vader29
03-27-2013, 03:31 PM
It's not often an NHL player finds himself helpless, but that was exactly Mike Rupp's situation as he faced a throng of people in his locker stall.
The crowd wasn't for him -- it was for his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Marc-Andre Fleury, a few stalls down. But the real estate for players inside an NHL locker room makes a jail cell look expansive, and what little space Rupp had to get his skates off was occupied by well-meaning media members.
Exasperated, Rupp stood on a bench, made eye contact and raised his hands in a "come on" gesture toward someone who could help: Jennifer Bullano, the team's director of communications.
With the effectiveness of a Stephen Strasburg fastball, Bullano swooped across the room and made the offending parties move.
"It was awesome," Rupp said.
"When she's going and gets fired up, there's people that listen," recalls former Penguins center Jordan Staal, now with the Carolina Hurricanes. "She's always just fun to be around."
Jennifer Bullano, or "JLo," as the players sometimes call her, is the only female serving in her particular job description in the NHL. And she's fitting in just fine.
Read more: http://espn.go.com/espnw/more-sports/9101389/espnw-penguins-jennifer-bullano-commanding-presence
The crowd wasn't for him -- it was for his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Marc-Andre Fleury, a few stalls down. But the real estate for players inside an NHL locker room makes a jail cell look expansive, and what little space Rupp had to get his skates off was occupied by well-meaning media members.
Exasperated, Rupp stood on a bench, made eye contact and raised his hands in a "come on" gesture toward someone who could help: Jennifer Bullano, the team's director of communications.
With the effectiveness of a Stephen Strasburg fastball, Bullano swooped across the room and made the offending parties move.
"It was awesome," Rupp said.
"When she's going and gets fired up, there's people that listen," recalls former Penguins center Jordan Staal, now with the Carolina Hurricanes. "She's always just fun to be around."
Jennifer Bullano, or "JLo," as the players sometimes call her, is the only female serving in her particular job description in the NHL. And she's fitting in just fine.
Read more: http://espn.go.com/espnw/more-sports/9101389/espnw-penguins-jennifer-bullano-commanding-presence