Meet The Blogger – Dave Gordon

It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a year. About 14 month ago, June 2013 to be exact, I started a new venture, opening up The Oilers Rig. I planned for it to be just a stepping stone for myself, a little blog I’d run by myself and use while attending school to try and get my name out there. Never did I imagine people would read this the way they have, and never did I imagine some of the things we’ve done here.

There are two people that really made that possible. The first person to approach me was Jeremy Thompson, who had some brilliant ideas that I didn’t even consider when I started out. He also brought along Dave Gordon, and we formed a trio that started this site and really put it on the map. I owe those two a lot, the ideas they had and the help they gave me has made the Rig what it is today.

Throughout the past fourteen months Dave Gordon has been my business partner and a damn good one at that. We’ve taken the Rig to this level and hope to take it even further in the future. On top of that, he’s a good writer and a fun guy to host a podcast with. Not only that, but he’s a guy that likes to give back, evident by his pushing for The Oilers Rig charity event last year, and his heart felt post regarding his own battle with MS and the donations he’ll be making this year.

I call Dave a business partner and fellow writer, but I also can call him a friend, which is always pretty cool. How did one of the cornerstone pieces of The Oilers Rig get into writing? I caught up with Dave and asked just that and a few other things.

1. When did you start writing about hockey? What got you into it?

I wrote my first blog back in 2012 on HockeyBuzz, I was angry at the Oilers and their lack of “compete”. It’s funny, I went back and read it today to see what it was like (terrible) but I said some things that nowadays you would never hear me mention; ie – I criticized Hemsky and his leaving practice and seeming disinterested. I was definitely not aware of any type of analysis other than what I saw in person, on tv or read in the papers.

Anyhow, that was it until the lockout, I was pissed so I wrote an article about it (We’ll get into that later). I’ve always enjoyed writing, I spent a lot of time when I was younger writing fiction, different stories and such, man oh man I wish I still had some of that stuff it would be pretty fun to go back and read them, I once wrote a short story about tuna casserole, true story.

My lockout blog led me to Oilogosphere and then quickly after that to OilonWhyte

2. Are there any writers that you look up to? If so, who are they and why?

So many, I grew up in a time where internet didn’t exist, and when it did it cost an arm and a leg, and almost a first born child (Sorry about that phone bill Dad, but I blame AOL).

Terry Jones was my must read every day, his stories and insights from being around the team for so long was second to none. There is a reason that man is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jim Matheson and Cam Cole too, similar access to the Oilers as Jones had and different opinions.

I wish I had known about places like HF Boards and other forums and blogs sooner, I was introduced to OilersNation by a friend back in 2011/2012 and immediately admired all of the writers on that site, They all have their own unique style and opinions that are all enjoyable, whether you agree with them or not.

As my knowledge of the Blogosphere grew I definitely had to increase my “must read writers” Alan Mitchell of course, Jonathan Willis, Bruce McCurdy all great insights. Jeff Chapman over at Copper and Blue was instrumental to me when I started out writing about hockey..He’s a pretty damned good writer too.

My all time favorite though, and if you read his meet the blogger interview, is Pat McLean from Black Dog Hates Skunks. What a wordsmith.

3. If you could give any advice to people interested in getting into writing about sports…what would it be?

Everyone has said the same thing when asked this question, Just do it. If you want to write then write. It doesn’t have to be about hockey, anything you are interested in there is an audience for that. There are so many places you can go to get your opinions out there. For hockey there’s Oilogosphere, HF Boards, even the comment sections on the various blog sites you visit have some really good stuff.

Also, at the end of my blogs I always sign off with “Thanks for reading” and that’s because I really do appreciate every person who takes the time to read what I spew from my keyboard (in my parent’s basement – not really!) but remember when you do write that someone is reading it and they took the time out of their day to read what you think, they don’t have to, so always be grateful .

There are so many options out there, find a place, write, and people will read it.

4. Do you specialize in types of writing (analytical, post/pre game blogs, prospects, opinion pieces…all of the above)?

I don’t really specialize in anything so to speak, opinion pieces are my favorite to write, and that normally happens when I’m pissed off. I also really enjoy speculating on rosters, trades and free agent signings, Arm Chair GM kind of stuff.

Lately as I gain more of an understanding of advanced stats I’ve been trying to back my opinions up with them. I’m still having a tough time marrying the two together but I’ll keep on trucking and eventually I hope that I can use the stats to properly convey the message I’m trying to pass along.

5. Do you have a favorite article that you’ve written or one that got a lot of positive feedback or criticism? Tell me a bit about it.

Do I? Ha, yeah I do. I’ve got a few favorite articles of the hundreds I’ve written since I started. The blog I wrote about the last lock out was fun, It was the article that really got me into blogging on a semi regular basis. The premise was a fans lockout, on the first Saturday that the lockout shortened season started my suggestion was to not watch or attend any of the games that first Saturday, sort of an FU to the league and the players for putting us through that horrific time in hockey history.

Another fun one was a piece I wrote titles “Has Kyle Clifford Been Traded to the Oilers” It was a boring night in July last summer, NHL news had started to dwindle and I noticed a tweet from a connected LA Kings blogger about Clifford, my imagination got the best of me and I put a few things together thinking that the player might be on his way to the Oilers. It wasn’t much of an article, but it blew up, getting spread around social media, linked on various mainstream sites, earned me my first appearance on Lowetide’s radio show and ultimately led to me joining the Oilers Rig.

I wrote a tribute to Hemsky just before he was traded that was fun as well, but my probably my favorite article I’ve written isn’t about hockey at all. Just a few weeks ago I wrote about my diagnosis of MS and how I’m dealing with it. It was quite difficult to write, but I felt better for doing it. The response I got from that piece was overwhelming, I received emails, texts, tweets, phone calls all thanking me for writing it and wishing me well. This might sound a bit, I don’t know, whatever but I was happy that I could raise some awareness and hopefully use some of my influence to help raise some money for a great cause.

6. What sites do you currently write for? Favorite team(s)?

The Oilers Rig is where my heart is, I really do enjoy it, the group we have here is amazing and I consider every one of our writers a close friend. People don’t see our behind the scenes discussions but if you could be a fly on that wall you would think we’ve known each other forever, what a time.

7. Where can we find you on social media? Twitter/Facebook etc

On the twitters you can find me under the handle @rustyknuckler, you can email me anytime at [email protected]I’m always around and love to talk about the Oilers, storms or damned near anything else.

Certainly a great read anytime he posts, Dave’s quite a person to write with. You’ll wanna follow him on twitter too, trust me when I tell you it’s an entertaining thing!