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A Reminder That Cody Eakin Is Still Quite Young [Updated]

There’s no question that the internet has changed the way we watch sports. It’s more interactive now, particularly thanks to blogs and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook; fans can communicate with each other, with media members, with team representatives and even with the players themselves. When used correctly, it can be an asset for the League and those affiliated with it.

It does have its dangers, though. The internet has proven to be a stumbling block for many NHLers, especially the younger ones, and for those hoping to make it to the show. Learning to balance who they are with what the public expects them to be is a tricky course to navigate; add in the fact that privacy is never a guarantee, and those things that would merely be embarrassing for “regular” people can be much more consequential when combined with the star power of a pro athlete. For those who fall victim to the trappings of the internet, it can be a harsh lesson about being in the public eye and what that entails.

Cody Eakin was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a prospect that the organization is incredibly high on and a kid who has made a name for himself in both the WHL and for Team Canada.

He’s also a member, as of February, of a website named Pour It On – a site seemingly devoted to the pursuit of partying, or as they put it, “to get the best out of each and every liquorman by providing the foundation needed to take your partying to the next level”. A quick trip through the site reveals pictures of guys (including Ottawa center Zack Smith) enjoying various beverages, a store where you can purchase shirts and hats, and a list of member bios…including one for Eakin in which he is pictured during a Caps’ preseason game.

This certainly isn’t meant to pass judgment on Eakin, to preach about the pitfalls of drinking or to ignore the fact that this kind of thing happens all the time. Because on the one hand, this is nothing but a bunch of 19-year-olds acting like a bunch of 19-year-olds. Eakin and his friends are of legal drinking age (in Canada, at least); they’re young, enjoying life and doing so in ways that aren’t out of the ordinary for this age group. To think that hockey players should be above such things is to disregard not only society in general but also the culture of the sport with a naïveté that, while convenient at times as a fan, isn’t realistic.

On the other hand, this goes beyond a simple case of “boys being boys” because of who is involved and the way in which it’s carried out. Eakin is someone who conceivably wants to get to the NHL, a league where regardless of age you’re considered a “man” so long as you’re wearing a jersey, and where the spotlight is the brightest. He is someone in whom the Caps are investing a great deal of time and money, and as soon as he put pen to paper and signed his contract with the Caps he became a part of the organization – and his actions a reflection on that organization.

And so to not only be a member of such a site but be pictured wearing a Capitals jersey next to his favorite liquor and a quote that reads “Blackout or Backout” reflects poorly on him and on the Caps as a whole. It’s one thing to have fun and enjoy parties; it’s quite another to affiliate oneself with a group like this whose base of operations is a website one can find with a simple Google search. 

That’s not to say it’s impacting his play or anything about his on-ice performance, and for that reason maybe we shouldn’t care; he should enjoy that life now because once he gets to Hershey, Washington or wherever he ends up, it needs to be left behind.

But as a prospect whose reputation is nowhere near solidified and whose future is still undefined, it’s a misstep that simply shows a lack of awareness about public perception in a digital age and perhaps a lack of maturity. Maybe he should know better already…unquestionably, he’ll have to know better in the not-too-distant future.

[Ed. Note: After some back-and-forth via email with the folks behind the PIO site, we wanted to give them a chance to respond to us and to all of you – and they were happy to oblige. After the jump, a word from the PIO Crew…]

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