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St. Louis Blues Halloween: Ryan O’Reilly Is Michael Myers

By Todd Panula

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 17: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) An actor portraying Michael Myers attends at the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Halloween" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on October 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 17: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) An actor portraying Michael Myers attends at the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Halloween" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on October 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /
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It’s the spookiest time of the year with ghouls and goblins about. With that, the main character behind the horror holiday’s titular franchise has similarities to a St. Louis Blues center.

2020 continues to punch us all in the proverbial nutsack and there doesn’t seem an end in sight. So, a little lighthearted holiday fun involving the St. Louis Blues is in order.

We already discussed one of the biggest horror icons in Jason Voorhees and which Blues player takes after him. Now, let us take focus on the film franchise which bares the same name as October 31’s holiday, Halloween.

Those that know the franchise begun by John Carpenter know who Michael Myers is. Though he bears the face of William Shatner, Myers might be as famous now in his own right.

In the film, spoilers ahead, we find out that a child Myers has killed his older sister on Halloween night. Not the greatest of beginnings for a kid.

Similarly, Ryan O’Reilly had a slightly rough start to his NHL career. As a teenager, O’Reilly struggled to find his stride and hit just 26 points each season those first two years. (ok, some of this is a stretch, but just go with it.)

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After that, he really got going just like Michael did when he got older and gained a little more experience.

O’Reilly didn’t have to escape any mental institutions, but he did have to escape Buffalo. Some might say that’s an even worse place to be, as far as hockey goes lately.

Myers, one of the original slashers, was built up as a silent killer. O’Reilly is not shy about talking when approached, but he’s not Mr. Boastful either. He lets his game do the talking, just like Myers lets his knife do the talking.

O’Reilly and Myers have been quite consistent over the years. The Halloween franchise might not have body counts as high as Friday the 13th’s series of movies, but Myers keeps on kicking…or killing as the case may be.

O’Reilly has been very consistent in his murdering of goaltender statistics too. Once he turned 20, he has never failed to score 50, or more, points in a year he played the majority of the games. The only time he failed, he still scored 20 points in 29 games.

Similar to the Halloween franchise, O’Reilly always manages to produce something good. Even when it’s a so-called bad year, like O’Reilly claimed he had in 2019-20 with just 12 goals but still 61 points, it’s better than many of the competitors.

Also, like Myers, O’Reilly has built a signature look. Michael, unlike Jason, actually had his mask from the very start.

O’Reilly strays a little from this, as he was clean shaven at one point in his NHL career. Still, unless you go looking for pictures, it’s hard to think of O’Reilly without that trademark beard.

O’Reilly is a fun-loving guy off the ice, but he’s pretty serious and stonefaced during the games, much like Myers’ persona. He might not be Jonathan Toews level of serious, but that’s a level beyond.

If nothing else, O’Reilly has proven he loves Halloween as much as Myers. His French Toast costume to portray David Perron is still legendary.

Next. AHL likely not until February. dark

Like Myers, O’Reilly doesn’t get all the credit he deserves but has a devoted following. Now, if only he could actually be playing hockey on Halloween.

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