An American hero with an adorable baby could only get better with a Stanley Cup. But unfortunately for the Blues, the Blackhawks were too strong a team to get past the first round. Oshie's storybook season came to an end in a disappointing fashion, but America loved him still.
That's why he was nominated to be put on the cover of EA Sports NHL 15 earlier this month. It might have seemed a little strange a year ago for Oshie to be nominated and put within the ranks of stars like star sniper Phil Kessel, former Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman P.K. Subban, and the leading scorer among blueliners Erik Karlsson. But Oshie's heroics and star power might overshadow even Subban, who has wowed the league with his strong performance this playoffs as he's led the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference finals.
Of course, he is also being helped in a heroic way by the Blues social-media staff. The Blues' Twitter handle has been a nonstop campaign to get Oshie on the NHL 15 cover.
And even Oshie has gotten in on the act big-time with several self-deprecating videos of him "trying-out" for covers of other sports video games.
So far, it's been enough to get Oshie out of the first round, beating the Colorado Avalanche's Matt Duchene. Oshie now faces the Boston Bruins' Patrice Bergeron. And now that the Bruins have been bounced form the playoffs, they might be able to put up a social media campaign, too. But it's unlikely to be as developed and intense as the Blues' efforts.
If Oshie wins this round, he'll go up against whoever wins the duel between Subban and the Los Angeles Kings' Drew Doughty. Both players are no doubt bigger hockey stars than Oshie -- both are among the elite defensemen in the league. But they're Canadian too, and they will likely be no match for T.J. Oshie, America's sweetheart.
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