When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Ryan Reaves in a trade with the St. Louis Blues this summer, they knew they were getting a powerful addition who could dish out some big checks, bigger punches and some pretty solid offense. They may not have known that they were also acquiring one of the biggest practical jokers in the NHL.
First victim? Phil Kessel.
Reaves hid in Kessel’s hotel room, wearing one hell of a creepy clown mask. When Kessel put in his room key and opened the door, Reaves popped out and gave Phil quite an unexpected surprise. Other Penguins heard the commotion in the hallway and left their rooms, finding Reaves laughing like a child while Kessel tried to collect himself.
Kessel may have just given the hockey community a fresh meme.
If the Penguins did their homework, they should have known that Reaves loves a good prank. During his time with the Blues, Reaves made it a habit of scaring his teammates.
The clown mask originally frightened Scott Gomez.
He also hid in Kevin Shattenkirk’s room, but this time without a mask.
Finally, in a rather impressive display of sneakiness, he hid inside Steve Ott’s truck.
Let this be a lesson to the Penguins – you never know when Reaves is going to strike.
