Weapon of choice in Derwent drawing pencils

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is warrior. NHL playoffs are coming up pretty soon, although as a fan of a team that dislikes the playoffs so much that they haven't bothered to show up for years (sigh), I can't say that I'll be paying much attention.

The reason this goes with the prompt? Well, some of these players may think that they're warriors. Often the commentators call them warriors. They're not. They're highly-paid professionals who are generally only fighting for their salaries, given the fact that between the players and the management (and the whole system, really), there's not actually such a thing as team or city loyalty anymore.

Not much, anyway.

The closest I can get to warriors with these guys nowadays (the girls, of course, don't qualify for the highly-paid part. Maybe they're the real warriors?) is the fact that the sticks occasionally get used as weapons...

Ah well. If you want to put a more positive spin on this choice for the prompt, just think of all those weekend warriors out there who are still tying on the skates every week for some fun league or other. No highly-paid there either. Unless you count a beer afterwards with a group of friends.

Actually, that could probably count.