from Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post,
Playing in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks typically have three road swings of at least five games, opportunities for players to grab dinner and maybe a drink or two and spend time together while away from home commitments. Though players going out a little too much used to be a concern on those trips, the Canucks have started to worry about the opposite. They noticed their younger players staying in the hotel room to play video games, specifically Fortnite.
So with eight players born in 1995 or later on this year’s roster, Vancouver’s locker room created a new rule for itself: no more video game consoles on the road.
“I think the point was getting young guys out in public and, not that it’s unprofessional to play Fortnite, but going out to dinner and looking nice and going and being a team outside of the hotel,” Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “It’s not telling guys never to play it. It’s just on the road, we get more guys out to dinner together, you know, get that conversational power going and guys just hang out more.”
NHL road trips have always been a time for team bonding, but with the league getting younger, that culture is getting challenged by video games like Fortnite, unique in its present popularity and addictive nature.
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