(Editor’s note: We here at SCH are thrilled to introduce the newest addition to the staff: Steve Kwiatkowski, aka DirtyThird from the SCH comments! We’ll let him take over from here.)
Greetings from sunny and warm California. I know, it’s probably not the best way to start an introduction. I get it. Having grown up in Chicagoland, February was my most hated month of the year. Cold, freezing, and that disgusting black slush. Well, now that you know where I live (in the desert if we want to get more specific) and you know that I grew up in Chicagoland (from Logan Square to Palatine, I’ve seen it all folks). Let me speak from the heart for a moment.
This website means the world to me. I found out about Second City Hockey and The Committed Indian in 2014. Those websites made me want to learn everything I could about this sport. Every game preview and recap was devoured. Sam Fels became (and is) my biggest influence for why I do this. I also found a community in both websites that helped me during a rough transition in life (although I mostly lurked because I’m a shy bastard).
In 2014, I returned from my second deployment to Afghanistan as a Marine infantryman. I deployed to Sangin in 2012 (which was one of the most violent areas in Afghanistan) and then to Helmand in 2014. When I came home to Chicago, hockey and the Blackhawks were there and the community I found in both SCH and TCI connected me to a less violent part of humanity.
And that’s why this website in particular is so special to me. This has been a place for like-minded hockey fans to talk about a team we all love (I hope) for reasons we probably can’t remember (2015 wasn’t that long ago, right?). So, I hope that there’s someone out there that can escape this crazy world for at least a moment when they read me whining about Louis Crevier—sorry, you don’t get a pass just because we both share the same French Canadian heritage, Crevier.
This community kicks ass and the writers that have passed through these halls are commendable individuals.
And yes, I played hockey for a sneeze, but it’s hardly worth mentioning. Right D if you were wondering. The music I enjoy is a lot of punk, metal, and East Coast hip-hop. I like reading and being a nerd. Also, they have Malort in the desert, in case you were curious.
I occasionally post hockey thoughts to my Substack (Eat The Hatchet), and I’m not really active on social media but I’m @DirtyThird on BlueSky.