The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

January 26, 1990

The Hockey News January 26, 1990

It's a fact. No other skate in the history of hockey is as advanced or progressive as Mega.And that&rsquo;s because no other skate manufacturer has invested more time and money toward studying the bio-mechanics of skating than the Canstar Sports Group. Utilizing modern computer technology and the science of biomechanics, Canstar&rsquo;s Research and Development staff teamed up with McGill University for what has become an unprecedented fouryear collaboration to create the world&rsquo;s most technologically advanced hockey skate. Today, top pros like Mario Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls and Raymond Bourque are skating and scoring with the results of that famous collaboration the Mega&reg; hockey skate.There are six high-performance components that make the Mega* devastating. For starters, every Mega* skate is equiped with Mega&rsquo;s&reg; exclusive Medial Power Clip. The name says it all. It improves fore foot control and actually transfers your own natural energy directly to the ice so you can achieve a more powerful skaking stride.Also, each Mega&reg; model properly aligns your foot because they all use a Microthodic Footbed that features a three-dimensional contour that cradles your heel and supports the mid-foot for superior control.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01686/5792035-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="596" height="1726"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bernie Nicholls also uses the world&rsquo;s most advanced skates.</figcaption></div>What&rsquo;s more devastating, is that 1990 will see an even more advanced Mega(r) hockey skate&mdash;the Mega(r) 10-90 V2. A new Anatomical Ankle Support has been designed exclusively for the 10-90 models, providing a perfect ankle fit and eliminating the need for break-in of the rear foot and ankle area. And now, not only is the IQ-90 V2 the most advanced skate, it&rsquo;s now faster and more manu-everable. The senior models of the 10-90 V2 will be supported with the new Tuuk Plus V2 Stainless Blade featuring a thin design that increases speed by reducing drag by 20 per cent.Hockey is going to become faster, swifter and more powerful. And that&rsquo;s why today&rsquo;s hockey players are skating with Mega(r). Because, if you&rsquo;re going to win, you can&rsquo;t afford to follow trends. You have to set them. Just like Canstar has done with Mega(r) skates. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

THESE SKATES ARE MEGA-DEVASTATING

Official NHL Sponsor Official Cars and TrucksMONTREAL&mdash;New York Islanders&rsquo; center Pat LaFontaine, who led all NHL scorers with nine points (3-6-9) in three games, was named the Chrysler Canada Performer of the Week for the period ending Jan. 14. LaFontaine, who extended his consecutive game goal scoring streak to 11&mdash;fifth longest in league history&mdash;edged St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center Peter Zezel and Islanders&rsquo; goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick to capture the award.Chrysler Canada and the Dodge division of Chrysler Motors will donate $500 to the youth hockey organization of each performer&rsquo;s choice. Chrysler Canada and the Dodge division of Chrysler Motors also sponsor the Performer of the Month and Performer of the Year Awards, for which the latter receives the Dodge vehicle of his choice. In four years, Chrysler Canada and Dodge have contributed more than $180,000 to youth hockey associations across North America.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011445/5791264-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="649" height="747"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat LaFontaine</figcaption></div>LaFontaine, now in his sixth NHL season, began the week with three points (2-1-3), inlcuding the game-winning goal, in a 3-1 road win over the Toronto Maple Leafs (Jan. 10). This represented his eighth three-point game of the season. The following night (Jan. 11), LaFontaine led the Islanders to an 8-4 victory over the Minnesota North Stars, scoring six points (15-6). He was held pointless in a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals (Jan. 13).LaFontaine was seventh in league scoring with 65 points (3926-65) in 45 games, putting him on pace to score a personal-high 115 points in 1989-90. He was only eight goals shy of his personal best of 47 (1987-88). The Islanders were second in the Patrick Division with 44 points (20-21-4), compiling the league&rsquo;s best record (9-1-0) in a recent 10-game stretch.Zezel tallied nine points (1-8-9) in three games, while Fitzpatrick was 2-0-0. &#9632;

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NHL performer OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">BY GARY OLSON</div>Dave Gagner lived up to his draft potential last season, bul the emergence came too late for the New York Rangers to enjoy. Gagner, the first-round pick (12th overall) of the Rangers in the 1983 draft, led the Minnesota North Stars in scoring with 35 goals and 78 points, three times his production from the four previous seasons combined. Il was probably more than the Stars dared dream of from a player they gol in a bargain-basement trade the yeai before, a guy they&rsquo;d shipped to the minors out of training camp.&ldquo;Dave Gagner may have known how good he was at the start of lasl season, but a lot of other people didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; North Stars&rsquo; coach Pierre Page said. &ldquo;I admit I didn&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Neither did the Rangers, who sen him west in a deal for defensemet Paul Boutilier, since retired, and Jar Gronstrand, since traded twice&mdash;firs to the Quebec Nordiques, then to the New York Islanders.Gagner probably didn&rsquo;t know how good he could be, either, or he wouldn&rsquo;t have considered quitting hockey when the Stars assigned him to their International League team in Kalamazoo, Mich., out of training camp. He delayed his decision to quit, probably because he doesn&rsquo;t know how..Gagner won&rsquo;t quit in a game already lost and he wouldn&rsquo;t qui when his up-and-down career startec down again a year ago.&ldquo;To be successful, we need more players like him,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;He ha: a big heart and he&rsquo;s been our mos consistent two-way player over the last year and a half. He&rsquo;s the symbo of the work ethic we&rsquo;re looking for. &lsquo;&rsquo;But where&rsquo;s he been this season&rsquo; Was he a one-season phenom?Hardly.Gagner has played well enough tc rank fourth among North Stars&rsquo; scorers&mdash;22 goals and 43 points, one point more than he had at this stage of last season&mdash;but that wasn&rsquo;t good enough to steal headlines from Mike Gartner&rsquo;s all-star start, the revival of Neal Broten and Brian Bellows, or the excitement of Mike Modano&rsquo;s rookie season.Gagner has been good, but the team hasn&rsquo;t been good enough.&ldquo;It was frustrating when the team was losing and 1 wasn&rsquo;t scoring much,&rdquo; Gagner said of the Stars&rsquo; 112-2 skid to close 1989. He had three goals and six assists during that 15-game drought.&ldquo;I proved I can contribute offensively last year and it&rsquo;s something the team expects from me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting a lot of ice time and I get frustrated when I don&rsquo;t produce. Anyone can get a lot of time without doing anything. I feel there&rsquo;s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.&rdquo;If Gagner wanted to accept responsibility for the team&rsquo;s struggle, then he deserved a share of the responsibility as the North Stars attempted to right themselves.In the first five games of 1990&mdash;three wins, two losses&mdash;Gagner had six goals and eight points.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 9: Kari Takko, G, assigned to Kalamazoo (IHL) for conditioning purposes.Jan. 10: Link Gaetz, D, and Neil Wilkinson, D, assigned to Kalamazoo. Takko recalled from Kalamazoo.Jan. 13: Mike McHugh, LW, recalled from Kalamazoo.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Modano, Neal Broten, Dave Gagner, Perry Berezan.LW&mdash;Brian Bellows, Aaron Broten, Gaetan Duchesne, Dave Mackey, Basil McRae, Mike McHugh.RW&mdash;Don Barber, Mike Gartner, Stewart Gavin, Mike McHugh, Shane Churla, Helmut Balderis.LD&mdash;Ville Siren, Frantisek Musil, Mark Tinordi.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Curt Giles, Rob Zettler, Shawn Chambers.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Kari Takko. Jarmo Myllys.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Curt Fraser. LW, back spasms and left shoulder reconstruction, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Bellows. 29. A&mdash;Broten, 37. P&mdash;Gartner, 52. PIM&mdash;Churla, 187. &#9632;

THE NHL

GAGNER CONTINUES TO REALIZE POTENTIAL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01637/5792307-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01204/5792300-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="3611" height="4400"></div> &#9632;

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS… IN WESTERN CANADA

In next week&rsquo;s issue of The Hockey News, we will take a look at one of the more startling stories of the 1989-90 National Hockey League season.The Toronto Maple Leafs.Perhaps the worst pro hockey club, on and off the ice, for the better part of the last 20 years, the Maple Leafs suddenly find themselves in foreign territory&mdash;on or around the 500 mark. And with owner Harold Ballard&rsquo;s health failing badly and the board of directors now in control, it seems the organization finally has some direction.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0002-043/5791133-1-eng-US/c0002-042.jpg" title="c0002-04" width="594" height="1390"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Carpenter</figcaption></div>We&rsquo;ll take a look at the feisty Maple Leafs of coach Doug Carpenter and attempt to put this turnaround in perspective.Also, we&rsquo;ll have all the news from the NHL All-Star Weekend, including a profile on Alan Eagleson&rsquo;s eventual successor as head of the Players&rsquo; Association, who is expected to be chosen in Pittsburgh.Don&rsquo;t miss all that and more in the Feb. 2 issue of The Hockey News. &#9632;

c0002-04

NEXT ISSUE

The question of violence in the NHL is one that has to be addressed. Fighting between players must be banned entirely. If it occurs, the participants should be given a game misconduct and be fined heavily.Another thing that I think causes so many injuries is what announcers refer to as &ldquo;finishing off the check.&rdquo; The offensive player, in most cases, has already lost the puck and to check him into the boards is nothing more than interference.NHL players are supposed to be mature men, able to control their tempers and set an example for younger players. Let&rsquo;s get back to hockey the way it was played during the 1987 Canada Cup.That&rsquo;s what spectators really enjoy watching.Fred OberholzerWaterloo, Ont.<h2>DIFFERENT TWIST</h2>Re: &ldquo;The Goon Scoring Race&rdquo; (Numbers Game, THN, Jan. 5):I do not know all of the hockey players listed, but the one I do know undoubtedly has characteristics shared by the others. Webster&rsquo;s Dictionary defines &ldquo;goon&rdquo; as a stupid, silly or unattractive person. I know Tony Twist of the St. Louis Blues personally, and he is educated, mature and handsome.He has spent time with my family and has always been a courteous, polite and thankful young man. He has taken, his own time to speak to young children, including mine, to explain his actions and his role on the ice.Tim CranfordPeoria, Hi.<h2>IDEAL CITY</h2>In your recent article on potential NHL expansion cities (THN, Dec. /), you failed to mention one of the top candidates. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area is an ideal city for the NHL.The population exceeds 3,000,000, it is the 16th-largest U.S. television market and has a brand new arena. This area also has a large population from the New York area and we have many visitors from Canada and the northeastern United States during the winter.John ScelsiPlantation, Fla.<h2>GO TO SEATTLE</h2>With the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup coming up in 1992-93, wouldn&rsquo;t it be great to have the first U.S. city to win the Cup&mdash;Seattle&mdash;able to compete for it once again?Let&rsquo;s hope NHL expansion brings this about.Hal WirenSeattle. Wash.<h2>FEWER SKATERS</h2>I never thought I would agree with something Stan Fischler said but he does bring up a very good point when he suggests the NHL reduce the number of skaters from 10 to eight (THN, Dec. 15).In addition to creating a faster, more exciting game for the fan, reducing the number of skaters would force teams to cut back on their rosters and would provide a pool of experienced, NHL-calibre players for the expansion teams that will be added in the 1990s.It is an option I hope the owners will seriously consider.J. C. WaltonCalgary, Alta.<h2>TOO SEVERE</h2>Although Dave Manson of the Chicago Blackhawks is not a saint, his recent 13-game suspension shows he&rsquo;s not getting a fair shake from the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011445/5791164-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="622" height="652"><figcaption class="caption-body">Did Dave Manson get a fair shake? A reader thinks not.</figcaption></div>Manson was expected to come to Denis Savard&rsquo;s aid when he was involved with Gary Leeman. How could the referee cite Manson as a culprit when Leeman started it by nailing Savard from behind?Dave Manson is continually picked on by NHL referees. Now Manson is suspended and the two main combatants, Leeman and Savard, received nothing. That&rsquo;s not fair.Dan KottBloomingdale, Ill.<h2>CHEERS FOR PAT</h2>In a recent Cheers and Jeers, you applauded New York Islander center Pat LaFontaine (THN, Dec. 8). I think it&rsquo;s about time you gave him the credit he deserves.He is one of the premier centers in the NHL today and is one of the most underrated players. He&rsquo;s playing for a last place team and, in mid-January, was on pace to score 69 goals this season.In future issues, I would like to see a little less of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, and more of Pat LaFontaine.Edward AltenbachWest Long Branch. N.J. (Ed. Note: See page 7)Make your feelings known. Send your comments to: Letters, The Hockey News, &lsquo;85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2. Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

FIGHTING SHOULD BE BANNED OUTRIGHT

<div class="byline">BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021170/5791195-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="578" height="669"></div>You have heard all about the search for Alan Eagleson&rsquo;s successor as executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.You have heard all about the six finalists, one of whom is supposed to be chosen at the NHL All-Star Weekend in Pittsburgh.What you haven&rsquo;t heard is the top secret list of emergency replacements, should the NHLPA decide none of the six finalists in Pittsburgh are suitable.Remember, you heard it here first:&bull; Don King: Flair. Hair! The man has it all, and then some. King is campaigning on behalf of all NHL heavyweights. With him as boss, the next Collective Bargaining Agreement would contain a clause to permit and promote intermission fights. Picture it: Basil McRae vs. Joey Kocur at&mdash;where else?&mdash;Joe Louis Arena. The undercard will feature Link Gaetz vs. Torrie Robertson. Just one problem. None of the fighters in King&rsquo;s stable will do battle at Edmonton&rsquo;s Northlands Coliseum.&bull; Bruce McNall: Who better than the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; owner to look out for the players&rsquo; best interests? Conflict of interests? Nah. McNall will campaign for dramatic escalation of salaries, total free agency and three Lear Jets per team to carry the players in the manner the Kings, are accustomed. If Bruce gets too busy to handle the job, John Candy will fill in.&bull; Lech Walesa: The leader of the Solidarity movement in Poland is admittedly a longshot. He lost considerable support when he suggested players spend the off-season in Gdansk building ships and helping to revive the Polish economy. Hartford goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz is lobbying on his behalf.&bull; Gunther Sabetzki: If elected, the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation will employ unique tactics during collective bargaining negotiations. Just when all hell is breaking loose, he&rsquo;ll turn out the lights and fly back to West Germany.&bull; Bob Cole: When the NHL management negotiators break off talks and storm out of the boardroom&mdash;something about Marty McSorley viciously elbowing Bill Wirtz in the head&mdash;former Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play man Cole will stand up and shout: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you, Harry, they&rsquo;re going home&hellip;they&rsquo;re going home!&rdquo;&bull; Pat LaFontaine: Who better than the New York Islander star to put an end to those marathon negotiating sessions that stretch into the wee hours of the morning?&bull; Guy Lafleur: If elected. The Flower will do away with the $250,000 lump sum payment at age 55 for any NHLer with 400 games. In its place will be free hair transplants and cigarettes for life.&bull; Phil Esposito: He&rsquo;ll push for no-trade clauses for every player, protecting the membership from scurrilous GMs who trade indiscriminately. Don&rsquo;t be surprised, however, if he fires the NHLPA&rsquo;s chief negotiator moments before the most crucial CBA talks. &ldquo;I just figured I could do it better,&rdquo; he will say.&bull; Jim Bakker: A terrific fund-raiser to fill those NHLPA coffers, so long as you have a good auditor. However, if Tammy Faye is part of the package, forget it.&bull; Michael J. Fox: The diminutive actor will assume the role of Alex P. Keaton and cause NHL president John Ziegler to become completely disoriented. How, the president will wonder, did a conservative short guy with a yellow tie and Gucci loafers ever get hooked up with a union? Fox is a risky choice, however. Were Ziegler to offer him Steve Ryan&rsquo;s marketing VP job, Fox would leave the NHLPA high and dry.&bull; Bill Wirtz: The chairman of the NHL board of governors says: &ldquo;Those union guys use my yacht all the time, I might as well make it official and run the damn thing. Just don&rsquo;t expect me to give up my day job.&rdquo;&bull; Alan Eagleson: &ldquo;It has become obVious,&rdquo; The Eagle says, &ldquo;that there is only one person who can follow in my footsteps. Me.&rdquo; &#9632;

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COLUMNS

REMEMBER, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03762/5791233-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="411" height="413"></div>&bull; Maple Leaf Gardens board of directors. There has always been concern that in the event of Harold Ballard&rsquo;s death or a disabling illness, the franchise would find itself in an even bigger mess than when Ballard was in control. But the board, led by chairman Paul McNamara, acted swiftly and decisively, giving Leaf fans reason to believe the club is functioning as well off the ice as it has been on it this season.&bull; Winnipeg Jet coach Bob Murdoch. He had his club well above .500 (22-17-5) and playing beyond all expectations. Proof positive that nice guys need not finish last. He got a raw deal when he was fired as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Nice going. Mud.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04422/5791226-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="410" height="411"></div>&bull; Terry O&rsquo;Reilly. The ex Bruin coach is gone from the scene, but his legacy remains. When he took his own player (Glen Wesley) over eventual Norris Trophy winner Chris Chelios of Montreal, he opened the floodgates for partisan politics in all-star player selection. If Chelios missed last year&rsquo;s All-Star Game, how upset can we be that Gary Leeman and Adam Oates aren&rsquo;t there this year?&bull; Anyone who thinks the search for a new NHLPA executive director is an Alan Eagleson-orchestrated charade. Give the management consultant (Keith McLean of Price Waterhouse) and the six-player search committee (led by Kevin Dineen) some credit, please. &#9632;

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CHEERS JEERS

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>A small but significant bloc of owners is privately lobbying for creation of a European division of the NHL. Exploitation of a major television market and concern that a competitive league could sprout any time are chief reasons for wanting a Euro-section. Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; owner Bruce McNall agrees about the television aspect. &ldquo;We can make a lot of money by getting our product&mdash;Wayne Gretzky in particular&mdash;in the Eurovision market,&rdquo; says McNall. &ldquo;And if the league doesn&rsquo;t do it soon, I will.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Gretzky&rsquo;s personal expansion favorites: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to see San Jose, San Diego and Seattle,&rdquo; says The Great One&hellip;Ex-Penguins&rsquo; coach Pierre Creamer looks back in anger at his Pittsburgh sacking. Now coaching the Laval Titan in the Quebec League, Creamer says his image took a beating, despite leading the Pens to a 36-35-9 record. &ldquo;I lost all my credibility in Pittsburgh,&rdquo; says Creamer. &ldquo;I had no offers from other teams because, supposedly, I couldn&rsquo;t talk in English. Now (in junior), I&rsquo;m able to teach and I feel I&rsquo;m a good teacher.&rdquo;<h2>STICK TO TT</h2>At least one Soviet has gone the NHL superstition route. Viacheslav Fetisov almost never brings his stick inside the dressing room during period breaks. He leaves it in front of the door and picks it up on the way out&hellip;Michel Bergeron expects goaltender Greg Millen to play five more years in Quebec and estimates that Millen, alone, will guarantee 10 wins next season&hellip; Herb Brooks says he learned more about coaching life during his year with the Minnesota North Stars than any other experience behind the bench. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got more motivational stories from the North Stars&rsquo; year than from the Olympics year,&rdquo; Brooks says, &ldquo;but nobody calls now. In 1980 it was easy for me to take bows with people saying, &lsquo;What persistence, what determination.&rsquo; But you only learn the real meanings of human relationships when it&rsquo;s lowdown and dirty and there&rsquo;s not a lot of bells and whistles.&rdquo;<h2>REEKIE BOOSTER</h2>Ted Sator has been saying one of the major battles he engaged in during his tenure as Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; coach was over whether to keep defenseman Larry Playfair or Joe Reekie. &ldquo;I wanted Reekie all the way,&rdquo; says Sator, &ldquo;but they (management) wanted Playfair. To me, Reekie is one of the solid, underrated defensemen in the league.&rdquo; Shelved by an auto injury, Reekie is due back in the New York Islanders&rsquo; lineup next month&hellip;Another disappointed by his Buffalo experience is Mikael Andersson, Hartford&rsquo;s pleasant surprise. &ldquo;I lost my confidence in Buffalo,&rdquo; says Andersson, &ldquo;but I always thought I had it in me to play in the NHL or I would have been back in Sweden by now.&rdquo;<h2>FOLK HERO</h2>Boy-linesman Alex Dell, 20, already has become a folk hero in Binghamton where he&rsquo;s still attending college when not officiating American League games. Dell will be in the NHL by expansion time&hellip;The exits of Jim Schoenfeld and Gene Ubriaco gets Pat Bums wondering about his coaching profession. &ldquo;The thing I&rsquo;ve realized,&rdquo; says Bums, &ldquo;I can walk away from this. If I stop liking it. I&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;Screw it,&rsquo; and leave. Do something I like. I could coach junior again or get out of hockey, maybe, and sell boats.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Word out of the AHL and IHL is there will be some major farm team re-shuffling by September, 1990. The New York Rangers, for one, are expected to move out of Flint of the International League and return to the AHL, which is more familiar to GM Neil Smith, who did his apprenticeship at Adirondack.<h2>LUCKY GUY</h2>&ldquo;A professional athlete isn&rsquo;t better than other people,&rdquo; Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; defenseman Doug Wilson says. &ldquo;Luckier, maybe, but not better. I realized that from my parents, educators who had really important jobs. That&rsquo;s the way I grew up. Work hard, respect others and learn how to laugh. &ldquo;&hellip;Wilson&rsquo;s coach, Mike Keenan, says next season&rsquo;s adjustment, which will move the goal line a foot further from the end boards, will have broad ramifications. &ldquo;The game will have a whole new structure,&rdquo; Keenan predicts, &ldquo;and it also will affect how you draft. Maybe Ron Hextail will be able to go out and get the puck but no other goalie will-.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;The ghetto&rsquo;s unusual &ldquo;Hockey In Harlem&rdquo; program, which got a big boost from Gretzky and the Kings last year, has expanded remarkably. In mid-January, 50 Black and Hispanic stickhandlers went to the prestigious Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire for a game and hockey clinics.<h2>GLACE-NOST</h2>An over-35 New York recreational hockey team toured the Soviet Union and returned with raves about the comrades&rsquo; treatment. &ldquo;All these years I&rsquo;ve hated the Russians,&rdquo; says Lou Mauro, a commodities broker who plays for the New York Apple Core club, &ldquo;but I found them to be the most friendly people I ever met. One of their players said to me, &lsquo;If diplomacy was left to hockey players, we could straighten out the world in 30 minutes.&rsquo; &ldquo;One member of the Apple Core contingent was Bob (Pops) Burgess, originally from Hamilton, Ont., and now pastor of a Queens, N.Y., church. At 82, Burgess is America&rsquo;s oldest active hockey player and was featured in Ripley&rsquo;s Believe-It-Or-Not. &ldquo;When we left,&rdquo; says Burgess, &ldquo;the Russians realized we weren&rsquo;t their enemies. &ldquo; &#9632;

SOME OWNERS WANT EUROPEAN EXPANSION

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011350/5791326-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02983/5791319-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="577" height="1304"></div><h2>RANDY WOOD</h2>Born: Oct. 12, 1963. Princeton, N. J. Height: 6 feet. Weight: 195 pounds. Team: New York Islanders. Position: Left wing. Acquired: Signed as free agent. Sept. 17, 1986.Career Highlight: Being in the NCAA Final Four with Yale his senior year of university and playing in the four-overtime victory over Washington Apr. 18. 1987. &lsquo;It didn&rsquo;t seem like such a long game when it was happening.&rdquo;Favorite Book: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.Favorite Band: Talking Heads and J. Geils. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to get those Boston bands in there.&rdquo;Person in history he&rsquo;d most like to meet: Ronald Reagan. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always really admired the presidency, to meet the president would be something. 1 met George Bush before he became president and I thought that was a big thrill. I went to school with his nephew. I beat George Bush in horseshoes one time&mdash;but it must have been beginner&rsquo;s luck, because he won the next two games.&rdquo;Most difficult goalie: Ron Hex-tall. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s big and. of course, he doesn&rsquo;t like you getting too close to his crease.&rdquo;Most Embarrassing Moment: &ldquo;One time in practice at college, we had just gotten on the ice when the coach blew his whistle to tell everyone to stop. There was dead silence. Just at that moment I had taken a shot to see if 1 could shoot the puck over the glass from one end of the ice to the other. The puck went screaming over the glass and rang off an exit sign. 1 consequently tried to dive back in to the pile of players but I got caught. The coach made me do somersaults on the ice.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-01

PROFILE

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>A New York Ranger prospect playing in Czechoslovakia was clinging to life after an accident during a Czechoslovakian Elite League game left him with neck and spinal injuries.Ludek Cajka, a 26-year-old defenseman for Lin, suffered the injury during a 4-3 loss to Kocise Jan. 5. Cajka was reportedly racing for a puck and hit his head into the end boards, breaking two bones in his neck and causing spinal damage. As of Jan. 15, he was paralyzed from the neck down and was relying on life support systems.Cajka, the Rangers&rsquo; sixth round choice in the 1987 entry draft had played for the national team for the last two seasons and was recently rated by The Hockey News as the ninth-best prospect in the Rangers&rsquo; organization. He had six goals and eight assists in 31 games at the time of the injury.&ldquo;The best doctors in Czechoslovakia are there with him,&rdquo; said Ranger defenseman Miloslav Horava, who is a friend and former defense partner of Cajka&rsquo;s. &ldquo;He is a good man. I am praying for him.&rdquo;Cajka&rsquo;s injury sparked a strike by the 600 players who make up the Elite League and the First National League. The players went on strike Jan. 6 to protest the insurance coverage given to injured players. Hockey&mdash;along with rugby, soccer, boxing and team handball&mdash;was designated a * &lsquo;dangerous sport&rdquo; by the Czechoslovakian sports federation in 1986. The players said that, because of that, they must pay higher rates and receive less coverage.&rsquo;Two years ago they cut the coverage in half and now everyone sees how bad this can be when such a serious injury happens,&rdquo; said Horava.After working out an agreement with the sports federation, the players returned to work Jan. 12. Two rounds of games were missed. During the negotiations, hockey federation president Vaclav Riha resigned and was replaced by Miroslav Sbrt.<h2>BIG DEBUT</h2>It didn&rsquo;t take Eric Lindros very long to make his impact on the Ontario League.Not only did the 16-year-old phenom for the Oshawa Generals get two assists in his first game&mdash;a 5-4 win over the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s Jan. 14&mdash;he was named to the league&rsquo;s all-star team the next day.Lindros, who was the youngest player at the recent World Junior Championships in Finland, made his debut to a sellout crowd of 4,100 at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium. Playing on a line with Jarrod Skalde and Scott Luik, Lindros picked up his first two points and delivered several impressive bodychecks. He was also called for a minor penalty for interference.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011531/5791357-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="599" height="847"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Lindros made the OHL all star team after one game.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We got the two points, that&rsquo;s the main thing,&rdquo; said Lindros. &ldquo;I had some chances but their goalie (Peter McGlynn) came up big.&rdquo;Scalpers were reportedly fetching up to $20 for a $6.50 seat and more than 50 T-shirts, a $ 12.50 each, were sold commemorating the event.Generals&rsquo; coach Rick Comacchia said Lindros played up to the high expectations, despite the fact he&rsquo;d practised with his linemates for only 45 minutes the day before.&ldquo;I thought he rose to the occasion and did very well,&rdquo; said Comacchia. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an excellent player. I&rsquo;m sure it was a little overwhelming for Eric and the other players on our team, but I thought he did quite well.&rdquo;Despite the fact he&rsquo;d only had one game under his belt, Lindros was named to the team that will represent the OHL at the annual Challenge Cup game against the Quebec League Jan. 30 at the Cornwall Civic Complex. The team was chosen by Peterborough Petes&rsquo; coach-general manager Dick Todd&mdash;who is also the team&rsquo;s coach&mdash;Sudbury Wolves&rsquo; general manager Sam McMaster and Dukes of Hamilton general manager Dave Draper.<h2>NHLPA SEARCH</h2>Three U.S.-based player agents are among the six finalists to succeed Alan Eagleson as executive director of the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association.The New York Daily News reported that Neil Abbott of Newton, Mass., Steve Bartlett of Rochester, N. Y., and Bob Goodenow of Detroit, Mich., are in the final group with Edmonton lawyer Frank Layton, Toronto lawyer Ken Bialkowski and Toronto tax accountant Lyman, McInnis.However, Layton has apparently withdrawn himself from consideration and will be replaced by a substitute candidate.The NHLPA&rsquo;s six-player search committee, headed by Hartford&rsquo;s Kevin Dineen, will interview all candidates Jan. 20 in Pittsburgh during the all-star break. A final decision, and announcement, is expected before the All-Star Game, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.Eagleson, founder and only executive director of the association, is scheduled to step down in the fall of 1991, shortly after the completion of the next collective bargaining agreement with the NHL.<h2>BALLARD NEWS</h2>Toronto Maple Leaf owner, Harold Ballard remained in a Miami hospital with kidney problems, but according to his son, Bill, he has improved.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tough old buzzard,&rdquo; said Bill, after visiting his 86-year-old father at Baptist Hospital. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s going to make it.&rdquo;Ballard, listed in serious but stable condition, was relieved of his control over Maple Leaf Gardens by the company&rsquo;s board of directors in early January. Ballard, whose relationship with his three children&mdash;Bill, Harold Jr., and Mary-Elizabeth Flynn&mdash;has deteriorated in recent years, appeared to be patching things up.Flynn appointed Miami lawyer Paul Cowan as temporary guardian tends will make all decisions on Ballard&rsquo;s care. That had previously been left up to Ballard&rsquo;s companion, Yolanda Ballard.<h2>SCA SCHEDULE</h2>Sports channel America&rsquo;s second-half NHL schedule was recently released. Games televised:Games: Jan. 23&mdash;New York Islanders at Hartlord; Jan. 25&mdash;Pittsburgh at Detroit; Jan. 26&mdash;Chicago at Buffalo; Jan. 27&mdash;Pittsburgh at New York Islanders, Chicago at Hartford, New York Rangers at Los Angeles; Jan. 31&mdash;Washington at Minnesota; Feb. 1&mdash;Montreal at Boston, Chicago at Los Angeles; Feb. 3&mdash;Minnesota at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh at Toronto, Calgary at Los Angeles: Feb. 4&mdash;New York Islanders at Buffalo; Chicago at Winnipeg; Feb. 6&mdash;Edmonton at New Jersey; Feb. 7&mdash;Edmonton at New York Rangers; Feb. 10&mdash;Chicago at Minnesota; Feb. 11&mdash;Pittsburgh at Philadelphia; Feb. 13&mdash;New York Rangers at Philadelphia; Feb. 17&mdash;Chicago at New York Islanders, Hartford at Montreal; Feb. 18&mdash;New York Islanders at Philadelphia, Minnesota at Edmonton; Feb. 22&mdash;Montreal at Quebec; Feb. 24&mdash;Chicago at New Jersey. Pittsburgh at Montreal, Vancouver at Los Angeles; Feb. 25&mdash;Edmonton at Calgary; March 1&mdash;Montreal at Boston; March 3&mdash;Chicago at Boston; New York Rangers at Hartford; New York Islanders at St. &lsquo;Louis; March 6&mdash;Pittsburgh at Edmonton; March 7&mdash;Chicago at Minnesota, Montreal at Los Angeles; March 8&mdash;New York Rangers at Philadelphia; March 10&mdash;Pittsburgh at Los Angeles, Washington at Philadelphia; March 11&mdash;Boston at Hartford; March 14&mdash;Edmonton at Montreal; March 15&mdash;Chicago at Quebec, New Jersey at Calgary; March 17&mdash;New York Rangers at New York Islanders, Chicago at Montreal; March 18&mdash;Quebec at Montreal, Los Angeles at Philadelphia; March 20&mdash;New York Islanders at Washington, Philadelphia at New Jersey; March 22&mdash;TBA; March 24&mdash;TBA; March 25&mdash;New Jersey at Buffalo, Pittsburgh at Hartford; March 27&mdash;TBA; March 29&mdash;TBA; March 30&mdash;Edmonton at Calgary; March 31&mdash;TBA; April 1&mdash;TBA.<h2>DATEBOOK</h2>Jan. 19-22: NHL Board of Governors meetings in Pittsburgh.Jan. 23: NHL schedule resumes after All-Star Game with eight games.Jan. 30: Ontario League-Quebec League Challenge Cup game in Cornwall, Ont. &#9632;

f0006-01

RANGER PROSPECT IN COMA AFTER INJURY IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

<div class="byline">BY BARRY MEISEL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011375/5791388-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat LaFontaine has emerged as a leading candidate for the Hart Trophy this season, eclipsing the likes of Mario Lemieux. Wavne Gretzkv and Steve Yzerman.</figcaption></div>He has accounted for nearly one-fourth of his team&rsquo;s goals. He is watched closely and hammered regularly by opposing defenses that need not worry about his far-less-talented teammates. But each game he adds strength to the argument he&mdash;not Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux or Steve Yzerman&mdash;is the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player this season.Pat LaFontaine, a 5-foot-10, 177-pound virtuoso who seems to float over the ice, has dominated the first half despite the best efforts of today&rsquo;s videotechnocrats, who plot game-bygame strategies to impede dangerous players.The New York Islanders employ one of the weakest collections of forwards in the NHL. LaFontaine&rsquo;s most regular linemates are Brad Lauer or Derek King at left wing, and Alan Kerr on the right side.But he has scored 39 goals and 65 points in his first 45 games, keying a 15-3-1 run that has revived the Islanders&rsquo; Patrick Division playoff chances.With a goal against Minnesota Jan. 11, he extended his consecutive game goal-scoring streak to 11, breaking the team record set by Mike Bossy in 1978-79. He was shut out in his next game, Jan. 13 at home to Washington&mdash;leaving him two games short of the modern-day league record, set in 1979-80 by Los Angeles&rsquo; Charlie Simmer.&ldquo;He means to our team what Gretzky,Lemieux and Yzerman mean to theirs,&rdquo; says Brent Sutter, the Isles&rsquo; captain. &ldquo;When we see Patty going, it gets everybody going.&rdquo;Bryan Trottier is the man LaFontaine has tried to emulate since joining the Islanders. LaFontaine knew he needed to score to be a dominant NHLer. Trottier, by example, taught him the value of faceoffs, bodychecking and defensive zone coverage.And LaFontaine&rsquo;s skating, always a strong point, has improved.&ldquo;His skating has hit its peak,&rdquo; Trottier says. &ldquo;His lateral movement, his straight-ahead speed. I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s anybody in the league, right now, who is as good as him in those two areas.&rdquo;LaFontaine&rsquo;s potential has not reached its limits. The 24-year-old native of St. Louis&mdash;he grew up in suburban Detroit&mdash;is still going through a metamorphosis that began eight years ago.&bull; At the age of 16, he dominated a Detroit midget league, scoring 175 goals and 324 points in 79 games.&bull; At 17, he weighed a variety of junior and collegiate offers and selected Verdun of the Quebec League. In his only season at Verdun, he scored 104 goals and 234 points in 70 games. He was a first-team all-star, the league&rsquo;s MVP, the league&rsquo;s playoff MVP and Canadian major junior player of the year.&bull; At 18, he was drafted by the four-time Stanley Cup-champion Islanders, who had the third pick of the first round. The Colorado Rockies should have had the pick, but Isles&rsquo; GM Bill Torrey robbed the Rockies of it in 1981, handing over Bob Lorimer and Dave Cameron.LaFontaine joined the U.S. Olympic team that year, the young group that was unfairly asked to duplicate the 1980 Miracle of Lake Placid. He was nicknamed &lsquo;Franny,&rsquo; for the franchise. He scored 56 goals and 111 points in 58 warmup games, then went 5-5-10 in six 1984 Olympic Games.The team failed to come close to a medal. LaFontaine joined the Islanders in March, played a big hand in the Isles&rsquo; Drive for Five, but failed to win a Stanley Cup that has become his dream goal.&bull; At 19, he was a full-time Islander. He scored 19 goals and 54 points in 67 games playing behind centers Trottier and Brent Sutter. He rarely played the power play. He missed a chunk of the season with mononucleosis. In star-hungry New York, fans and the media wondered why he didn&rsquo;t score more.He didn&rsquo;t complain.&bull; At 20, he played only 65 games because of a separated shoulder. He scored 30 goals, 28 at even strength. He had 53 points. One major New York newspaper said he was not fulfilling expectations and should be traded.He didn&rsquo;t complain.&bull; At 21, he grew tired of hearing that he was afraid, frail and fragile. He was determined to play all 80 games. He did. He takes daily medication to control his asthma, but he was determined not to miss a practice all season. He didn&rsquo;t.He set career highs with 38 goals and 70 points. He ended the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup history at 1:55 a.m. April 19, 1987, scoring the game-winning goal in the fourth overtime period of the Isles&rsquo; seventh-game Patrick Division semi-final victory over Washington.&bull; At 22, he scored 47 goals and 92 points in 75 games, and played in his first all-star game.&bull; At 23, he scored 45 goals and 88 points in 79 games.&bull; Now he&rsquo;s 24. He&rsquo;ll turn 25 on Feb. 22. A boy has become a man. The Man.&ldquo;Those first two years with the Islanders, I don&rsquo;t know if I was ready,&rdquo; LaFontaine says. &ldquo;I was a new member on a great team and I had to sit back and take a role. I wasn&rsquo;t a player to be thrown in there. We had Bryan Trottier, Brent Sutter. The team was winning.&ldquo;Sure, at times it was frustrating. But it was a learning experience, on the ice and off, hockeywise and overall life-wise. It taught me things like patience, because I was always on a team where I was always out there on the ice. But it taught me that things are the way they are for a good reason. It could be a blessing in disguise.&rdquo;LaFontaine will not praise himself, not publicly. He strains awkwardly to compliment lesser teammates, a characteristic that many see as phony and self-serving. It is not. LaFontaine is almost too good to be true. On and off the ice.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just blossomed,&rdquo; says coach Al Arbour, who started LaFontaine&rsquo;s professional growth process in 1984 and resumed it when he replaced Terry Simpson in December, 1988. &ldquo;It takes time for a person to find himself. He&rsquo;s found himself.&rdquo;Should LaFontaine keep scoring at his current rate, he could break Bossy&rsquo;s mark of 69 goals, set in 1978-79. Through 45 games, LaFontaine was on a pace for 69.And how&rsquo;s this for a scary notion? Trottier, who has seen 15 seasons&rsquo; worth of NHL talent come and go, still doesn&rsquo;t know if LaFontaine is as good as he can be.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the incredible part about it,&rdquo; Trottier says. &ldquo;As red-hot as he is now, if I know Patty, there&rsquo;s more to come. Isn&rsquo;t that unbelievable?&rdquo;No, it&rsquo;s not.<h2>THE TRADE THAT TURNED THE TIDE</h2>Nobody paid much attention Nov. 29, when New York Islanders&rsquo; general manager Bill Torrey traded Mikko Makela to the Los Angeles Kings for Ken Baumgartner and Hubie McDonough.The Islanders were 5-18-3. They&rsquo;re 15-3-1 since. It&rsquo;s no coincidence.&ldquo;It all got started that first game in Chicago,&rdquo; captain Brent Sutter says. &ldquo;Bomber and Hubie&rsquo;s first game.&rdquo;The day after the trade, the Isles traveled to Chicago. They had lost 11 of their last 12. In the first period, Mick Vukota pounded Al Secord in a fight. On the next shift. Baumgartner belted three Blackhawks.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if we had been getting intimidated,&rdquo; Don Maloney says. &ldquo;But it was a matter of respect. Before, we weren&rsquo;t only getting beat, we were getting pushed around.&rdquo;The Islanders won 2-0, behind blossoming goalie Mark Fitzpatrick. McDonough, who added depth to the penalty-killing unit, also scored the third-period insurance goal.&ldquo;The trade brought two guys with big hearts who wanted to win,&rdquo; Sutter says. &ldquo;It brought a lot of the ingredient this team was lacking.&rdquo;Do not underestimate the MVP importance of LaFontaine&rsquo;s clutch one-man scoring touch, or the contributions made by Fitzpatrick and offensive defensemen Doug Crossman and Jeff Norton.And don&rsquo;t forget that when Al Arbour took over as coach for Terry Simpson only 13 months ago, he said he planned on taking the slow, steady approach that once worked with another young and impressionable group in the mid &lsquo;70s.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just making sure we don&rsquo;t get carried away with anything,&rdquo; Arbour says.This was once a collection of talented youngsters sprinkled with mature, wholesome veterans. It was a timid team groping for an identity, some personality, and belief in one another. The mix needed time.The time has come. The Islanders are starting to believe.&mdash;Barry Meisel &#9632;

f0007-01

THE FRANCHISE

<div class="byline">BY BOB McKENZIE</div>The three most coveted young players in the world are those the National Hockey League can&rsquo;t get its hands on. At least, not yet.Two Soviets and a Czechoslovakian topped a poll of NHL scouts to determine the top 10 junior players in the world. Soviet forwards Pavel Bure and Viacheslav Kozlov were first and third, respectively. Czechoslovakian center Bobby Holik was second. Only three points separated first and third.The top-ranked Canadian was Peterborough Pete Mike Ricci, who was fourth, but significantly behind the top three. No American was rated in the top 10.Fifteen experts&mdash;a combination of NHL scouts and general managers who were at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Finland&mdash;each supplied their own top 10 list. A first-place vote was worth 10 points and and a lOth-place vote one point, with corresponding values in between. Voting points were converted to represent a score out of 100.Junior-age players playing in the NHL&mdash;Vancouver&rsquo;s Trevor Linden, a Canadian, and Americans Mike Modano of Minnesota and Jeremy Roenick of Chicago, for example&mdash;were deemed ineligible to receive votes. So was Canada&rsquo;s Dave Chyzowski, who played in the 1990 WJC but rejoined the New York Islanders immediately upon his return.Following is the result of the voting, including rank, name, age, height, weight, position, 1989-90 club team, 1989-90 statistics (goals-assists-points), NHL affiliation or year of draft eligibility and voting points (out of 100).1. Pavel Bure, 18, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, LW, Central Red Army (USSR), statistics unavailable, Vancouver&rsquo;s fourth pick, 113th overall, in 1989, although status remains unclear while NHL investigates draft-eligibility, 76 points.Ranked No. 2 in this poll a year ago (behind Alexander Mogilny), Bure was obviously given the benefit of the doubt by a number of voters. His skills as a skater, puckhandler and goalscorer are outstanding, but he showed only flashes of brilliance at the WJC tourney (7-3-10 in 7 games). He was actually benched a few times. But when he&rsquo;s on, there&rsquo;s no one better.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011462/5791433-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="771" height="932"><figcaption class="caption-body">Viacheslav Kozlov, 17, has the potential to be a game-breaker.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021169/5791426-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1599" height="1418"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavel Bure, deemed the world&rsquo;s top junior in a poll of 15 NHL scouts and general managers, showed only flashes of his ability at the World Junior Championships.</figcaption></div>Robert Holik, 19, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, C, Dukla Jihlava (CSSR), 12-18-30 in 31 games, Hartford&rsquo;s first pick, 10th overall, in 75 points.Big and strong with incredible intensity, Holik is a scout&rsquo;s dream come true: a prototype NHL power center. He desperately wants to play in the NHL and optimistically predicts his arrival in North America as soon as the fall. If so, the Whalers have a potential franchise player. He was 6-5-11 in seven WJC games.Viacheslav Kozlov, 17, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, C-LW, Khimik Voskresensk (USSR), statistics unavailable, NHL draft eligible in 73 points.A year ago, Bure wowed the scouts as a 17-year-old. This year, it was the speedy Kozlov&rsquo;s turn. He&rsquo;s an incredible offensive talent, a gifted goal-scorer with the capacity to be a game-breaker (4-7-11 in seven WJC games). At times, stirs memories of Valery Kharlamov, the late great Soviet star.Mike Ricci, 18, 6-foot-l, 185 pounds, C, Peterborough Petes (Ontario League), 37-39-76 in 36 games, NHL draft-eligible in 1990, 47 noints Hampered by a shoulder separation at the WJC (0-4-4 in five games), Ricci is both tough and talented. His leadership skills are equaled only by his gritty determination and knack for scoring from in-tight situations.Teemu Selanne, 19, 6-foot, 175 pounds, C, Jokerit (Finland), 4-8-12 in 11 games, Winnipeg&rsquo;s first pick, 10th overall, in 1988, 43 points.A broken leg prevented him from playing in the WJC, but scouts haven&rsquo;t forgotten the gamebreaking offensive whiz who is destined to become a scoring star in the NHL.Robert Reichel, 18, 5-foot-10!6, 175 pounds, 18, Litvinov (CSSR), 25-11-36 in 30 games, Calgary&rsquo;s fifth pick, 70th overall, in 1988, 41 points.Captain of Czechoslovakia&rsquo;s national junior team, Reichel is an offensive catalyst (a tournament-leading 11-10-21 in seven WJC games) and team leader. He is the WJC&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer (38 points in three tournaments) and is eligible for next year&rsquo;s event in Saskatoon. Like Holik, he is eager to play in the NHL and, though he isn&rsquo;t big, he&rsquo;s feisty.Jaromir Jagr, 17,6-foot-l &lsquo;/a, 195 pounds, RW, Kladno (CSSR), 14-20-34 in 30 games, NHL draft-eligible in 1990, 40 points.A classy, highly-skilled winger with an incredibly fluid stride, Jagr teamed up on a line with Reichel to lead Czechoslovakia&rsquo;s offensive attack at the WJC (5-13-18 in seven games). He is rapidly developing the strength to go with his impressive height.Stephane Fiset, 19, 6-foot, 175 pounds, G, Victoriaville Tigres, 2-2-1, 3.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentage, Quebec&rsquo;s third choice, 24th overall, in 1988, 29 points.Quite simply, the best junior goaltender in the world and, undoubtedly, the Nordiques&rsquo; net-minder of the future. He was the key to Canada&rsquo;s gold-medal win (5-1-1, 2.58 GAA and .921 save percentage) at the WJC.1Mats Sundin, 18,6-foot-3&rsquo;/2,195 pounds, RW, Djurgardens (Sweden) 3-2-5 in 20 games, Quebec&rsquo;s first pick, first overall, in 1989 entry draft, 27 points.The parts of his game are still coming together, but the big winger is a smooth operator with excellent puck skills. He showed flashes of brilliance at the WJC (5-2-7 in seven games) and was a dominant player in one game against the Soviets. Not difficult to see why the Nordiques made him No. 1 overall last summer.Eric Lindros, 16, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, C, Oshawa Generals (OHL), 0-2-2 in one game, 23-29-52 in 14 games with Detroit Compuware Tier II, NHL draft-eligible in 1991, 14 points.Incredible size and strength, the boy-man is driven to be great. He wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be an impact player at the 1990 WJC, but dominated one game (against Sweden) and made his presence felt in several others (4-0-4 in seven games). Don&rsquo;t be too surprised if he moves to the No. 1 spot on this poll next year.10. Petr Nedved, 16, 6-foot-2&rsquo;/2, 178 pounds, C, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), 3644-80 in 40 games, NHL draft-eligible in 1990, 14 points.An incredible offensive talent who is still physically immature, he finished tied with Lindros for the final spot on the Top 10 list. He would have been playing for Czechoslovakia at the WJC if he hadn&rsquo;t defected a year ago. Even though he was out of sight in Finland, he wasn&rsquo;t out of mind. Scouts rave about his offensive potential and suggest he could wrest No. 1 overall away from Ricci in the 1990 entry draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03900/5791419-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="773" height="930"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robert Holik predicts he&rsquo;ll be in a Whalers&rsquo; uniform by autumn.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

TOP 10 JUNIORS IN THE WORLD

<div class="byline">STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011411/5791471-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="536" height="682"></div>Open Letters to hockey personalities.To Phil Esposito: Dear Phil: You know that old tune, &ldquo;How Can I Miss You If You Don&rsquo;t Go Away?&rdquo; Well, you went away, and I miss you. A lot.Nothing against your successor, Neil Smith&mdash;who has succeeded in selling the New York media a bill of goods about patience&mdash;but you were good for the Rangers because you have a pizzazz the NHL grey flannels can&rsquo;t quite, understand or tolerate.The revisionist historians in the local press would have us believe the Rangers were out-oftune under your baton. All I know is when January, 1989, came around, your club was way over .500, battling for first. And for some curious reason, you were getting heat from the media.A year later, Smith, who is Mister Glib when he&rsquo;s winning, has a club below .500 and the media treats him like Lord Stanley&rsquo;s gift to hockey. The press got him the job so the press is going to protect him.Smith&rsquo;s coach, Roger Neilson&mdash;quite a smart, good fellow, really&mdash;goes on New York television and takes a potshot at the local writers. Says he tells his players not to believe what they read in the dailies, implies the scribes are a bunch of ninnies who try to drive a wedge between coach and GM. Neilson&rsquo;s right, of course, but you&rsquo;d figure the reporters would jump all over him the way they tried to drum you out of town. Not a whimper, Phil, just a wimpy tum-the-other-cheek reaction. You should have been so lucky.Nah. You did what you did because you figured, &ldquo;what the heck.&rdquo; It was the right thing to do, right down to sacking Michel Bergeron at the end. I still say it was a good gamble. Your luck, you had Jack Diller for a boss. Stay in touch.To Ron Caron: Dear Ron: You probably think I&rsquo;m kidding, but I worry for you. That&rsquo;s because you&rsquo;re my friend for a lot of reasons.I like you because you&rsquo;re the wildest, craziest GM in a press box to the last second of every game, and that ebullience appeals to my Hungarian blood.But I didn&rsquo;t like your trading of Greg Millen to Quebec. Sure, Ron, a deal is a deal and every GM has a right to improve his team. But Millen was as much a part of St. Louis as The Arch and Anheuser-Busch. Was it that boss of yours, Mike Shanahan, breathing down your neck because of Millen&rsquo;s big salary and the fact the Blues are as bottom-line under Shanahan as they were under my pal Harry Omest? C&rsquo;mon, Ron, admit it.What I&rsquo;m getting at is I hope the Millen deal doesn&rsquo;t backfire and set you up as the resident goat. As a gamble, going with Vincent Riendeau as your No. 1 goalie is as daring as anything Phil Esposito ever did. I have my doubts about Vinnie and a few NHL GMs do, too.But then again, you were the one who got roasted for getting Brett Hull and, at last look, he was outscoring everyone on the Flames&mdash;including Joey Mullen and Doug Gilmour. I&rsquo;m praying for you, Ron. All the best.To Robbie Ftorek: Dear Robbie: I&rsquo;m convinced you started coaching 25 years too late. At least for the NHL, where teams are alternately run by agents, megastars and, in the case of the Kings, John Candy. You have the right idea about coaching but I wonder if it can be done in the 1990s. I mean, doing what you think is right, regardless of what Wayne Gretzky thinks.Look at the team that fired you. The Kings brought in a decent and experienced enough guy in Tommy Webster. We go back a long way and I really like him but, Robbie, I&rsquo;ll be darned. If, he&rsquo;s coaching the Kings, my name is Igor Larionov.Frankly, I&rsquo;m not sure who&rsquo;s coaching the Kings, or managing them for that matter. The suspicion, Bruce McNall to the contrary, is it&rsquo;s all Gretzky&rsquo;s show. Just watching the Kings lose to Jersey recently, I got the feeling Wayne was making the line changes, calling the shots. Your approach to running the team was the right one, whether the whiners care to admit it or not. You were more interested in goals than glitz, and you got them past the Edmonton Oilers.But you must realize by now Gretzky is larger than life, larger than the Kings, larger&mdash;in some eyes anyway&mdash;than even the NHL. That is, everywhere but on the ice. Watch your old team and you see there&rsquo;s something seriously missing. Discipline is the first word that comes to mind. With all the names&mdash;Hrudey, Robinson, Beck, Nicholls, Robitaille&mdash;the Kings are more like a vaudeville act than a hockey team. They need a ringmaster more than anything, and I&rsquo;m not so sure Webster can handle that role.One thing I do know is you could and did&mdash;and that&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re back in the American League, being honest with yourself. Hope to see you some time.<h2>FLASHBACK</h2>Jan. 23, 1944: In the most one-sided game played in NHL history, the Detroit Red Wings scored eight third-period goals, including three by center Syd Howe, en route to a 15-0 pasting of the New York Rangers at the Olympia in Detroit. Ten different players scored in the contest. Goalie Connie Dion recorded the shutout.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021005/5791464-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="655" height="421"><figcaption class="caption-body">Connie Dion</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0009-01

A FEW WORDS TO ESPO, THE PROF AND ROBBIE

<h2>NORTH STARS</h2>Left winger Curt Fraser, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Dec. 3 because of back spasms and has three degenerative discs, was scheduled to have major reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder Jan. 15. He&rsquo;ll miss at least another six to eight weeks&hellip;North Stars&rsquo; public relations director Tim Bryant, who has been asked to help at the All-Star Game Jan. 21 in Pittsburgh, worked at the NBA All-Star Game last season as an employee of the Minnesota Timberwolves&hellip; Shawn Chambers was suspended for the Jan. 13 game against Detroit after getting his s&rsquo;econd stick-related game misconduct penalty, Jan. 11 against the Islanders&hellip;Shane Churla began serving his 10-game suspension from the pre-game brawl in Chicago Jan. 9 and won&rsquo;t be eligible to return until Jan. 29 against Winnipeg. Basil McRae began serving his five-game suspension Jan. 13 and will return to the lineup Jan. 26 in Vancouver.<h2>RED WINGS</h2>Coach Jacques Demers has sent a videotape to the league asking NHL disciplinarian Brian O&rsquo;Neill to take a closer look at two stick attacks on Detroit players&mdash;one on Rick Zombo and another on Daniel Shank&mdash;by Minnesota&rsquo;s Link Gaetz during a Jan. 9 9-0 rout of the North Stars. &ldquo;I said we were going to do it, and we did it, &ldquo;Demers said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the first time in the four years I&rsquo;ve been here that we&rsquo;ve complained to the league about something like that. But we&rsquo;re not letting anything go by that we feel is an attempt to injure one of our players."&hellip; Attorneys for jailed Red Wing Bob Probert have filed an appeal, seeking to overturn an immigration judge&rsquo;s ruling that Probert must be deported to his native Canada when he is paroled from federal prison on Feb. 7. Probert is serving a 90-day sentence for a drug conviction. The Wings were pessimistic about Probert&rsquo;s return this season&hellip;The rout of the Stars featured a little bit of everything, including the first five-point night of Shawn Burr&rsquo;s NHL career&hellip;The game also featured Glen Hanlon&rsquo;s 13th career shutout. Said Hanlon: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on a pace to catch Terry Saw-chuk (the NHL&rsquo;s all-time shutout leader with 103). All I have to do is plav &lsquo;til I&rsquo;m 114.&rdquo;<h2>BLACKHAWKS</h2>Upon his return from the GM meetings in Florida in early January, Bob Pulford said he would be disappointed if he can&rsquo;t complete another deal before the trading deadline. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re definitely still looking and still trying,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;d like to think we&rsquo;d still do something. &ldquo;However, Pulford said he has to be careful not to disrupt the chemistry of the club, which appears good. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re always fearful of that,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;A lot of times you&rsquo;ve got to be careful that way. You&rsquo;ve got to guard against trading a player who might not be productive but who is an asset in the dressing room."&hellip;Al Secord continued his resurgence with three goals in a 5-4 win Jan. 11 at Philadelphia, giving him 10 in just 23 games&hellip;There were several incidents of stickwork when the Hawks lost to the Central Red Army 6-4 Jan. 7. &ldquo;They&rsquo;d rather stick you than fight you, that&rsquo;s why we all held onto our sticks tonight,&rdquo; Secord said. &ldquo;These guys have a reputation of being dirty and chippy.&rdquo;<h2>BLUES</h2>Brett Hull scored his third hat trick of the season, and the fourth of his career, in a 6-5 loss Jan. 14 in Winnipeg. The goals gave him 41 for the season, matching his career high of last season. They came in his 45th game, making him the player to reach the 40-goal plateau faster than any other in team history. Wayne Babych was the previous fastest, when he scored 40 in 53 games en route to his team-record 54 goals in 1980-81. But because the Blues lost, the achievements meant little to Hull. &ldquo;Who cares?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was also minus-2 and we lost, so it&rsquo;s not that big a deal.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;The loss to Winnipeg ended the Blues&rsquo; longest winning streak of the season&mdash;four games. They not only wasted Hull&rsquo;s hat trick but an exciting comeback from a four-goal deficit to tie the score 5-5 on Hull&rsquo;s third goal. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t start the game like that, and we can&rsquo;t give up goals with two minutes left in the game,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re the Blues. We&rsquo;re supposed to be big defensively.&rdquo;<h2>MAPLE LEAFS</h2>venter co uiczyK&rsquo;s attempt at break a 12-year club record for con secutive games with at least a poin fell one game short, when the Nev York Islanders slammed the door in i3-1 victory Jan. 10 at Toronto Olczyk, who had tied Darryl Sittier&rsquo;: mark of 18 successive games with a point, had several great chances to see a new mark, but was shut out by Isles goalie Mark Fitzpatrick&hellip;Righ winger Gary Leeman&rsquo;s exclusior from the Campbell Conference allstar squad had fans and players fum ing after Calgary coach Terry Crisp picked defenseman Al lafrate as the only Leaf for the Jan. 21 game. &ldquo;Gary and Hull are the hottest wingers in the league right now,&rdquo; said lafrate, whe will be appearing in his second all-stai game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to see our team star getting more respect."&hellip;GM Floyd Smith was reportedly approached by the New York Rangers regarding Tom Fergus and Wendel Clark, bui denied any deals were forthcoming-&hellip;Goaltender Mark Laforest, while wearing a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots, slipped onapatchoficeJan. 11 and suffered an ankle injury that will sideline him for between four and six weeks. Jeff Reese was recalled frorr Newmarket Jan. 12. &#9632;

FRASER REQUIRES MAJOR SURGERY

<div class="byline">BY KEITH GAVE AND RAND SIMON</div>You can bet referee Paul Stewart won&rsquo;t be receiving any Valentine&rsquo;s Day cards from the Detroit Red Wings.The Wings accused Stewart of being incompetent, arrogant and avaricious after a 6-4 loss at Minnesota Jan. 13. And those were some of the nicer comments.&ldquo;He threatens players,&rdquo; said one Wings&rsquo; player, who asked not to be indentified. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him send a player off with a misconduct penalty, yelling, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll ruin your career!&rsquo; &ldquo;Said another Wing player, &ldquo;You should hear him out there. He&rsquo;s always yelling at the players, pushing you out of the way. &ldquo;Yet another said that when Stewart officiated the Jan. 9 win by the Wings (9-0) over Minnesota, he challenged Joe Kocur to a fight. The player said Kocur skated away laughing.NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis said the league would speak to Stewart about the accusations.&ldquo;We want to make certain the official gets a chance to give his own opinion,&rdquo; said Lewis. &ldquo;Paul Stewart is entitled to his opinion no different than those players are. We&rsquo;ve just asked him not to do it through the media.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious Stewart has some difficulty to referee a Red Wing game,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Demers.Stewart is the referee who twice this season gave Steve Yzerman 10minute misconduct penalties.&ldquo;One time, I called him a hot dog,&rdquo; Yzerman said. &ldquo;I deserved the 10 minutes, but he deserved 10 too. He eggs you on. Other refs don&rsquo;t do that.&rdquo;Demers said his team wanted to avoid problems with Stewart Jan. 13, because of the importance of the game. A win would have moved the Wings to within five points of the Stars.&ldquo;Never in my eight years in the NHL have I had a referee swear at me or use such vulgar language at me and our players,&rdquo; said Demers.Detroit had seemingly overcome a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 lead early in the third period, but Stewart waived off Daniel Shank&rsquo;s go-ahead goal, ruling Greg Adams was in the goal crease when the puck passed goalie Kari Takko.Gerard Gallant apparently thought so, too, but took his frustration out on the wrong striped shirt. The game ended with the Wings holding a two-man advantage and buzzing around the net, unable to score. The horn sounded and Gallant went looking for trouble. Linesman Jerry Pateman pinned Gallant against the rear boards with both hands on his sweater, and Gallant reacted by tagging the linesman with a left.Gallant said he was trying to hit the nearest North Star behind Patemen. Gallant received an automatic three-game suspension without right of appeal and a review by the league which could result in further penalty.That&rsquo;s not the only incident NHL officials will review. The Wings asked the league to take a close look at the goal disallowed by Stewart and to investigate his conduct on the ice.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 13: Dave Barr, RW, recalled from Adirondack (AHL). Gerard Gallant, LW, automatically suspended three games by NHL for punching linesman Jerry Pateman in game against Minnesota.Jan. 14: Randy McKay, RW, recalled from Adirondack.Jan. 16: Rick Zombo, D, begins three-game league suspension for high-sticking incident on Toronto&rsquo;s Al lafrate Dec. 27.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, John Chabot, Bernie Federko.LW&mdash;Greg C. Adams, Shawn Burr, Torrie Robertson.RW&mdash;Daniel Shank, Marc Habscheid, Dave Barr. Kevin McClelland, Randy McKay. Jim Nill.LD&mdash;Steve Chiasson, John Mokosak, Borje Salming.RD&mdash;Doug Houda, Lee Norwood, Mike O&rsquo;Connell.G&mdash;Glen Hanlon, Sam St. Laurent.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Kocur. RW. lacerated right hand, indefinite.Robert Picard. D, ankle sprain, indefinite.Greg Stefan. G, ligament damage in right knee, Jan. 27.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Yzerman, 30. A&mdash;Yzerman, 39 P&mdash;Yzerman. 69. PIM&mdash;Kocur, 156. &#9632;

COACH, PLAYERS WAGE VERBAL WAR WITH REF

<div class="byline">BY MARK HARDING</div>First there were the innuendoes: Gary Leeman and Ed Olczyk were deemed selfish by unidentified teammates.The ensuing attention swirled around the two star forwards for several weeks before it finally passed.Then came Olczyk&rsquo;s bid to break Darryl Sittier&rsquo;s team record of 18 consecutive games with at least one point. The spotlight focused on Olczyk almost exclusively until finally, Jan. 10 against the New York Islanders, the streak was stopped at 18.Olczyk and Leeman were both in the spotlight that night for another reason, as well. The Toronto Maple Leaf forwards had been overlooked earlier in the day by Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Terry Crisp in his selections to round out the Campbell Conference all-star team.Almost completely forgotten in the Leeman-Olczyk saga this season has been left winger Mark Osbome, the oft-underrated third member of the Leeman-Olczyk line.While his highly-publicized linemates have flourished amid streaks and controversies, Osbome has quietly gone about his business. He was on pace to have his best season since entering the NHL in 1981-82 with the Detroit Red Wings.After coming to Toronto from the Rangers late in the &lsquo;86-&rsquo;87 season, Osborne, coming off injury-plagued seasons of four, 16 and 17 goals in New York, scored 23 goals and 60 points in his first season with the Leafs.Not too shabby for a player considered to have minimal finesse but maximal heart. Last season, however, after an off-season battle with mononucleosis, Osborne never got his game together&mdash;even though he suited up for 79 games.He seemed weak and lethargic on many nights. His goal total (16) matched his career full-season low, and his point total was down 14 from the previous year. His season seemed to epitomize that of the 1988-89 Maple Leafs.The same can be said this season. During a year in which a great number of unsung Leafs have come to the fore, Osbome has led the way.With 30 points in a recent 22-game spurt, Osbome has not only shed his one-dimensional grinder image but has emerged from the shadows of his popular linemates as a productive, capable two-way forward. His 14-3044 totals in 45 games project to a 78-point season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s showing this year that he has a lot more to offer this team than a lot of people may have realized,&rdquo; said Leeman, himself on pace for a 50-goal season, thanks in large part to Osborne&rsquo;s efforts. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him absolutely overpower some goalies this year, yet some people think he doesn&rsquo;t have much of a shot.&rdquo;Not since his rookie season with Detroit&mdash;when he had a career-high 67 points&mdash;has Osbome been such a presence on the Ice.&ldquo;There are a lot of similarities between my rookie year and this season in that not a great deal was expected of me offensively,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Gary and Eddie are expected to produce. I&rsquo;m the work ethic guy, to go up and down my wing.&ldquo;But you find that with hard work comes some numbers on the board and some rewards.&rdquo;<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 12: Jeff Reese, G, recalled from Newmarket (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ed Olczyk, Gilles Thibaudeau, John McIntyre, Dan Daoust.LW&mdash;Mark Osborne. Vincent Dam-phousse, Scott Pearson, Dave ReidRW&mdash;Gary Leeman, Daniel Marois, Lou Franceschetti, John Kordic.LD&mdash;Brad Marsh, Luke Richardson, Brian Curran, Todd Gill.RD&mdash;Al lafrate. Rob Ramage, Tom Kurvers.G&mdash;Allan Bester, Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Wendel Clark, LW, sore back and right hand, day-to-day.Tom Fergus, C, groin pull, day-to-day.Dave Hannan, C. stretched ligaments left knee, Jan. 27.Mark Laforest, G, sprained left ankle, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Leeman, 29. A&mdash;Damphousse, 34. P&mdash;I neman 57 PIM&mdash;-Kordic 157 &#9632;

OVERLOOKED OSBORNE GETS POSITIVELY OFFENSIVE

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div>While it&rsquo;s highly unlikely he&rsquo;ll ever be given the nickname &ldquo;Trader Bob,&rdquo; Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; general manager Bob Pulford has completed several deals in a little over year that have had a significant impact without making big headlines.The Hawks are hoping their string of getting good value from other teams&rsquo; castoffs will continue with the recent acquisition of right winger Jocelyn Lemieux. Lemieux, 22, was picked up from Montreal Jan. 5 in exchange for a third-round pick in the 1990 entry draft.In a little over a year&rsquo;s time, Pulford and the Hawks have traded draft choices for left winger Greg Gilbert (Islanders) and goaltenders Alain Chevrier (Winnipeg) and Jacques Cloutier (Buffalo)&mdash;three players who have been instrumental in the club&rsquo;s run to the top of the Norris Division.In addition, Adam Creighton was plucked from Buffalo in December of 1988 for Rick Vaive and now leads the Hawks in goals. In November of 1988, Pulford dealt defensemen Gary Nylund and Marc Bergevin to the Islanders for Steve Konroyd and Bob Bassen. While Bassen is in the minors, Konroyd has been one of the Hawks&rsquo; steadiest blue liners.Now the question was, can Lemieux find similar success in Chicago?&ldquo;We think it&rsquo;s possible he can be a very effective player in our building,&rdquo; Pulford said.Chicago might be the last stop for Lemieux. He was drafted 10th overall in the first round of the 1986 draft by St. Louis, but has since been traded twice.Injuries have played a part in holding Lemieux back. He suffered a severed tendon in the little finger of his left hand in December, 1986, in a freak accident at the Blues&rsquo; Christmas party, then broke his left leg in January. 1988He was traded to Montreal in August of &lsquo;88 with goaltender Darrell May and a second-round draft choice for left winger Sergio Momesso and goalie Vincent Riendeau.&ldquo;Sure, it&rsquo;s been tough so far,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;But I had a good first season in St. Louis (10 goals and eight assists in 53 games), then the injuries started to come.&rdquo;.Lemieux thought he was headed to the minors before the Canadiens told him they had traded him to Chicago.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a much better break to come here, because it&rsquo;s about time I get going in this league,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It seems like a good fit. The attitude and atmosphere here is great.&rdquo;<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>RANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 8: Jimmy Waite, G, and Cam Russell, D. assigned to Indianapolis (IHL).Jan. 14: Russell, Ryan McGill, D, and Bruce Cassidy, D, recalled from Indianapolis.Jan. 15: Dave Manson, D, serving 13-game NHL suspension. Eligible to return Jan. 27. Wayne Van Dorp, LW, serving 10-game NHL suspension. Eligible to return Jan. 26.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Denis Savard, Adam Creighton, Jeremy Roenick, Mike Eagles.LW&mdash;Greg Gilbert, Steve Thomas. Al Secord. Everett Sanipass.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Duane Sutter, Jocelyn Lemieux, Wayne Presley.LD&mdash;Cam Russell, Bruce Cassidy.RD&mdash;Keith Brown, Bob McGill, Bob Murray, Ryan McGill.G&mdash;Alain Chevrier, Jacques Cloutier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike Hudson, LW, lacerated right hand, indefinite.Steve Konroyd. D, Charley horse, day-to-day.Troy Murray, C, right elbow surgery, indefinite.Darren Pang, G. left knee surgery, indefinite.Doug Wilson, D, bruised toe, day-to-day.Trent Yawney, D. Charley horse, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Creighton, 22. A&mdash;Savard, 40. P&mdash;Savard. 59. PIM&mdash;Manson. 161 &#9632;

IS LEMIEUX ANOTHER DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?

<div class="byline">BY DAVE LUECKING</div>The St. Louis Blues received two big surprises&mdash;one good, one bad&mdash;Jan. 9, when they learned Terry Crisp&rsquo;s choices to complete the Campbell Conference AllStar team.The good: Paul Cavallini, one of the NHL&rsquo;s most underrated players, was one of four defensemen who had been added.The bad: Center Adam Oates, third in the NHL in assists behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, was not chosen.Blues&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter had more or less predicted the outcome that morning.He said Oates deserved to go &ldquo;maybe more than anyone on our team&hellip;I&rsquo;d like to see them both. Paulie deserves to go, too. He might be more likely to be chosen than Oatesie.&rdquo;Sutter figured that Oates would be overwhelmed by the other quality centers in the Campbell Conference, even though he&rsquo;s having a better year statistically than guys like Chicago&rsquo;s Denis Savard, Winnipeg&rsquo;s Thomas Steen and Calgary&rsquo;s Joe Nieuwendyk.Sure enough, Crisp picked six centers to fill nine remaining forward spots&mdash;Savard, Steen and Nieuwendyk, as well as Edmonton&rsquo;s Mark Messier, Los Angeles&rsquo; Bernie Nicholls and Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman.Oates, 27, handled the slight diplomatically.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not upset, in all honesty,&rdquo; Oates said. &ldquo;It would have been nice, but&hellip;I really didn&rsquo;t expect to make it, so I&rsquo;m not upset. One good year doesn&rsquo;t deserve, necessarily, an allstar.&rdquo;The Blues acquired Oates and Paul MacLean from Detroit for Bernie Federko and Tony McKegney on June 15. Through Jan. 14, he had 49 assists, an 87-assist pace that would shatter Federko&rsquo;s team record of 73.Oates felt his low number of goals&mdash;12, for a total of 61 points&mdash;also hurt his chances. Brett Hull, the fans&rsquo; choice at right wing, saw another reason for the slight.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t pick &lsquo;em, but I&rsquo;d pick Oatesie before me&hellip;He&rsquo;s the heart and soul of the team as far as I&rsquo;m concerned,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure if Oatesie was in the Smythe Division, he&rsquo;d be there because Terry Crisp would realize what he does.&rdquo;Fans around the league realize what Cavallini does. Cavallini finished fourth among defensemen in voting. which Crisp took into account. Through Jan. 14, he had a career-best 26 points, on four goals and 22 assists, and was plus-14, best on the team.&ldquo;I was in shock,&rdquo; Cavallini said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor, and a surprise. I never thought it was really possible. It&rsquo;s like a dream come true. It&rsquo;s something you work for all your hockey career to achieve.&rdquo;Cavallini, 24, is in only his third full season. He&rsquo;s come a long way from being Washington&rsquo;s lOth-round choice (205th overall) in 1984 to appearing in an All-Star Game with the Blues, who acquired him for a second-round pick in the 1988 draft.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 8: Adrien Plavsic, D, recalled from Peoria (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Adam Oates, Peter Zezel, Steve Tuttle, Rick Meagher.LW&mdash;Gino Cavallini, Sergio Momesso, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, Dave Thomlinson.RW&mdash;Paul MacLean, Brett Hull, Dave Lowry, Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Mike Lalor, Adrien Plavsic, Gordie Roberts, Tony Twist.RD&mdash;Jeff Brown, Paul Cavallini. Dominic Lavoie.G&mdash;Vincent Riendeau, Curtis Joseph<h3>INJURIES</h3>Herb Raglan. RW, broken right wrist, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Hull, 41. A&mdash;Oates, 49. P&mdash;Hull.RS PIM&mdash;Chase. 126 &#9632;

GOOD AND BAD IN ALL-STAR CHOICES

<div class="byline">BARRY MEISEL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011443/5791653-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="544" height="699"></div>The trouble with the NHL All-Star Game is that only 20 players per conference can compete. The fans love voting for their favorites to start, but the coaches hate having to fill the final 14 spots because too many deserving players get squeezed out.Calgary&rsquo;s Terry Crisp and Montreal&rsquo;s Pat Bums earned the honor of coaching the Wales and Campbells because their teams were the 1989 Stanley Cup finalists.They had to ensure that every team was represented at least once. They had to balance the roster with two goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards. They also had to include the obvious stars of the current season and the perennial stars of the sport.And in each case, each coach rewarded a player from his own team who could easily have been overlooked if another team&rsquo;s coach was selecting. Crisp took Joey Mullen. Bums added Shayne Corson.&ldquo;One of the things I did is pick players from teams that are having success,&rdquo; Bums said. &ldquo;The Sabres have four guys there. They deserve it. We have three. Of course, you think of your own team.&rdquo;&ldquo;I have to walk back in the dressing room and face my own players,&rdquo; Crisp said.Former Bruins&rsquo; coach Terry O&rsquo;Reilly took a ton of heat last season for choosing one of his defensemen, Glen Wesley, over Chris Chelios, who only went on to finish as the Norris Trophy winner. In explaining his questionable choice, O&rsquo;Reilly said he assessed the last half of the previous season and the first half of this season.&ldquo;I did that, too,&rdquo; Bums said.I&rsquo;m not here to quibble with any of the choices. I&rsquo;m here to salve the wounds by selecting two consolation squads, the 40 players who probably could have made it to Pittsburgh, too, if NBC wanted to televise a doubleheader.If the 40 players can make accommodations and somebody can find an available rink in Pittsburgh Sunday morning (sorry, but the Penguins&rsquo; Mt. Lebanon, Pa., practice facility is booked for the U.S.-Canada Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association grudge match), I&rsquo;ll officiate.Remember, I don&rsquo;t have to choose at least one player from every team. My coaches are the guys whose teams lost in the Cup semifinals:<h2>WALES CONFERENCE</h2>Coach&mdash;Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia.Goal&mdash;Mike Liut, Hartford; Rejean Lemelin,Boston.Defense&mdash;Mike Ramsey, Buffalo; James Patrick, New York Rangers; Bruce Driver, New Jersey; Craig Ludwig, Montreal; Mark Howe, Philadelphia; Doug Crossman, New York Islanders.Left Wing&mdash;John Ogrodnick, New York Rangers; Murray Craven, Philadelphia; Kevin Dineen, Hartford; Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo.Center&mdash;Patrik Sundstrom, New Jersey; Mike Ridley, Washington; Peter Stastny, Quebec; Ron Sutter, Philadelphia.Right Wing&mdash;John MacLean, New Jersey; Guy Lafleur, Quebec; Dino Ciccarelli, Washington; Pat Verbeek, Hartford.<h2>CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2>Coach&mdash;Mike Keenan, Chicago.Goal&mdash;Jon Casey, Minnesota; Bill Ranford, Edmonton.Defense&mdash;Keith Brown, Chicago; Jamie Ma-coun, Calgary; Rick Zombo, Detroit; Craig Muni, Edmonton; Larry Robinson, Los Angeles; Brad Marsh, Toronto.Left Wing&mdash;Gary Roberts, Calgary; EsaTik-kanen, Edmonton; Gerard Gallant, Detroit; Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, St. Louis.Center&mdash;Adam Oates, St. Louis; Ed Olczyk, Toronto; Adam Creighton, Chicago; Brian Bradley, Vancouver.Right Wing&mdash;Gary Leeman, Toronto; Sergei Makarov, Calgary; Brian Bellows, Minnesota; Dan Marois, Toronto.Bums, in fact, initially selected Lafleur, too. When he learned of Bums&rsquo; choice before the teams were announced, Lafleur declined the nomination and made a classy gesture. He advised Bums to select Sakic, a young, rising star who deserved the opportunity.Leeman has a beef. He deserved to be on the Campbell team ahead of Mullen. In fact, Toronto radio station QI07 announced the Flames&rsquo; FAX number so seething Leaf fans could tell Crisp how they felt about his choice.Did you notice that not one of the 40 all-star selections is a Soviet? Hmmm. I want Makarov and Mogilny in my game because I haven&rsquo;t seen enough of them this season. Same for Brind&rsquo;Amour. He&rsquo;s one of the NHL&rsquo;s most exciting rookies. If I had room on my teams, I would have added Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick and Igor Larionov. But I don&rsquo;t. And that&rsquo;s the problem.So leave Bums and Crisp alone. It&rsquo;s a thankless iob.<h2>THEN & NOW</h2>A right winger for four NHL clubs between 1967-68 and &lsquo;76-77. Gary Sabourin, 46, now owns a bakery franchise in Chatham, Ont. Sabourin played the bulk of his career with the St. Louis, but says he now follows the Toronto Maple Leafs, for whom he played in &lsquo;74-75. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s refreshing to see them playing exciting hockey this year. The past few years have been quite&rsquo; painful.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021116/5791646-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="623" height="432"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Sabourin</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

LEAVE BURNS AND CRISP ALONE

<h2>PENGUINS</h2>Paul Coffey tied Bobby Orr for second place on the all-time goalscoring list for defensemen when he got the 270th of his career Jan. 12, the game-winner in a 6-4 victory at Washington. &ldquo;Any time you can tie anything of Bobby Orr&rsquo;s it&rsquo;s definitely an honor,&rdquo; Coffey said. Denis Potvin holds the record with 310 career goals. Coffey&rsquo;s goal was the 898th point of his career. Coffey was on the verge of becoming the fourth defenseman in NHL history to score 900 points&hellip;Mario Lemieux stretched his scoring streak to 33 games, third-longest in league history. Wayne Gretzky had streaks of 51 and 39 games while playing in Edmonton&hellip; The Penguins, 10-14-2 under Gene Ubriaco, were 10-7-1 in their first 18 games with Craig Patrick as coach. That included a 4-4-1 record on the road, where they were 3-7-2 during Ubriaco&rsquo;s tenure<h2>CAPITALS</h2>It has not been a happy new year for the Caps, who opened with an eightgame losing streak, being outscored 43-23 in the process. That was the longest losing streak of the eight-year Bryan Murray era, surpassing the seven-game streak the club opened with in 1983-84. Injuries to key defensemen&mdash;Rod Langway, Scott Stevens, Bob Rouse and Neil Sheehy&mdash;have played a major part in the streak, but so has the club&rsquo;s season-long scoring slump, especially on the power play. The Caps used 36 players this season, the most in nine years, while losing 129 man-games to injury through Jan. 14&hellip;Rouse played in his 400th NHL game, a 4-2 road loss to the New York Islanders Jan. 13&hellip;After their first nine tries this season, the Caps had yet to beat a Smythe Division team (0-6-3).<h2>FLYERS</h2>Rick Tocchet, on pace to become the Flyers&rsquo; first 100-point scorer since Bobby Clarke in 1975-76, was pleased about his addition to to the Wales Conference all-star team. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing as consistently as I ever have in my career,&rdquo; said Tocchet&hellip;As of Jan. 15 the Flyers used 36 different players in their lineup, closing in on the team record of 41 set in 1987-88&hellip;Tocchet, Mike Bullard, Murray Craven and Jay Wells all sat out the Jan. 9 game against the Soviet Red Army. All four were listed as injured in the Flyers&rsquo; 5-4 loss but only Wells failed to play two nights later for the 5-4 loss to Chicago&hellip;Bullard and Craven were the only Flyers to play in each of the team&rsquo;s first 46 games-&hellip;The Flyers&rsquo; record in overtime dropped to 1-4-7 after a 4-3 loss to the Rangers in New York Jan. 14.<h2>RANGERS</h2>The Rangers&rsquo; 4-3 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Jan. 14 was a milestone success, not only because it marked the team&rsquo;s first two-game winning streak since October, but also because it was the 1,000th home victory in franchise history. The Rangers were 1,000-715-373 at home since their inception in 1926-27&hellip;Asked if he thought GM Neil Smith might temper his trade talks after watching the injury-plagued Rangers earn five points in three games, Ranger captain Kelly Kisio was hopeful. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d like to think so,&rdquo; said Kisio. &ldquo;This team has so many good guys that don&rsquo;t want to see it broken up. We don&rsquo;t want to be the cause of people being uprooted and having their lives messed up.<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>Center Pat LaFontaine had a 13-game point-scoring streak end, as well as his team-record 11-game goalscoring streak, in a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals Jan. 13. LaFontaine was constantly bothered by the physical visitors. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to expect that,&rdquo; coach Al Arbour said. &ldquo;But everybody&rsquo;s going to stick up for each other. If teams want to challenge us, we&rsquo;re ready for that, too."&hellip;The Islanders&rsquo; win over the Capitals was their seventh straight at home. They had not had such a run at Nassau Coliseum since November, 1984&hellip;The same game, goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick extended his winning streak to seven games&hellip;Overall, the Islanders won six straight, a streak they had not matched since March 20-31, 1988, when they were securing the Patrick Division title&hellip;By mid-January, center Bryan Trottier was nearly ready to return from his broken rib. Trottier had missed 19 games this season.<h2>DEVILS</h2>Brendan Shanahan faced a possible suspension for high-sticking Quebec&rsquo;s Michel Petit in the face Jan. 13, during the Devils&rsquo; 5-4 victory over the Nordiques. Shanahan had been cut (11 stitches in his upper lip) seconds earlier by Petit&rsquo;s high stick. Michel Bergeron called for a season-long banishment of Shanahan. &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; asked Shanahan. &ldquo;His (Petit&rsquo;s) high stick was probably unintentional and mine was probably unintentional, too. I was trying throw a hit on him and he put his head down-.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Kirk Muller reclaimed his midseason all-star status, after missing out for the first time last season. Muller was named to the Wales Conference squad for the fifth time in six NHL seasons. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m happier about this year than any other time being selected,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;After going through a year like last year and losing my confidence, I wanted to rebound. 1 think I&rsquo;m back to where I was two years ago."&hellip;Viacheslav Fetisov&rsquo;s parents were in New Jersey for a one-month visit with their son. It was the first visit to the U.S. for the Fetisovs&hellip; A Penguins&rsquo; fan has refiled a two-year-old lawsuit against Jim Korn, claiming he was assaulted by Korn at the Meadowlands Arena March 29, 1988. &#9632;

COFFEY TIES ORR’Si GOAL MARK

<div class="byline">by WALT MacPEEK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011335/5791708-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Richter has played only six NHL games, but already he has stopped two penalty shots. He was in net Jan. 14, when the Rangers topped Philadelphia 4-3.</figcaption></div>So much for the theory that the exhibition games against the touring Soviet teams are a meaningless waste of time.Rookie goalie Mike Richter, who was called up Jan. 1 &ldquo;just to face the Soviet Wings,&rdquo; looked so sharp in a 3-1 loss that coach Roger Neilson decided to keep him around for a longer look.Less than two weeks later, Richter&rsquo;s sparkling goaltending had lifted the left-for-dead Rangers out of a 1-11-3 tailspin. Meanwhile, No. 1 goalie John Vanbiesbrouck&rsquo;s name was showing up in daily trade rumors from all over the league.&ldquo;We both know (the trade rumors) are just part of the game,&rdquo; said Richter.&ldquo;One day when I&rsquo;m struggling, I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;m going to pick up the papers and see my name in one of those rumors.&ldquo;John has established himself as an outstanding NHL goalie and he is handling a tough time very well. And who knows? If we continue to turn this around, maybe there won&rsquo;t be as much of a need to make changes.&rdquo;The turnaround couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time for the Rangers. Before a third-period goalby Brian Leetch produced a 2-2 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 10, they had lost 11 of their previous 15 games (1-11-3) and had fallen into last place in the Patrick Division.Leetch, who also scored in overtime Jan. 14 to beat the Flyers 4-3, wondered aloud if his team&rsquo;s mini-surge was too late to quash any prospective deals.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if this is going to be enough to make them (Rangers&rsquo; management) hang up the phones,&rdquo; Leetch suggested, &ldquo;but it might at least make them put a few calls on hold for a while.&rdquo;Richter, the Rangers&rsquo; second-round pick (28th overall) in the 1985 entry draft, was especially happy following his victory over the Flyers.&ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;d have to say it was nice, it was special,&rdquo; said the 23-year-old native of Flourtown, Pa. &ldquo;Growing up three miles from downtown Philadelphia, I was a huge Flyer fan&hellip;until the day I was drafted by the Rangers.&ldquo;In fact, I think my mother (Eleanor) is still a Flyer fan. I don&rsquo;t know how this is going to go over at our house.&ldquo;She wasn&rsquo;t here tonight&mdash;she was in Washington, visiting her sister&mdash;but my brother and sister were here. I&rsquo;m going to tell them to peel the Flyer sticker off her car.&rdquo;The highlight of the Flyer game for Richter was a stop of Pelle Eklund on a penalty shot. Richter has now faced&mdash;and stopped&mdash;two penalty shots in six NHL games.In 474 previous games around the league this season, there had been only 10 penalty shots awarded, including Kevin Dineen&rsquo;s miss against Richter at 15:30 of the second period of a 7-3 Ranger victory over Hartford Oct. 19.In the Flyer contest, referee Dan Marouelli ruled that Richter had thrown his stick in the defending zone. Richter claimed it slipped out of his hand as he lurched off-balance.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it should have been a penalty shot,&rdquo; Richter said. &ldquo;I lost control of my stick. It certainly wasn&rsquo;t intentional. The puck went one way and my stick went the other, so I don&rsquo;t understand his reasoning but he is the referee and I&rsquo;m new around here. As it turned out, I was fortunate enough to make the save and it gave us some momentum, so I have no complaint.&rdquo;<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 10: Rudy Poeschek, RW, assigned to Flint (IHL).Jan. 11: Corey Millen, C. assigned to Flint.Jan. 14: Poeschek recalled from Flint.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Carey Wilson. Kelly Kisio, Darren Turcotte, Mark Janssens.LW&mdash;Troy Mallette, John Ogrodnick, Kris King, Ulf Dahlen.RW&mdash;Tomas Sandstrom, Brian Mullen, Rudy Poeschek, Paul Broten.LD&mdash;Mark Hardy, Miloslav Horava, Lindy Ruff.RD&mdash;Brian Leetch. Randy Moller, Jeff Bloemberg.G&mdash;Mike Richter. John Vanbiesbrouck, Bob Froese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Cyr, C, surgery on right knee, out for season.Jan Erixon, LW, strained back, day-to-day.Tony Granato. RW, groin pull, Jan. 23.Ron Greschner, D, contusion in left knee, Jan. 18Chris Nilan, RW, fractured right forearm, Jan. 23.James Patrick, D, slight concussion, slight separation left shoulder, Jan. 23.David Shaw. D. dislocated right shoulder. Jan. 23.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Ogrodnick. 28 A&mdash;Leetch, 25. P&mdash;Ogrodnick, 40 PIM&mdash;Kino. 176. &#9632;

f0015-01

RICHTER’S PLAY REVIVES THE ‘NEAR-DEAD’

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div>Craig Patrick was named general manager and interim coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins Dec. 5, and immediately immersed himself in the details of his jobs.Like learning his players&rsquo; names, for example. After that, he had to get to know their games. Then determine how their individual strengths and weaknesses meshed as a 20-man unit.Only then could he make a reasonably well-informed decision on what the Penguins needed to improve. The process took more than a month but, on Jan. 8, Patrick made a bold move to upgrade his team.He acquired right winger Tony Tanti, center Barry Pederson and defenseman Rod Buskas from Vancouver for centers Dan Quinn and Dave Capuano, and right winger Andrew McBain.The deal was completed a few hours before the Penguins were to play in Madison Square Garden. The trade forced them to play with 10 forwards and eight defensemen, but they beat the Rangers 7-5.Tanti and Pederson proved to be impact players even before they played their first game with the Penguins, a 6-3 loss in New Jersey Jan. 10. They had not even made the trip from Vancouver when Patrick decided to shuffle his lines to accommodate the newcomers.Tanti was put on the Penguins&rsquo; No. 1 line with center Mario Lemieux and left winger Kevin Stevens; Pederson inherited Lemieux&rsquo; former linemates, right winger Rob Brown and left wineer Bob Errev.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011223/5791739-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="774" height="1086"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tony Tanti had a point in each of his first two games with the Penguins.</figcaption></div>Both players showed considerable promise in their first two games with Pittsburgh. Tanti had a goal and an assist; Pederson picked up an assist on Paul Coffey&rsquo;s game-winning goal in a 6-4 victory at Washington Jan. 12.Buskas, whom the Penguins traded to Vancouver for a sixth-round draft choice in October, won&rsquo;t make a tangible contribution for a while. He underwent ankle surgery in December and is not expected to play before mid-February.But Buskas&rsquo; return thrilled his once-and-future teammates, who had been outraged when former coach Gene Ubriaco barred him from practising&mdash;or even associating&mdash;with the team shortly before he was traded to the Canucks. Several players later said that incident permanently shattered their deteriorating relationship with Ubriaco.Buskas probably was acquired as much for what he can do in the locker room as on the ice&rdquo; but Tanti and Pederson will be counted on to help in both places.Both seemed pleased by the trade, but Tanti was particularly upbeat. Getting a chance to play alongside one of the game&rsquo;s premier playmakers can do that for a guy who makes his living as a goal-scorer.Lemieux and Tanti collaborated on Tanti&rsquo;s first goal as a Penguin, a Lemieux set-up in the slot. Tanti snapped a shot between the legs of Washington goalie Don Beaupre. Both forwards expect that to happen a lot once they get familiar with each other.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just got to learn what he (Lemieux) likes to do,&rdquo; Tanti said.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to score a lot of goals,&rdquo; said Lemieux, who added that it will take * &lsquo;just a few practices and a lot of talking&rdquo; to get used to having Tanti on his right side.Pederson was cast in a defensive role with the Canucks, but Pittsburgh will depend on him to produce at both ends. He will play a vital role defensively&mdash;especially when it comes to taking important faceoffs&mdash;the Penguins will expect him to generate some offensive statistics, too.&ldquo;Craig made it clear he doesn&rsquo;t think of me strictlv as a defensive nlaver,&rdquo; Pederson said.&ldquo;and that&rsquo;s the way I feel, too.&rdquo;Strange as it sounds, Brown might turn out to be one of the major beneficiaries of the trade. He lost his place on Lemieux&rsquo; line, but now he will be free to concentrate even more on playing offense. Nobody ever thought of him as a Selke Trophy candidate, but now, Brown has two linemates who are accomplished defensive players who can cover for him.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll worry about ourendfor him,&rdquo; Pederson said. &ldquo;His job is to cheat offensively, and Bobby (Errey) and 1 are going to work off that.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to do good things,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ve got three really solid lines (John Cullen between left winger Phil Bourque and right winger Mark Recchi is the other) and that&rsquo;s going to help us.&rdquo;<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Barry Pederson, John Cullen, Randy Gilhen.LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens, Bob Errey, Phil Bourque, Troy Loney.RW&mdash;Tony Tanti, Rob Brown, Mark Recchi, Jay Caufield.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Chris Dahlquist, Jim Kyte.RD&mdash;Zarley Zalapski, Gord Dineen, Gilbert Delorme.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Rod Buskas, D, ankle surgery, indefinite.Randy Hillier. D, broken thumb, indefinite.Jim Johnson, D, pulled hip muscle, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Lemieux, 32. A&mdash;Lemieux, 57. P&mdash;Lemieux, 89. PIM&mdash;Stevens, 120. &#9632;

f0016-01

PATRICK RESHAPES HIS TEAM WITH BOLD MOVE

<div class="byline">BY MARK HERRMANN</div>Amid all the attention and excitement generated by New York Islander teammate Pat LaFontaine&rsquo;s club-record 11-game goal-scoring streak, Brent Sutter quietly went about his business.While LaFontaine was getting the deserved media attention, Sutter was playing as well as he had all season. And the Islanders reached second place in the Patrick Division.In typical Sutter fashion, he deflected much of the praise for the Islanders&rsquo; resurgence to LaFontaine.&ldquo;It brought everybody&rsquo;s play up a notch,&rdquo; the team captain said of LaFontaine&rsquo;s streak, which ended Jan. 13 in a 4-2 home victory over Washington. &ldquo;No one wanted him to be out there by himself. It gave something for everybody to strive for,, game in, game out. We said, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s go. Let&rsquo;s help this guy out.&rsquo; &ldquo;But while LaFontaine was setting the franchise record and drawing interest befitting a superstar, Sutter continued to show that his own role is far more than supportive. Eight years after he came up as a 19-year-old and helped the Islanders to the third of their four Stanley Cups, Sutter remained a central figure&mdash;killing penalties, bolstering the power play, checking the opponent&rsquo;s biggest scorer and serving as the focal point in the locker room.Sutter, 27, takes his captaincy seriously. At Christmas this year, he and his family opened their home to a few of his single teammates, who were unable to make it home.&ldquo;Brent is probably one of the best leaders in the league,&rdquo; said 21-year-old goalie Mark Fitzpatrick, one of the holiday guests. &ldquo;All the guys look to Brent for that strong hand. Every Sutter is a leader.&rdquo;Although he is not ready to join brothers Brian (St. Louis Blues) and Darryl (Indianapolis Ice of the International League) in the coaching fraternity, Brent has helped shape careers of younger players. LaFontaine included himself in that group.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve always had a good friendship and a sort of friendly competition,&rdquo; LaFontaine said. &ldquo;We feed off each other, we complement each other and we push each other. We&rsquo;ll sit down and talk about things like how to get the guys together.&rdquo;Sutter said no one will confuse the two centers on the ice. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not the same kind of hockey player. I&rsquo;m going to say it as bluntly as I can: He&rsquo;s 10 times the skater I am, has 10 times the hands that I have.&ldquo;He knows he&rsquo;s more of an offensive player and I know that my job is being more of a defensive player.&rdquo;Sutter&rsquo;s offensive contributions had not been so slight, however. He got two goals and an assist during an 8-4 win in Minnesota Jan. 11, the night LaFontaine broke Mike Bossy&rsquo;s team record of 10 straight games.Two nights later, while the Washington Capitals were stiffly checking LaFontaine, Sutter assisted on the tying goal, scored the gamewinner and added a shorthanded empty-netter that secured a 4-2 triumph. That gave the Islanders their sixth straight win, their 11th in 12 games and their 15th in 19 (15-3-1).Although he missed six games earlier in the season with back spasms, Sutter had 19 goals (and 19 assists), second only to LaFontaine. &ldquo;Patty can onlv do so much &ldquo;Sutter said &#9632;

SUTTER CONTINUES TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>It&rsquo;s being called the Cold War in New Jersey.Viacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov, longtime defense partners for the Soviet Central Red Army, have once again become teammates, this time with the New Jersey Devils.They share the same dressing room and have even been on the ice together for brief shifts, but there is no communication between the two Soviets. In fact, Fetisov has gone out of his way to ignore Kasatonov, and a personal battle to see which player can outdo the other has not escaped the attention of their teammates.&ldquo;I think they really push each other,&rdquo; said Dave Maley. &ldquo;At the beginning, Sergei (Starikov) was here, but then he was sent down (to Utica in the American League) and Fetisov was by himself with no competition. I&rsquo;ve seen a big difference in Slava since Alexei came. He has more jump in practice. He knows Alexei is a dam good player and it&rsquo;s like he&rsquo;s vying for the spotlight with him.&rdquo;There was little competition between Fetisov and Starikov, but that is not the case with Fetisov and Kasatonov. Since Kasatonov&rsquo;s arrival from Utica Jan. 2, Fetisov has played his best hockey of the season.Kasatonov played a dominant defensive game and collected two assists in his first five games as a Devil. Fetisov raised the level of his own game, scoring two goals and three assists in those five games. He played a physical game against Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 10, and the Devils won 6-3.There has also been a change in Fetisov&rsquo;s personality. He is more outgoing with his teammates of four months, and has constantly kidded Craig Wolanin, who has been Kasatonov&rsquo;s regular defense partner.&ldquo;Slava doesn&rsquo;t like me anymore because I talk to Alex,&rdquo; said Wolanin. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always kidding me for talking to Kasatonov. He&rsquo;s got a problem with Alex. 1 don&rsquo;t know how deep it goes. Personally, 1 don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s that deep. As players, we don&rsquo;t know what went on overseas between them, but I think it&rsquo;s important for us to make fun of it, make light of it.&rdquo;Fetisov has been sure to clarify what went on overseas last April. The nucleus of the Soviet national team threatened to boycott the World Championships in Stockholm unless coach Viktor Tikhonov reinstated Fetisov to the squad and returned his captaincy.Kasatonov refused to join several of his teammates in their support for Fetisov and, Fetisov claimed, hindered the release of himself, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov to play in the NHL by siding with Tikhonov.Asked about the personal battle with Kasatonov, Fetisov smiled. &ldquo;I think you guys (the media) want it to be that way.&rdquo; said Fetisov. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played my whole life with him. It seems like I&rsquo;m always trying to outdo him. For me, the last 15 years have been like this. Every year, every day, competition.&rdquo;The Cold War has been evident on and off the ice. Kasatonov, who does not have a strong command of English, gets no help from the experienced and confident Fetisov Roth players, Kasatonov in particular, stretch their shifts while keeping the other waiting impatiently on the bench. There is little or no acknowledgement when it is time to change.As long as the Devils&mdash;who remained in first place in the Patrick&mdash;keep winning, the Cold War will not be a problem. If the team falters, the Cold War is likely to heat up.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 12: Neil Brady, C, assigned to Utica (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Patrik Sundstrom, Mark Johnson, Bob Brooke, Walt Poddubny.LW&mdash;Brendan Shanahan, Kirk Muller, Dave Maley, Jim Korn.RW&mdash;John MacLean, Sylvain Turgeon, Doug Brown, Jamie Huscroft, Janne Ojanen.LD&mdash;Tommy Albelin, Bruce Driver, Craig Wolanin, Randy Velischek.RD&mdash;Ken Daneyko, Viacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov, Reijo Ruotsa-lainen.G&mdash;Sean Burke, Chris Terreri.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;MacLean, 25. A&mdash;Sundstrom, 35.P&mdash;Muller. 53. PIM&mdash;Malev. 129. &#9632;

COLD WAR IN JERSEY HAS POTENTIAL TO HEAT UP

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div>In theater, the actors make the play.The performance, however, is only as good as the people behind the scenes.Pete Peeters knows that principle first-hand.With the Philadelphia Flyers giving goaltender Ken Wregget top billing for much of the past two months, Peeters was forced to make most of his contributions off-stage.During one stretch, Wregget started 22 of 24 games, a run which included the Flyers&rsquo; ascent to the top of the Patrick Division in midDecember. Meanwhile, Peeters kept himself busy by practising with enthusiasm and maintaining an upbeat manner.When the team forgot its lines during an 0-3-2 spell to start the new year, coach Paul Holmgren called on Peeters &lsquo;services for a Jan. 13 game at Montreal.Peeters dusted off his script book and came up with a sparkling 33-save effort as the Flyers managed a 2-2 tie at the Forum Holmgren said he liked what he saw of Peeters in a Jan. 6 relief effort of Wregget at Chicago (when he gave up two goals in an 8-5 loss) and a tough 5-4 defeat against the Soviet Red Army on Jan. 9.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re in a situation now where the team feels comfortable with both goalies,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see anv reason why we can&rsquo;t flip-flop them more otten wnen we have the chance.&ldquo;1 think Kenny played such a large stretch that he may have been a little tired. I think it will help him to have a night off.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s been a difficult, but not unexpected, adjustment this season for the 32-year-old Peeters. General manager Bob Clarke explained the situation to Peeters when he signed him as a free agent last summer.The plan was to give the yeoman&rsquo;s share of the work to stalwart Ron Hex-tall, with Wregget (barring a trade) getting second billing.When Hextall was felled by the mixture of a 12-game suspension, a contract holdout and groin injuries, Wregget stepped in to fill the void. Peeters didn&rsquo;t get much work. He was still looking for his first win (0-5-4) in mid-January, but he managed to maintain a positive outlook.&rsquo;&rsquo;When I came to the Flyers, they told me I would be primarily in a backup role,&rdquo; said Peeters. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much what I&rsquo;ve been doing all year. When I get in a game, I want to do well. I&rsquo;ve tried to work hard in practice and keep a positive attitude.&rdquo;Peeters said he has always felt comfortable playing against the Canadiens, particularly at the Forum. Statistics confirmed that. Peeters went into the game with a lifetime 14-13-6 mark and a 2.42 goals-against average against Montreal.He showed some of his old form with flashy saves on Mike McPhee and Stephane Richer.Peeters knows his job and sounds like he&rsquo;s comfortable with it. He&rsquo;s willing to wait until the situation calls for an encore.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a crossroads for my career,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the league 11 years now. There are young kids coming up now that are pretty good. That&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;m going to have to get used to if I want to stay here.&rdquo;<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 9: Murray Baron, D, and Steve Scheifele, RW, assigned to Hershey (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Sutter, Dave Poulin, Keith Acton, Tony Horacek, Murray Craven.LW&mdash;Brian Propp, Derrick Smith, Pelle Eklund, Scott Mellanby.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Mike Bullard, Normand Lacombe, Doug Sulliman, Craig Berube.LD&mdash;Dave Fenyves, Terry Carkner, Kerry Huffman.RD&mdash;Kjell Samuelsson, Jeff Chychrun, Gord Murphy.G&mdash;Ken Wregget, Pete Peeters.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ron Hextall, G, pulled right groin muscle, indefinite.Mark Howe, D, strained back, day-to-day.Tim Kerr, RW, left shoulder surgery, indefinite.Jiri Latal, D. fractured rib, indefinite.Ilkka Sinlsalo, RW, sprained knee, Jan. 23.Jay Wells, D, pulled groin muscle, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Tocchet. Bullard, 21. A&mdash;Craven, 34. P&mdash;Tocchet. 52. PIM&mdash;Berube, 201. &#9632;

UNDERSTUDY PEETERS KNOWS HIS ROLE

<div class="byline">BY DAVE FAY</div>When Rod Langway went down with injuries to both knees just before Christmas, Washington Capitals&rsquo; coach Bryan Murray passed the captain&rsquo;s &lsquo;C&rsquo; around between his two alternates, Scott Stevens and Kelly Miller.When Stevens went out with a broken left foot just before New Year&rsquo;s, the &lsquo;C&rsquo; was sewn onto Miller&rsquo;s sweater on a semi-permanent basis.The versatile left winger couldn&rsquo;t have picked a less auspicious time to assume the leadership role full-time. Starting with an 8-4 loss to Los Angeles New Year&rsquo;s Day, the Caps went 0-for-1990 through Jan. 13&mdash;eight straight losses.That streak was the longest since one of 13 games early in &lsquo;81-82, but doesn&rsquo;t come close to three dubious records owned by the Caps, all in 1974-75, their first season: longest losing streaks at home (11), away (37) and overall (17).&ldquo;It does make the job tougher, especially for myself because I worry about the whole team,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;A lot of times it&rsquo;s easier just to think about yourself and say, &lsquo;Okay, I&rsquo;m playing well.&rsquo; But when you have to worry about the whole team I think I have a tendency to put more pressure on myself and it bothers me even more when the team&rsquo;s not winning.&rdquo;Langway has been the Caps&rsquo; captain since he joined the team after his September, 1982, trade from Montreal. Stevens, atough, aggressive defenseman, and Miller, one of the hardest workers in the NHL, were logical choices to be alternates.&ldquo;When Rod and Scott went down, Kelly was the obvious person on our team to be the captain,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We wanted a player who represents our work ethic and determination and I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any greater example than Kelly Miller.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good spokesman, represents the players well, is a very determined guy who wants to win as badly as any guy I&rsquo;ve seen. He&rsquo;s got leadershipqualities written all over him.&rdquo;It runs in the family. Kelly, 26, was the captain at Michigan State. So was brother Kevin, 24, now a Ranger farmhand with the Flint Spirits of the International League. Kip, 20, is currently an alternate captain at MSU.Never a gifted scorer&mdash;he was 1411-25 in 46 games&mdash;Miller picked hard-working ex-Montreal left winger Bob Gainey as his role model.&ldquo;When I was growing up I always enjoyed watching him, just his intensity on the ice, and I&rsquo;ve always tried to pattern myself the same way he played,&rdquo; said Miller. &ldquo;He leads by example and I&rsquo;m sure that carries over into the room. I try to lead by example and carry that over into the room, to be a positive force there, too.&ldquo;You have to take a little more responsibility but the most important thing is to lead by example. You&rsquo;ve got to be consistent, a player who comes to play every game, be emotionally up and be ready to go. The other thing is that you&rsquo;ve got to be concerned about the other players, concerned for the whole team. You can&rsquo;t just look after yourself, you&rsquo;ve got to try to get everybody moving in the right direction.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s possible there could be a conflict, as Miller is also the team&rsquo;s player representative. But neither Murray nor the player see it that way.&ldquo;I addressed that issue to him,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;I knew there wouldn&rsquo;t be any problems there.&rdquo;&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no conflict at all because in both cases what you&rsquo;re caring for is the player,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;You want to see that the player is being treated fairly and right.&rdquo;Now, about the losing streak&hellip;<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 8: Jim Mathieson, D, assigned to Regina (WHL). Kent Paynter. D, recalled from Baltimore (AHL).Jan. 13: Mike Richard, C, recalled from Baltimore.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Ridley, Dale Hunter, Mike Richard, Rob Murray, John Tucker, Doug Wickenheiser.LW&mdash;Kelly Miller, Yvon Corriveau, Michal Pivonka, Geoff Courtnall, Nick Kypreos.RW&mdash;Dino Ciccarelli, Steve Leach, John Druce, Alan May.LD&mdash;Scot Kleinendorst, Bill Houlder, Kent Paynter.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Calle Johansson, Bob Rouse.G&mdash;Don Beaupre. Bob Mason.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bob Joyce, sprained right knee, Jan. 23.Rod Langway, D, arthroscopic surgery to both knees, indefinite.Scott Stevens. D. broken left foot, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Ciccarelli. 22. A&mdash;Ridley, 26. P&mdash;Ciccarelli. 43. PIM&mdash;May, 214. &#9632;

CAPTAIN MILLER CAN’T RESCUE SINKING SHIP

<div class="byline">STEVE DRYDEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01799/5791873-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="552" height="671"></div>Let me come clean right off the top. This column is a product of thievery upon thievery. I stole the idea from Philadelphia magazine. That journal lifted it from M, the magazine of The Civilized Man. There is no record of whether M swiped it from somebody else.My confession out of the way, here&rsquo;s what the manly magazine did: It compiled a list of &ldquo;100 Things They Haven&rsquo;t Ruined Yet&mdash;A guide to pleasures that still haven&rsquo;t been trampled, cheapened, fouled, or overloaded with guilt.&rdquo;M included potatoes (?) on its list. Philadelphia mentioned Bobby Clarke. He&rsquo;s on my list too, but potatoes aren&rsquo;t. Not even French fries.Anyway, here&rsquo;s my list of people and things we still haven&rsquo;t ruined:&bull; Bobby Clarke. He remains one of the general managers you can count on.&bull; Maple Leaf Gardens. Despite Harold Ballard&rsquo;s best efforts.&bull; Jean Beliveau. A true gentleman.&bull; Mike Allison. One of the finest people in the NHL.&bull; NHL sweaters. It has been suggested that advertisements be permitted on them, but president John Ziegler is firmly opposed.&bull; Michel Goulet. A Francophone who can&rsquo;t comprehend periodic Anglophone reluctance to experience a different culture.&bull; College hockey. It is a big-time revenue producer for the NCAA, but has not fallen prey to the woes plaguing other major college sports.&bull; Rick Dudley. He doesn&rsquo;t sound like any other coach in the league.&bull; Ron Caron. Unique I.&bull; Pick-up hockey. The best sporting pastime in the world.&bull; Montreal Forum press room. Chien chaude avec moutarde.&bull; Leon Stickle. The guy with the funny name has been around for 20 years now.&bull; Bruce McNall. He has not yet tired of his toy.&bull; Sabres&rsquo; director of information (and author) Budd Bailey. Unique II.&bull; Terry Crisp. He doesn&rsquo;t apologize for what he is, although sometimes he should.&bull; Doug Wilson. What a dignified presence he has given the game.&bull; Bobby Smith. Just plain smart.&bull; Boije Salming. He has always been his own man.&bull; League PR people, headed up by Gary Meagher. He played the game and it shows.<h2>NUMBERS</h2>Few pre-war players still hold NHL records, but Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Reginald (Red) Homer holds one that is likely never to be broken. Homer led the NHL in penalty minutes eight consecutive seasons&mdash;1932-33 to 1939-40. His 167 minutes in 1935-36 stood as a league record until 1955-56. when the New York Rangers&rsquo; Lou Fontinato was assessed 202 minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02559/5791866-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="784" height="453"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

SOMETHINGS WE HAVE NOT YET RUINED

<h2>OILERS</h2>Czechoslovakian newcomer Vladimir Ruzicka practised with the Oilers for the first time Jan. 14. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you have to worry about him keeping up with the team,&rdquo; observed GM Glen Sather. &ldquo;He can skate.&rdquo; Coach John Muckier was impressed by Ruzicka&rsquo;s puckhandling ability. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got good hands and he skates exceptionally well. He looks like he&rsquo;s in pretty good shape, although he got tired towards the end of practice. That&rsquo;s understandable. He hasn&rsquo;t played for a while (Jan. 4) and he&rsquo;s not in game condition.&rdquo;&hellip;The Oilers&rsquo; All-Star Game contingent has a combined 21 years of ASG experience. Defenseman Kevin Lowe was voted to the Campbell Conference side in fan balloting, while center Mark Messier and right winger Jari Kurri were named by Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Terry Crisp as alternates. This will be Messier&rsquo;s eighth appearance, Kurri&rsquo;s seventh and Lowe&rsquo;s sixth-&hellip; With a goal and an assist in a 3-3 tie with Los Angeles Jan. 11, Kurri bumped his career point output to 1,007, moving him past Lanny McDonald into 24th place on the NHL list.<h2>JETS</h2>Winnipeg was riding its hottest streak of the season, winning eight of 10 games from Dec. 26 through Jan. 14. The Jets put together two fourgame winning streaks (which were separated by last-minute losses in Boston and Pittsburgh) to move five games above .500 (22-17-5) for the first time since the conclusion of the 1986-87 season, when they finished at 40-32-8. However, coach Bob Murdoch was not entirely pleased with some recent efforts. &ldquo;I think you have to look at it realistically,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not playing very well right now. We&rsquo;re getting points but if we keep playing the way we are we&rsquo;re going to lose our rhythm, we&rsquo;re going to lose our edge and we&rsquo;re going to start losing.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Winnipeg&rsquo;s penalty killers, led by Dave McLlwain and Doug Smail, continued to excel. The Jets gave up one power-play goal to Washington Jan. 10 to break a streak of five scoreless games for opposition power plays. The Jets went 14-for-14 in that stretch and through 44 games had surrendered just 24 power-play goals, a success rate of 85.5 per cent.<h2>CANUCKS</h2>Barry Pederson&rsquo;s parting words before leaving Vancouver after a Jan. 8 trade to Pittsburgh: Don&rsquo;t be so tough on the Soviets. &ldquo;I feel sorry for them,&rdquo; Pederson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s terrible, the way they&rsquo;ve been treated. People are demanding too much of them too soon. And that can make it awfully tough.&rdquo; Vladimir Krutov, who sat out two straight games for the first time this season, was inserted in the lineup Jan. 13 and scored twice in a 5-3 loss to Buffalo&hellip;Brian Burke, the Canucks&rsquo; director of hockey operations, returned from a scouting trip to Sweden and indicated defenseman Leif Rohlin, the Canucks&rsquo; second pick in the &rsquo;88 draft, may start next season in Milwaukee&hellip;The Canucks have talked to the New Jersey Devils about acquiring defenseman Eric Weinrich, a member of the &rsquo;88 U.S. Olympic team who plays with the Devils&rsquo; farm team in Utica. Also, the Canucks were said to be interested in Devils&rsquo; defenseman Craig Wolanin-&hellip;Last year&rsquo;s rookie sensation, Trevor Linden, went 15 games without a goal before scoring in a 5-2 loss to St. Louis Jan. 12.<h2>KINGS</h2>Defenseman Barry Beck returned to the lineup Jan. 10 after missing four games with a concussion and, following a 4-3 loss to St. Louis that night, said the Kings had to start playing with more aggression. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not mean enough,&rdquo; Beck said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some big guys in here and we&rsquo;ve all got to start pulling our load. It&rsquo;s like we&rsquo;re waiting for the playoffs or something. We better get our butts in gear or we&rsquo;re not going to make the playoffs.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Defenseman Marty McSorley served an automatic onegame suspension Jan. 13 against Hartford for accumulating three game misconducts&hellip; The Kings&rsquo; power play continued to struggle. They had four goals in 32 chances over nine games- .. Bernie Nicholls was second on the team with 27 goals, but went six games without one, his worst slump of the year.<h2>FLAMES</h2>Left winger Brian MacLellan, who entered Calgary&rsquo;s Jan. 14 game against the Blackhawks with only three goals on the season, scored four times&mdash;matching a career-best that he achieved once before with Los Angeles Kings&mdash;to help the Flames to a 6-5 win. Afterwards, MacLellan who&rsquo;d played only two of the previous seven games and seen only spot duty then, was trying to puzzle through the change in his fortunes. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t played in two weeks and then that&rsquo;s the most I&rsquo;ve played since I got here,&rdquo; said MacLellan. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to figure.&rdquo; Some figured MacLellan might not ever get to play again following comments that he made last week. MacLellan told the Calgary Herald he&rsquo;s not a fighter; he doesn&rsquo;t believe in fighting; and fighting should be banned in the NHL. &ldquo;What I said was honest,&rdquo; said MacLellan. &ldquo;You have to say what you feel and hope for the best.&rdquo;&hellip;It was a tough week for center Joel Otto. Following two games on the sidelines nursing a hip pointer, Otto returned to the lineup for a Jan. 13 game with Toronto and was cross checked hard from behind. In the dressing room afterwards, he was spitting up blood, so he was hospitalized overnight. The injury was not considered serious and he was listed as being out day-today. &#9632;

RUZICKA IMPRESSES AT OILERS’ PRACTICE

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>Any other time, hockey fans in Toronto would have cheered Joe Mullen for breaking a record.But not this time. When Mullen scored late in the second period of the Flames&rsquo; 6-5 loss to the Maple Leafs Jan. 13 to tie Reed Larson&rsquo;s record for career points by a U. S.-bom player, he was soundly booed by the partisan crowd. When he scored his 18th goal of the season in the third period to break the mark, he was booed even louder.No, the fans of Toronto are not closet Reed Larson fans. The reason for their frustration had nothing to do with the nine-year veteran. It had everything to do with Flames&rsquo; coach Terry Crisp and his decision to choose Mullen for the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh Jan. 21, instead of Maple Leafs&rsquo; right winger Gary Leeman.Judging by this season&rsquo;s statistics, the fans felt they had a legitimate point. With 29 goals and 28 assists in 46 games, Leeman posted numbers that were much better than Mullen&rsquo;s uncharacteristic 18-17-35 in 46 games.Mullen became the bad guy in this whole affair. A quality pro, an integral part of last year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup championship team, Mullen was caught in a web of someone else&rsquo;s weaving.&ldquo;Definitely, I&rsquo;m surprised (about the selection),&rdquo; said Mullen. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more confusing for the players than for anybody else. What counts? What you&rsquo;ve done in the past or what you&rsquo;re doing right now? I&rsquo;ve been on both sides. I&rsquo;ve had pretty good first halves and not been picked. So I understand what some of the guys are feeling.&rdquo;When he made the selection. Crisp said he knew he would take the heat for it. He also made no excuses for his nepotism.&ldquo;I know, I&rsquo;m the villain,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I owe the team in that room. Joe Mullen has been and always will be an all-star, loronto has a legitimate question (about Leeman) and I&rsquo;ll give them a legitimate answer: I didn&rsquo;t see Toronto winning the Stanley Cup last year.&rdquo;But when the Flames made their only visit of the season to Toronto, the fans didn&rsquo;t seem to pay much attention to Crisp&rsquo;s reasoning. Mullen understood now tney ten ana took tne boobirds in stride.&ldquo;Considering all the things that happened this week, that&rsquo;s not surprising,&rdquo; said Mullen. &ldquo;Sure, they&rsquo;re going to boo me. It&rsquo;s part of the game.&rdquo;There was initially some confusion about the record. In 1987-88, the Flames recorded 45 assists for Mullen but the league recorded only 44. Eventually, the Flames decided to go with the league&rsquo;s numbers.The next night, in a 6-5 victory over Chicago, Mullen added three assists to raise his career totals to 323-366389 in 614 career games. Ina 13-year career with the Detroit Red Wings,Boston Bruins, Edmonton Ollers, New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars, Larson had 222 goals and 463 assists in 903 games.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty neat honor,&rdquo; said Mullen, who has a string of six consecutive 40-goal seasons on the line this year. &ldquo;I just hope I can keep adding to it.&rdquo;<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 8: Sergei Priakin, LW, assigned to Salt Lake (IHL).Jan. 11: Jonas Bergqvist, LW, recalled from Salt Lake.Jan. 14: Priakin recalled from Salt Lake.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Theo Fleury, Jiri Hrdina, Marc Bureau.LW&mdash;Gary Roberts. Colin Patterson, Brian MacLellan, Paul Ranheim, Sergei Priakin.RW&mdash;Joey Mullen, Sergei Makarov, Tim Hunter, Jonas Bergqvist.LD&mdash;Gary Suter. Jamie Macoun, Dana Murzyn, Ken Sabourin.RD&mdash;Brad McCrimmon, Al Maclnnis, Ric Nattress, Roger Johansson.G&mdash;Mike Vernon, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Stu Grimson, LW, broken cheekbone, indefinite.Mark Hunter, LW, reconstructive knee surgery, out for seasonJoel Otto, C, bruised back, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Nieuwendyk. 25. A&mdash;Makarov, 38. P&mdash;Nieuwendyk, 53. PIM&mdash;T. Hunter, ifia &#9632;

ALL-STAR FLAP DOESN’T FAZE RECORD-SETTER

You can put a National Hockey League crest on just about everything. While the traditional favorites&mdash;jackets, sweaters, hats and hockey equipment&mdash;might be the most common places to find the logo of your favorite NHL team, they&rsquo;re far from being the only places.Companies have put NHL team crests on everything from pens to posters, from candles to cups and from lighters to limited-edition coins and pendants.But before you do anything, the Licensing Corporation of America (Canada) Inc., wants to see your idea to make sure it will meet its exacting standards.&ldquo;In order to obtain a license in either hockey or baseball, one has to have a quality product&mdash;with the need out there for that quality product,&rdquo; says Doug Kelcher, vice president of LCA Canada.&ldquo;That individual or company must also have the proper financial support behind the venture and the capability to properly distribute that product. These requirements must be met before we will grant the right for any team or league logos to be used on that product.&rdquo;LCA Canada is the Canadian licensing agent for Major League Baseball, the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and Hockey Canada in addition to the NHL.One person who knows all about the necessary requirements to get licensing is Shain of Canada sales co-ordinator Terri Ramsey. Her company already has a contract with LCA Canada to manufacture jackets bearing NHL team logos.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had our license for a long time,&rdquo; says Ramsey, who has been with Shain of Canada for three years. &ldquo;But in most cases, somebody would have to present the idea to LCA Canada to make sure no one else had that idea.&ldquo;Then you&rsquo;d have to submit a prototype (sample) of the idea. So if the idea was a calendar, you&rsquo;d have to do a mock.-up of a calendar. Then if you get approval for the idea, you&rsquo;d have to submit product samples as well.&rdquo;The process is all part of LCA Canada&rsquo;s desire to have only top-of-the-line products available to the consumer.But the process doesn&rsquo;t end there, as Ramsey goes on to say: &ldquo;After submitting the samples, they get back to you with full approval or approval with changes&mdash;such as colors or lettering. Sometimes you can&rsquo;t always get spot on color-they request, it can go back and forth (between LCA Canada and the manufacturer).&rdquo;Only LCA Canada-approved merchandise can carry the NHL logo or the logos of any of its 21 NHL teams. Non-licensed merchandise is illegal and those caught in violation of the Copyright Act can be fined up to $1 million and face a maximum of five years in prison.&ldquo;We are pleased with the actions taken to date in such cases of infringements,&rdquo; says Kelcher. &ldquo;We are happy that rights acquired by our licensees are being protected. We sincerely hope that the message will get through to anyone toying with the idea of knocking us off.&rdquo;The NHL is in the midst of yet another record-setting attendance year. Hockey continues to grow in popularity, even in Canada where it seems everyone already is a hockey fan.&ldquo;The National Hockey League continues to grow in attendance annually and it reached new heights during the 1980s,&rdquo; says Kelcher.&ldquo;When you look at the Canadian teams, their records have been impressive. I can&rsquo;t remember the last time at least one Canadian team wasn&rsquo;t in the Stanley Cup final, while on two occasions (1986 and 1989) Calgary and Montreal met in the Stanley Cup final.&rdquo;So, not only are these good times for the NHL, these are also good times for LCA Canada. More fans means more licensing opportunities. And LCA Canada has also done a great job of policing manufacturers of bogus merchandise.&ldquo;This has been the best year ever as far as LCA Canada getting rid of bootleg products,&rdquo; says Ramsey. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve really clamped down to make sure products aren&rsquo;t oirated. &ldquo; &#9632;

PUT NHL CREST ON ANYTHING—BUT CALL LCA

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02503/5792004-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg"></div><h2>YOUNG STARS IMPROVE SKILLS AT HURN</h2>Iribarren with a dazzling pad save, Yenne clears the rebound up to Watt, he headmans to Kuwabara wheeling down the right side. Kuwabara cuts accross the blueline, he shoots, he scores! The San Jose Earthquakes win the 1999 Stanley Cup!It&rsquo;s the dream of every young man who laces up a pair of skates to someday play on the Stanley Cup championship team. God-given talent, desire and hard work are all ingredients in the development of a young player but chosing the right school can help provide that important winning edge. Huron Hockey School, &ldquo;The Pros Who Teach The Pros&rdquo;, proudly takes this opportunity to profile four outstanding prospects who are learning the game the Huron way.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01736/5791997-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="395" height="566"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ryan Kuwabara</figcaption></div>Ryan Kuwabara is enjoying a productive rookie season with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Ottawa 67&rsquo;s. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right winger was the object of the intense bidding war last summer while he attended Huron Hockey School for a third straight year. He was flooded with American University scholarship offers, especially from Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale who were impressed by his 90 per centplus high school average. Ryan opted for the major junior route when the mayor of Ottawa visited his Hamilton home and convinced him to play in the Canadian capital.Some people still believe skating is an art, but at Huron Hockey School it&rsquo;s a science. Ryan has developed a special relationship with Huron Instructor, Grant Heffernan, a former NCAA All-American in both hockey and lacrosse, who&rsquo;s smoothed out some of the rough edges in his skating style. &ldquo;He was already a strong skater in terms of body strength and posture,&rdquo; says Heffernan. &ldquo;But he was also a straight up and fairly wide skater. So we tried to get him down a little more for balance and agility, and to bend the knees as he strided for extra power, and of course to bring the legs in a little bit.The farther you progress in hockey the better the goalies get, so Ryan needed some shooter-tutoring as well. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a great wrist shot,&rdquo; analyzes Heffernan. &ldquo;But you find players, especially at younger levels, have a tendency to take a big back-swing with the slapshot. We remind Ryan it&rsquo;s almost identical to the golf swing. You bring the stick back about three-quarters, low to the ice, drive down and through, and release the wrists.&rdquo; Ryan&rsquo;s 15 goals at the midway point of the season attest to how well he learned.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03406/5791990-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="777" height="535"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been to other schools, but Huron Hockey School has helped me the most,&rdquo; states the 17-year-old right winger who&rsquo;s attracting considerable attention from the pro scouts for the 1990 NHL draft. He says everything just comes together at Huron. &ldquo;You practise hard, learn fundamentals from the top instructors in the game, review techniques through video analysis and put it all to use at the daily scrimmage. I&rsquo;ll be going back next summer for sure.&rdquo;Robert Iribarren is in his sixth season of minor hockey in St. Louis but had never received any formal goaltending instruction until Huron Hockey School made its Missouri debut last summer. The Head Instructor in the puckstopping department is Rick Heinz, who tended goal for nine seasons in the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; and Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; organizations. "The first thing I do in a case like this is get the kid organized,&rdquo; says Heinz, who&rsquo;s the author of the highly informative manual for minor hockey players entitled, Many are Called Few are Signed. &ldquo;Too many kids think they have to jump around and flop all over the place. Organization means learning to control your body when you&rsquo;re making a save. You have to take a youngster with all this energy, grab him by the horns and say, slow down. Know what you&rsquo;re doing out there.&rdquo;Both teacher and 12-year-old pupil agree it&rsquo;s amazing the progress that can be made in one week. &ldquo;On my scale he was about the ninth best goalie at the St. Louis school that first day," says Heinz. &ldquo;But by the end of the week he was clearly second best and was challenging the top goalie who&rsquo;d been going to hockey schools for five or six years.&rdquo; Robert, who blocks shots for the Creve Coeur Peewee &ldquo;AA" squad in St. Louis, proudly states, &lsquo;Tm a lot better goaltender this season thanks to Huron Hockey School and Mr. Heinz.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s hoping to eventually attend Avon Old Farms prep school in Connecticut and Heinz has promised to continue polishing what he terms Robert&rsquo;s &ldquo;tremendous raw talent&rdquo; so he can give it his best shot.Michael Watt is the 13-year-old captain of his Seaforth, Ont., peewee team intentionship to match the one they won in atom. The shifty center is a throwback to the days when young men lived and breathed hockey 24 hours a day. His father often drops him off at the rink for a skate before he goes to school. Michael moves up to play with the bantams on a regular basis and also skated with Seaforth&rsquo;s Junior D team once this season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04294/5791983-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="1197" height="851"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Yenne and Robert Iribarren</figcaption></div>Bill Weber, who also handles the high school team in Seaforth and contributed to Hockey Ontario&rsquo;s Midget Development Camp, has been coaching for 27 years. He sees a definite Huron Hockey School influence not only on Michael, but on a number of his teammates as well. &ldquo;I get many of Huron&rsquo;s players at the local school here in September,&rdquo; says Weber. &ldquo;I can see the work done over the summer and the improvement in their skating, especially with their quick starts.&rdquo;Like many players who are dominant on the ice at a young age, Michael has developed a habit of trying to do too much himself, like going end to end every time he has the puck. &ldquo;Michael possesses a lot of individual skills, such as a tremendous shot," notes coach Weber. &ldquo;One of his goals this year is to become a better playmaker and until he suffered a broken collarbone in November (playing bantam), he was leading the club in assists."Michael has been a Huron regular for six years now and his favorite instructor this past summer was Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; rugged defenseman Brian Curran. &ldquo;He told me most players always shift to the inside when they try to deke a defenceman, but that means you&rsquo;re not taking advantage of the whole ice surface. So he showed me a lot of different moves to go to the outside and that&rsquo;s really helped me.&rdquo; It takes just one Watt to light up the scoreboard at many peewee games in Seaforth.David Yenne patrols the blueline for the Valley Hockey Club Squirts, one of the nine teams in its Missouri Ice Hockey Association division. The father of the eleven-year old defenseman admits ice time in the St. Louis area is often difficult to come by because of competition from figure skaters, so Huron Hockey School was a huge success last June, especially teaching rudimentary skills that might be taken for granted in some hockey hotbeds. &ldquo;St. Louis was in dire need of a quality hockey school and now it has one,&rdquo; enthuses Tony Yenne. &ldquo;I had parents telling me their kids couldn&rsquo;t even stop to the left at the start of the camp, but it was almost second nature by the end of the week.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05226/5791976-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="453" height="571"><figcaption class="caption-body">Michael Watt</figcaption></div>David, a 5-foot-1, 100-pound left shot, has been attending Huron for four years now. He concentrated on improving his puckhandling skills this past summer and the drills put together by the all-star staff of coach Shawn Walsh from the University of Maine, Michigan State assistantcoach Terry Christensen and coach Steve Cady of the University of Miami (Ohio), helped immensely. &ldquo;They certainly made me a better player,&rdquo; says the young rearguard who dreams of a collegiate career as an offensive defenseman. His father adds he&rsquo;s already had numerous inquiries about Huron&rsquo;s second summer in St. Louis and predicts the 1990 camp will sell out.The list of Huron Hockey Alumni that has made an impact in the NHL is lengthy and impressive. Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings, Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins, Al Maclnnis of the Calgary Flames, Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens and Ed Olczyk of the Toronto Maple Leafs are just five players who&rsquo;ve improved their game with an assist from Huron Hockey School. Ryan Kuwabara, Robert Iribarren, Michael Watt and David Yenne hope to someday join them on the list. &#9632;

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HOCKEY SCHOOL MEET OUR STUDENTS

This summer, campers at Stars Specialized Hockey Camp and Can-Am Hockey Camps in Guelph, Ont., will be able to take advantage of some of the best training facilities in North America.The University of Guelph has just completed a twin pad arena complex featuring both an Olympic and NHL regulation size ice surface. The arena complex is located just 500 feet from the residence facilities, making the camp completely self contained. Returning campers will appreciate the fact that bus rides to the arena are no longer necessary-the pool, athletic fields, cafeteria, ice surface and residence space are within five minutes of each other.In order to take full advantage of these new facilities, the Can-Am Hockey Group has decided to move its Stars Specialized Hockey Camp from Peterborough to Guelph. Gary Green, Can-Am Director, explains the reasons behind the move.&ldquo;When you have a program that has become as successful as the STARS camp, you continually strive to provide campers with the best experience possible. The University of Guelph offers our participants the opportunity to train at one of the best facilities in the country. Our campers know that we have their best interests in mind at all times. We see this move as a chance for us to become the best we can be. That always has been the underlying theme of the Stars camp.&rdquo;However, Green stresses that even though the camps will share facilities they will continue to operate as two separate programs.&ldquo;Stars and Can-Am have each developed their own personality and approach to instruction. We don't want to lose the uniqueness of each camp.&rdquo; The Stars program will operate for three weeks, July 15-Aug. 4,1990 and then the Can-Am program will move in for two weeks, Aug. 5-11, 1990. &ldquo;Nothing will change for either camp, it will be the same staff and the same program, just a new home,&rdquo; Green says.Mike Pelino, Director of the Stars camp is excited about the move to Guelph. "Over the past five years the Stars camp has been one of the finest in North America. These new facilities are just too good to pass up. I honestly believe that our situation here is state of the art, no other hockey camp can match these facilities. We're like a small city here and as a result we are able to meet all the trainingneeds of the aspiring player.<h2> &lsquo;SAME PROGRAM NEW HOME.&rsquo;</h2>Marlin Muylaert, director of the Can-Am program in Guelph, agrees with Pelino about the impact the new facitlities will have on his program.. &ldquo;Can-Am has developed tradition of excellence over its 20 years here in Guelph and these new facilities can only make us better. With the close proximity of the arena and athletic training facilities, we have a great deal of additional time injected into the program. This will give us the opportunity to concentrate even more on the total development of each player, allowing us to maximize every minute of his day both on and off the ice.&rdquo;The Can-Am Hockey Group has always been regarded as a world leader in the field of hockey programming. Its goal has always been clear&hellip;to challenge the athlete to reach his full potential as a hockey player. Whether you choose to attend the Stars or Can-Am programs in Guelph or one of their excellent camps in Lake Placid, N.Y. or Rockford, III., you can be sure that you will leave Can-Am a better individual and hockey player.For more information you may call Can-Am&rsquo;s Canadian office at (705)745-2338 or Can-Am&rsquo;s U.S. office at (414)248-0409. &#9632;

NEW TRAINING FACILITIES AT TWO CAMPS

Trying to locate the ideal summer hockey school or camp for your children can be difficult at the best of times.But when you have to gather alt the information yourself, what should be an enjoyable task can become somewhat of a burden.With that in mind, The Hockey News has designed its Summer &lsquo;90 Hockey School Equipment Guide containing the information necessary to facilitate your hockey school or camp decision.&ldquo;Over the years we&rsquo;ve had a lot of parents call us, wanting to send their children to hockey school, but they don&rsquo;t know much about them,&rdquo; says TH/Vs advertising manager Randy Green. &ldquo;So, what we do is refer them to our hockey school guide. This section gives parents an idea of where to send their kids to camp.&rdquo;Green suggests parents follow a few easy steps in choosing a suitable camp.&ldquo;First, they should decide what type of camp they want the child to attend,&rdquo; explains Green. &ldquo;This can be based on the directories provided.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve divided the camps into six geographical categories. (1. Ontario; 2. Western Canada; 3. Quebec and Maritimes; 4. Eastern U.S.; 5. Western U.S.; 6. Overseas.) The camps are listed alphabetically by region.&ldquo;Where this kind of listing really comes in handy is for people who are travelling. For example, if a family is going out west, and they want to send a child to hockey camp there for a week, they can look at our list and find an appropriate camp.&rdquo;But Green says the final decision shouldn&rsquo;t be based solely on the supplement.&ldquo;Before making any choices, parents should write or call the schools,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;Call the school directors and ask questions.&rdquo;Not only does the hockey school supplement afford parents and children the opportunity to choose an appropriate school, but it also gives players insight into the newest hockey equipment not yet available on the market.Stories on the happenings at the Canadian Sporting Goods Associ-tion&rsquo;s Annual Convention and Exhibition in Montreal&mdash;used by manufacturers to preview their new lines of merchandise to retailers&mdash;appear in the section.Green says this feature has a natural hockey school tie-in.&ldquo;This information gives parents the chance to find out about the new hockey equipment before it comes out on the market in the spring,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;This is important if you want to take ne" equipment to hockey camp to break it in.&rdquo;According to Green, who&rsquo;s been putting together the supplement for the last 10 years, the need to find out about schools and equipment has risen with each edition.&ldquo;Some hockey schools have been around for as long as 30 years,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;Most started as general recreational camps, but as things have become more and more specialized over the years, there have been a lot more hockey camps opening up.&ldquo;I would say the section has atleast tripled in my 10 years, and this year&rsquo;s is the biggest ever.&rdquo;And it&rsquo;s the biggest edition of THN this year.So what makes the section such a hit with the readers?&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s so popular because nobody does a guide of the same magnitude as ours,&rdquo; Green says. &ldquo;We have stories and charts and ads. There&rsquo;s no other definitive hockey school source.&rdquo;Despite its continual growth, Green warns, the section is not a complete listing of all hockey schools in North America.&ldquo;The schools have to call us if they want to be listed,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;We take out an ad in our classified section, then the schools pay us fees to be included.&ldquo;So, obviously we&rsquo;re not going to know about all the schools.&rdquo;Green also says the supplement isn&rsquo;t for everyone.&ldquo;Some don&rsquo;t care for the section. People not interested in hockey schools aren&rsquo;t going to have much interest. But for those who do, it can be an invaluable source.&rdquo; &#9632;

YOUR GUIDE TO HOCKEY SCHOOLS AND CAMPS

By incorporating superior engineering and exclusive anatomical designs, Flak&reg; protective equipment by Bauer&reg; has taken air and made it the ultimate hockey defense tool.But it's not air alone that makes Flak&reg; unique. Rather, it's the way Flak&reg; has utilized air-with electronically-sealed air pouches and blow-molded plastic that makes Flak&reg; not only unique, but places Flak&reg; ahead of its competitors and the game itself.For 1990, Flak&reg; introduces a new high-tech shin guard line with three designs created for superb flexibility and protection. Leading the way is the FSG 350 AIR featuring the protective Shin Flex design constructed of high-density engineered plastic. This new design not only offers increased protection, but accommodates your own natural skating strides, thereby enhancing flexibility and agility.Flak&reg; also remains at the forefront of the pant market with the introduction of two new designs that complement the top-of-the line FP 300 Super Pro-the first pant to introduce blow-molded plastic components that house air between two walls of high-density plastic. Designed in the image of the FP 300, the new FP 250 PRO uses blow-molded plastic protection in the critical hip and thigh areas. It also increases flexibility thanks to a new, lightweight sectional design.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01704/5792114-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="608" height="926"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Taylor of the Los Angeles Kings uses Flak equipment.</figcaption></div>Flak&reg; by Bauer shoulder pads will once again prove to be the choice of the 90&rsquo;s with the FSP 300, FSP 250 and FSP 100. All three will incorporate the exclusive Flak(r) air system along with impact-absorbing foam polyethylene plastic for maximum protection. Designed as a short front model, the FSP 250 provides a traditional fit and solid comfort.The hockey player of the 90&rsquo;s will also enjoy a new FG 351 Pro Nylon Shortcuff glove, enhancing Flak&rsquo;s(r) full range of nylon and leather hockey gloves. Created as a durable Pro nylon version of the FG 400/401, the FG 350 Pro Nylon Shortcuff eases gripping and flex with a two-piece finger roll and a durable Clarino(r) palm. And, like all Flak(r) gloves, it also features an extremely durable outer shell and high-density, protective foam in the fingers and backroll.Once again, Flak(r) by Bauer&rsquo;s line of new and existing products is solid proof of Bauer&rsquo;s ongoing dedication to not only meet the demands of today&rsquo;s competitive player&mdash;but to surpass them. It&rsquo;s this kind of commitment to superior en-gineeirng and design that makes Flak(r) an air-tight case for your de-fonco &#9632;

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FLAK MAKES AIR-TIGHT CASE FOR DEFENSE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01648/5792152-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01700/5792145-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="3611" height="4400"></div> &#9632;

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS… IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

Selecting a summer camp is a difficult decision. When you select a hockey camp, you want to make certain you are getting a program you are going to benefit from. You want to have fun while learning and improving your hockey skills.At Sports Ridley, we understand this fact so we&rsquo;ve made a list of the most important questions you should be asking about our camp. To be the best, come to the best.We hope the following questions and answers will help provide you with the essentials you&rsquo;ll need to know about Sports Ridley.1. How much ice time do I get? When it comes right down to the nitty-gritty, the reason you&rsquo;re at hockey camp or school is to gainexcellent instruction and as much ice time as possible. Sports Ridley gives you an average of four hours of ice time a day (eight- to 10-year-olds receive three hours daily while Elite Shooters and Scorers receive four hours).2. How many people are on the ice? For a program to run effectively, the on-ice groups must be amanageable size. Both the Elite and Regular programs are designed for 30 skaters and four goalies.3. Who are the instructors? At Sports Ridley, you will be instructed by professional players who can teach and are committed to junior development. Sports Ridley only hires instructors who have proven excellence as players, teachers and coaches.4 What happens when you are off the ice? We want you to have fun while learning and we want your Summer Session programs to be memorable. Off-ice time is filled with a variety of activities including sports, ropes course, free swim sessions, competitive and recreational games.5 Where is the camp? Is it easy to get to? Sports Ridley is located in the heart of the scenic Niagara Peninsula on the Ridley College campus. The lovely 84-acre campus is 10 minutes from Niagara Falls, 40 minutes from Buffalo and an hour from Toronto. Pick-up service can be arranged for campers flying into Toronto or Buffalo airports.6 Will you be well looked after, and what will your food and accommodation be like? Ridley College is the site of Sports Ridley. Ridley is Canada&rsquo;s largest and most prestigious co-educational boarding school. As such, all the dormitories are comfortable and modern. Most are two-man rooms. You will feel at home immediately on our lovely and compact 84-acre campus.Many camps limit the amount of food that you can eat. At Sports Ridley, we know that you work hard and that you are going to be hungry. We offer a choice of food at each meal and it&rsquo;s &ldquo;all-you-can-eat".7 What kind of value do I get for my money? Some camps are motivated by profit. Ridley College is committed to teaching excellence. We don&rsquo;t have to rent expensive facilities which you then pay for.8 Is the camp accredited and can you have references? The best way to ensure the quality of the camp you are going to is to go to an accredited camp. Accredited camps have been inspected and approved for membership by the Canadian or American Camping Association. Sports Ridley meets the high standards of the Ontario Camping Association and is an accredited member.9 After one year, will I outgrow the camp? At some camps you do, but not at Sports Ridley. Some camps offer the same program year after year, at the same general level. Then what happens is, returning players are bored by the repetition.At Sprots Ridley, we are committed to progressive programs that suit the needs of all players&mdash;young and old, rookies and veterans. We have pioneered new ground by introducing general elite and specialized elite programs such as the Elite Goalies, Shooter and Scorers programs.A 14-year-old boy, for example, has three choices of programs&mdash;the Regular, the Elite or the Special Elite prorgram. Programs may be attended for one-week or two-WAfk riiiratinnc &#9632;

SPORTS RIDLEY ANSWERS ALL YOUR QUESTIONS

The Eastern program is designed for elite players who intend to play at competitive levels.The objective of the camp is to teach the various systems of hockey used today in North America and Europe (not covered at conventional hockey schools). We also offer goalkeeping and power skating instruction.Head Director, Mac MacLeanThe originator of the camp in 1979 is coach and general manager of the Brockville Jr. A Hockey Club and scouts for the Kitchener Rangers (OHL).Chief Instructor, Jeff BrownJeff has been associated with the camp since age 13 when he participated at the Bantam level. He then attended the next three years as a student and later he became an assistant instructor and progressed to the Head Instructor position. Jeff is currently the anchor man on the power play for the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. Jeff will be teaching two to three days a week this year because of the demands on his career from the Blues.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01615/5792207-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="595" height="1103"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Kyte is a graduate of the Eastern Ontario Jr. A Camp.</figcaption></div>Ken McRae, Quebec NordiquesKen will join our team this year for two weeks. Last year was Ken&rsquo;s first year with our team and we look forward to his return this year.Bill Hayward (Toronto, Buffalo, Minnesota)Bill will be returning for his third consecutive year to manage the dormitory and assist with the on-ice skill sessions.Power Skating, Lisa SloanLisa will be starting her sixth season with the camp. Her teaching has helped many players improve their skating skills. This past year she had weekly power skating sessions with the Brockville Braves Jr. A Hockey Team as well as the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s of the OHL. Both organizations were pleased with the results attained due to the power skating.GoalkeepingThis season we are expanding to a new program. The new program will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to this ice time, there will be scrimmages in the evenings. Each goalkeeper will also receive a take-home video of himself. We feel this program will be second to none with each goalkeeper receiving at least five hours of ice time per day.Meals and AccommadationsAll players will stay in a dormitory in Arnprior under the watchful eye of Bill Hayward. All meals will be served by our staff as an all-you-can-eat buffet.SummaryThis no-nonsense program is t week of gruelling activities with minimum of six hours of ice time per day. Each candidate must follow an off-ice training program during the summer which is supplied by the camp.Eastern Ontario Jr A Camp is proud of its graduates who have gone on to be drafted by the NHL and the OHL such as:-Ray Sheppard (Buffalo Sabres) -Claude Loiselle (Quebec Nordiques)-Jim Kyte (Pittsburgh Penquins)-Terry Carkner (Philadelphia Flyers)-Jason Firth (Kitchener Rangers, OHL)-Scott Feasby (Belleville Bulls, OHL)Just to name a few. All agree this camp was instrumental in their development and preparation for hockey at its highest levels. &#9632;

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MEET THE STAFF AT EASTERN ONTARIO JUNIOR A CAMP

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01665/5792238-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Minnesota North Star&rsquo;s right winger Mike Gartner, who appeared in the 1990 All-Star Game, will be on hand at the camp.</figcaption></div>In the hectic pace of the 1990s, a hockey player has many decisions to make. One of these is selecting the right hockey school.Under the direction of Canadian college coach, Gus Eyers, the North American Hockey Develop ment Programmes has two major locations. The first one is situated in Canada&rsquo;s fastest-growing city of Barrie, Ont. The home of the school is the Allandale Recreation Centre which has the most up-to-date facilities in the area. There are two ice surfaces, one Olympic-size and the other North American-size. The playing fields, fitness center and pool round out the complex.North American Hockey Development Programmes offer the most extensive and complete hockey programs from the beginner to the junior-age player. We also have a specialized goaltending program along with a coaches&rsquo; clinic.Guest appearances by NHL stars for ice and lecture sessions and signing autographs is an added bonus at the school. Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; right winger Mike Gartner is scheduled to appear at the school this year.The second location established this year is situated in Greenburg, Penn., at the KirkS. Nevin Recreation Centre. This U.S.-based school is designed to progress the skills of hockey players in the Western Pennsylvania area. Emphasis will be on power skating, stick handling, passing, shooting, team play and game situation drills. Each student receives 21/z hours of ice daily plus one hour of off-ice lecture and video sessions. A top-rate instructional staff will be on hand to put the students through a tough, but fun, workout.Develop your hockey skills at one of North America&rsquo;s fastest growing hockey schools&mdash;North American Hockey Development Programmes in Canada or the United States. &#9632;

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NAHD PROGRAMMES EXPAND TO U.S.

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01633/5792269-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Craig Simpson of the Edmonton Oilers found hockey school a great asset when it came to improving his skating.</figcaption></div>Left winger Scott Pearson has spent most of this season with the Newmarket Saints of the American League, but has impressed in his couple of call-ups to the Toronto Maple Leafs.One veteran Leaf who can take some pride in Pearson&rsquo;s accomplishments is center Dan Daoust.Ten years ago, as a youth in Cornwall, Ont., Pearson honed his skills by attending hockey schools for five straight years. Daoust was one of his instructors.For a starry-eyed youngster, that was pretty heady stuff.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a young kid, it&rsquo;s a big honor to be on the same ice as someone who plays in the NHL,&rdquo; says Pearson. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty funny to be playing with the guy now. Some of my other instructors were (Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; defenseman) Bob Murray and (former Blackhawks&rsquo; forward) Rick Patterson.&rdquo;Like most other NHLers who attended hockey schools in their youth, Pearson doesn&rsquo;t remember the fundamentals or drills he learned as much as he does the enjoyable times he experienced there.&ldquo;It was always fun to go to hockey school and meet new kids and play hockey in the summer,&rdquo; says Pearson. &ldquo;I think making it fun is the main thing, and that&rsquo;s what I try to do when I work at hockey schools in the summer. If you don&rsquo;t make it fun, I don&rsquo;t think the kids are qoinq to want to learn very much.&rdquo;For many players, hockey school has served as a rite of passage. Some NHL players attended hockey school every summer. Others, like Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; right winger Rick Vaive, attended only one. But you&rsquo;d be hard-pressed to find many players in the NHL who spent every summer of their childhood without any hockey activity.&ldquo;The one I went to was in my native Prince Edward Island,&rdquo; says Vaive, who has toiled productively for four NHL teams during his 11year NHL career. &ldquo;It was a local one run by (former Toronto Maple Leaf/Atlanta Flame/New York Islander forward) Billy MacMillan. I remember it was a big thrill being on the ice with him.&ldquo;We also had a lot of fun playing soccer, and I remember we got to watch these films of past Stanley Cups.&rdquo;Vaive agrees with Pearson that making the experience an enjoyable one is paramount for any hockey school operator or teacher. No amount of fundamentals will be absorbed by a student who&rsquo;s not enjoying him or herself.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that in that short a time, you can teach a kid a whole lot, not in detail anyway,&rdquo; says Vaive. &ldquo;You can give some tips and work on some drills but you have to make it fun for the kid. A kid who&rsquo;s not having fun isn&rsquo;t going to learn anything.&ldquo;Sometimes you&rsquo;re dealing with shy kids and some kids who may not even want to be there. So to make it fun is very important.&rdquo;Which is not to say that the fundamentals of hockey should be entirely abandoned. That, after all, is a large part of the reason why players and their parents endure the expense of participating in the schools.Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; left winger Craig Simpson, who attended hockey camps as a youngster in his native London, Ont., remembers what he learned simply from watching tapes of himself that were made on a daily basis.&ldquo;They videotaped you everyday,&rdquo; says Simpson. &ldquo;Then later in the day there&rsquo;s a session in the video room where they analyze your stride and break it down into the angle you&rsquo;re skating at and whether you re striding out fully or not. There&rsquo;s nowhere to hide in that video room. Sometimes you can&rsquo;t believe how poorly you&rsquo;re doing but it&rsquo;s better to see it physically, right in front of you, what your stride is all about and how you can improve it.&rdquo;Thirteen years before he led the United States Olympic team to the Miracle on Ice, Mike Eruzione attended a hockey school in Lynn, Mass., run by Eddie Shack and former Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie Gerry Cheevers. Although he doesn&rsquo;t credit the experience with helping him to score the winning goal over the Soviets at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980, Eruzione does cherish the memory.&ldquo;I remember Eddie Shack was a real character. He showed up in shorts everyday and he was a real scream,&rdquo; says Eruzione, now a color commentator for the Boston Bruins. &ldquo;I remember it was really great because it gave me the opportunity to skate during the summer, something that was almost unheard of then. In those days, there weren&rsquo;t as many kids playing hockey in the United States and there weren&rsquo;t as many rinks so to be able to play in the summer was quite a thing.&ldquo;I remember the cost of enrolling in the hockey school was $75 and I had to caddy all summer just to get the money for it.&rdquo;But all that caddying helped him get the chance to chip in the big one. &#9632;

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PROS AGREE SCHOOLS. CAMPS HAVE TO BE FUN

On July 1, 1990, Okanagan Hockey Schools will begin its 27th year of bringing the best in hockey instruction to aspiring young hockey players.Throughout the previous 26 years of operation, Okanagan Hockey Schools has held true to the commitment of providing quality instruction, both on and off the ice, while maintaining a positive atmosphere of fun and enjoyment while learning.Okanagan Hockey Schools&rsquo; Penticton location operates eight seven-day sessions beginning on July 1 and concluding Aug. 25. The Memorial Arena location offers full dormitory facilities with 24-hour adult supervision, a modern dining room which serves three (as-much-as-you-can-eat) meals daily, and a schedule of activities away from the ice surface.These activities include feature movies, short walks to the beach, trip to the Okanagan Game Farm, Okanagan River Channel rafting and waterslides as well as a full slate of recreational activities.In addition, sessions for those students not wishing to board are available each week, with numerous camping and motel facilities available within walking distance of the arena complex and the beautiful Okanagan Lake Beach.<h2>WORK HARD BUT MAKE IT FUN.</h2>Canadian Airlines International is the official airline of Okanagan Hockey Schools. Special airfare rates are available to participants and their parents wishing to travel to Penticton by air.Shawn Dineen is head instructor in charge of programming at Okanagan Hockey Schools. Programs feature a specifically structured format for players ages 8 to 17.The goal of our program is to ensure that all players receive the individualized attention and instruction necessary to reach their maximum potential. To acheive this, we have selected instructors from throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe, so that their unique experience and skills compliment each other&mdash;thus providing a diversified program based on each player&rsquo;s individual strengths and weaknesses.We at Okanagan Hockey Schools believe that leadership ability and positive self-image are highly regarded characteristics in our fast changing, information-oriented society. We have incorporated the teaching of these positive attributes into our program.The catalyst for achieving maximum skill development, strong leadership ability and positive self image is &ldquo;fun". Our goal is for each player to enjoy what he is learning.Work hard, but make it fun.The program at Okanagan Hockey Schools features:&bull; Two ice sessions daily.&bull; Elite sessions for 10- to 18-year-olds.&bull; Off ice dryland training.&bull; Aerobic exercise classes.&bull; Ironman Triathlon competition.&bull; Written evaluation for players aged eight to 13.&bull; Notebook evaluation for players 14 to 17 years.&bull; Lectures and seminars.&bull; Fitness testing.&bull; Athletic awards competition.At Okanagan Hockey Schools, the emphasis is on the improvement of the young hockey players through high quality hockey instruction. In conjunction with this fine hockey program, Okanagan Hockey Schools provides an environment which is conducive to the development of not only athletic ability, but also sportmanship and attitude. These are schools where hard work and fun are coordinated to bring out the best in each participant.For additional information and a brochure, write OKANAGAN HOCKEY SCHOOLS, P.O. Box 201, PENTICTON, B.C., CANADA, V2A 6K3, or phone (604) 4931408; FAX (604) 493-9222. &#9632;

OHS BOASTS 27 YEARS OF QUALITY AND FUN

n the summer of 1990, the Olympic Oval Hockey and Ringette Schools will continue to offer top-flight hockey and ringette instruction to young athletes.The facilities at the University of Calgary are world class and you will train at many of them. These include the Olympic speedskating and oval complex, a new 3,000 seat gymnasium, state-of-the-art weight-training facilities, and bigscreen video-analysis rooms.In concert with the University of Calgary hockey program, the hockey school will offer three six-day hockey sessions at the finest hockey training facilties in North America, along with superb instruction from one of Canada&rsquo;s finest university programs.Off-ice teaching includes pre-practice sessions that introduce sport psychology concepts such as mental imagery, visualization and relaxation techniques, and introduction to current weight-training concepts and current sport medicine concepts of injury rehabilitation and prevention.University of Calgary Dinosaurs&rsquo; head coach Willie Desjardins will run the Elite Invitational Camp this year. This is an accelerated progression program designed to bring together top major bantam and major midget players. This camp is strictly limited to above-average players.To apply, simply ask for the special evaluation and application forms. In addition to this, we have a Monday evening invitational league to teach you more about the finer points of tactics in hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01316/5792369-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="351" height="297"></div>Aided by Ringette Calgary, the ringette school will offer three six-day ringette sessions under the supervision of Gerri Zuk and Karen Lee. Of special interest this year, will be our elite Invitational Ringette Camp. This camp is designed for the experienced Junior or Belle player who is looking for a greater physical and mental challenge.The University of Calgary offers fully-supervised residence facilities. For those in residence, there is a full schedule of events, including feature movies and special facility passes to the athletic facilities at the University of Calgary. Also, based on the teams&rsquo; schedules, you may also receive passes to Calgary Stampeders&rsquo; football games and Calgary Cannons&rsquo; baseball games.Our July hockey and ringette programs offer regular ice programs as well as an opportunity for out-of-town guests to visit the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.&#9724; The program at the Olympic Oval includes:&#9724; Two ice sessions daily (minimum 2V2 hrs of ice per day).&#9724; Off-ice and dry-land training.&#9724; Written evaluations for each player.&#9724; Lectures and video presentations.&#9724; Complete sport programs (ages eight to 12).&#9724; One coach for every six players (goaltenders&rsquo; instruction).&#9724; One coach for every 10 players (hockey and ringette).&#9724; An introduction to sport psychology, nutrition, athletic injuries and rehabilitation.&#9724; An introduction to weight training for hockey and ringette.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02210/5792362-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="668" height="603"></div> &#9632;

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OLYMPIC OVAL OFFERS COMPLETE PACKAGE

Sylvan Lake Summer Hockey School isn&rsquo;t the only camp operating in a resort area with lush scenery, wonderful watersports opportunities and of course, excellent hockey facilities.But it is the only camp to feature instruction by all six members of hockey&rsquo;s first family, the Sutter brothers. The Sutters, four of whom still play in the NHL (the other two are coaches), were born in Viking, Alta., about 110 miles as the crow flies from Sylvan Lake.Brian, Darryl, Duane, Brent, Ron and Rich Sutter all take one week of instruction apiece at Sylvan Lake Summer Hockey Camp. New York Ranger captain Kelly Kisio, Ranger defenseman Randy Moller and Vancouver Canuck assistant coach Jack Mcllhargey all take a week, as well.&ldquo;The Sutters are a draw,&rdquo; says Graham Parsons, director of the camp, now in its 16th year of operation. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re professional instructors and they&rsquo;re hardworking instructors. They enjoy it and they enjoy the kids.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re putting back what they figure the game has given them.&rdquo;And hockey has been good to the Sutters. Between them, Duane (now of Chicago) and Brent helped the New York Islanders win four Stanley Cup championships. Darryl, a former NHLer is head coach of the International League&rsquo;s Indianapolis Ice. Twins Ron and Rich are sparkplugs with Philadelphia and Vancouver, respectively. The eldest, Brian, is coach of the St. Louis Blues.&ldquo;When we are looking for instructors, naturally the Sutters were involved,&rdquo; Parsons says. &ldquo;Brian himself devised the program, and put many, many hours into it.&ldquo;As he went on his career, he developed into a leader and then captain of the St. Louis Blues. Now, he&rsquo;s a coach. Everybody we hire is either a captian or has leadership skills. We look not just for the marquee value, but people who work well with kids.&rdquo;The typical stay at Sylvan is a week, though some students stay for two or three. Because of the nearby tourist amenities, Parsons says, families often decide to build a vacation around one child&rsquo;s stay at the camp.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a hockey school and a vacation spot,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;one of Alberta&rsquo;s top vacation spots, centrally located, exactly half-way between Edmonton and Calgary, 11 miles west of Red Deer.&ldquo;A lot of people make a holiday out of it when they come for their session. It has all the amentities of a vacation resort, a town with&mdash;in the summertime&mdash;about 10,000 people. There&rsquo;s a mile-and-a-half long beach at Sylvan Lake Provincial Park, located approximately two blocks from the (Sylvan Lake) arena.For non-hockey-playing youngsters there is the Sylvan Lake Figure Skating School. Goaltenders also get special treatment at the Sylvan Lake Goaltending School, taught in three long weekend sessions by Bill Ranford of the Edmonton Oilers.But the hockey school, which runs from July 2 to Sept. 1 is the main draw.While moms and dads are relaxing on the beach, sailing, windsurfing, golfing, shopping or enjoying the waterslides, future hockey stars are enjoying two 90-minute long ice sessions and robust physical education sessions. Chalk talks and lectures about nutrition and conditioning go handin-hand with the rigorous skill workouts.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a full-day program,&rdquo; Parsons says, &ldquo;with classroom sessions and an on-ice session in the morning. And then, in the afternoon, it&rsquo;s physical training, with an on-ice session. The on-ice sessions follow progressively in a seven-day program, with an orientation the first day.&rdquo;Instructors stress skating skills and puck control in on-ice sessions. Dryland training tests strengthen hockey fundamentals, using soccer, swimming, football and jogging as the major tools.&ldquo;We have good discipline, but it&rsquo;s not a military camp style,&rdquo; Parsons says. &ldquo;There are elite schools, but we&rsquo;re in the middle. We don&rsquo;t turn a kid away because he can&rsquo;t skate. But we do put them to their levels and we consider age groups and we try to keep them so they&rsquo;ll enjoy their stay at hockey camp.&rdquo; &#9632;

SYLVAN LAKE: A HOLIDAY HOCKEY CAMP

Vic&rsquo;s offers everything for the goalie, defenseman and forward.Our motto, &ldquo;Goalies are not targets&rdquo; implies that we believe our student goalies are taught the skills and strategies necessary to become very successful in the nets.You can tell which goalie has been to Vic&rsquo;s. He&rsquo;s the one who seems to be in total control of his movement and his rebounds. In short, he&rsquo;s the one who plays stand-up, winning goal.With eight professional goalie instructors on the ice wearing their full equipment, and only 20 students per class, we guarantee every student receives individual instruction.Compare Vic&rsquo;s low cost per hour and low student-per-instructor ratio with any other school and see the value at Vic&rsquo;s Goalie Schools.At Vic&rsquo;s elite Hockey Development Camps, we will teach you the skills you need to skate hard, shoot hard, and check hard.We offer each student a program of his choice so that each student can work on those skills that will make him play with more confidence and precision.We use game-like plays with emphasis on offensive and defensive skills.Individual instruction is done by a professional staff which includes Ted Sator and Jack Birch of the NHL and Shane Parker, head coach of Nova Scotia Colts Jr. A Hockey Club.At Vic&rsquo;s, we offer a very detailed course in power shooting, power skating and puckhandling, along with advanced theories of hockey dynamics all in an atmosphere of hard work and fun. &#9632;

VIC’S COVERS BASES

Canadian rroressionai Hockey Schools are celebrating 25 years of providing professional hockey instruction. We invite you to participate in our international hockey tournaments or our European hockey school and tour.International hockey tournaments will be held in Champaign, USA, July 26-29 and in Calgary, Canada, Aug. 2-6.Join us in celebrating our 25th anniversary. Participate in our international hockey tournaments and test the competition attending C.P.H.S. from around the globe. Each C.P.H.S. city&mdash;Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Champaign and Landsberg (Germany)&mdash;is sending three teams consisting of 13 skaters and two goaltenders to each tournament, intent on bringing home the&rsquo; C.P.H.S. Championship.As an added feature, the Canadian Professional Hockey Schools, during their 25th celebration, will be hosting a European hockey school and tour with two two-week sessions in Landsberg. You will take part in an intense training program together with players from Europe and North America. The first week will consist of individual training and team preparation. The second week will be fun and games. This includes a sightseeing tour and exhibition games that are scheduled to be played in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.One low registration fee includes return airfare, hockey school, games and a tour. There will be a maximum of 15 players on each team grouped according to age and ability. You will leave Chicago to Munich on Aug. 3, return Munich to Chicago on Aug. 17, or leave Calgary to Munich on Aug. 10, return Munich to Calgary on Aug. 24.We welcome all players be tween the ages of nine to 15, born between 1975 and 1981 to participate in the international hockey tournaments or a European hockey school.Registration will close April 30, 1990.For complete information and application, inquire at the location of your choice. &#9632;

CPHS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF SERVICE

Goaltending is the most difficult position to play in hockey, and although the goaltender is the most important player on a team, it is equally true that the amateur goalie is the most instructionally-neglected player on a team.The International Goaltenders School was formed 10 years ago to provide a program of instruction exclusively for goaltenders.The International Goaltenders School is acknowledged as having the finest, most highly-personalized and intense program for goalies. We are continually updating and improving our program, so that we may offer the serious goaltender an opportunity to improve his knowledge and skill.I would like to once again extend my personal invitation to you to join us this year at the International Goaltenders School in Yorkton, Sask., Calgary and Edmonton, Alta., Sicamous, B.C., and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. &#9632;

CALLING ALL GOALIES

Okanagan Hockey Schools began bringing quality hockey instruction to aspiring athletes in 1963. From that time on, goaltending has become an area of concentration for the directors.In 1963, Larry Lund and Bill Lougheed, then a goaltender with Denver University Pioneers, began developing the initial goaltending program for Okanagan Hockey Schools.Over the past 26 years, the program has grown through the on-ice instruction and the off-ice input ol such accomplished goaltenders as Cesare Maniago, Joe Daley, Rogie Vachon, Andy Moog, Steve Abbott and Murray Bannerman.The on-ice and off-ice program offered by OHS Goaltending Schools features:Three on-ice sessions daily.One off-ice flexibility and goaltenders&rsquo; gymnastic session each day.One off-ice session featuring pitching machines along with specific eye-hand co-ordination drills each day.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01174/5792496-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="609" height="745"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr is one of this year&rsquo;s instructors at OHS.</figcaption></div>&#9724; One lecture session daily on the technical factors involved in successful goaltending.&#9724; Videotape analysis daily of the goaltenders&rsquo; basic skills.&#9724; Aerobic exercise classes stressing conditioning and flexibility.&#9724; Students will be required to compile a log book of their week&rsquo;s activities and complete workbook questions.&#9724; Written evaluations for all students.&#9724; Top goalie competition.&#9724; Boarding facilities are available.Because of the co-ordination of the Okanagan Hockey School and OHS Goaltending School, students will have the unique opportunity to be involved in several scrimmage sessions during their week-long stay, plus a feature game on the last day of OHS Goaltending School.At OHS Goaltending School, we sincerely believe that the value of our school is in direct proportion to the quality of our staff. Our staff is composed of instructors who have had many years of experience with us and bring with them a wealth of knowledge about the skill development necessary to become the best at the goaltending position.The instructors working with us this summer come from Junior A, college, minor professional and the National Hockey League. We feel that this range of personnel provides the aspiring goaltender with a wide specturm of high level instruction in his position.Some of the instructors include NHL goaltenders Andy Moog, Grant Fuhr, Glen Hanlon, and Pete Peeters, along with numerous U.S. college goaltenders. All goaltending instruction is under the direction of Doug Cole (University of Wisconsin/River Falls) and Bruno Campese.Okanagan Hockey Schools are committed to bringing the best in hockey instruction for all players involved in the game today.Canadian Airlines International is the official airline of OHS Goaltending School. Special airfare rates are available to players and their parents wishing to travel to Penticton by air. To take care of students and their parents&rsquo; travel as well as accommodation needs, Okanagan Reservations Inc., will arrange and book your airline reservations, hotel, motel or campground reservations at no charge. Reservations can be obtained by writing to Box 717, Penticton, B.C., V2A 6P1 or by phoning (604) 4933200. &#9632;

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THE PUCK STOPS AT OHS GOALIE SCHOOL

Cooper, the world&rsquo;s largest manufacturer of protective hockey equipment, enters he decade of the 1990s with an jxciting state-of-the-art hockey ine. Central to the composition of hooper&rsquo;s hockey line are the simile but powerful concepts of air suspension, lightweight comfort ind exciting styling.In shoulrinr naris Cnnnar is introducing a second generation Defender TM shoulder pads with a key improvement being the addition of an adjustable air suspension liner for added comfort and protection. Both styles of Defender TM shoulder pads, the SBD Pro and the SBD Pro II will feature Cooper&rsquo;s air suspension liner. In addition, all Defender TM shoulder pads will be available in extra large sizes to fit even the largest players. Also available in extra large sizes will be the popular Cooperall upper body protectors, the CSB Pro and the CSB2.The SB 100 shoulder pad is a new product designed to meet the performance needs of the serious competitive-level player. The pad features the same high-impact shoulder caps used in the Defender TM, and combines with a lightweight comfortable lace-up arch pad to give excellent protection in the critical shoulder-blade area.In elbow pads, Cooper is introducing a second generation Flexlight TM series for the top-level player. This new pad will also feature an adjustable air suspension liner for added comfort and protection. Bold blue graphics and binding give the pads a clean, contemporary appearance.For the senior and junior recreational players, Cooper introduces the EK16-18 series, and the EK10-12 series. Both series feature lightweight comfortable protection required for the recreational player.In hockey gloves, the trend to short cuff gloves continues with an expanded color program available on Cooper&rsquo;s top of the line BDP Short gloves. Now all NHL colors will be available in the BDP Short and feature Cooper&rsquo;s exclusive Armourfoam TM Protection System. For the competitive level player, Cooper&rsquo;s BDC hockey gloves have also moved to short-cuff styling.The popular AllStar Series, designed for the recreational senior and junior players, has a whole new look for the 1990 season. The AllStars will now feature Cooper&rsquo;s exclusive Tuffstuff covering for improved durability, and precurved fingers for greater fit and flexibility. Bold new graphics, and short cuff designs on the senior models, give the AllStar series a contemporary look.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01174/5792527-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="614" height="1051"><figcaption class="caption-body">Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; goalie Ken Wregget always wears Cooper.</figcaption></div>Cooper also introduces two new models of hockey pants in 1990. The HP100 is designed for all top levels of hockey and features Cooper&rsquo;s best protection in hockey pants. Exclusive Armourfoam TM Protection System in the critical hip and thigh areas provide unsurpassed protection while Cooper&rsquo;s unique foam-molded waistband provides added protection and a European style fit. The HP100 is designed as a two-piece pant, making shell replacement convenient. This top-level pant is currently being worn by most Major Junior A players, a strong testimonial to the performance of the HP100.The HP1 is designed for the smallest, beginner hockey player. This lightweight pant provides all the required protection for the beginner player in the critical tailbone, hip, kidney and the areas. &#9632;

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COOPER MOVES INTO THE ‘90s

The meteroric rise in popularity of baseball in Canada has done a lot of good for the Licensing Corporation of America (Canada), Inc. But it has also made the LCA&rsquo;s job more challenging.Not only are more people going to baseball games and watching them on television, but more are also manufacturing products which bear the logos of Canada&rsquo;s two major-league baseball teams.And some of those logos&mdash;either the one bearing the blue jay and maple leaf of the American League East Division champion Toronto Blue Jays, or the one with the stylized &ldquo;MCB&rdquo; of the National League East&rsquo;s Montreal Expos&mdash;are being sold illegally.All products bearing those logos must be licensed by the LCA before they can be marketed. However, many people&mdash;especially Torontonians eager to cash in on the Jays&rsquo; late-season run at the pennant, and their subsequent American League Championship series against the Oakland A&rsquo;s&mdash;tried to sell merchandise without going through the proper channels of the LCA.LCA Canada sprung into action to assist the Metro Toronto Police in identifying suspect Major League Baseball post-season merchandise in October, 1989.During the three days of playofl action in Toronto, nine individuals were charged with trademark infringements, and a significant number of illegal goods were seized as evidence.The week of Oct. 16,1989, was one of unprecedented trademark infringement protection by LCA Canada. The corporation assisted the Royal Canadian Mountec Police in identifying bogus goods and, during the Oct. 21-22 weekend, two flea markets ir Hamilton and Guelph, Ont., were raided. In addition to MLB merchandise, National Hockey League and Hockey Canada mer chandise was seized.The raids and seizures came just over a week after Majoi League Baseball Properties announced that undercover inves tigators representing Majoi League Baseball, the RCMP anc the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force were going to be crackinc down on the sale of counterfei baseball merchandise.&ldquo;We have found that counterfeit ing activities increase during the All-Star game and post-seasor play,&rdquo; said MLBP presiden Richard E. White. &ldquo;We want tc make sure that fans in the Toronte area are protected from this bogus merchandise. This is a matter of consumer protection as well as the protection of our valuable trademarks.&rdquo;Fan protection is an importan aspect of LCA Canada&rsquo;s job. LC/Canada has strict standards of quality control to make sure tha team logos, colors and letters are of the highest quality. Products which don&rsquo;t meet LCA&rsquo;s standards are returned to the manufacturer for adjustments. Bogus or counterfeit products don&rsquo;t have to go through the rigorous testing procedure and thus, are of inferior quality to licensed products.Doug Kelcher, vice president of LCA Canada, said there is a tremendous market in Canada for baseball merchandise. It is a market which will continue to grow.&ldquo;The success of the Blue Jays and the Expos on the field has been impressive and resulted in increased interest among fans and the media,&rdquo; said Kelcher. &ldquo;Baseball enjoyed enormous success overall throughout the 1980s and established attendance records to go along with exciting pennant races.&rdquo;In fact, the Blue Jays set an American League attendance record this past season; more than 3.3 million fans came through the turnstiles at Exhibition Stadium and the SkyDome. The Jays will be spending the entire 1990 season at the SkyDome, and it is possible they could become the first team in the history of professional sports in North America to draw four million fans in one season.Kelcher said there are many reasons for the rapid increase in the interest in baseball across Canada.&ldquo;The Canadian teams were right in there with competitive teams supported by excellent marketing programs and sound ownerships,&rdquo; said Kelcher. &ldquo;The constant media attention followed the exciting developments in baseball on a daily basis, thus creating even more fan interest.&ldquo;The establishment of minor league teams in several Canadian cities has added to the overall proliferation of interest in the sport across Canada.&rdquo;The added interest means more opportunities than ever for sports licensing in Canada.&ldquo;The bottom line is that sports licensing has yet to tap its potential,&rdquo; said Kelcher. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an industry which is going through unbelievable growth&mdash;with so much more to go based on the enormous interest and record-setting attendance trends in both Major League baseball and the National Hockey League.&rdquo; &#9632;

LCA CRACKS DOWN ON TRADEMARK PIRATES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01138/5792582-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy, who talks to his goalposts, would appreciate today&rsquo;s hockey schools.</figcaption></div>Goaltenders are legendary for being a breed apart.Ex-New York Ranger goalie Gilles Gratton, who believes ie lived a former life as a Roman warrior, once took a pre-practice skate in the buff.Ron Hextall has to break a stick Defore every game, or he doesn&rsquo;t feel right. Patrick Roy talks to his goalposts.Former Toronto netminder Mike Palmateer used to eat a bag of oopcorn before every start. Chicago-St. Louis great Glenn Hall might nave wanted to, but his queasy stomach wouldn&rsquo;t let him. Hall &lsquo;outinely threw up before games&mdash;and this is a man who once started 502 games in a row.Maybe that&rsquo;s why goaltending schools and camps encourage individualized instruction, keeping the goalies separate from the forwards and defensemen.&ldquo;We give separate instruction to forwards and defensemen,&rdquo; says ane camp operator. &ldquo;They come in contact (with goalies) only during simulated game situations.&rdquo;But for all of the segregation, he continues, the best goalies realize they are part of an integrated whole. He knows how to use his teammates to succeed.&ldquo;Goaltending is an individual-zed sport within a team sport,&rdquo; the operator says. &ldquo;We teach the individual not only the basic skills but tow he can be integrated within hp team &ldquo;Goalies learn not only shotblocking technique and cutting down the angles, they also learn to become part of the play. They&rsquo;re taught how to initiate breakout patterns, for instance, or how to read forechecking patterns.&ldquo;That just makes for a smarter goaltender,&rdquo; the operator says.&ldquo;The key for a lot of the kids is to realize there is a structure to the game, and by understanding the structure they can adapt quickly to the patterns of the game.&rdquo;<h2>&rsquo;IT MAKES FORA SMARTER GOALIE.&rsquo;</h2>The concepts are taught on a circuit of four on-ice stations. There are five or six goaltenders, and two instructors at each station.&ldquo;For the 20 minutes they&rsquo;re at that station, they&rsquo;re doing (drills such as) 3-on-2 patterns. The idea is to make them familiar with them so they&rsquo;ll know how to react during a game.&rdquo;And as a test of sorts, &ldquo;they have an hour and a half on the ice in what we call game situations.&rdquo;The camp also features extensive use of technology, including video and audio analysis.Another popular goaltenders&rsquo; camp takes the segregation idea one step farther.&ldquo;All we have is goaltenders,&rdquo; says that operator, &ldquo;no forwards or defensemen.&rsquo;&rsquo;Doesn&rsquo;t that make for an unusual interpersonal dynamic?&ldquo;The only thing I notice that&rsquo;s different (in attitude) is there&rsquo;s no competition,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;No matter what the skill level of the goaltenders at camp, they help each othei and encourage each other. They cheerlead out there, and help each other out with technique.&rdquo;The students can learn more without scrimmaging, he says.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re out there to learn. And (without regular scrimmages) they see more ice time than they would ordinarily. We have six nets on the ice at once, and two puck-shooting machines, for groups of about 24 to 28.&rdquo;Typically, the goalies will warm up, then head off to work on a particular aspect of goaltending, i.e. deflections and how to play them.&ldquo;If we have six nets, we have six instructors. They&rsquo;ll go over what&rsquo;s involved in playing deflections, such as staying close to the guy, keeping low, keeping your weight forward and pushing out. Then we&rsquo;ll break off into groups, and that&rsquo;s where the machines come into play.&rdquo;Two shooters and the instructor help out on the drill. Ongoing commentary and videotaping are offered. The next day, there&rsquo;s a classroom session with a voiceover on the tapes.So what&rsquo;s the greatest area of need for goaltending students?&ldquo;Many need help with their skating,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We take it very seriously. If you can&rsquo;t skate, we can&rsquo;t teach you too much. We can&rsquo;t teach you balance and we can&rsquo;t teach you agility if you can&rsquo;t skate.&rdquo; &#9632;

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GOALIES LEARN INTEGRATION THROUGH SEPARATION

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01125/5792613-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Newmarket Saints&rsquo; coach Paul Gardner, above, was a big part of THN staffer Rand Simon&rsquo;s hockey school memories.</figcaption></div>It was the greatest moment of my 10-year-old life.I had gone head-to-head with several fellow hockey campers and beaten them all. Now, the pressure was on. I had reached the finals of the Thornhill (Ont.) Hockey Camp face-off competition and had just one more opponent to beat.With a throng of kids looking on, I took my position in the faceoff circle to the right of one of the nets. The resident pro, Paul Gardner, dropped the puck. With a quick movement of my right wrist, I pulled the puck back to the point. I won.Of course, all that didn&rsquo;t matter much when I hung up my skates two years later. But, for a player who never played on a championship team&mdash;three years in a row my house league Nepean Minor Hockey Association club lost in the finals&mdash;it was quite a thrill.It was definitely the highlight of my two weeks at the hockey camp, ranking far above the time I took a puck in the right shoulder and couldn&rsquo;t throw a baseball for a week.That wasn&rsquo;t much fun, but it was a like being locked in a candy store compared to the agony some Soviet power skating teacher put us through.It was his first year teaching at a hockey school in Canada and I think he may have been taking his job a little too seriously. Forcing little kids to skate up and down the rink, doing crossovers both ways and actually not letting us touch pucks for an hour seemed like cruet and unusual punishment to those of us who believed hockey was meant to be fun.That&rsquo;s not to say there weren&rsquo;t a lot of fun moments at hockey camp. I think the best time we all had was playing &ldquo;British Bulldog&rdquo; on roller skates. While most of us skated with the grace of a Brian Curran, it was my favorite part of the day.But, it was after a game of &ldquo;British Bulldog&rdquo; that I made my biggest mistake of the camp.Gardner, now the coach of the American League&rsquo;s Newmarket Saints, was leaving the camp and most of my fellow campers approached him about getting an autograph. I declined. I was too cool to get an autograph of some one who hadn&rsquo;t even made it to the NHL yet.I remember telling my best friend, Michael Cohen, who had been one of the autograph seekers, &ldquo;Nah, I don&rsquo;t want his autograph. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;ll never be any good.&rdquo;Needless to say I regretted the decision. Gardner went on to score 30 or more goals in five NHL seasons and Michael Cohen had something I didn&rsquo;t have.My other memories of hockey camp are quite vague. I remember some poor kid taking a slapshot in the head after he had left the ice and removed his helmet. Everyone rushed over to the dazed camper, but he was fine.I remember there was a female goalie at the camp. She had to change in a different dressing room and some of us didn&rsquo;t even know she was a girl until we went swimming.I do remember she struggled a little bit between the pipes. Actually, she was pretty brutal, but nowhere near as bad as the poor kid in Stittsville, Ont. who I played against in my first year of organized hockey when I was seven.The guy had a hole in his heart, so he couldn&rsquo;t move too quickly. We won 15-0; I scored one goal by picking the five-hole from my own blueline. Nobody was cruel enough to aim for the six-hole.Actually, I should be one to talk about bad goaltenders. One year I had this bninant idea to try being a goalie. Playing on by far the best team in the league, I nearly cost us first place. I did record one shutout that season. I even remember the save I made.I quit when I found minor hockey too competitive, but my hockey camp experience did help in at least one important way&mdash;it taught me how to put the puck in the net.Playing for Capital ice the winter before I went to hockey camp, I managed to go through an entire 16-game season without scoring a goal. No, I was not the goalie that year.In fact, I was a pretty decent skater, and I could pass. Unofficial stats showed I had 15 assists during my goalless season. Granted, I kept those stats so I may have been somewhat generous in my accounting but considering some of the assists the NHL gives out these days, it was probably an accurate figure.When I returned to Nepean the next season, I was captain of the Kiwanis-sponsored team. The low-light of the season was when I failed to show much leadership and broke down and cried on the bench during a particularly tough loss. However, I did lead the team in scoring with 14 goals on the year.So, I guess I did get something out of hockey camp aside from a little glory and a lot of pain in my pitching arm. &#9632;

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A KID REMEMBERS HIS DAYS AT HOCKEY CAMP

A commitment to quality and an overwhelming desire to be the best has made Bauer the No. 1 skate in hockey today. And the 1989 Decima Research survey is proof.It clearly depicts Bauer as a skate that is three times mor popular among NHL players than that of its closest competitor. Why? Simply because Bauer skates are crafted out of a meticulous dedication to superior quality and high-performance features.For 1990, Bauer introduces the new Bauer 2000 V2, which not on sports all the high-performance features that have created Bauer&rsquo;s unprecedented reputation&mdash;it also features the new Tuuk Plus V2 Thin Blade, the world&rsquo;s most advanced blade. The unique thin design reduces drag by 20 per cent, thereby increasing speed and manueverability.Bauer&rsquo;s exclusive Flolite ankle pads provide a custom fit in the ankle area for complete support and control. The pressuresensitive Flolite flows around your ankle bones to fill in the anatomical gaps around the achilles tendon to give you a perfect custom fit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01126/5792658-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="634" height="512"></div>The top Bauer skates also feature a patented three-dimensional Superfeet footbed. In keeping with the objective of the Bauer design, the Superfeet footbed ensures the ultimate in comfort and support via a deforming slot system that enhances alignment by properly distributing your body weight along the axis of the blade.To further Bauer&rsquo;s mandate of quality, Bauer created a revolutionary three-part Formfit Plus tongue. Anatomically designed to fit your right and left foot individually, the contoured design ensures that Formfit remains on your foot for improved circulation, protection and comfort. The lower tongue cradles your forefoot and firmly holds your foot in the boot for a snug fit. The middle tongue consists of a flex point that allows you full freedom of movement. And the upper tongue has an insert that reduces lace bit while providing increased protection against impact.Through meticulous dedication and committment, Bauer hockey skates will always be respected as a skate of supreme distinction, outstanding quality and high performance. And, most of all, the best skate the game has ever known.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0291/5792651-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="557" height="446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0348/5792644-1-eng-US/f0050-032.jpg" title="f0050-03" width="653" height="171"></div> &#9632;

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QUALITY MAKES BAUER THE ONE AND ONLY

The evolution of protective hockey equipment over the years has gone hand-inland with an increase in the quality jf the game.Gone are the days of maskless goaltenders, three-piece helmets ind generally insufficient padding md protection.Where just 20 years ago only a landful of NHL players wore helmets, today all but eight&mdash;Randy Darlyle, Guy Lafleur, Rod Langway, Craig MacTavish, Brad Marsh, Al Secord, Harold Snepsts and Doug Wilson&mdash;don protective headgear. League rules stipulate helmets are mandatory for all players who signed their first professional contract after June 1,1979.The drive for maximum on-ice protection has been aided, in large part, by the minor hockey associations in Canada and the United States.And while the rules and regulations concerning equipment are similar in both nations, there are some subtle differences.According to the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States, players in all minor classifications must wear a helmet, with the chinstrap properly fastened.AHAUS recommends that players wear Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC) approved helmets for the 1989-90 and 199091 seasons. In the 1991-92 season it will be mandatory for all players to wear a HECC approved helmet.In Canada, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association requires all players, including goalies, to wear hockey helmets approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). The helmets must be securely and properly fastened with the regulation chin strap. The legal helmets in both countries bear either the HECC or CSA stamp of approval.Interestingly, CAHA rules state that all players must remove their helmet during the playing of national anthem(s).It&rsquo;s also mandatory for all minor hockey players in both countries to wear regulation face masks. Again, the face masks must be approved by either HECC or CSA.A rule new to the CAHA this season, but already implemented in the U.S., forbids players who lose their helmet and/or facemask during play to resume play until the helmet is properly re-fastened. The player can either put it back on himself or go to the bench for a substitution. Those found in violation of the rule will receive a minor penalty.This rule differs, however, for goaltenders. If the goalkeeper&rsquo;s helmet or mask comes off, play is stopped immediately by the referee. If the referee deems a goalie rnmnunH Rio mnoiz hnlmnt liberately, a minor penalty for delay of game is assessed. Under the CAHA rules, if a goaltender removes his helmet deliberately while an opposing player is on a breakaway, or in the last two minutes of a game, a penalty shot will be awarded.Unique to the AHAUS regulations is the mandatory use of mouthguards. American minor players in the peewee to junior classification (for girls it&rsquo;s peewee to midget and women&rsquo;s) are required to wear an internal mouthpiece. The guard is to cover all the teeth of either the upper or lower jaw. Players in violation of this rule will receive a miscondcut penalty.Both organizations also have rules prohibiting dangerous equipment.For example, CAHA rules insist elbow pads have a soft covering of sponge rubber or a similar material. Any elbow pads which are not at least 1/a inch (1.27 centimeter) in thickness and consisting of the required material, will be deemed dangerous.Bar-type face protectors are permitted, but they must be specifically built for hockey. Football-type face shields are prohibited. Violations of these rules will result in a warning on first offense, then a minor penalty thereafter.The above rules, while enforcable throughout the two countries, are only some of the regulations governing minor hockey equipment. Be sure to check with your local hockey association to keep informed of additional safety rules. &#9632;

PROTECTIVE EOUIPMENT HAS COME A LONG WAY

As anyone that&rsquo;s been in the position can vouch, being a hockey parent requires a certain amount of dedication and love.The job entails pre-dawn wakeup calls, long drives to cold rinks, and hours nursing bumps and bruises.For the most devoted hockey parents, it also means attending summer hockey schools and camps with their children.&ldquo;(My son) Dan has attended the same school four of the last five years,&rdquo; says Everett Helm of Oak Grove, Ore. &ldquo;When he first started going when he was really young, I used to go with him. On some occasions I would have to take a week of vacation.&rdquo;Helm says the time he spent with his son at the camp, which included a 57z-hour trip either way, was time well spent.&ldquo;You really notice the difference after a week,&rdquo; says Helm. &ldquo;But il was most noticable when he was old enough to go by himself. After a week at camp his presence on the ice was so much smoother.&rdquo;Brian Hartman of Brantford, Ont., also noticed a big improvement in his son Jamie&rsquo;s hockey skills after a week at a local school.&ldquo;They did a lot of power skating and on-ice hockey skills for three hours a day,&rdquo; says Hartman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01114/5792720-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="623" height="1168"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie Hartman became a stronger skater after just one week.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Then they would do off-ice training&mdash;running, push-ups and other callisthenics.&ldquo;You could see the difference. Everything he did on the ice was stronger. I think the power skating helped the most.&rdquo;Hartman says he spent some time at the school and learned quite a bit himself.I was there tor a week, taking notes and looking for new drills,&rdquo; says Hartman, a minor hockey coach. &ldquo;A lot of the things that they did (at the school) would help any kid.&rdquo;Jay and Joyce Bleim of Clarkston, Mich., have also had enjoyable experiences at the schools they&rsquo;ve sent their son to. Jeffery, 10, recently attended a local school just for goaltenders.&ldquo;He went every day (for a week) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and they had a lot of the local college goalies there,&rdquo; says Joyce.&ldquo;His skills absolutely improved,&rdquo; adds Jay. &ldquo;The instructors made it really fun for them. At the end (the instructors) all did an evaluation on each goalie and they gave them a book with drills.&ldquo;Probably the most memorable experience came on the very last day,&rdquo; continues Jay. &ldquo;All the instructors did a 1-on-1 showdown contest with the goalies. The winner got to miss out on doing a lap.&rdquo;The week spent at the school was a big hit with Jeffery.&ldquo;Everybody was really nice there. I&rsquo;m going back if I can pay for it&hellip;with the help of my parents.&rdquo;Like most who attend the schools and camps, Jeffery got the opportunity to make new friends and form some fond memories.&ldquo;Jeff not to Dlav aoainst a kid he met there this season, which was nice,&rdquo; says Jay. &ldquo;Also, he went up with another goalie in the area. I know they really enjoyed themselves.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0269/5792713-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="611" height="1165"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeffery Bleim attended a hockey school just for goaltenders.</figcaption></div>Helm says his son Dan, 13, got more out of his camp than just hockey.&ldquo;There were so many funny times,&rdquo; says Everett. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just like a normal summer camp. He told me about the shaving cream pranks and kids having their caps thrown to the top of a tree&mdash;all harmless fun.&ldquo;Then, just this past year, there were two kids from Los Angeles at the camp. One&rsquo;s father was the president of a major movie production company. The kid took them to see a movie, made by his dad&rsquo;s company, at the local theater. They all got in for free, with all the popcorn they could eat and so on.&ldquo;It was a big thrill for Dan. You don&rsquo;t really think of L.A. as a hotbed of hockey activity, at least not before the trade,&rdquo;he says referring to the 1988 deal that sent superstar Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to the Los Angeles Kings.Parents generally agree that improving skills, having fun and making friendships are important.But the one thing that seems to impress them the most is the quality of the people who run the schools.&ldquo;The instructors were great,&rdquo; says Jay Bleim. &ldquo;They made it truly enjoyable for the kids.&rdquo;&ldquo;The people at the camp were excellent,&rdquo; agrees Helm. &ldquo;The care the instructors had for the kids was tremendous. The quality of care they provided made it worthwhile.&rdquo; &#9632;

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PARENTS GIVE THUMBS-UP TO SCHOOLS, CAMPS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0053-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01118/5792751-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux will introduce the new Revolution stick by Koho. The stick has Penguin colors of black, yellow and white.</figcaption></div>Watch carefully on television Sunday, Jan. 21, as the NHL all-stars flash their brand-new sticks and equipment before an international audience.Chances are, you&rsquo;ll be buying some of those items this August, when they&rsquo;re released for general sale. Many of the items will be used for the first time at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.Here&rsquo;s a sneak preview of some new products from three leading international makers:<h2>KOHO</h2>Pittsburgh Penguin superstar center Mario Lemieux will be leading the Wales Conference with a new Revolution stick. The hot new black, yellow and white graphics (Penguin colors) grace a stick that features a shaved handle on an aspen core shaft, with fiberglass overlay and threads of nylon-graphite.The junior version of the Revolution will feature the same shaved handle and construction as the senior model.Hot colors are also featured ill Koho&rsquo;s durable new GXL goalie sticks. The GXL features a 19-ply shaft set into an injection-molded core.Koho will also offer the Ultimate series, new for ball hockey and recreational players of all ages. It&rsquo;s the ideal stick in construction and appearance. Shafts are made from 19-ply birch and have an ABS blade with fiberglass wrap.The Revolution stick is just part of a brand-new, exciting line of Revolution products.Koho&rsquo;s new high-end Revolution baa will be introduced. Traditional Koho bags remain, and new stick bags are coming. They are designed to easily accommodate two dozen sticks.The Revolution graphic design will also grace new equipment lines. The new Revolution SP shoulder pad design features velcro closure for better and more comfortable fit, and the backbone protector has elastic straps.The Revolution SG shin guard is constructed of contoured leg plastic for better fit and protection. A pre-shaped arm protector which gloves the elbow gives the Revolution EP elbow pad better fit and protection, as well.The Revolution HP hockey pant, new for 1990, features distinctive European-style pant with a new Maxwear fabric outer shell. The new fabric and air-foam system makes the Revolution pant one of the most lightweight and durable pants on the market.<h2>CANADIEN</h2>The new stick from Canadien is the Savvy. Savvy&rsquo;s new teal, blue and silver graphics grace a top-of-the-line stick which features new blade construction that makes it the stiffest and thinnest blade Canadien has ever offered.All shafts are of hand-selected lightwood cores with fiberglass overlay. The stick combines the technologies of both North American and European engineers. The Savvy is ideal for the growing old-timers&rsquo; market.Canadien will aslo introduce the high-end Savvy line of bag, to complement its traditional bags. New stick bags are designed to accommodate 24 sticks.<h2>JOFA/TITAN</h2>New construction and graphics lead off the entirely-new 1990 line of Titan GRS sticks. The series features a full lineup of sticks, from peewee to senior. The senior model features more power on the shot, thanks to a birch-poplar laminated shaft with fiberglass and graphite. The super Karglas(r) blade features an ABS sole on a birch core, and a nylon/graphite overlay.The TPM 3020 series features new fiberglass-reinforced&rsquo;&rsquo;Torsion Box&rdquo; construction of birch-poplar laminates and a Karglas* blade.The Titan 3001 goalie stick has new colors this year, and the TPM 2020 series of stick features a Karlam(r) blade, made with an ABS sole.Jofa equipment, new for 1990, includes the 300 series shoulder pad with large JDP caps, and the new 651/631 special-design back protector, made to fit the 500 and 600 series shoulder pads.Children aged four to seven will be interested in the Jofa Star Kit, a complete kit for the up-and-coming star, which features gloves, pants, elbow pads and shin pads.Jofa-Titan introduces two new bags, as well, for consumer recreational activity&mdash;a Weekender Bag and a Gym Bag. &#9632;

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ALL-STARS WILL SHOW OFF NEW PRODUCT LINES

It&rsquo;s a remarkably different kind of skate and it&rsquo;s cutting a lot of ice on both sides of the border&mdash;he 651 Tacks by CCM.The exciting difference between his skate and all the others is the exclusive Vakuform fit. It&rsquo;s the only skate that&rsquo;s heat molded to the exact shape of your foot. Inside the 651 boot is a special lining of heat sensitive material, which, after being softened by the application of heat to the outside of the boot, is then shaped around the foot&rsquo;s exact contours by means of vacuum pressure. This high-tech, yet simple fitting procedure takes place right in the store. The fit is so exact, you can deliver more direct transfer of energy to the ice while experiencing quicker response and instant edge control. Another advantage of Vakuform fit is that it virtually eliminates the traditional grin-and-bear-it break-in period common to other top-of-the-line skates.With the 651 Tacks on the market for almost two seasons, more and more NHL pros and serious amateur players are being won over by the skate&rsquo;s performance.Mark Messier, captain of the Edmonton Oilers, Cam Neely of the Boston Bruins and Al lafrate of the Toronto Maple Leafs are just a few of the NHL players who have discovered the 651 difference that helps get more out of their games.When the Russian teams were here, playing exhibition games against all 21 NHL teams, US Select Teams and college teams, they used 651 Tacks exclusively during the entire visit. Maybe glasnost also translates as freedom to choose the finest.651 Tacks are sold by most sporting goods Stores handling top-end skates. These retailers are also equipped to provide Vakuform fitting.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01118/5792789-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="602" height="1449"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al lafrate has found a lot of success using the 651 Tacks.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0268/5792782-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="598" height="1372"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boston Bruins Cam Neely is also a booster of the 651 Tacks.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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CUSTOM FIT TAKES A NEW TACK

Louisville Hockey nas expanded into the protective equipment category with a wide offering of products.The Douglas Air Cushion system introduced last year will remain the same with the Defender and Wingman models, except this year they will feature prominent Louisville TPS (Tournament Players Series) markings. New this year will be the TPS Lite Shoulder ead (S-XL), a pro-style dual flex knee pad, and a lycra-elastic elbow pad; all with the dual air system.Along with the high-tech air cushioned TPS protective equipment, Louisville will also be offer-ng a Competitive Series with XLT markings. This series will also contain a lightweight elbow pad (three sizes) plus a high impact foam padded knee pad in five sizes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01113/5792827-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="608" height="1212"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman uses the Louisville TPS hockey stick.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0280/5792820-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="607" height="1250"><figcaption class="caption-body">Louisville is a big part of Dale Hawerchuk&rsquo;s game.</figcaption></div>Along with the NHL quality pro leather TPS glove offered, 1990 will also bring a nylon version TPS glove (five colors), complete with a clorino palm in both 14-inch and 12-inch sizes. Rounding out the glove line will be a Steve Yzerman Autograph Series in a fastback style. The fastback model will be available in four colors and three sizes.Louisville will be showing a topend European-style hockey pant complete with embroidered Louisville and TPS markings. This two-system high-density polyethylene-protected pant comes in five styles along with a custom program to suit any team. In addition to the TSP line, there will be mid-range Competition Series pants in four colors.For the goaltender, Louisville is introducing a professional quality chest and arm protector in four vivid colors. In addition, a deluxe chest-arm protector with a back protector will be offered in white. A TPS goal pant with high density foam and polyethylene components provide maximum protection, with a lightweight effect. &#9632;

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LOUISVILLE: A WIDE VARIETY OF NEW PRODUCTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01107/5792858-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers helped revolutionize the goal stick industry with his style of play.</figcaption></div>Today&rsquo;s goalies have not only revolutionized the way they play the game, they&rsquo;ve also provided the impetus for the change in some of its equipment.Take the goalie stick, for example. At one time, goalies used their sticks for stopping pucks along the ice&mdash;and little more. Now, with more goalies being relied upon to help make the transition from defense to offense, puckstoppers are looking for more in the sticks they use.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question,&rdquo; says Victoriaville president Gary Jackson. &ldquo;Goalies are looking for lightweight sticks with balance. They&rsquo;re also looking for curves that they weren&rsquo;t looking for before.&rdquo;Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; goalie Ron Hextail has revolutionized the goaltending trade by his ability to handle the puck. Although he wasn&rsquo;t the first NHL goalie to be credited with a goal&mdash;Billy Smith of the New York Islanders was the first to do it in 1979&mdash;Hextall is the first to shoot the puck the length of the ice into a net. He also has done it during the playoffs.Last year, Damian Rhodes of Michigan Tech became the first goalie in NCAA history to score a goal. And Olaf Kolzig scored one this season for the Western League&rsquo;s Tri-City Americans in a 5-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds Nov. 29.In fact, Hextall and his offensive tendencies forced a change in the design of the goalie stick. Hextall uses Victoriaville sticks and four years ago, the company designed a blade with a heel curve for goalies for the first time.&ldquo;We kind of developed it together,&rdquo; says Jackson. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a curve in the middle of the blade but that is flipped back and the curve starts at the heel. It&rsquo;s done all the time with regular sticks but Hextall was the first to use it with a goalie stick.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt that the most important aspect for Hextall and others in the goaltending fraternity is the weight of the the stick. Some sticks are made as light as 30 ounces. But weight isn&rsquo;t the only consideration.&ldquo;Basically, goalies are concerned with the weight, the lighter the better,&rdquo; says Paul Gallant, product manager of Cooper Canada. &ldquo;But I think durability is a big factor and when they lean into the stick, they want it a little stiffer and with a little more action.&rdquo;Jackson says the trend started by NHL goalies has filtered down to recreational goalies, who have also realized the benefit of getting more involved with the play.&ldquo;Most of our innovations are feeding down into our retail lines because the kids are definitely fol-lowinq the shootinq craze that was started by goalies like Ron Hextail,&rdquo; says Jackson. &ldquo;Right down to the recreational goalie, they&rsquo;re looking for more than the big clunker. They want something that feels good and something they&rsquo;re confident using in goal game in and game out.&ldquo;The goalie is also looking at something that&rsquo;s going to stand up to the rigors of play,&rdquo; says Jackson, &ldquo;so durability is a big factor. These guys aren&rsquo;t taking slapshots or anything but when you&rsquo;re talking about paying between $38 and $42 for each stick, you&rsquo;re talking about a fair piece of lumber. You don&rsquo;t want something that&rsquo;s going to break every five minutes.&rdquo;Gallant says while lightweight sticks are ideal, they must be heavy enough to stand up.&ldquo;Goalies want them as lightweight as possible but if you go under 30 ounces, you&rsquo;re bound to sacrifice some of the durability,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Most goalies usually have a stick they use in games and one they use in practice.&rdquo;Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; goalie Mark Laforest played as a backup to Hextall when he was with the Philadelphia Flyers and it was then that he began to handle the puck more and be a little more selective with the sticks he uses.&ldquo;I never used a curve before I started playing with Hexy but his success certainly helped convince me,&rdquo; says Laforest. &ldquo;The most important thing is to have a light stick because that&rsquo;s the biggest factor in handling the puck. You also want to have a good, stiff blade because you don&rsquo;t want to be coughing the puck up out there. That makes you look pretty stupid.&rdquo; &#9632;

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GOALIE STICKS BECOMING OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

Guspro mcorporaieo ana me University of Windsor will soon be embarking on a joint study of the effects of sharpening on skates.But just how wide-ranging the study will be won&rsquo;t be known until this spring, when the study group gets word of whether its application for Canadian federal funding assistance will be approved.&ldquo;This is probably going to be an interesting project, but right now we&rsquo;re just planning it,&rdquo; says study co-ordinator Dr. Wayne Mareno, a professor of Biomechanics and head of Kinesiology at the university who has published several articles on skating technique.Mareno and Murray Wilson, director of marketing for Guspro, met in mid-January to hammer out a formal proposal for federal funding, through the Industrial Research Assistance Program of the National Research Council of Canada.&ldquo;If this (funding) goes ahead, we are looking at the first phase of the study taking up to a year and then going from there,&rdquo; Mareno says. &ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t be getting an answer until April or so, so we&rsquo;ll be looking at January or February of &lsquo;91 for a completion date.&rdquo;The study will be completed regardless, but federal funding will allow it to be will be more elaborate. Its first phase will be limited strictly to the effects of various sharpening methods on the skating ability of hockey players.&ldquo;We see this as the wave of the future,&rdquo; Mareno says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting to look in a biomechanical way at various blade configurations and their effects on static balance, dynamic balance and on-ice things like acceleration.&rdquo;&ldquo;The most important thing about a sharpened skate is that the edges are of equal height on both sides.&rdquo;The study should help eliminate an information gap that currently exists in sharpening technology. The degree of radius (curve) on the blade affects the way a player skates, as does the depth of hollow (concave groove in the blade edge). But no one really knows why.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not really a lot known about it,&rdquo; Wilson admitted. &ldquo;The blade is a radius, or a contour, or a rocker&hellip;there are so many terms for it. We don&rsquo;t know why, but the higher the radius, the easier it is to turn, and the flatter the radius, the faster you can go.&rdquo;Figure skaters prefer a higher radius, speed skaters a flatter one. Hockey players fall somewhere in the middle, dependent on whether their game is built on speed or flexibility.&ldquo;The other thing is the depth of hollow,&rdquo; Wilson says. &ldquo;Some use a wider hollow, others narrow. The theory is the deeper the hollow, the more work is needed to skate.&ldquo;But these are just theories.&rdquo;Until the study results are known, we&rsquo;ll just have to accept the experts&rsquo; advice at face value, without knowing why it works.Wilson, for instance, stressed a third important factor: &ldquo;The edges should be of equal height on both sides of the blade. The edges should be true from the front to the back of the skate.&rdquo;Serious balance problems can result if they&rsquo;re not.&ldquo;Skates that are sharpened properly are important to the end result of the athlete.&rdquo;Another skate-sharpening company, CAG One Ltd., will be watching the study results with interest. CAG One introduced computerized skate-sharpening to the marketplace, and embraces the theory that a curved radius on a blade is inferior to what it calls a &ldquo;gliding surface,&rdquo; a flat bottom with flared-up tips.&ldquo;If they (hockey players) just go with a rocker blade, they can&rsquo;t get a good feel,&rdquo; says CAG One spokesman Claude Drapeau. &ldquo;But with a olidino surface, thev can.&rdquo;The company uses specialized charts to determine grinding formulas for various players. The position played matters, as does the player&rsquo;s weight.&ldquo;Somebody who&rsquo;s heavy doesn&rsquo;t need as much of a hollow,&rdquo; Drapeau says. &ldquo;The smaller the radius, the more they dig. Skates with a big hollow dig into the ice more, but will slow you down.The companies may have different skate-sharpening philosophies, but they agree on one thing&mdash;the proper sharpening job is of vital importance.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like the wax on your skis,&rdquo; Drapeau says. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have the right wax, you aren&rsquo;t in the race.&rdquo; &#9632;

MYSTERIES OF SKATE SHARPENING SOON TO BE SOLVED

The manufacturer of Tackla internationally-acclaimed products is now truly an international company.Tackla Canada, Inc., is proud to announce its Canadian manufacturing facility, recently opened in Orillia, Ont. With the addition of this location and a brand-new hockey stick factory in Finland, Tackla will be offering an exciting and comprehensive program including new designs of hockey pants, leisure wear, complete hockey uniforms and top-quality hockey sticks.The product lines will be highlighted by two new pant models for non-contact hockey. The Tackla Tyro is a new pro-style pant&mdash;specifically designed for youngsters&mdash;in three sizes, at an affordable retail price.Born from the demand of hockey oldtimers, the Tackla Classic provides ultimate comfort and lightweight yet ample protection for all shapes and sizes, including the mature fit.The Tyro and the Classic are inkeeping with the Tackla tradition of fit, form and function.In the Orillia facility, Tackla is now able to better service the sporting goods industry with unique Euro-style uniforms. These colourful hockey uniforms incorporate &lsquo;90s technology to produce a lightweight, cool and comfortable jersey. With these innovations, team uniforms now take their place alongside the mainstream of Tack-la&rsquo;s production, the team sponsor being the ultimate beneficiary with the highly visual graphic identity.Tackla enters the &lsquo;90s launching the new product lines at the Canadian Sporting Goods Association trade show in Montreal.Parhaammat Onnittelut (Congratulations) from Tackla Canada Inc.Tackla Canada Inc. wishes to extend a hearty congratulations to all competitors, especially Canada&rsquo;s national junior team, for its performance at the World Junior Championships in Finland.Tackla&rsquo;s involvement in international ice hockey competition will continue, by its being the exclusive supplier for the inaugural International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women&rsquo;s World Championship to be played in Ottawa, March 19-25, 1990.Tackla takes great pride in being chosen to supply on-ice uniforms for all participating countries, and also, has been granted the licence to market the replica jerseys and leisure wear of several national teams, including Canada. The future for Tackla&rsquo;s involvement in IIHF-sanctioned championships extends through and includes the 1992 Winter Olympics.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01109/5792913-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="600" height="1876"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tackla makes the jerseys used I at the world junior tournament.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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THF TACKLA TRADITION CONTINUES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0059-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0187/5792944-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Christian, now of the Boston Bruins, is a member of the Christian Bros., family and uses its hockev sticks.</figcaption></div>Christian Bros. Hockey Sticks USA knew it had a product that was being accepted by hockey players at all levels of competition. What it didn&rsquo;t realize was just how well it was being accepted until orders began to flood in for the 1989 season.&ldquo;We really didn&rsquo;t know what to expect for the 1989 season", says Tim McClure, product/sales/Marketing manager for Christian&rsquo;s exclusive Canadian agent, Jelinek Sports. &ldquo;After having a very good year in 1988, we anticipated 1989 to be much stronger but never did we expect to exceed our expectations by numbers we did".McClure attributes the main factor for the substantial growth to the new ideas that the Research and Development Department have come up with.&ldquo;Christian Bros, has an excellent team of seasoned professionals who have all played the game their whole lives,&rdquo; says McClure. &ldquo;They know what a player is looking for in a hockey stick and steps |re taken to build that important ieel&rsquo; into every stick they manufacture.&rdquo;One of the new items that will be shown at the Canadian Sporting Goods show is the new Christian PowerTech aluminum stick.Christian Bros, has introduced space-age technology to the hockey stick market by manufacturing a shaft that is made from C048 aluminum alloy, the highest strength aluminum alloy available (it is the same alloy used in spaceship construction, as well as in high-speed aircraft). The Power-Tech is lightweight, for quicker speed and better contact. At the same time, it gives you super-strength for maximum power and impact. It&rsquo;s constructed to provide the same durability, balance and responsiveness that all other sticks that Christian manufactures.Along with the new concepts that are being used on their sticks, Christian Bros, has become involved in other aspects of the sport. It is directly involved with one of the fastest growing sports in Canada&mdash;ball hockey. Christian is recognized as the &ldquo;official stick&rdquo; of the Ontario Ball Hockey Association.Perhaps the most important involvement Christian Bros, has become involved with is the fight against drugs. For the past 1&rsquo;/2 years it have put drug-free messages on the shaft of every stick that leaves its factory. &ldquo;Stick To It-Just Say No To Drugs&rdquo; can be found on all models, including sticks that are used by NHL players. &ldquo;It has been accepted very well at all levels,&rdquo; says Bill Christian of Christian Bros. USA. &ldquo;The parents, coaches, players and sporting goods dealers have all commented on its strong acceptance and we are proud to be putting it on our sticks.&rdquo;Christian Hockey Sticks are being seen more and more worldwide. Outside Canada and their native USA, many European professionals have taken a strong preference to Christian because of their consistency and &ldquo;feel". Former NHL and Team Sweden star Kent Nilsson continues to use the sticks in Europe.&ldquo;Christian&hellip;Hockey Sticks Made By Hockey Players.&rdquo; &#9632;

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OLD AND NEW MAKE CHRISTIAN STICK SALES SOAR

In 1945 Paul Riedell founded Riedell Shoes, Inc., in Red Wing, Minn., and began building a reputation as one of the premier figure skate makers in the U.S. Today, more than 40 years later, Riedell figure skates are worn by national, world and Olympic champion skaters.In the late 1950s, Riedell introduced its first line of hockey skates into a market dominated by Canadian and European manufacturers. Today, Riedell is the only U.S. manufacturer of hockey skates. After more than 30 years of building quality hockey skates, Riedell has earned the reputation of building one of the toughest, best-fitting skates on the market.&ldquo;More than 117 professional hockey players wear the Riedell 511,&rdquo; says Dan Riegelman. &ldquo;They wear them for two good reasons: they take abuse that the sport of both amateur and professional hockey dish out; and they fit like no other skate on the market.&rdquo;For 1990, Riedell has improved the toughness of the already-remarkable 511 by drawing on its 40-plus years of experience in building quality skates, and through the judicious use of some lightweight synthetic materials.&ldquo;Every hockey player needs a skate that delivers the maximum amount of leg power on the ice,&rdquo; says Riegelman. &ldquo;A skate that flexes inappropriately, that breaks down prematurely, that gains weight from water absorption, wastes leg energy. Our goal with the new 511 was to create a skate that turns leg power into forward thrust in the most efficient manner possible. In the most simplistic terms, that means creating a skate that is-light, waterproof and stiff.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">More than 40 years of know-how built into event Rieriell skate.</blockquote>Many skates are stiff when they&rsquo;re new, but even after a few wearings, many of them begin to break down due to poor design, poor materials or poor workmanship. But more than 40 years in the skate business has taught Riedell how to build a strong skate, a skate that continues to deliver maximum thrust throughout the season&rsquo;s use.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0184/5792975-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg" title="f0060-01" width="796" height="1013"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dan Riegelman, vice president of Riedell Shoes, Inc.</figcaption></div>Some of the technical features which help make Riedell the strongest skate include:&#9724; 1000 denier ballistic nylon toe covering and quarters, which is significantly more resistant to cuts and frays.&#9724; Riedell employs an exclusive reinforcement material for full coverage of the uppers and quarters consisting of two layers of duck cloth saturated with an acrylic binder. Prevents stretching and moisture absorption.&#9724; Quality, top grain leather trim. Most skate manufacturers use coated split leathers which are cheaper but not as strong.&#9724; The toe box is made of high impact cycolac plastic, designed to withstand even the hardest abuse.&#9724; The outsole is both glued and nailed to the shoe for superior strength. Solid copper rivets at both the heel and the ball of the foot add strength at the points of greatest stress.&#9724; Double-row stitching at critical stress points.&#9724; &ldquo;More than 107 separate operations are needed to create each new 511,&rdquo; says Riegelman. &ldquo;But the results are a top-of-the-line skate that we believe can take on the best in the world.&rdquo; &#9632;

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RIEDELL SKATES FIT LIKE NO OTHERS ON THE MARKET

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0248/5793006-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg"></div>Riedell 511 rejects perspiration and water.New waterproof leathers and other high-tech materials have been incorporated into the Riedell 511 hockey skate to make it the driest and fastest skate on the ice, according to Dan Riegelman, vice president of Riedell Shoes, Inc. Riedell has applied its more than 40 years of skate building experience into designing the new 511 to reject perspiration and water, the main enemies of any skate.&ldquo;When a hockey skate absorbs perspiration from your foot and water from melted ice, it gets heavier and slows you down,&rdquo; says Riegelman. &ldquo;Our new 511 incorporates a number of significant changes to virtually eliminate moisture take-up.&rdquo;The lining of the shoe is now made of superior grade silicone-impregnated waterproof leather. &ldquo;No other material&mdash;natural or man-made&mdash;combines the qualities of moisture resistance, abrasion resistance, shape retention and comfort,&rdquo; says Riegelman. &ldquo;In addition, the molded, orthopedic style sock lining is now coated with Ultralure for added comfort and durability. It is also treated with Engrade to fight fungus, bacteria and odors.&rdquo;Other moisture-fighting changes to the Riedell 511 include:&#9724; A Surlyn insole takes the place of the traditional leather insole. In addition, it increases stiffness and durability by providing a stronger bed for the blade mounting rivets. It will not break down or rot.&#9724; A new tendon and backstay reinforcement is molded of a Surlyn/styrene sandwich. It is lighter and stiffer than leather and will not absorb moisture.&#9724; The new molded tongue padding eliminates lace bite and provides maximum comfort. The tongue is also wider and scalloped at flex points to provide a better fit.&#9724; The felt tongue lining is 100-per-cent polyester, which dries in half the time of wool. In addition, it is treated to prevent fungus or bacterial growth and is pre-formed for a better fit.&#9724; Ankle and tendon padding are made of closed-cell foam that locks the heel into the skate by conforming to the contours of the foot. It will not absorb moisture.These moisture-fighting qualities that are built into the new 511 for 1990 will provide a skate that will not gain weight or break down, permitting the maximum transfer of skating thrust to the blades for the life of the skate, says Riegelman. &#9632;

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NEW MOISTURE RESISTANT ATERIALS LIGHTEN SKATE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0329/5793037-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Riedell model 71, above, and new model 77, left, are ideal for the beginning to ntermediate levels.</figcaption></div>Dan Riegelman, vice president of Reidell Shoes, Inc., has announced the newest addition to the Riedell hockey skate line. The new model 77 is designed to fit neatly between RiedeU&rsquo;s entry level 71 and the model 81. The 77 gives Riedell three affordable skates in the competitive beginner/intermediate market.Riedell, located in Red Wing, Minn., is the only American manufacturer of hockey skates. Worn by many professional hockey players in the National Hockey League and American League, RiedeU&rsquo;s top of the line 511 &lsquo;s are the equal of any hockey skate in the world.The Riedell 77 uses many of the 511 design features to provide a strong, durable and comfortable skate for Mites and Squirts breaking into hockey or adults who enjoy recreational skating. Quarters are 400 denier nylon with heavy backing for durabilty. Trim is split leather impregnated with urethane for water-proofing and scuff resistance. Tendon and ankle areas are reinforced for extra firmness.Model 77 linings are gray split leather over quarter-inch thick foam &ldquo;L&rdquo; shape heel pads which help lock heels in proper position. Sock liner is woven fabric over eighth-inch foam for comfort. Toe box on the new Riedell 77 is high density polyethlene for protection against pucks, skates and sticks. Additional comfort is provided by the quarter-inch white felt liner on the tongue. Tongue backing is 400 denier nylon with a urethane coated leather center strip. Blades on the new hockey skate are carbon steel ICM Jets.&ldquo;With our new 77&rsquo;s,&rdquo; says Riegelman, &ldquo;we give beginning hockey and recreational skaters a quality entry-level skate.&rdquo; &#9632;

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NEW RIEDELL 77’S READY FOR 1990 HOCKEY SEASON

For a FREE BrochurePlease Write To:6817 CUMBERLAND COURT NIAGARA FALLS ONTARIO, L2H 2J9<h2>QUALITY HOCKEY EQUIPMENT FOR ALL AGES</h2>Jayco is moving into tne yus with a full head of steam. Jayco is one of the few manufacturers that can offer a complete line of equipment. It does not matter if you are three years old or 43, we have developed and expanded our line to provide quality equipment for all levels and age groups.The glove selection is unparalleled by anyone in the market. We are offering 12 different models of gloves starting with the only eight-inch fastback glove in the world for the beginner, to the HG888L 16-inch Super Pro leather. The HG88L Super Pro features an exclusive seven-roll back for the ultimate in flexibility. It also includes the Jayco magichands palm and Jayco Ultra Cuff. This model is also available in a short-cuff version known as the HG878L. Both the HG888L and the HG878L are available in 11 NHL colors.The elbow pad line has been expanded, which features the new EP7000. This hinged model provides excellent protection and unmatched flexibility. The EP606 nine-inch through EP676 14-inch models are now available in black, and extra protection has been added in the elbow area as well as the bicep area.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0188/5793082-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="762" height="822"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0262/5793075-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="758" height="882"></div>The introduction of the Airlite hockey pant was a tremendous success this season. The HP9000 and HP9000 goal have remained almost unchanged. The new HP7000 Airlite was dramatically improved in protection and lightness. All pants are available in senior and junior sizes and can be specially ordered in any and all color combinations.The Airlite concept has been incorporated in the new, improved GXL7000 chest-arm combination, which exemplifies the meaning of lightweight protection.To summarize what Jayco has to offer for the &lsquo;90s, the list includes forward gloves, elbow pads, shin pads, forward pants, goal pants, shoulder pads, sticks, goal chest-arm combinations, hockey bags, accessories and new complete equipment packages for children age three up to adult sizes.If your team or association is looking to purchase quality equipment at factory direct prices, please call or write: JAYCO SPORTS EQUIPMENT INC.,6817 Cumberland Court Niagara Falls, Ont.L2H 2J9Ph. (416) 356-3197 Fax (416) 356-5699<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0339/5793068-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="1671" height="2975"></div> &#9632;

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JAYKO HOCKEY EQUIPMENT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-0190/5793113-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Michel Goulet is one of three members of the Quebec Nordiques to use The Back Strip as part of his equipment.</figcaption></div>A prominent Canadian chiropractor has invented an innovative protective pad that will significantly reduce spinal injuries in contact sports.The Back Strip, developed by Dr. Howard Fisher of Toronto, is expected to become standard equipment for players in high-contact sports.&ldquo;Few people realize that the spine has less natural protection than the head,&rdquo; Dr. Fisher says. &ldquo;If you wouldn&rsquo;t play a contact sport without a helmet, you shouldn&rsquo;t be playing it without spinal protection.&rdquo;The Back Strip is especially effective for children involved in contact sports, where the potential for spinal injury is high.Dr. Fisher says he designed the Back Strip to absorb the sharp initial impact of a blow and spread the focus of the force over a wider area of the back.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the diffusion of the force of the blow that greatly reduces the chance of injury to the vulnerable spinal region,&rdquo; Dr. Fisher says.That ability has been recognized by several National Hockey League players who wear the Back Strip to protect them from crosschecks and sudden blows.&ldquo;During the 1988-89 season, we did not report any injury directly related to low-velocity trauma (for example, crosschecking from behind) among our users of the Back Strip (Michel Goulet, Jeff Jackson, Robert Picard),&rdquo; says Quebec Nordique trainer Jacques Lavergne. &ldquo;The Nordiques and I feel free and are very enthusiastic to recommend Back Strip to any hockey player of any level who cares about his or her back health.&rdquo; &#9632;

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SPINAL PAD REDUCES INJURIES

Miller Goaltending Equipment has developed the New C-3000 catching glove, the Trapper, for 1990 production.Available March 15, 1990, the Trapper is a lightweight, quick- to break-in goaltenders&rsquo; glove. The Trapper offers maximum flexibility and control, without sacrificing any protection. Offered in two pro size models as well as a junior model the Trapper can be worn by goalie; from peewee to the pros.Also new for 1990 from Miller I; the new line of blockers and senior arm and chest protectoi The new blockers will be offered ii two pro models and a junior mode New cuff and finger protector de signs make the 1990 line of Mille blockers lighter.The new senior arm and ches protector (the CAP-200) offer; many of the same features tha have made our Cap-100 Pro mod el famous. The lightweight desigr and excellent protection make the CAP-200 an affordable one-piece for goalies bantam and up.A new junior foam pad, the G 2050, will be added to the Mille leg-pad line in March, 1990. Simi lar in looks to the Pro model 2001 the 2050 junior foam pad offers the lightweight advantage of foam witt the same quality and protectioi gained from 15 years of pad building experience.For more information call (604) 594-1223 or write: 12648, 82nd Ave., Surrey, B.C., Canada, V3V 3G1, or stop by our suite in the Hotel Bonaventure during the G.S.G.A. show. &#9632;

MILLER GLOVE: A ‘TRAPPER’ FOR THE ‘90s

Through word of mouth, Toronto Hockey Repair has a reputation for quality work. With 25 years of experience, THR has become legendary within the hockey community. THR&rsquo;s reputation has been built in repairs, from repalming of hockey gloves to the lengthening of goalie pads. Toronto Hockey Repair also specializes in custom goalie equipment (goal pads, trappers, blockers). A new unique feature of the custom goal pad is that the customer can have his/her name sewn right on the side of the pads.New for 1990, THR has introduced lightweight goal pads, made from genuine leather. Their weight is approximately..6&rsquo;/2 pounds. Their interior is constructed from high-impact plastic and foam which greatly helps reduce rebounds.Other features of this new innovative piece of equipment include calf protector with the cheater on the side and the toe guard. All color combinations are available. THR custom equipment caters to the individual goalie.All equipment is done by hand on a one-to-one basis. Whatever the design or feature the customer wants, the customer will get. &#9632;

TORONTO HOCKEY REPAIR—25 YEARS OP QUALITY WORK

While they may be the focal point of any hockey school, on-ice activities aren&rsquo;t the only thing students can enjoy.In fact, with a maximum of three hours per day of ice time at most schools, crosscuts and breakouts actually occupy a minority of the time spent at school. Which is why most schools offer comprehensive off-ice programs in an effort to make the student&rsquo;s tenure at hockey school a total experience.And those activities can range anywhere from video and pizza parties to repelling mountains.&ldquo;We think they (off-ice activities) are crucial,&rdquo; says one hockey school operator. &ldquo;Not only does it make things more enjoyable, we&rsquo;ve found that it can have a monumental impact in the learning that occurs on the ice.&rdquo;With the growing trend toward video analysis in hockey, most operators use the visual medium to help improve players through video analysis. And with preparation the evening before sessions, teachers can use their valuable ice time to better advantage because less of it is spent explaining the drills.Because of the short duration of most programs, long-term conditioning isn&rsquo;t possible at most schools or camps. But fitness does take up a portion of the program, in the hopes that the students will continue the regimen after their tenure in hockey school.&ldquo;We provide a weight room for the players because almost every player who&rsquo;s a teenager or older has a year-round conditioning program,&rdquo; says one operator. &ldquo;And all of our students must complete a program set out by the Canadian Fitness Standards. There is no option here when it comes to fitness.&rdquo;Of course, most schools offer recreational activities like soccer, softball, swimming and basketball, but some of the activities are a little less conventional. One school takes advantage of its rugged terrain by having the students repel mountains.&ldquo;That may appear very remote to hockey,&rdquo; says one operator, &ldquo;but we try to tie it into the motivation and team-type problem solving.&ldquo;We also play things like basketball or handball but we play five a side with hockey rules,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;That keeps the kids thinking about hockey with things like the breakout and team defense.&rdquo;Some of the recreational activities are a little more laid back.&ldquo;We might set aside one night a week just to watch Don Cherry&rsquo;s Rock &lsquo;Em Sock &lsquo;Em Hockey and have pizzas,&rdquo; says one operator, &ldquo;or we might just take one night to take the kids into town to see the sights totally out of the environment of the hockey school.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t just shove hockey down people&rsquo;s throats for a week straight. Naturally, people need time for rest and relaxation. It also helps them with those injuries that are bound to occur&mdash;pulled groins, aching muscles and bruises and things like that.&rdquo;Some schools also draw upon the expertise of sports psychologists, nutrition experts and others in off-ice fields that relate to the well being of the hockey player.&ldquo;We might have a player from the NHL come in and talk about the experience of playing pro or a college coach discussing the pros and cons of playing college hockey over junior,&rdquo; says one operator. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve even had drug awareness seminars and last year we had a sports psycologist come in. He was very popular with the kids.&rdquo;And while it may be the furthest thing from their young minds during the summer months, there is often the inevitability that the students will have to pick up a pencil and do some classroom work.&ldquo;Obviously, the kids initially don&rsquo;t want to go into the classroom,&rdquo; says one operator. &ldquo;But as soon as they see it&rsquo;s not really like school, it doesn&rsquo;t bother them so much. Then they see themselves on video and that gets them pretty excited.&rdquo;But off the ice, the paramount concern is making hockey school an enjoyable experience. Often, the experiences off the ice are the ones from which memories are made.&ldquo;We strive to get the kids to get along with each other,&rdquo; says one operator, &ldquo;and not only does that make it more fun, some real friendships can form. &#9632;

OFF-ICE ACTIVITIES CAN BE FUN, TOO

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0064-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-0182/5793223-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0158/5793216-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg" title="f0068-01" width="3611" height="4400"></div> &#9632;

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS… IN EASTERN UNITED STATES

You can&rsquo;t convince an oldtime hockey fan that the days of the NHL&rsquo;s &ldquo;Original Six&rdquo; did not provide the best hockey ever known to man.Objective evidence proves otherwise, of course. When one watches videotapes of &lsquo;60s action, the temptation is there to keep the VCR on fast-forward. How else can replayed action match up with memories?But that&rsquo;s what nostalgia is all about. The older a man gets, the faster he ran as a boy.Similarly, hockey school and camp operators recall the &ldquo;good old days&rdquo; with a certain fondness&mdash;even though they were make-or-break years that could have led to financial disaster.Today&rsquo;s hockey schools may cost more to run, but they&rsquo;re better in almost every way.&ldquo;It certainly is a costly venture, much more now than in the old days,&rdquo; says one operator. &ldquo;The hockey player today is a little more spoiled than he used to be. Gone are the days when our staff members were just up-and-coming college and junior coaches.&ldquo;They worked not only on-ice in an instructional sense but off-ice, too, taking care of the conditioning portion and recreation. Guys were expected to stay with their groups all day.&rdquo;Then came the age of specialization. Hockey schools are more sophisticated than ever.&ldquo;Now, we hire specialists for conditioning, recreation, sports psychology, a trainer,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There are so many more staff. It&rsquo;s much more cost-heavy in staffing than it used to be.&rdquo;But it&rsquo;s to the campers&rsquo; benefit. Counsellors used to supervise campers, as well. Today, even that&rsquo;s a specialty at some camps. All staffers are better prepared for emergency, too, with training in first-aid and CPR.And with training and experience comes a hidden cost factor.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s really expensive is veteran staff that returns year after year and expects to get a raise,&rdquo; the operator says. &ldquo;It gets to the point where they&rsquo;re too expensive.&rdquo;But not as expensive as on-site pros. This particular camp doesn&rsquo;t have any pros, but those camps that do pay dearly for the marquee value.&ldquo;Pros can cost a couple of thousand (dollars) for a couple of days,&rdquo; the operator says.The need for a good insurance package is another recent development. Perhaps old-time camps and schools were a bit naive, but today&rsquo;s aren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re covered for accidents, injuries and property damage.Most, if not all, operations use rented facilities. That&rsquo;s another cost factor.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got you where they want you, in regard to rates,&rdquo; the operator savs. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been in the same place for 20 years. You build up a rapport with the people but they still hit you with a five-per-cent increase every year.&rdquo;So with all of these expenses factored in, what does it cost to run a camp of this size, with 700 or 800 students over the course of a summer?&ldquo;You&rsquo;re looking at the $300,000 range,&rdquo; he says.Students at this camp pay $500 to $550 a week, but not all are in that range. And none, when put in perspective, are all that expensive.&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t high-ticket,&rdquo; says the operator of another camp. &ldquo;None of them are, generally. Send your kid to a waterfront camp and compare the cost of that.&rdquo;He agrees with the other operator that things have changed:&ldquo;Even your on-ice ratio. You used to have two instructors on the ice. Now you have five or six.&ldquo;Insurance liability has gone up considerably. And the cost of ice rental has also gone up (at his camp, about seven per cent annually). I&rsquo;m not aware of many operators who own their own facilities.&rdquo;Other factors?&ldquo;Dormitory and off-ice programs require constant improvements. And as for supervision of players, we&rsquo;ve gone to three supervisors for 15 players off-ice.&rdquo;But the bottom line is attractive. A week costs $245-370 for a boarding session.&ldquo;When you break it down&mdash;meals, insurance, a $15 jersey&mdash;it&rsquo;s a heck of a buy.&rdquo; &#9632;

QUALITY AT SCHOOLS, CAMPS CAN BE COSTLY

Now in its 19th season, Exeter Hockey School has trained more than 12,000 young hockey players, boys 10-17 and girls 10-20. The program is sponsored by Philips Exeter Academy, an independent, coeducational, residential, secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire.The two one-week and three two-week sessions are divided into three divisions, 180 players and 36 goalies. Each division has four teams and plays a nine-game schedule. The students train on two rinks in a multi-million dollar gymnasium. Each student has four hours of ice time daily. Mornings are devoted to fundamentals and individual drills, afternoons to systems and group drills and evenings to games.The professional staff is drawn from high schools and colleges. The player-coach ratio of five-to-one enables each participant to receive a high degree of individual instruction and a comprehensive evaluation and report card at the end of the session.The school has stop-action video facilities for replays of individual and team performances. &#9632;

EXETER HOCKEY SCHOOL ENTERS 19TH YEAR

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0069-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0154/5793302-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Dineen of the Hartford Whalers, above, has benefited from the expertise of power skating instructor Laura Stamm.</figcaption></div>Skating is the most overlooked part of hockey.That&rsquo;s the firm belief of Laura Stamm, hockey&rsquo;s foremost cower skating instructor.&ldquo;I look at the National Hockey League and I still feel skating is the most neglected aspect in hockey,&rdquo; says Stamm. &ldquo;To elevate hockey to the next level, there must be more emphasis on skating.&ldquo;As skating gets better, the other fundamentals get better. When the player doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about what he&rsquo;s doing with his feet, other parts of his game improve. It bothers me that in a sport that should be all skating, there&rsquo;s so much bad skating.&rdquo;Stamm has been helping hockey players become better skaters since 1970. For the past 17 years, she has worked with various NHL players and teams. Some of her better known students include former New York Islanders&rsquo; right winger Bob Nystrom, Hartford Whalers&rsquo; right winger Kevin Dineen, Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; defenseman Steve Duchesne and Kings&rsquo; left winger Luc Robitaille.Nystrom was the first player with whom Stamm worked. She said it took a while for Nystrom and Stamm to feel comfortable with each other.&ldquo;The most difficult player for me was Bob Nystrom,&rdquo; says Stamm. &ldquo;He was the first player I worked with and he didn&rsquo;t want anybody to know he was taking lessons from a gin.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d go out at 6 a.m. and he just looked totally intimidated and I felt totally intimidated. People would stand there and watch and say, &lsquo;That bum&rsquo;s never gonna make it.&rsquo; Well, he did.&ldquo;I promised him I would never say anything about teaching him but he went around and said, &lsquo;I never would have made it without Laura Stamm.&rsquo; &ldquo;Stamm estimates she has worked with 400 professional hockey players. But most of her work is spent with players at other levels of hockey.Stamm says the purpose of power skating is to make better hockey players by improving skating skills.&ldquo;Power skating is a means to an end,&rdquo; says Stamm. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like going to school.&ldquo;The whole purpose is to make the kids faster skaters&mdash;not conditioning, it&rsquo;s technique training. You can be a great athlete but, if the technique&rsquo;s not there, it must be developed.&rdquo;Power skating is often unenjoy-able for younger kids at first because they have to spend long periods of time on the ice without the puck. But after a while, the kids get used to the power skating drills.&ldquo;A lot of the drills are without the puck but some incorporate the puck as well,&rdquo; says Stamm. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to be able to keep every kid interested but a good number of them keep coming back time and time again. They go away from the course a faster skater.&rdquo;The key to becoming a better skater is to always be doing something during instruction. Kids of almost any age can stay on the ice for at least 90 minutes before they get too tired. After players get tired, they reach a point where they can&rsquo;t learn anymore, and it&rsquo;s time to get them off the ice.Keeping the kids interested in power skating involves setting up a variety of activities for the players.&ldquo;I do a lot of resistance work, where they push each other,&rdquo; says Stamm. &ldquo;I like to keep the skaters moving as much as possible, so you don&rsquo;t have two kids skating and everybody else watching&mdash;everybody can push or be resistance. I use pylons to set up obstacle courses.&ldquo;I focus on all aspects of skating&mdash;forward, backward, turns agility, maneuverability, and the specific moves tor goaltenders.&rdquo;Stamm says even kids who have never been on skates can become decent skaters in a fairly short period of time. She has been involved in the Hockey in Harlem program in which underprivileged youngsters&mdash;many of whom have never skated&mdash;learn how to play hockey. &ldquo;A couple of those kids could really be hockey players,&rdquo; says Stamm.But it&rsquo;s not likely they&rsquo;ll find their sessions with Stamm the most enjoyable part of learning hockey.&ldquo;Power skating isn&rsquo;t the fun part of hockey but it makes hockey more fun to play,&rdquo; says Stamm.Bob Nystrom would certainly agree with that. &#9632;

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POWER SKATING MAKES HOCKEY MORE FUN

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HOCKEY SCHOOLS…IN WESTERN UNITED STATES

Hockey school or camp is an expensive proposition. Let&rsquo;s make that clear right away.It costs in the hundreds of dollars to send your kid away for a week just to polish his skills, so you had better make sure of just what it is you&rsquo;re getting him into.Some parents might answer, &ldquo;It had better have a lot of on-ice activity and a lot of top-notch instructors.&rdquo; Fine. If that&rsquo;s what you want&mdash;and, more importantly, what your youngster wants&mdash;it&rsquo;s a valid choice.Other parents might instead say, &ldquo;Hockey training is great, but it&rsquo;s not the only thing. I&rsquo;d like my kid to have a good, all-round experience with plenty of other activities.&rdquo;The point is, it&rsquo;s your money&mdash;so make sure it buys what you want it to. One of the best ways of finding out is to get on the phone or sit down at the writing desk, and start asking questions. But what questions?We asked a few school and camp directors what should go into the decision-making process.One of the first things to clear up, of course, is the level of involvement desired. There are several good day hockey schools within driving distance of major metropolises. If the commuter way suits you best&mdash;Johnny finishes breakfast, leaves for school and is home for dinner&mdash;that&rsquo;s one route.On the other end of the scale is the live-in hockey camp. The child packs up his gear for a week or two and lives the experience. And, of course, there are many options in-between.Once you&rsquo;ve determined the camp-vs.-school question, you should consider the type of hockey instruction offered.&ldquo;Some specialize in certain things,&rdquo; notes one director. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re an all-around school. We go to all the fundamentals and spend a lot of time with them. But we don&rsquo;t aim specifically at, say, shooting, or checking.&rdquo;Another director suggests you should check out the staff&rsquo;s credentials.&ldquo;Ask about their teaching philosophy, their instructors,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Try to pinpoint who exactly will be there, as opposed to who&rsquo;s advertised&mdash;how much on-ice is offered. As for off-ice instruction, what kind is offered&mdash;is it instruction or just games to fill time?&ldquo;And a very important one is the supervision&mdash;what kind of supervision is offered during off-ice time, when they re not occupied by some kind of hockey instructional program?&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a camp concept where you can swim and boat and waterski and take your mind off all of the other things. That&rsquo;s more of an all-rounded camp. Then there&rsquo;s programs like ours, where you&rsquo;re basically into hockey instruction from morning until night.&rdquo;Supervision is key, another camp executive says.&ldquo;One thing that is becoming bigger is the whole thing of supervision, in terms of what is the on-ice instructor ratio; and who are the on-ice instructors? Are they chosen because of their star quality or are they chosen because they are good teachers? Is it 24-hour supervision, if it&rsquo;s a camp?&rdquo;How the ice time is structured is equally important.&ldquo;I think the program features are something to look at,&rdquo; the camp spokesman says. &ldquo;Compare ice time&mdash;not necessarily ice time as in hours, but what are they learning on the ice? Are all the skills covered? Is there an adequate power-skating program? I think that almost every kid should be in power skatina.&rdquo;Not all agree that power-skating should be part of the program, nec-cesarily, but you get the idea. If your kid wants an intensive program of stickhandling and passing, for instance, then request it.And if hockey is only part of the desired experience, look closely at the off-ice programs, too.&ldquo;What am I looking for?,&rdquo; the spokesman adds. &ldquo;Do I want a summer camp atmosphere with campfires, camp activities like sailing and swimming, or do I want to go to a place that&rsquo;s more hockeyschool oriented?&rdquo;It&rsquo;s your choice. &#9632;

WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A SCHOOL OR CAMP?

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January 26, 1990

THESE SKATES ARE MEGA-DEVASTATING

NHL performer OF THE WEEK

GAGNER CONTINUES TO REALIZE POTENTIAL

HOCKEY SCHOOLS… IN WESTERN CANADA