgeon that made Myers fish look tiny. Given the size of Byfuglien, he seems like the type of guy that could haul in Jaws and nobody would bat an eye.

The best part of the event was all of the proceeds going to charity. This really highlights the character of Andrew Ladd. Although Ladd was a polarizing player during his time in Winnipeg, his leadership and character are second to none. The Ladd Foundation is doing great work with many different organizations trying to benefit the next generation of hockey players or fishermen.

From the Jets perspective, this also highlights the character of Byfuglien and Myers. Sure, they love to fish anyways, but it shows that they are willing to donate to a cause and support an old teammate and friend who is doing great work in the community.

So what do the Jets do in the off-season? They do their passions other than hockey, and for Byfuglien and Myers, that means catching gigantic sturgeon.