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.

October 26, 2002

The Hockey News October 26, 2002

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03843/8097341-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="220" height="228"></div>On the day before the season opened, the news Craig Conroy was named the Calgary Flames captain caught some observers off guard. Wasn&rsquo;t Conroy already captain of the team?Officially, the answer was no. Conroy and defenseman Bob Boughner were named co-captains last February, after coach Greg Gilbert took the &lsquo;C&rsquo; away from Dave Lowry in mid-season. But Gilbert describes himself as a traditionalist and in his mind, hockey teams need one defined leader. That, leader was Conroy.Boughner and right winger Jarome Iginla were designated as alternate captains. Iginla will eventually become the Flames captain, but for now, it made no sense for the organization to burden the team&rsquo;s best player with more responsibility than he already has.Conroy, by contrast, is 31, a nine-year pro and possesses a strong; upbeat personality. In short, he is the perfect choice as captain for this moment in the team&rsquo;s ongoing evolution. A former captain at Clarkson University, Conroy called the appointment an &ldquo;honor.&rdquo;&ldquo;I just want to keep on doing what I am doing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We have 23 leaders in this locker room. This is a team sport. It isn&rsquo;t just about about one or two guys.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Greg Gilbert&rsquo;s attraction as an NHL coach was the fact he played for so many varied influences - including Al Arbour and Mike Keenan - during his career. What has emerged from the influential collection of voices is a demanding, defense-first coach, someone who keeps pressing and pushing for improvements from within.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Jordan Leopold&rsquo;s NHL debut had to be postponed after the reigning Hobey Baker award winner suffered a concussion in the next-to-last exhibition game, after getting hit by the Edmonton right winger Dan Cleary. It was Leopold&rsquo;s strong showing early in training camp that convinced the Flames they could part with defenseman Derek Morris in the trade with Colorado which landed forwards Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle. &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Veteran leader Conroy named Flames captain

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011654/8097403-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="212" height="224"></div>One of the last decisions coach Brian Sutter made during training camp turned out to be the easiest when he named Alex Zhamnov Chicago&rsquo;s new captain.Not only is Zhamnov the Hawks&rsquo; best player, he is the most respected veteran in the dressing room.&ldquo;There were a half-dozen guys we seriously considered, but Alex is a quality guy who lets his actions be his words,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the top players in the league as far as skill and ability, his work habits are impeccable, he&rsquo;s disciplined, he cares about his teammates and he&rsquo;s not afraid to back up what he says.&rdquo;Sutter made Phil Housley, Jon Klemm, Lyle Odelein and Steve Thomas alternate captains.The soft-spoken Zhamnov is entering his seventh season with the Hawks after being acquired in the controversial 1996 trade with Phoenix that saw Jeremy Roenick go to the Coyotes.Zhamnov said he doesn&rsquo;t intend to turn into the rah-rah type.&ldquo;I saw Chris Chelios when I first got here and he didn&rsquo;t say much, but he was a leader everywhere,&rdquo; Zhamnov said. &ldquo;I saw the respect he got from the guys and I just want to be the same way. This is a great honor and this team has a great tradition of captains, but I&rsquo;m not going to change anything I do.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Sutter is the kind of guy anyone who runs a business would want overseeing the employees because he is able to get the most out of every individual under him.Few coaches communicate as much as Sutter does with his players. He lets them know exactly what is expected and holds them accountable. Players are never left wondering where they stand.Sutter teaches aggressive play and doesn&rsquo;t mind his players taking chances o&rsquo;h the ice. He expects an all-out effort from the top-end guy to the press box scratch.&ldquo;When guys come to play they better check their wallets at the door,&rdquo; Sutter said.NOTEBOOK GM Mike Smith hoped to get an idea-how long right winger Theoren Fleury&rsquo;s suspension might last before making long-term plans to replace him. Right winger Garry Valk, released at the end of training camp, was brought back and signed to fill Fleury&rsquo;s roster spot. (See pg. for more on Fleury.) &#9632;

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Respected Zhamnov awarded Hawk ‘C

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div>The London Knights had been preparing all along for the likelihood that left winger Rick Nash would sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets.Nevertheless, replacing the 63 goals he scored in his two seasons with the Ontario League team will still be a tall order.On Oct. 7, Nash signed a record-setting rookie contract with the Blue Jackets.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a learning curve without Rick, but we&rsquo;ve been OK so far,&rdquo; said Knights GM Mark Hunter. &ldquo;We are losing an exciting hockey player.&rdquo;London, forced to open its season on the road while awaiting completion of then-new arena, the John Labatt Centre, was 2-21-1 as the team prepared for its home opener Oct. 11 against Plymouth. The Knights had scored only 15 goals in those six games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure there are going to be games where we say &lsquo;Boy, we could have used a goal and two assists from Rick tonight,&rdquo; Hunter said.&ldquo;But what are you going to do? This is not in our hands. It&rsquo;s the business we&rsquo;re in and we&rsquo;re here to develop young players. It&rsquo;s a credit to our organization that Rick is in the National Hockey League at 18 years of age.&ldquo;It would be nice to have Rick in certain situations, but we&rsquo;d planned not to have him back. When we saw him jack it up to another level in the playoffs last year against Plymouth (the Knights upset the regular season champions in the first round), we figured then Rick wouldn&rsquo;t be back, and he wasn&rsquo;t even drafted yet.&rdquo;With 9,100 seats to sell in the John Labatt Centre, Hunter said it would have been nice to have Nash in the lineup.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about entertainment and I don&rsquo;t know if there has been any player in our league as exciting as him 1-on-1 in a while.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011054/8098689-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="416" height="226"></div>CENTER OF ATTENTION Center Derek Roy, 19, returned to the Kitchener Rangers from the Buffalo Sabres camp just in time to spoil the Erie Otters&rsquo; party.The Otters raised the 20012002 championship banner in front of a sellout crowd for their home opener Oct. 5. Roy then went out and picked up four assists as the Rangers defeated the Otters 8-4 before 5,280 fans at Tullio Arena.DOUBLEHEADER The Kitchener Rangers, hosts to Game 3 of the Hershey Cup AllStar Series Nov. 27 - a series of games featuring two all-star teams from each of the Canadian Hockey League three leagues - stepped up to the plate to help the CHL in staging another significant event.A battle between Molson and Labatt cost the London Knights the Top Prospects Game. The game is now set for Jan. 22 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. The John Labatt Centre in London was initially identified as the venue for the game.&ldquo;We were faced with the huge task of &lsquo;Where do we go on such short notice?&rdquo; said CHL president David Branch.Even though Molson and Labatt eventually worked out their differences in mid-September, Branch said the Rangers had already agreed to take on the task of organizing a second significant major junior event this season.&ldquo;The Rangers helped us out at the 11th hour,&rdquo; Branch said. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Knights suffering from Nash’s departure

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011155/8098224-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01997/8099377-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>SUPER MARIO SOUNDS OFF ON PENGUINS, POWER & STATE OF GAMEMARIO LEMIEUX, PITTSBURGHTHE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT TALENTED TEENS DESERVE SHOTRICK NASH, COLUMBUSCatchin&rsquo; up with PETER PUCKLOW MINORS PREVIEWSUPER STOPPER: J-S GIGUEREFINAL NHL PRE-SEASON STATSThe Hockey News Interview(Caution: He doesn&rsquo;t back down when he&rsquo;s off the ice, either) &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

BRENDAN SHANAHAN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011905/8096603-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Great Ones&nbsp;A goalie&rsquo;s worst nightmare? No, just another pre-game tribute to Wayne Gretzky, on the night the Kings raised his No. 99 sweater to the rafters at Staples Center.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021526/8096596-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="272" height="346"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTEBOOK&nbsp;Brian Costello Senior Editor</figcaption></div>With the NHL&rsquo;s 86th season now upon us, let&rsquo;s review summer developments that may have been overlooked by headline writers.We know about the crackdown on obstruction and the speed-up rule before faceoffs. But what about the little things that slipped between the cracks. Here&rsquo;s a primer in Q & A format:1. True or false. A shot is deflected high into the protective mesh and the puck drops to the ice behind the goal. Play continues as though the puck hit the glass and fell to the ice.2. Name the first person in NHL history to carry a handbag out on the ice?3. Why do New Jersey&rsquo;s Ken Daneyko and Carolina&rsquo;s Steven Halko have scoring streaks to monitor and why should you avoid them in your hockey pool?4. Who were the pre-season players who performed beyond expectations? (For those people in late-starting hockey pools.)5. Which player had the most profitable summer on the links?6. Name the only skater who has been with more NHL organizations than he has NHL goals?7. The NCAA is passing along a bumper crop of players to the pro ranks this season. No fewer than 13 blue-chippers were among top-10 prospects for the 30 NHL teams in THN&rsquo;s Future Watch 2002. Ryan Miller, Jordan Leopold, Mike Komisarek, Jeff Taffe, Mike Cammalleri, Tim Jackman, Pat Aufiero, Marc Cavosie, Chris Dyrnent, Adam Hall, Andrew Hutchison, Matt Murley and Jim Fahey Of the 13, how many left school early?8. True or false. St. Michael&rsquo;s goalie Andy Chiodo, a New York Islanders draft pick, is campaigning hockey powers to sign an agreement that would reduce harmful gas emissions from Zambonis, thereby cleaning the environment in hockey arenas. The proposal is called the Chiodo accord.Answers:1. False. The play is whistled dead.2. Queen Elizabeth II.3. Daneyko, 38, hasn&rsquo;t scored a regular season goal in almost four years, a span of 252 games. Halko, 28, a sixthyear fringe defenseman, has never scored in the NHL, a stretch of 149 games.4. Montreal&rsquo;s Mariusz Czerkawski led point-getters with 11 points, Washington&rsquo;s Glen Metropolit had 10 points and Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Dan Boyle had nine.5. Former NHLer Dan Quinn won his second straight American Century Celebrity Golf Championship and another $100,000first-place prize.6. Defenseman Mathieu Biron, 22, scored four goals in his rookie season with the Islanders in 1999-2000. He has also been with Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, and since the Oct. 4 waiver draft, Columbus and Florida.7. An NHL-record six undergrads turned in the books for pay stubs: Miller, Komisarek, Taffe, Cammalleri, Jackman and Cavosie. All six prospects started the 2002-03 season in the minors.8. False. &#9632;

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Now that summer’s over, were you paying attention?

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011852/8096634-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Puck</figcaption></div>Gordie Howe did it. Mario Lemieux did it. And if the stars align correctly, another hockey icon is about to do it.Peter Puck is on the verge of making a comeback.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping we&rsquo;ll be able to bring Peter back soon,&rdquo; said Brian McFarlane, Hall of Fame broadcaster and co-creator of the wildly popular children&rsquo;s cartoon character. &ldquo;The level of interest in the character is remarkable; almost 30 years after he was created, people still come up to me and ask me when he&rsquo;ll be back on TV&rdquo;Peter, who thrilled millions of children with his entertaining and educational take on the game, first appeared on NBC&rsquo;s NHL Game of the Week and CBC&rsquo;s Hockey Night in Canada in 1974. McFarlane recalls how quickly the character came together.&ldquo;They kind of created Peter overnight,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was with NBC at the time, and Scotty Connell, who was my boss at the network, wanted our intermission features to focus on the instructional aspect of the game. He called (legendary cartoonist) Joe Barbera from Hanna-Barbera and asked him to create an animated character.&ldquo;I sent Joe some background information, books I had written and other literature, and in a short period, he came up with Peter Puck. Joe said the name just popped out of his mouth.&rdquo; McFarlane owns the worldwide rights to Peter and is working with an associate in California to find a new home for the cartoon, in addition to pursuing video and merchans dising opportunities. He believes the NHL is missing out on a golden opportunity to reach kids through the character.&ldquo;It frustrates me sometimes that the NHL hasn&rsquo;t said &lsquo;We want Peter back,&rdquo; McFarlane said. &ldquo;He is the symbol of what&rsquo;s good about hockey - good sportsmanship and the fundamentals of the game - and you&rsquo;d think the league would want to recruit him again, but it hasn&rsquo;t happened yet.&rdquo;Although Peter disappeared from television screens in 1980, McFarlane - who hopes to have a new home for Peter when the Brian McFarlane Museum relocates from Niagara Falls to Hamilton, Ont. - has kept him alive through personal appearances. The public&rsquo;s love for the character has withstood the test of time, McFarlane said.&ldquo;Wherever Peter goes, he needs an escort,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Kids come up to him, pound on his back, tug at his gloves. You&rsquo;ve got to make sure the person inside the costume is prepared for the rush.&rdquo;Even NHL players have had a hard time restraining themselves in Peter&rsquo;s presence.&ldquo;In Niagara Falls, Eddie Shack scribbled his signature across Peter&rsquo;s back,&rdquo; McFarlane said. &ldquo;That was somewhat annoying, as we&rsquo;d spent quite a bit of money on the costume.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Hockey’s most popular Puck prepares for return to TV spotlight

<h2>No job for Jarvis? Say it ain&rsquo;t so</h2>Dallas casts assistant asideGiven his druthers, Doug Jarvis would rather be going to the rink than staying home. But the NHL&rsquo;s alltime ironman is stuck &ldquo;between jobs.&rdquo;The 47-year-old Jarvis, who holds the NHL record for having played in 964 consecutive games, did not have his contract renewed by the Dallas Stars, the organization for which he has been an assistant coach for the past 14 years. Jarvis assisted Pierre Page, Bob Gainey and Ken Hitch-cock, but was not included on the staff of new Stars coach Dave Tippett.He will, however, act as assistant coach to Mike Pelino for Canada&rsquo;s entry at the Spengler Cup Dec. 26-31 in Switzerland.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to that opportunity,&rdquo; said Jarvis from his Dallas home. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something different and unique for me compared to what I did the last 14 years.&rdquo;That said, Jarvis would welcome the opportunity to work an NHL bench again, preferably in the capacity of head coach. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d certainly be interested in giving that a shot,&rdquo; Jarvis said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011860/8096696-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="401" height="510"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Jarvis</figcaption></div>This isn&rsquo;t the first time the hockey world has turned its back on this dedicated hockey man. After never missing a game as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers, Jarvis was put on waivers in 1988 and went unclaimed. He played the first three games that season with Hartford before coach Jack Evans sat him out. The streak, 964 straight games, was over. Jarvis never played again.&ldquo;It was a long stretch of games and at some point the streak was going to come to an end, whether it was through injury, sickness or just not being dressed,&rdquo; said Jarvis, who won four Stanley Cups as a. member of the Canadiens and was named the NHL&rsquo;s best defensive forward in 1984.&ldquo;At the time I was disappointed, but I think you have to look back and understand there were a lot of good things that happened through that streak.&rdquo;The NHL&rsquo;s current ironman is Phoenix&rsquo;s Tony Amonte who&rsquo;s at 410 games and counting.Here&rsquo;s what the NHL&rsquo;s other alltime ironmen are up to:&#9633; Gary Unger (916 games): Coaches Tulsa in the Central League. His streak ended in 1980 when Atlanta coach Al MacNeil benched him.&#9633; Steve Larmer (884 games). Works for the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. Larmer&rsquo;s streak came to an end in the fall of 1993 when he asked the Blackhawks to trade him and refused to play. He missed the start of the season before being dealt to the Rangers.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021313/8096689-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="3154" height="2691"><figcaption class="caption-body">TRUE GAMER&nbsp;Ironman Doug Jarvis played 964 games during his NHL career - in a row.</figcaption></div><h2>THN ONE-TIMERS</h2>Sutter brothers off the ice, but still have game in veinsNHL games have been free of on-ice Sutter brothers since Ron Sutter retired at the end of the 2000-01 season. Here&rsquo;s what the pride of Viking, Alta., are up to now: Brian (46 years old): the 1990-91 NHL coach of the year, Brian stepped behind his fourth NHL bench last year with Chicago and led the Hawks to a 25-point improvement. Darryl (44): after three years coaching in Chicago, Darryl has helped San Jose improve in the standings five straight seasons and become a serious Stanley Cup contender. Duane (42): after coaching Florida for nearly a year (over two seasons), Duane was named Panthers director of player development this past summer. Brent (40): a man with many hats, Brent is the owner, president, GM and coach of the Western League&rsquo;s Red Deer Rebels. He coached the Rebels to the Memorial Cup title two years ago. Ron (39): in his first off-ice job, Ron has been a pro scout for the Calgary Flames since the start of last season. Rich (39); Minnesota Wild pro scout since 1999.HE LIKES ME! Washington&rsquo;s Jaromir Jagr has told coach Bruce Cassidy guys he enjoys playing with include Dainius Zubrus, Chris Simon and Kip Miller. And so it will be. &ldquo;I have no problem with that as long as it works for the team as well,&rdquo; Cassidy said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to keep these guys happy.&rdquo;&hellip;It&rsquo;s true, as THN reader John Power from Tempe, Az., points out, that there are no new interference rules in the rulebook this season. There are, however, new &ldquo;Notes&rdquo; that make it clearer what kinds of acts will result in penalties&hellip;Unrestricted free agent defenseman Jiri Slegr will be back in the NHL as soon as he drops his asking price. He made $1.8 million in 2001-02&hellip;When Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff called out on the bench for &ldquo;Taylor, Pyatt!&rdquo; to kill a penalty in the pre-season, left winger Taylor Pyatt answered: &ldquo;Just me?&rdquo; Uh, no, Ruff told him. Chris Taylor should go, too&hellip;Caught on film by Sportsnet cameras: a smirking Adam Foote commenting on Alexandre Daigle, his voice laced with sarcasm: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s coming back?&rdquo;&hellip;Mike Gartner will be playing Santa Claus for the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund over the next three months in Romania. Russia, Sweden, New York, Wisconsin, five Canadian provinces and maybe, just maybe, at a &lsquo;shopping mall near you. &#9632;

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POWER PLAY

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY Senior Writer</div>The start of each NHL season is mostly about beginnings. But it&rsquo;s also about endings.While people are focused on what lies ahead, this is also the time of year to reflect on the exit of some great players.Sportswriter Jim Kelley&rsquo;s wardrobe is safer with the retirement of Dominik Hasek. NHL forwards can breath easier with the departure of rugged Gary Suter. And stoppers Mike Vernon and John Vanbiesbrouck have stopped playing.Vanbiesbrouck came out of retirement last season to serve as backup to Martin Brodeur in New Jersey This time, Beezer is gone for good. As owner, coach and GM of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he&rsquo;s too busy sculpting the careers of others to worry about extending his own.Looking back on a career that spanned 18 years, Vanbiesbrouck offered: &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe it went so fast. You look back on some great things that happened to you along the way and it makes you happy.&rdquo; -Here are the most important facts you absolutely have to know going into the new season:KEY PLAYER MOVES The most sought-after free agent, Bill Guerin, blew off the Boston Bruins for Dallas - where his new teammates quickly learned not to mess with him at practice.After four years playing in his hometown of Toronto, Curtis Joseph accepted less money from Detroit in exchange for a legitimate chance to win the Cup. And Bobby Holik changed teams, but doesn&rsquo;t have to change his home address. He skates from Jersey to Manhattan, joining fellow Blueshirt newcomer Darius Kasparaitis.BOOB TUBE Following a dip in the ratings, ESPN cut back the number of NHL games it will televise. Concerned about &ldquo;overexposing hockey,&rdquo; ESPN said less hockey is a good thing. In two years the NHL will tell the players less money is a good thing, too.In Canada, all is right as favorite son Ron MacLean works out a new deal to remain host of Hockey Night In Canada, after a much-publicized contract dispute.MacLean swears it was never about the money&hellip;then what was it about? Finally, TSN replaces Sportsnet as Canada&rsquo;s cable broadcaster.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012067/8096734-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="996" height="1018"><figcaption class="caption-body">HEADS UP&nbsp;Defenseman Darius Kasparaitis adds some much-needed nastiness to the Rangers blueline.</figcaption></div>MISSING IN ACTION Several veterans remain unrestricted free agents as the new season began. They include goalies Byron Dafoe and Tom Barrasso, defensemen Jiri Slegr, Steve Duchesne, Cory Cross and Deron Quint, and forwards Martin Rucinsky, Rick Tocchet, Pat Verbeek and Kevin Stevens.NHL&rsquo;S NEW LOOK (ON THE ICE) If you need to answer nature&rsquo;s call during a game, do it quickly. The linesmen won&rsquo;t wait for you to get back to your seat. Sometimes they won&rsquo;t even wait for both centers to line up. The league has adopted a hurry-up faceoff rule to reduce the length of games. That&rsquo;s the good news. The bad news is star players have less time on the bench to catch their wind, so you&rsquo;ll see more of the fourth-liners.That said, the stars should have more room to dangle since the league is making its 243rd attempt to reduce obstruction.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021381/8096727-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="1316" height="1648"><figcaption class="caption-body">SHOOTING STAR&nbsp;Bill Guerin shot the lights out in Boston last year, leading to a Dallas power play in the off-season.</figcaption></div>NEW LOOK Big black nets hang at the ends of rinks to protect fans from flying pucks - and, at least according to some, obscure sightlines. Also, the glass that players get their faces smushed into has more give, which will reduce injuries.SICK BAY Detroit captain Steve Yzerman, last seen limping off into the sunset with the Stanley Cup held high over his head, insists he&rsquo;ll be back sooner than expected following summer knee surgery that was supposed to sideline him until the new year. St. Louis captain Chris Pronger won&rsquo;t be as lucky. He had knee and wrist surgery this summer, but the wrist is not progressing as expected. Islander captain Mike Peca is out until December, giving him time to plot his revenge on Darcy Tucker. And Toronto leader Gary Roberts won&rsquo;t be back before January after double shoulder surgery.STATS STUFF The NHL got rid of four stats that nobody cared about and two - hits and blocked shots - that players used in contract negotiations and arbitration hearings. Watch for those two to be reinstituted by next season.FOR SALE The Rigas clan got busted and the NHL moved in to take over day-to-day operations of the Sabres. This is not a good thing, unless Colin Campbell comes out of retirement to play defense.BENCH JOCKEYS He&rsquo;s not new, but after a two-year exile, Pat Burns returns behind the bench with New Jersey This should be fun: an interesting character who loves to talk working for a boss who hates it when his employees say anything but the company line. Other new coaches in new places are: Mike Babcock (Anaheim), Dave Tippett (Dallas), Dave Lewis (Detroit), Bryan Trottier (Rangers), Ken Hitchcock (Philadelphia) and Bruce Cassidy (Washington).KEY DATES The 53rd NHL All-Star Game, which reverts back to an East vs. West format after five years of North America vs. the World, will be played Feb. 2 in Florida. A thousand bad rumors will be put to rest when the NHL trade deadline passes March 11. And the NHL entry draft is June 21-22 in Nashville. &#9633; &#9632;

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FEATURES

Everything YOU NEED TO KNOW about 2002-03

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03810/8096786-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg"></div><h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2>CURTIS WHO? New Toronto goalie Ed Belfour becomes the first Leaf goalie ever to record a shutout in his first game with the blue-and-white.NO ORDINARY JOE Joe Burton, who has played 10 years in the Central League, suits up for Phoenix in an NHL pre-season game against Los Angeles.KINGS FOR A DAY By defeating Phoenix 4-1, the Los Angeles Kings run their unbeaten string in season openers to nine games (6-0-3-0).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04493/8096779-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="371" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Burton</figcaption></div><h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05392/8096772-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="1104" height="461"></div>WHAT IS THIS, PEEWEE HOCKEY? Columbus and Minnesota, apparently packed with leadership, plan to alternate captains daily (or something like that).IT&rsquo;S JUST ONE GAME, BUT&hellip;With goalie Evgeni Nabokov and defenseman Brad Stuart unsigned, San Jose is bombed 6-3 by Detroit to open 2002-03.IF YOU DON&rsquo;T SUPPORT IT, IT WILL LEAVE Only 12,224 buy tickets to watch the hometown Sabres beat the Islanders 5-1 in the Buffalo&rsquo;s home opener.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06277/8096765-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="373" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">Evgeni Nabokov</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011870/8096817-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Queen Elizabeth II drops the ceremonial puck between Mike Ricci and Marcus Naslund Oct. 6 in Vancouver.</figcaption></div>Chicago GM Mike Smith and coach Brian Sutter knew the risks involved when they signed Theoren Fleury as a free agent. But nobody expected Fleury to be suspended two days before the season started for a violation of his substance-abuse aftercare program.Things were going smoothly for Fleury and the Hawks, but that changed Oct. 2 when the veteran winger didn&rsquo;t show up for practice and was unaccounted for until late in the day.Two days later, Fleury explained he was a no-show because of concern he had for his father, Wally, who had surgery for a tumor on his prostate.But the same day Fleury missed practice, he phoned the directors of his aftercare program himself and advised them of a problem. Fleury was suspended indefinitely by the NHL without pay.&ldquo;This course of action is best-suited to Theoren&rsquo;s situation,&rdquo; said Dr. Dave Lewis, one of the doctors administering to Fleury. &ldquo;He needs time away from the game to work on his issues.&rdquo;Smith insisted Fleury was not suspended because he failed a test for a banned substance. He said Fleury&rsquo;s decision to notify the program himself was a positive step.&ldquo;That was a sign of a commitment for himself getting better,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;He understood what the potential risks were, but he did what he was supposed to do.&rdquo;Sutter made it a point to stress Fleury was not re-entering a treatment center, which had been reported in some places. According to Smith, Fleury remains in Stage 2 of the NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program and will be allowed to continue the program in Chicago.&ldquo;We still believe in Theo,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;We believe he&rsquo;ll be back and we believe he&rsquo;ll still make a major contribution.&rdquo;Fleury met with his teammates the day after the suspension, telling them he felt he had let them down.&ldquo;He was very emotional,&rdquo; said Steve Thomas. &ldquo;He poured his heart out to teammates he didn&rsquo;t really know that well. That took courage. We&rsquo;re all behind him. It might take a week, a month or all season, but he&rsquo;s very committed and we&rsquo;re 100 per cent behind him.&rdquo;It was Thomas who took Fleury&rsquo;s spot at right wing on the first line with Alex Zhamnov and Sergei Berezin. &#9632;

f0007-01

Fleury takes leave after setback

<div class="byline">THN STAFF</div>Jacques Richard, a 50-goal scorer for the Quebec Nordiques, died in a single vehicle car crash near Quebec City. He was 50.Except for his one memorable season in which he scored 52 goals and 103 points in 1980-81, Richard had a disappointing career considering the great expectations thrust upon him as the No. 2 draft pick in 1972.Richard lived a troubled existence after retiring. It included a cocaine habit, a drug smuggling conviction and a charge for shoplifting. By his own admission, Richard once snorted up to four grams of cocaine a day. Police found five grams of cocaine in the remains of his car.&ldquo;I started with a line now and then,&rdquo; after retiring, Richard was quoted as saying. &ldquo;Then it increased and by the end, I always had my nose in the bag.&rdquo;The Quebec City native was a scoring star for the major junior Remparts. He had 399 points in three seasons before the Atlanta Flames selected him in 1972.He had 103 points in three seasons with Atlanta, then 62 points in three years with Buffalo, including time in the AHL. He flourished after signing with Quebec in 1979 and became the 27th NHLer to score 50 goals in a season. Richard followed up his 103-point season with 41 points and his career soon petered out.Amid retirement, a divorce, a failed business venture and gambling problems, Richard is reported to have spent up to $100,000 a year on cocaine.Customs officials found three kilograms of cocaine in a golf bag on his flight home from Columbia in 1989. He spent 14 months at a prison, then in 1993 was charged with shoplifting sneakers from a Zellers store. &#9632;

Richard had troubled retirement

<div class="byline">THN STAFF</div>Chuck Rayner was known for goaltending oddities and goaltending excellence.The Hall of Fame stopper died Oct. 6 of heart failure at his home in Langley, B.C. He was 82.&ldquo;Charlie Rayner was the greatest goaltender I ever saw,&rdquo; legendary coach Fred Shero often said. &ldquo;And that includes Jacques Plante, whom I once coached.&rdquo;Rayner played eight seasons with the New York Rangers from 1945 to 1953 and had a 3.05 goals-against average with 25 shutouts. He won the Hart Trophy in 194950 and was a second-team NHL all-star three times.&lsquo;Bonnie Prince Charlie&rsquo; was remembered as the first and only goalie to skate the length of the ice and score. It happened during the Second World War when he was with a Navy all-star team.&ldquo;We were playing an Army team in Vancouver,&rdquo; Rayner told THN in 1982. &ldquo;It was a rough game and, at one point, the penalty boxes were full. Each team had four men on the ice.&rdquo;Players were scrambling for a loose puck around Rayner. An Army player took a shot and the rebound bounced straight out.&ldquo;Instinctively, I went for the rebound until I realized I was away out of the net. I looked up and saw nobody ahead of me.&rdquo;Except Army goalie Art Jones.&ldquo;He was so stunned by the sight of me with the pads on, skating right at him that he didn&rsquo;t know what to do. I didn&rsquo;t even bother to deke, just let the puck go, hoping something good would come if it. The puck went by Jones halfway up on the stick side.&rdquo;History was made, albeit in an exhibition game. But like many of the services teams, the Army roster had plenty of NHLers.Rayner also became known as one half of the Rangers then unheard of goaltending tandem with &lsquo;Sugar&rsquo; Jim Henry in 194647. Coach Frank Boucher rotated the goalies every few shifts, regardless of their performance.The idea was to keep both warm and involved in the game.&ldquo;We only had one set of gloves, so we had to stop and exchange gloves in front of 15,000 fans,&rdquo; Rayner said. &ldquo;Neither Sugar Jim nor I cared for Boucher&rsquo;s idea. Eventually, he abandoned the idea, but we used the two-goalie system the way they do today, only then it was considered revolutionary.&rdquo;The native of Sutherland, Sask., was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. &#9632;

Hall of Famer Rayner was a unique stopper

Another October is here and we hear there&rsquo;s yet another NHL-mandated crackdown on obstruction.Apparently, this time they mean it!Looking back on all the previous attempts to regulate the clutch-and-grab nonsense that has gone on unchecked for several seasons, it is easy to see why players, fans and coaches are so skeptical of this latest attempt to open up the game.Fact is, most fans are weary of the watered-down play they&rsquo;ve been forced to watch. Don&rsquo;t believe me? Just look at the dismal attendance in many arenas and television ratings.In contrast, I offer the NFL as a more successful model. Most, if not all, of its teams are on far better ground financially.Most importantly, they have an effective Competitive Committee to ensure constant improvement to the game, while the NHL twiddles its thumbs and offers the same tired edicts year after year after year.Simply put, if the NHL wants to give its fans a better product - as it has often promised - it must follow through for once.Otherwise, it may be time for a new commissioner.Gil Hannebohn, Pasadena, Md.<h2>Howes class acts</h2>I was deeply saddened to hear Colleen Howe has been diagnosed with Pick&rsquo;s disease. I had the pleasure to meet her and Gordie at an autograph session and they are both class acts.The thoughts and prayers of hockey fans everywhere are with the Howe family.Robert Boadt, Indianapolis, Ind.<h2>Maclean good for game</h2>It is nice to see that the CBC and Ron MacLean came to terms on a new contract.I&rsquo;ve had the pleasure of listening to MacLean and Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada the last couple of years; no one does a better job of preserving and promoting this great game than MacLean.Steve Lourenco, Fall River, Mass. &#9632;

Hey NHL: Keep your promise!

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011954/8096920-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

Elston

Are the lights out in Colorado? They were wrong to trade Adam Deadmarsh and they&rsquo;re wrong to deal Chris Drury. Avs GM Pierre Lacroix will miss Drury&rsquo;s clutch playoff performances.Lindsey Ungar, Farmington Hills, Mich.I&rsquo;m appalled by the letter &ldquo;Protective netting an overreaction.&rdquo; (THN, Oct. 11) The writer may be right, but I&rsquo;d be willing to fly him to Columbus and have him look the parents of Brittanie Cecil in the eye and repeat his comments.Craig McIntosh, Fayetteville, N.C.Bill Guerin not getting suspended for slashing Brett Draney is the biggest joke around. I have no respect for Guerin, the Dallas Stars or the NHL.Jason Feng, VancouverI&rsquo;d like to thank former Hershey Bears radio announcer Dave Mishkin for eight years of enjoyment. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be getting a truly unique announcer this season. Good luck, Dave - Chocolate Town wishes you a fond farewell!Randy Stermer, Windsor, Pa.Sergei Fedorov&rsquo;s younger brother, Fedor, could challenge for the Calder Trophy this season. He has NHL-caliber offensive smarts and skating ability and should fit in nicely with Vancouver.Wade Usborne, Port Coquitlam, B.C.<h2>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</h2>This is your place for quick comments on current hockey events. Reader&rsquo;s One-Timers accepts opinions of 60 words or less, so please be concise. &#9632;

Avalanche will regret trading Drury

Hey Tie Domi: I admit a lot of Toronto fans don&rsquo;t really know much outside of the Maple Leafs, but there are a considerable number of us that know what&rsquo;s going on and we&rsquo;ll cheer or boo whomever we choose. You chided fans for booing Ed Belfour during a pre-season game, but he&rsquo;ll get praise when he earns it, not just because you demanded it.With the Leafs having one of the highest ticket prices in the league, fans fortunate enough to afford tickets can - and should - do whatever they want.Tie, you should know your role and leave the fans alone.Dave Jordan, Shelburne, Ont.<h2>Leary&rsquo;s list a laugher</h2>I just finished reading Denis Leary&rsquo;s article on the five players he hates the most and I must say I got a good laugh from it. (THN, Sept. 27)The Hockey News should definitely have Leary write another article again next year, or even ask a different celebrity to do one.Emanuel Sequeira, Wainwright, Alta.<h2>Flames burn Avs</h2>The Colorado-Calgary trade was some kind of a gift for the Flames. A top-notch sniper (Chris Drury) and a checking center (Stephane Yelle) for a young defender (Derek Morris) and two nobodies (Dean McAmmond, Jeff Shantz)?Am I the only one who thinks this is a ripoff? I hope when Drury and Jarome Iginla hit it off and both finish in the top five in the NHL scoring race next season, Colorado will be sorry.Bonnie Dawson. Whitehorse, Yukon<h2>Guerin&rsquo;s slash no big deal</h2>I can&rsquo;t understand why everyone made such a fuss over Bill Guerin&rsquo;s slash on Brett Draney.Sure, it looked like a brutal chop to the neck - and I don&rsquo;t agree with people hitting each other - but I think the media and fans went way too far in criticizing the NHL.If anyone needs to deal with the incident, it is the Dallas Stars. No other teams were involved, so it should be left up to them.Darren Rokos, Peterborough, Ont.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>MAIL: U.S.A.: Letters, THN, P.O. Box904, Buffalo, N.Y, 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, THN, 25 Sheppard Ave. W, Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-MAIL:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:proteaua@transcontinental.ca">proteaua@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

Fans paid for right to boo

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011925/8097013-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>BRENDAN SHANAHANBobs& weaves in Q&A with THN&rsquo;s JONATHAN DAVIS&lsquo;I thought I was going to be unloading trucks for a living, carrying frozen carcasses of beef and lamb into a freezer for the rest of my life.&rsquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011708/8097006-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="3136" height="882"></div>Brendan Shanahan&rsquo;s initials come with the package. The challenge is figuring out when he&rsquo;s using them and when he&rsquo;s telling the truth. Make up your own mind as the Detroit Red Wings power forward shoots the breeze with THN interviewer Jonathan Davis.THN&nbsp;Best trash talker?Shanahan My opinion on trash talking is there are no good trash talkers. If someone&rsquo;s claim to fame is they&rsquo;re a good trash talker, they should be in a different sport. Trash talking is something that&rsquo;s not respected in the NHL. It&rsquo;s kind of a punkish thing. If you&rsquo;re sitting at home thinking about ways to trash talk then your focus is definitely not where it needs to be.THN&nbsp;Do you save pucks or sticks from memorable games?Shanahan Unfortunately they&rsquo;re all in my basement somewhere collecting dust. I&rsquo;ve got some sticks from Stanley Cup finals and the Olympics. I&rsquo;m hoping that one day I&rsquo;ll appreciate what I&rsquo;ve collected over the years. I at least have the foresight to collect the stuff, I just haven&rsquo;t done anything with the sticks or pucks. I&rsquo;ve never asked another player for a stick. I&rsquo;m just not into collecting memorabilia. It is quite flattering, though, when someone asks me for one of my sticks.THN&nbsp;Is there one milestone you do care about?Shanahan The things I care about most are just simply winning. Maybe down the road those milestones will mean something because I have such a great appreciation for the history of the game. The memories of playing on winning teams are the ones that mean the most to me.THN&nbsp;Can you describe yourself in five words or less?Shanahan I should hope not. And that was four words, by the way,THN&nbsp;If you could be somebody else for a day?Shanahan I would never&hellip;That&rsquo;s just kind of like a personal thing where I feel there are certainly some fun people that I could be for a day It&rsquo;s like a personal superstition that I have. I think it&rsquo;s a bad omen to wish you were someone else. It just might come true.THN&nbsp;On a desert island you would want&hellip;Shanahan A rescue helicopter.THN&nbsp;Something you always take with you on the road?Shanahan An extra alarm clock. You just can&rsquo;t trust the hotel clocks or wake-up calls. Back in my second year in the league my roommate was getting up early to go down to the rink for treatment, so we asked for two wake-up calls. Well, the second one (for me) never came and I was a much sounder sleeper back in my late teens, as most teenagers are. I learned very quickly that missing the morning skate earns you a trip to the press box for the game. Ever since then I bring my own battery-operated clock.THN&nbsp;First job?Shanahan It was when I was 15 and I unloaded trucks at a storage unit company.THN&nbsp;Did you ever think at 15 you were going to be playing in the NHL?Shanahan I thought I was going to be unloading trucks for a living, carrying frozen carcasses of beef and lamb into a freezer for the rest of my life.THN&nbsp;Something at 17you wish you still believed?Shanahan At 171 found out the truth about Santa Claus - that was a bummer.THN&nbsp;Your ultimate dinner guest?Shanahan I&rsquo;d pick my wife.THN&nbsp;You can have dinner with your wife anytime. Pick someone else. So, the question now is, besides your wife, pick one person that you would like to have dinner with?Shanahan Is that how the question will be phrased?THN&nbsp;We&rsquo;re here to work with you.Shanahan I&rsquo;m a movie buff, so I would get a kick out of sitting down to dinner with Steven Spielberg and listening to him discuss his movies.THN&nbsp;Biggest pet peeve?Shanahan Hockey players who think they are soccer players. Guys laying on the ice rolling around like they&rsquo;ve been shot.THN&nbsp;One perk you&rsquo;ve enjoyed as a pro hockey player?Shanahan Free tape. It was like gold when you were a little kid.THN&nbsp;Best rookie initiation?Shanahan It had to be when I was in St. Louis. Jim Montgomery had a hairy chest and we shaved his chest to form the letter A&rsquo;. He was pissed because he was hoping for a &lsquo;C&rsquo;.THN&nbsp;The handshakes marking the end of a playoff series are one of the great moments in sports. Is there one end of a playoff series that stands out over the rest?Shanahan In &lsquo;97 when we played Colorado in the conference final they had a few players that kept telling us we were a bunch of losers who had never won anything. There was nothing said during the handshakes. It was just a very satisfying feeling knowing that we were moving on and they were going home.THN&nbsp;One teammate that makes you laugh?Shanahan Tomas Holmstrom, because you can&rsquo;t understand a word he&rsquo;s saying.THN&nbsp;Besides my questions&hellip;what&rsquo;s the most ridiculous thing you&rsquo;ve been asked?Shanahan I just think it&rsquo;s funny when the day before a game you&rsquo;ll always get some guy from the media asking, &ldquo;So what&rsquo;s your game plan to beat so-and-so?&rdquo; As simple as that is, I just find it funny. I&rsquo;m like, &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you come into the dressing room and we&rsquo;ll show you our playbook?&rdquo; This is something that is especially the case during the playoffs when the media coverage intensifies.THN&nbsp;A playoff beard has become tradition. Does your wife wish the tradition would come to an end?Shanahan I don&rsquo;t think anyone in my family likes the beard look on me. But for me it&rsquo;s that nagging reminder with every scratch and grotesque hair curling the wrong way that you are in the middle of the playoffs and the longer it gets the closer we are to the Cup.THN&nbsp;One thing you hope goes away soon, besides me?Shanahan I&rsquo;d like to see pre-season games disappear.THN&nbsp;What actor would you want to portray you in the movie of your life?Shanahan It would have to be Danny DeVito. In actuality, I would hope the actor is not born yet because I&rsquo;m hoping my life has a lot left to go. If it&rsquo;s a current actor, does that mean I&rsquo;m going to die soon?THN&nbsp;Are you superstitious to the point that you will wear the same t-shirt for every game when you&rsquo;re on a hot streak?Shanahan Not a chance. I like clean clothes too much.THN&nbsp;Toughest building to play in?Shanahan I don&rsquo;t think there is one right now. It used to be buildings like the Chicago Stadium, Boston Garden and The Aud in Buffalo. Smaller rinks, the fans were on top of you. It was a great atmosphere and at times tough on the visiting team.THN&nbsp;One building you wish still existed?Shanahan It would have to be the Montreal Forum. It was like coming into a church. In many ways I&rsquo;d have to say the same about Maple Leaf Gardens. I grew up in Toronto and I can still remember my first game there (as a New Jersey Devil). It was my second game in the NHL and I can still picture the coach saying my line was next on the ice. I was focusing on the guy that I was about to change for. I was watching the guy make his way to the bench and it seemed like he was coming in slow motion. Here I am, 18 years old playing my first game in my hometown in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens.THN&nbsp;Any significance to your sweater number (No. 14)?Shanahan It separates me from the other players on my team.THN&nbsp;One guy you hate to play against but would love as a teammate?Shanahan There are a lot of guys I feel that way about, but I wouldn&rsquo;t want to pay them that compliment while I&rsquo;m still playing.THN&nbsp;Worst injury you&rsquo;ve suffered?Shanahan I took a puck in the face.THN&nbsp;What was going through your mind at that point?Shanahan Vulcanized rubber! I did have a feeling that solid foods were not going to be part of my diet for a while.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021224/8096999-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="3149" height="3633"><figcaption class="caption-body">Plenty of points, PI Ms</figcaption></div>Brendan Shanahan is one of four players in NHL history to reach 500 goals, 1.000points and 1,500penalty minutes. The four players are list-ked, in order of penalty minutes (PIM), with games played, goals and points. &#9632;

f0010-01

COVER STORY

Doin’ the Shanny Shuffle

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021478/8097051-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="362" height="462"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim &ldquo;Turk&rdquo; Evers Equipment Manager</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011877/8097058-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="181" height="199"></div>Being an equipment man means NHL road trips, but sometimes there&rsquo;s a detour. Like the Flyers, who spent a few days in Banff and Canmore, in the Canadian Rockies before their first game against the Oilers. Turk Evers liked just about everything about the experience.THN: First off, what about that story about you and the growling animal when you were loading gear?Evers: I went over to pet what I thought was a dog (in a parking lot) and somebody yelled &lsquo;don&rsquo;t do that, it&rsquo;s a coyote.&rsquo; I ran to the equipment truck. The boys thought it was funny.THN: What about a team-bonding session with a little camp in Canmore? How did that work?Evers: We&rsquo;ve had camps in places like P.E.I. and Peterborough for a few days before. But in this case, it&rsquo;s the first time since I&rsquo;ve been working for the Flyers, 25 years, where we&rsquo;ve opened a season on the road. I had a lot of help from the Hockey Canada people and the guys around the rink (Alberta Junior League team) in Canmore. I brought some extra stuff, trinkets to give away and a couple of signed sticks to give to the rink guys. They did a really good job.THN: At least it was a manageable group for this trip, unlike camp where there&rsquo;s a whack of players trying out, right?Evers: We brought 26 guys on the trip, a few extras because some guys were hurt. I brought sweaters for all 52 guys who were in camp, though. You never know who&rsquo;ll get called up.THN: What about numbers? Does anybody want to change after camp? How do you decide which ones to hand out?Evers: Well, we&rsquo;ve only got four that are retired. Bernie Parent, Barrie Ashbee, Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke. 1, 4, 7 and 16. Nobody&rsquo;s getting 16 although I&rsquo;ve had a couple of guys ask for it in camp. Paul Healey and Len Barrie. I guess kids don&rsquo;t remember who wore what.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03956/8097044-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1175" height="892"></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM: PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

<div class="byline">BY DAN WOOD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04564/8097096-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT&nbsp;Jean-Sebastien Giguere&rsquo;s save percentage (SP) has climbed and his goals-against average (GAA) fallen almost every year he has played in the the NHL. (Note: Giguere did not play in the NHL in 1997-98.)</figcaption></div>Growing up as the youngest of five hockey-loving children in a bluecollar Montreal family, Jean-Sebastien Giguere learned a valuable lesson at an early age.With money tight, Giguere followed in the path of his two brothers and two sisters by delivering newspapers to fund his budding career.&ldquo;All five of us were playing hockey and with me being a goalie, it was very expensive,&rdquo; Giguere said. &ldquo;All five of us had to do that to pay for hockey We had to earn it. It was really hard, but we had to do it. We all enjoyed playing, so we did it, not always with a smile, but we did it.&rdquo;Folding newspapers and traipsing through snow-covered streets to deliver them gained more than childhood recreation for Giguere, the promising young goaltender whom the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are counting on to help them rebound from two miserable seasons.Acquired by Anaheim from Calgary in the summer of 2000, Giguere has flourished under the tutelage of Ducks goaltending consultant Francois Allaire, whose hockey school Giguere attended as a youth. A first round selection (13th overall) by the Hartford Whalers in 1995, Giguere supplanted Guy Hebert as Anaheim&rsquo;s No. 1 netminder in the spring of 2001 and then played so well last season that the Ducks traded Steve Shields to Boston.&ldquo;There are better athletes in the league, but Jiggy proved to me last year that his work habits are so good that they are going to allow him to be a real top-end goaltender,&rdquo; said Anaheim GM Bryan Murray. &ldquo;He can be a star in this league.&rdquo;All Giguere did in 53 games last season was finish fifth in the NHL with a club-record 2.13 goals-against average and tie for fifth with a. 920 save percentage. Imagine where the Ducks, who placed 13th in the Western Conference at 29-42-8-3, would have been without him.&ldquo;You look at his numbers last year, being in the top five playing on this team,&rdquo; said new Anaheim coach Mike Babcock. &ldquo;To me, those are unbelievable stats.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05407/8097089-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="601" height="969"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean-Sebastien Giguere</figcaption></div>While Jose Theodore, Evgeni Nabokov and Roberto Luongo get far more attention, Giguere&rsquo;s sound positional play puts him in the same group of young rising star goalies.&ldquo;Francois Allaire has helped him out a lot,&rdquo; said Duck&rsquo;s captain Paul Kariya. &ldquo;He has gotten his technique down to the point where goaltending is almost a science of being in position, taking as much of the net away as you can and making the shooter beat you with a perfect shot. He does that very well, similar to Patrick Roy.&rdquo;The biggest break of Giguere&rsquo;s career was the trade from Calgary and being reunited with Allaire. Up and down between the Flames and the minors, without the benefit of a goalie coach, Giguere had grown frustrated and confused.&ldquo;After my three years with Calgary I had no confidence; it was&rsquo;all gone,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re young and you make mistakes, you try to help yourself, but you don&rsquo;t know the game so well. After a while, you don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s good and what&rsquo;s not good anymore. I was so excited when I got traded here. Just to work with Francois, I knew right then and there that my game would pick up.&rdquo;Giguere, 25, has found a home in Anaheim, where he strikes a balance between the ultra-competitive aspect of his personality that he calls being stubborn and the calm exterior that instills confidence in his teammates.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him lose it, but whenever it was done, it was in a way to wake up the guys or get everybody going,&rdquo; said Ducks center Marc Chouinard. &ldquo;He wants everybody to give their best effort, like he does.&rdquo;Again, that quality goes back to Giguere&rsquo;s childhood.&ldquo;When I do something, I like it when it&rsquo;s perfect,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really hard on myself. My dad kind of pushed us that way When you do something, you do it the best you can or you don&rsquo;t do it.&ldquo;My goal in life and in my hockey career is I want to be as good as I can be. I want to reach that peak. I don&rsquo;t know when I&rsquo;m going to reach it. I don&rsquo;t know how good it&rsquo;s going to be. But if I feel like I&rsquo;ve done it all, that I&rsquo;ve rear hed what I can reach at the end. there&rsquo;s no way I can&rsquo;t be satisfied.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-04

Mighty in goal

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011717/8097134-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="292" height="351"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Brender&nbsp;Contributing Editor</figcaption></div>As extensively as the Republicans were ripping Bill Clinton&rsquo;s character in 1998, the Rangers were extolling Manny Malhotra&rsquo;s. The one thing you could count on with this 18-year-old rookie, the Rangers said, was that he gives his best effort every night. Unlike with Bill and his obliging sidekick, this was a positive thing.We know now that Manny and Monica both fizzled out. Manny did it a whole lot quicker. He had character, he had work ethic, he had a great seat on the bench. Eight minutes of ice the first year in New York, fewer than seven the next. Two years later he was off to Dallas, where the seventh overall pick in the 1998 draft, a natural center, today toils on the wing on the Stars&rsquo; fourth line. Not sure where Monica is.All of which, suggest those who believe hindsight is too precious to be wasted, proves this: just as the White House is no place for a loose libido, the NHL doghouse is no place for an 18-year-old with holes in his game.Players such as Malhotra watch others play like a naughty kid on a seven-month timeout. Meanwhile, their peers run wild in junior, furthering their development.Yep, the Rangers messed up Manny, just like the Penguins destroyed Robert Dome and Chicago cramped Steve McCarthy and Calgary sapped Oleg Saprykin. Ruined, all ruined.And then there&rsquo;s what San Jose did in 1997 by playing 18-year-old Patrick Marleau. Held him back for, geez, a few seasons at least. So he&rsquo;s coming into his own now, at the ripe old age of 23? Should have happened sooner. And then there was Boston&rsquo;s Joe Thornton the same year. Played just 55 games, had just seven points, stayed in the NHL all season. Pat Burns rode him like a rented donkey. Shameful. Thornton might have already had a scoring title by now. And Marian Gaborik last year in Minnesota, sheesh, looks like they wrecked him but good.See, it&rsquo;s just too easy to say young players have no place in the NHL unless they are on some world-record pace. It&rsquo;s too easy to blame GMs for the failures of youth. You pick your examples to suit your needs. Malhotra was on a bad team and couldn&rsquo;t help but get snowed under, you say. Yeah, Steve Yzerman was on a pretty bad team himself in 1983. But Malhotra is clearly no Yzerman, you say. True enough. Isn&rsquo;t hindsight a wonderful thing?Five 18-year-olds drafted in the first round this past summer started the season in the NHL: forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard (Minnesota), Rick Nash (Columbus) and Scottie Upshall (Nashville) and defensemen Jay Bouwmeester (Florida) and Steve Eminger (Washington). There are a handful of rookie 19-year-olds as well, Edmonton&rsquo;s Ales Hemsky; Toronto&rsquo;s Carlo Colaiacovo and Florida&rsquo;s Stephen Weiss to name a few, who are in much the same position. If they don&rsquo;t progress fast-quick the critics will be sniping.&ldquo;I would guess that most times they&rsquo;re better off in junior,&rdquo; says Washington coach Bruce Cassidy, &ldquo;but I think you&rsquo;ve got to go on a case-by-case basis. We think (Eminger) is strong enough and mature enough to handle the stuff off the ice and on the ice. We&rsquo;ve just got to see how he handles it here.&rdquo;There are a few good reasons why a young rookie who can play in the NHL, shouldn&rsquo;t. If the choice is 25 minutes in junior or in the American League or five in the NHL, it&rsquo;s no choice at all, no matter what Jason Spezza says. Two, if a player is playing so poorly that his confidence is plummeting faster than his trade value, best to put him somewhere where both can be resurrected.Those two things happened to Malhotra. The Rangers were trying to rebuild and make the playoffs at the same time and Malhotra got caught. &ldquo;I guess if I knew then what I know today,&rdquo; says then-Ranger GM Neil Smith, &ldquo;I would do it differently for sure.&rdquo;Fine, so Malhotra - still only 22 - didn&rsquo;t turn out according to script (yet). Neither did Neil Brady and nobody rushed him. (Check the 1986 draft, six spots ahead of Brian Leetch). Nobody rushed Daniel Tkaczuk. (Check the East Coast League). Nobody rushed Jason Bonsignore. (Checked out).Is there anyone better qualified than Jacques Lemaire to teach a shifty player such as Bouchard how to play a two-way game? Doubtful. Would Bouwmeester learn anything in a fourth year of junior? Not without being bored silly. Neither Minnesota nor Florida are serious playoff contenders. They can afford the development time.Will the kids succeed this season? Who knows. Will they succeed five years from now? Who knows. Are the two necessarily connected? Well, are Manny and Monica connected?Only if you try really, really hard to fit them together. Too hard, we fear. &#9633;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021201/8097127-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="3173" height="1829"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stephen Weiss</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

COLUMN

Give kids a chance

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021406/8097172-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="616" height="2008"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011859/8097179-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="221" height="225"></div>Here is each team&rsquo;s coach (with all-time record entering 2002-03 and assistant coaches. Associate coaches have an asterisk (*)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03975/8097165-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1217" height="1376"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Jersey&rsquo;s Pat Burns stands third among active coaches in wins with 412, behind Mike Keenan (555) and Pat Quinn (527).</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-02

Behind the benches: NHL coaching staffs

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04674/8097210-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="219" height="226"></div>As the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim enter their 10th season in franchise history, they hope to establish an identity that has been lacking in recent seasons.The Ducks used to be known for the 1-2 punch of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. Then Selanne went to the San Jose Sharks in March 2001 and Anaheim started to become an anonymous team, a process that had begun even before Selanne left. The Ducks feel the keys to changing that are defense and effort.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re a good defensive team,&rdquo; goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. &ldquo;I think every-body in the league knows that, but just that is not enough. We need to have an identity where when we play against a team, they know we&rsquo;re going to show up. They know it&rsquo;s going to be a hard game.&rdquo;Even with the addition of center Adam Oates, right winger Petr Sykora and defenseman Fredrik Olausson, the Ducks can&rsquo;t lose sight of what it takes to be successful.&ldquo;We have a lot of good pieces,&rdquo; Oates said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re good in the net, and that&rsquo;s very important. You build from that. If we can have everybody believing that we&rsquo;re going to win 1-0 or 2-1, that&rsquo;s how you win in this league. Hopefully, over time, the talent of our top six forwards will frustrate other teams.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Coach Mike Babcock&rsquo;s philosophy is full speed ahead. He wants everything done quickly, from practice drills to interviews with the media. The logic, in his mind, is that hockey is a fast game, so there is no time to waste.&ldquo;He is a straight forward-type of guy,&rdquo; right winger Dan Bylsma said. &ldquo;He tells you what he wants, and he expects us to get intense about his approach to the game.&ldquo;The systems he has put together are well thought through and they are based on what other teams have done or are doing. They&rsquo;re not the same as everyone else&rsquo;s. There&rsquo;s a little wrinkle. When we get on the same page, there are going to be things that give other teams trouble.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Second-year center Andy McDonald posted a career-high four points, including a goal, as did rookie winger Stanislav Chistov, in a.4-3, opening-night victory Oct. 10 at St. Louis&hellip;Anaheim assigned defenseman Jason York to American League affiliate Cincinnati and was negotiating buyouts on the contracts of left wingers German Titov and Denny Lambert. &#9632;

f0014-04

Ducks seek identity in defense, energy

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05456/8097241-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="216" height="227"></div>After three seasons of creating one of the least stable positions in pro sports - Atlanta Thrashers team captain - the team took a hint going into year four. It named nobody.Actually, the Thrashers followed a recent trend in the league by naming a four-player rotation to wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; in 10-game increments: returning tough guy Jeff Odgers, forwards Shawn McEachern and Slava Kozlov and defenseman Uwe Krupp.Kelly Buchberger was the Thrashers&rsquo; first team captain, but he was dealt before the end of 1999-2000 to Los Angeles.In 2000-01, the team named defenseman Steve Staios captain. After the season Staios didn&rsquo;t get a qualifying offer, became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Edmonton.Ray Ferraro got the &lsquo;C&rsquo; at the start of last season, but leadership was lacking when the Thrashers fell apart early and Ferraro was traded to St. Louis.Having the widely respected Odgers in the mix this year was the right move, but even he couldn&rsquo;t help but see the humor in the situation. &ldquo;The captaincy has meant a ticket out of town,&rdquo; he said.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Despite the team&rsquo;s struggles in three years, Curt Fraser generally is popular with players because he keeps the lines of communication open. He can be credited for not playing favorites. Anyone who didn&rsquo;t produce or skate hard earned time in his doghouse last year, including Ferraro and Patrik Stefan.What remains uncertain after three years is how strong Fraser is at X&rsquo;s and O&rsquo;s and whether his methods are effective in developing a system. It has been clear at times he is learning on the job. Defensive zone play and the power play have never been strong, but that might be more a result of personnel than coaching.NOTEBOOK Center Per Svartvadet missed all of the pre-season with a sprained wrist and was reassigned to Chicago of the American League&hellip;The Thrashers had to reclaim Damian Rhodes after their buyout of the goalie&rsquo;s final contract year was rescinded due to injury. He likely will be loaned to a minor-league team until a deal can be worked out. &#9632;

f0014-05

Four-man rotation to lead Thrashers

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06358/8097272-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="217" height="224"></div>Even during his rocky rookie season of 1997-98, the Boston Bruins never stopped thinking of Joe Thornton as the key to their future.The franchise now considers him its leader.Thornton, the 23-year-old center drafted first overall in 1997, was named the 17th captain in team history Oct. 8. The appointment, made by coach Rob Ftorek with the endorsement of GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell, filled a vacancy that lasted more than a year; the Bruins hadn&rsquo;t had a captain since 2000-2001, when former coach Mike Keenan appointed Jason Allison.Thornton, who has developed into a physical force capable of at least point-per-game production, has long been mentioned as a player the team hoped to see become as assertive off the ice as on.Citing Boston&rsquo;s veteran leaders, Thornton deflected such talk all the way to the eve of training camp, saying &ldquo;I like just going out and playing, leading by example that way. That&rsquo;s how I lead.&rdquo;Ftorek&rsquo;s nomination appeared to change Thornton&rsquo;s philosophy.&ldquo;I was very excited,&rdquo; Thornton said. &ldquo;It is a huge honor for me.&rdquo;Ftorek said Thornton made his choice obvious.&ldquo;I was hoping to name a captain this year and I was waiting for someone to rise to the occasion,&rdquo; Ftorek said. &ldquo;Joe&rsquo;s done a real good job of that.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES From the start of his first training camp last year, Rob Ftorek has lifted the hearts of Bruins who favor an up-tempo game.Though his philosophy is simple (&ldquo;When we have the puck we&rsquo;re on offense; when we don&rsquo;t, we&rsquo;re on defense&rdquo;), he is not shy about making technical suggestions, including asking players to make changes in their skating.NOTEBOOK Rookie left winger Ivan Huml, who led the Bruins with five pre-season goals, started the season on a line with second line center Jozef Stumpel and veteran right winger Marty McInnis. Huml, 21, played one NHL game over two previous pro seasons&hellip;Left winger Michal Grosek, signed over the season as a free agent, was exposed in the waiver draft but wasn&rsquo;t claimed. &#9632;

f0014-06

Maturing Thornton accepts captaincy

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bucky Gleason</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021205/8097303-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sami Kapanen&rsquo;s 27 goals last year were a career high, but the speedy Finn faltered during Carolina&rsquo;s remarkable run to the Stanley Cup final, scoring just once in 23 games.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011692/8097310-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="214" height="224"></div>See how easy it is without any owners?For the first time since Darcy Regier became GM, the Buffalo Sabres had everyone signed before their season opener.Right winger Vaclav Varada became the last restricted free agent to reach an agreement with the Sabres when they settled on a two-year deal worth about $2.8 million. Varada joined the club two days before the opener against the New York Islanders.&ldquo;It was frustrating because they were throwing nickels around like they were manhole covers,&rdquo; said agent Rich Winter. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re just not in a position to split the difference.&rdquo;The Sabres have been rife with financial problems since owner John Rigas and his two sons were charged with scamming shareholders at Adelphia Communications. The team is tied to a very strict budget until the NHL can find new owners.Varada pocketed $1 million after recording seven goals and 23 points last season. The two sides haggled over his value, which was largely based on intangibles. He&rsquo;s a bruising checker and a role player in Buffalo&rsquo;s defensive system.&ldquo;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a miserable, gritty, tough competitor,&rdquo; Regier said.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Lindy Ruff has little patience when his lines are struggling and he doesn&rsquo;t hesitate to start his juggling act. Ruff has used more than a dozen combinations in one game several times over the years, and it&rsquo;s rare he&rsquo;ll make it through an entire contest with his lines intact. The only thing he doesn&rsquo;t change is his philosophy. If it&rsquo;s not working, he&rsquo;ll keep searching for the right chemistry. Ruff&rsquo;s common refrain: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to keep banging my head against the wall.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Center Chris Gratton played with a broken bone in his foot and scored the winner in a 5-1 win over the Islanders to open the season&hellip;Defen semen Dmitri Kalinin and Brian Campbell were healthy scratches for the opener. Coach Lindy Ruff opted for rookie Henrik Tallinder, who played better during training camp. &#9632;

f0015-02

Varada signs new deal with ownerless Sabres

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Luke DeCock</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04618/8097372-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="216" height="225"></div>After a summer of speculation over which rookie would replace Martin Gelinas on the Carolina Hurricanes&rsquo; third line, on opening night the man with the job was a 34-year-old veteran.Center Jeff Daniels, who was a rookie in 1990, and third-year right winger Craig Adams will share the left wing spot on a line with Josef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda.Jeff Heerema, the last rookie with a chance for the spot, was sent to Lowell of the American League. He scored two goals in the pre-season, but the Canes decided they were better off with a more defense-minded player on the third line.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll start the season with the same group of guys,&rdquo; said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford. &ldquo;That will give us a little bit more experience. It&rsquo;s important to see how we go the first month, and if we have to make adjustments we don&rsquo;t have to look too far.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES A stickler for preparation, Paul Maurice expects consistency and effort from his team instead of flash and dash. Because of that, he prefers veteran grinders to more skilled younger players. The rookies who stick with the Canes are the ones with defensive skills, such as Erik Cole and Jaroslav Svoboda.Earlier in his career, players complained about Maurice&rsquo;s communication skills, but he has worked to improve. He learned a lot about handling his goalies last season when Arturs Irbe and Tom Barrasso were fighting for playing time, leading to the gutsy playoff switch from Irbe to Kevin Weekes back to Irbe. It will be interesting to see how he deals with Irbe and Weekes this season.NOTEBOOK After a pre-season in which the Canes were outscored 24-5 over the final five games, they opened their defense of the Eastern Conference title with a 4-1 loss to the Rangers. Carolina went 0-for-9 on the power play, including five of the game&rsquo;s first six opportunities&hellip;The Canes&rsquo; only new face is 24-year-old enforcer Jesse Boulerice, a right winger who fought six times in the preseason. He impressed fans with his fists and the team with his overall play. &#9632;

f0015-04

Canes elect to platoon Adams, Daniels at wing

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021287/8097441-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="217" height="224"></div>The way the puck moved out of their own zone in their season opener, it was as if Ray Bourque was still in the lineup for the Colorado Avalanche.The legendary defenseman is retired, of course, but the Avs appear to have finally found a suitable replacement for him in newcomer Derek Morris.When Bourque retired, he took his top-notch outlet passes with him. The Avs sorely lacked a defenseman who could make the quick passes out of their zone to the team&rsquo;s speedy forwards last season. Rob Blake and Adam Foote aren&rsquo;t bad in that department, but it really isn&rsquo;t their strength.Morris, however, specializes in the good first pass and the Avs look to be the speedy transition team of old since his acquisition from Calgary just before the season opened. Against Dallas in Game 1, Morris had five shots on goal, played the point on the power play and set up several breakouts with sharp passes.&ldquo;You can see he&rsquo;s real poised with the puck,&rdquo; said captain Joe Sakic. &ldquo;He makes the right play, the smart play. He&rsquo;s a great addition.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03969/8097434-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="236" height="290"><figcaption class="caption-body">Derek Morris</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES If you want to play for Bob Hartley, you&rsquo;d better come to training camp in great shape. Brad Larsen thought he was the Jack LaLanne of the young Avs rookie hopefuls in 1998, a buff 210 pounds of muscle. Not to Hartley, he wasn&rsquo;t.&ldquo;I remember having a meeting with him,&rdquo; Larsen said, &ldquo;and he told me I was fat and out of shape. I was like, &lsquo;What, are you kidding me?&rdquo;About the fitness of his players, Hartley never kids. Many a prospect - highly rated or not - has been sent away from Avs training camps after the first practice over the years for not being in good enough shape. Hartley is a fitness fanatic himself, working out in the gym and playing racquetball dailyNOTEBOOK Coach Bob Hartley started former minor league journeyman left winger Steve Brule on the first line with center Joe Sakic and right winger Milan Hejduk in the season opener. Brule had played just one game in the NHL prior to that Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference final with New Jersey and ended up with a Stanley Cup ring because of it. &#9632;

f0016-02

Morris passes test, also passes puck

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04733/8097472-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="220" height="232"></div>Rick Nash dreamed of playing in the NHL since he picked up a stick as a three-year-old. Never did he envision this.Three days after signing what could be the richest rookie contract ever - incentives could push the three-year deal past $12 million - he scored his first NHL goal and the first goal of the Blue Jackets&rsquo; season in a 2-1 win over Chicago.Nash used his incredible reach to gather a rebound and whip it past Blackhawks goalie Jocelyn Thibault at 7:35 of the second period.&ldquo;It was better than I dreamed,&rdquo; said Nash, whose parents, brothers and a few buddies were in the crowd.The night almost ended in a nightmare, though. Nash slammed into the boards with eight minutes left in the third period and had to be helped off by teammates. Ultimately, it was just a leg cramp, but Nationwide Arena fell quiet.&ldquo;Thank God,&rdquo; said GM-president Doug MacLean. &ldquo;I thought I was going to have a heart attack.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES The Blue Jackets wanted a person who could coach and teach what figured to be a young, struggling team for its first few years. No surprise, then, that Dave King&rsquo;s name popped to the top of the list.King has written a handful of textbooks on hockey. He is an internationally recognized tactical guru with a marker and wax board never far from his reach.&ldquo;You think you know the game inside and out,&rdquo; former Blue Jacket Lyle Odelein once said, &ldquo;but you spend a half-hour with Kinger and you realize you still have a lot to learn.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Columbus acquired right winger Petr Tenkrat in a waiver-draft deal with Florida. Tenkrat will stay in Europe this season. The Jackets also claimed right winger Hannes Hyvonen off waivers from the Panthers&hellip;Thirty-eight-year-old right winger Kevin Dineen not only made the team, but played on a line with left winger Geoff Sanderson and center Espen Knutsen on opening night&hellip;The Blue Jackets will use a rotating captaincy, just like their expansion cousins in Minnesota. Left winger Ray Whitney gets first crack at wearing the &lsquo;C&rsquo;. Doug MacLean signed a four-year deal with majority owner John H. McConnell to remain president. GM and alternate governor. It is believed MacLean received a share in ownership. &#9632;

f0016-04

Nash slashes to goal in first NHL game

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011477/8097510-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="213" height="224"></div>He made 40 saves in his first start as a No. 1 goaltender, earned his team a point and added another skeptic.To think, Marty Turco has another 81 games to go in his new role as the starting goaltender of the Dallas Stars. He knows the challenge he faces replacing Ed Belfour. He has even gotten advice from his University of Michigan buddy Brian Griese, who knows something about big shoes to fill after following John Elway with the Denver Broncos.Then again, Turco has been successful at every level, winning two NCAA titles.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s going to be the first time I have the No. 1 tag,&rdquo; Turco said. &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s going to be the first time I play 60 games. The first playoff game. There will be a first time for everything. The way I&rsquo;ve handled pressure in the past, that comforts me and that gives me confidence.&rdquo;Turco&rsquo;s inexperience and unorthodox style - cross Dominik Hasek with a puck-moving defenseman-fuels doubts.Colorado&rsquo;s Patrick Roy suggested Turco was &ldquo;fortunate&rdquo; in a 1-1 openinggame tie with the Avalanche. Turco took it as a compliment.&ldquo;Hey, at least he&rsquo;s talking about me,&rdquo; Turco said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my first acknowledgement that he knows I&rsquo;m there.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Already, Dave Tippett has 11 years of NHL playing experience, four years building an IHL powerhouse and three years as a Los Angeles assistant. And he&rsquo;s only 40.His goal, he says, is to build an &ldquo;efficient&rdquo; team, one that can possibly rally from a three-goal deficit and turn a three-goal lead into two points.In training camp, at a team meeting, he asked each player what the Stars&rsquo; identity should be.&ldquo;The coaching staff has to have a say in how you&rsquo;re going to play and your system,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;But ultimately I the players, for them to believe in it, -it&rsquo;s much better if they have input into it.&rdquo;And how do you get them to that point? &ldquo;You ask them,&rdquo; Tippett said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021147/8097503-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="233" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marty Turco</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK The Stars hope of fielding three top scoring lines lasted just over eight minutes. Then center Jason Arnott went down in the season opener with a sprained right ankle that will sideline him for at least two weeks. &#9632;

f0017-01

Unorthodox goalie Turco gets draw in No. 1 debut

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03831/8097541-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="215" height="225"></div>As the Detroit Red Wings opened the season, they had a new coach, they had a new goaltender, they were without their captain and Brett Hull had his own opinions on what all that meant.Dave Lewis taking over for Scotty Bowman?&ldquo;Scotty was great, probably the greatest coach ever,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;But who says it can&rsquo;t be better?&rdquo;Curtis Joseph taking over for Dominik Hasek? The media might say the Wings want to give Joseph his first Stanley Cup this year, and some of the Wings might say the same, but not Hull.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no rah, rah in there, let&rsquo;s win it for Cujo,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s go, I want another one.&rsquo; I want to have another Cup party and so does everyone else.&rdquo;Steve Yzerman out?&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be fine,&rdquo; Hull said, &ldquo;because the cast of characters we have in there is second to none as far as I&rsquo;m concerned.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES The pillars of Lewis&rsquo;s coaching philosophy are communication and respect. Whereas Bowman kept everyone on edge, Lewis wants everyone to know where he stands and what is expected of him. He isn&rsquo;t afraid to ask players for input. Lewis likes motivational material.Before the opener, he wrote on the blackboard, &ldquo;The future depends on what we do in the present.&rdquo;But he knows not to overdo it. He said he wouldn&rsquo;t write anything on the board again until the playoffs.Lewis has no experience as a head coach and some wonder if he&rsquo;s too nice a guy to handle difficult situations. Time will tell.NOTEBOOK Right winger Doug Brown played well for a 38-year-old forward trying out after a year out of pro hockey, but he didn&rsquo;t make the team. Brown played 854 NHL games with New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Detroit, scoring 160 goals and 374 points. Coach Dave Lewis said Brown still could play in the NHL. Brown said some teams had shown interest in him and he was staying in shape. &ldquo;All doors are open,&rdquo; he said&hellip;The Wings will have three alternate captains until center Steve Yzerman returns in the new year after knee surgery They are defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and left winger Brendan Shanahan, as well as defenseman Chris Chelios on the road and center Sergei Fedorov at home. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shared responsibility,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;I want to have it that way because they&rsquo;re such integral parts of our team.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-03

Hull gives two thumbs up to new-look Red Wings

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04609/8097579-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="212" height="222"></div>There&rsquo;s only one way to fill a 230-pound hole.With a 245-pound replacement.So minutes after moving long-serving veteran Mike Grier to the Washington Capitals for second and third round draft picks in 2003, the Edmonton Oilers penciled Georges Laraque into the third line vacancy.Laraque is hoping the next step in his evolution as a hockey player is playing as a regular next to Todd Marchant and Ethan Moreau.&ldquo;We talked about it a lot this summer,&rdquo; said GM Kevin Lowe. &ldquo;If Georges is going to make the commitment to the team like he did this summer (showing up at a lean 245 pounds), he needs more ice time. With Mike here it hurt Georges&rsquo; ability to play more. He&rsquo;s not going to get all of Mike&rsquo;s ice time (like penalty killing), but it&rsquo;s certainly an opportunity for him. It&rsquo;s up to Georges to take advantage.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s what every heavyweight wants - a chance to contribute more than just left hands.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of pressure,&rdquo; said the 25-year-old right winger, who scored Edmonton&rsquo;s first goal of the season to spark a 2-2 comeback tie against Philadelphia in the season opener.&ldquo;Everybody is really going to be watching me now to see if I can compete with those guys or not. Every practice now I have to be more serious. I have to really improve every day so I can keep up.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05423/8097572-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="231" height="284"><figcaption class="caption-body">Georges Laraque</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Craig Mac-Tavish&rsquo;s coaching tendencies can be summed up in one word: defense. His system helped the Oilers to the secondbest goals-against average in the NHL last year (2.19). He wants the Oilers to improve on a middle-of-the-pack offense, but has no plans to change tactics while trying to make it happen.&ldquo;Our system play will not be radically different,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We want to play good solid defense in our own end and we feel that&rsquo;s a big part of developing your offense. Get the puck out of your own end and get the speed in your attack.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Center Mike Comrie, the most diplomatic player in the dressing room, didn&rsquo;t mince words after Calgary defenseman Denis Gauthier hit him knee on knee. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m usually one to be pretty calm in interviews, but what went on out there is chicken(bleep) hockey.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-04

Laraque gets pumped about third-line role

<div class="byline">&#x2013;David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06330/8097610-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="215" height="222"></div>When most NHL teams talk about the playoff race, they&rsquo;re usually discussing the games of February through April. The Florida Panthers are talking about October through December.Why? Fact No. 1: Excluding the lockout season, the Panthers have had one month over. 500 after January in team history.Fact. No. 2: in their three playoff seasons, their winning percentages in the first two months was. 729,. 750 and. 652.Add it up and the conclusion is clear - if these playoff long shots want to pay off, their next impression better be Jesse Owens out of the blocks.As center Olli Jokinen pointed out, you can lose a playoff spot with a bad October. A quick start would also help build confidence in a young team being dismissed as fodder by the national and local media.&ldquo;I think after the first 20 games, people will start really looking at this team. I really believe in our chances,&rdquo; Jokinen said. Then, he laughed, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s better than not reading the papers or clips.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Wafer-thin patience is Mike Keenan&rsquo;s trademark. The juries on Law & Order don&rsquo;t come back with verdicts this quickly. Defenseman Lance Ward was worried he might have lost a lineup spot with a maladroit pre-season opener.A couple of weak early shifts can doom a player to spot duty the rest of the night. No. 1 goalies get used to many starts and pulls. Keenan also likes to use the media for verbal napalm strikes on players from whom he wants more.NOTEBOOK The Panthers&rsquo; opening night lineup had two rookies eligible for the Calder Trophy plus 26-year-old defenseman Ivan Majesky (who was playing his first NHL game) and four other players with fewer than 100 NHL games. On the roster, there were 11 players between 19 and 24 years of age, not counting 23-year-old injured left winger Kristian Huselius&hellip;Defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich admitted to being nervous throughout the week before the season opener, his first game since the blood clot in his leg was discovered in February. Burning that nervous energy possibly wore Yushkevich down late in the game; he played a game-high 29:55 and was a minus-3 and on the ice for both Tampa third-period goals as well as the OT winner in a 4-3 Panther loss. &#9632;

f0017-06

Good start a necessity for Cats to make playoffs

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Matt McHale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011535/8097648-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="223" height="227"></div>The only thing more stirring than saluting Wayne Gretzky was beating him.The Kings knew opening night was the time to retire the jersey of their greatest player. But now that Gretzky is part owner of the hated Phoenix Coyotes, the team quickly rolled up the red carpet and got down to business.Their 4-1 victory, in front of an overflow crowd of 18,260 that included former owner Bruce McNall and popular exKing Luc Robitaille, was just the way they drew it up at training camp.&ldquo;If it wasn&rsquo;t for Wayne, none of us would be here,&rdquo; said Ian Laperriere, who scored a goal after missing all of training camp with abdominal surgery.&ldquo;What he did for the game can never be measured. But we have to put aside all the emotion and start the season off right.&rdquo;Wearing the silver and black uniforms fashioned during Gretzky&rsquo;s eight seasons in Los Angeles, the Kings looked a lot like a team that went 7-1 during the pre-season. They are now 60-3 in their last nine openers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021173/8097641-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="238" height="287"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andy Murray</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Andy Murray begins his fourth season with the Kings with the same message he brought on his first day: Players must be responsible and take responsibility for their actions. He is meticulous - some say controlling - in his preparation. Early on, he even suggested to one player a better way to tie his skates.During an early season slump last year, Murray had his players write an essay entitled, &ldquo;I play my best hockey when&hellip;&rdquo; He delegates responsibility on his assistants, i.e., special teams. Not a yeller, he likes to motivate through positive reinforcement, often using pre-practice video. He Hasn&rsquo;t been afraid in the past to criticize players in public.NOTEBOOK The Kings sent left winger Steve Heinze to Manchester of the American League even though he is owed two years and $4.2 million on the free agent contract he signed last year. The 32-year-old finished his first season with the Kings without a goal in his final 27 games. Efforts to trade Heinze, who scored 27 goals two years ago, failed. &#9632;

f0018-01

Kings honor Gretzky, steamroll Coyotes

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03846/8097679-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="618" height="929"><figcaption class="caption-body">ON THE RISE Wild right winger Antti Laaksonen, 29, was fifth in team scoring last season, setting personal highs in goals (16), assists (17) and points (33).</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04563/8097686-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="216" height="224"></div>Call him a whole new man.Actually, a whole new Manny.Goalie Manny Fernandez, known almost as much for his sour temperament as his goaltending last season, reported to training camp with a new attitude.&ldquo;Hey, I&rsquo;m still serious when it comes to games, and I still get into that zone right before games,&rdquo; Fernandez said. &ldquo;I still work as hard as ever. But there&rsquo;s no reason why I can&rsquo;t laugh a little more and and be more friendly. There&rsquo;s no reason for me to think if I do that, I won&rsquo;t be successful. To me, it&rsquo;s important to have fun now.&rdquo;So far, so good. Fernandez breezed through the pre-season, allowing three goals in four games, including two shutouts.&ldquo;He seems to be more relaxed,&rdquo; said teammate and close friend Sylvain Blouin. &ldquo;You can see the difference.&rdquo;Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said he likely will continue to alternate Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson in goal, but admits Fernandez looks a lot like the player who began to establish himself as a top-notch goalie two seasons ago.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Jacques Lemaire recently was asked about his coaching style; he said the last thing he wants to be known for is usually the first thing people think of when they think of him: the neutral-zone trap.Lemaire wants to be known as a coach who teaches defense, but loves offense as much as anyone. The consummate teacher who loves working with kids, Lemaire is well-liked by veterans for his respectful style and the freedom he gives to players who don&rsquo;t abuse it.NOTEBOOK The Wild named defenseman Brad Bombardir captain for the month of October as the team continues its tradition of rotating the captaincy every month. After October, Bombardir will be a permanent alternate captain along with center Jim Dowd. &#9632;

f0018-03

Attitude adjustment suits Fernandez fine

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05378/8097717-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="218" height="225"></div>An injury to the left foot of Randy McKay means the Canadiens won&rsquo;t start the new season off the right foot.The veteran 35-year-old right winger, signed as a free agent from Dallas, is expected to miss up to two weeks with a slight fracture in his left foot.McKay had been bothered since he was struck by a shot early in training camp. He suspected his foot was only bruised, but an MRI revealed the fracture.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re used to that in Montreal,&rdquo; said coach Michel Therrien, whose team led the NHL in man-games lost to injury in two of the last three seasons. &ldquo;It is frustrating, but what can you do?&rdquo;McKay and newly acquired Mariusz Czerkawski were to be captain Saku Koivu&rsquo;s linemates on the Canadiens&rsquo; top trio. McKay was replaced by Andreas Dackell.Czerkawski, who led the Canadiens in pre-season scoring, with 11 points, was both-ered by a pulled thigh muscle, but accompanied the team to New York and was scheduled to play in the Oct. 11 season opener against the Rangers.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Michel Therrien, who turns 39 in early November, has matured and toned down his act somewhat from his bombastic days in major junior and the American League. And yet, the emotion and passion he brings to the game has served as both his strengtl^and weakness.At its best, that emotion can be used to motivate players. But it also has hindered Therrien, especially in last year&rsquo;s conference semifinal, when his bench minor for abuse of officials in Game 4 against Carolina left Montreal two-men short. The Hurricanes scored on the ensuing power play, erased a 3-0 deficit and changed the series&rsquo; momentum.NOTEBOOK The Canadiens announced the indefinite leave of absence of veteran enforcer Gino Odjick, but won&rsquo;t state the reasons for the move. In a published report, he denied he has personal problems and said he continues recovering from a concussion. The 32-year-old is suffering severe headaches after being struck on the head by a puck during an informal summer scrimmage. It has been speculated the team is in a legal wrangle over its liability to pay Odjick, who reportedly failed to take out insurance before participating in the practice. &#9632;

f0018-05

McKay, Czerkawski hobbled by injuries

<div class="byline">&#x2013;David Boclair</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06293/8097748-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="218" height="226"></div>The Predators opted not to follow the example set by the Detroit Red Wings when they chose their new captain.Tom Fitzgerald had held the &lsquo;post from the start of the inaugural training camp until he was traded last March to Chicago, and initially, 20-year-old Scott Hartnell was considered a candidate.Throughout the course of training camp, management weighed the merits of five older players and chose Greg Johnson as captain. The other four - Brent Gilchrist, Bill Houlder, Scott Walker and Kimmo Timonen - will serve as alternate captains.&ldquo;Detroit was at rock bottom when Steve Yzerman started [at age 21 in 1986],&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz. &ldquo;They grew into a powerhouse. That wasn&rsquo;t solely the reason but that was part of the process.&ldquo;We had to prioritize what was most important thing for our hockey club. The most important thing for our hockey club was that Scott Hartnell worries about being Scott Hartnell and playing the best he can.&rdquo;Hartnell, 20, has played two full NHL seasons after having been a 17-year-old captain at Prince Albert of the Western League.&ldquo;He will be a captain,&rdquo; Trotz said. &ldquo;I swear by that, but just not right now.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES When he was a defenseman in the WHL, Barry Trotz sustained a broken neck in the opening moments of a game but finished the contest.He coaches in a similar fashion, determined and fearless, albeit at a much higher level than he ever achieved as a player.Trotz has no problem allowing his&rsquo;assistants to play a prominent role. Paul Gardner controls the power play, and Brent Peterson handles the penalty kill.Rather than look over his shoulder at Nashville&rsquo;s color commentator, Terry Crisp, he turns to Crisp for advice. As a former defenseman, he has no loyalty to line combinations and regularly will use more than a dozen during a game.NOTEBOOK Center Denis Arkhipov was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence in the early morning hours of Oct. 6, following the team&rsquo;s final pre-season game. &ldquo;I will ensure that I do not put myself in a similar situation in the future,&rdquo; Arkhipov said. &#9632;

f0018-06

Hartnell not ready to become captain

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07245/8097786-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="215" height="225"></div>When the smaller, faster version of the New Jersey Devils speculated where their scoring might come from this season, center John Madden didn&rsquo;t figure into the mix.A former Selke Trophy winner, Madden was known more for his penalty killing skills than his goal-scoring. Then again, as a rookie in 1999-2000, he boldly predicted he would someday score 40 goals in the NHL.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s when you&rsquo;re young and brash,&rdquo; Madden said. &ldquo;You say that because you just came off a 100-point season in Albany and you believe in your ability I think even playing on the power play I won&rsquo;t be a 40-goal scorer, but I&rsquo;m gunning to get 20 or 30 every year.&rdquo;Madden, who scored 15 goals last season, started with a bang. He scored two goals, including one shorthanded, in a 2-1 opening night win in Ottawa.&ldquo;Everybody tells me he usually has strong starts,&rdquo; said coach Pat Burns. &ldquo;He played a pretty strong game.&rdquo; Madden said he would like to repeat his 16-goal season when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2000. But he can dream of more.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08181/8097779-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="235" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Madden</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Want to crunch numbers right now?&rdquo; Madden asked. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s two goals per game with 81 more games. No, I&rsquo;m kidding.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Coach Pat Burns calls practice &ldquo;sacred.&rdquo; His players have other words for it.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s an old saying: Players win games and coaches win practices. It is so true,&rdquo; Burns said.While Scott Stevens said the only major difference in Burns to past Devils coaches was that the team now has its pre-game road meetings at the hotel instead of the rink, there is a marked difference in practices.Burns fumes when he sees players leaning on the boards and punishes them for poor breakout passes and line changes by making the entire side that committed the mistake roll over on the ice.NOTEBOOK GM LOU Lamoriello may inquire about trading one of blueliners Tommy Albelin or Andrei Zyuzin&hellip;Coach Pat Burns gave left winger Patrick Elias the alternate captain&rsquo;s A&rsquo; former Devil Bobby Holik used to wear. &#9632;

f0018-07

Madden’s hot start pleases Devils coach

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Peter Botte</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011410/8097824-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="214" height="223"></div>Trent Hunter admittedly didn&rsquo;t have the most productive training camp of all the rookies who attempted to make the New York Islanders roster this fall.But with skill a priority in the absence of injured captain Michael Peca and traded finesse forward Mariusz Czerkawski, Hunter opened the season on the team&rsquo;s second line.&ldquo;In the end, you have to have more goals,&rdquo; said coach Peter Laviolette. &ldquo;We just feel Trent gives us that added edge.&rdquo;Hunter led Bridgeport of the American League in scoring with 30 goals and 65 points in 80 games last season, while adding eight goals and 19 points in 17 playoff appearances. He also made an impressive NHL debut for the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs against Toronto, notching one goal and two points in four games.Despite more noticeable performances from banger-types Raffi Torres and Justin Mapletoft during training camp, Hunter remained with the Isles, mostly because of his offensive potential. He began the regular season as the team&rsquo;s second-line right winger with left winger Brad Isbister and center Dave Scatchard.&ldquo;Trent had an outstanding playoff when we called upon him to step in and play a second line role,&rdquo; Laviolette said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re back to that same situation, where we&rsquo;re looking for a top-six forward we believe will help certain players. He fits that mold.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021059/8097817-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="236" height="288"><figcaption class="caption-body">Adrian Aucoin</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Laviolette admitted to being &ldquo;nauseous&rdquo; after the Islanders came out flat, drew several undisciplined penalties and were smoked by Buffalo 5-1 in their season opener Oct. 10. He is loyal to his players to a fault, but, as you might expect from a guy who seemingly has overachieved in many aspects of his life, Laviolette rarely tolerates it when he perceives that his team&rsquo;s effort or energy level are lacking.Laviolette established his aggressive puck-pursuit system in his rookie NHL campaign with the Isles last season and he doesn&rsquo;t see any reason to deviate from it this year under the NHL&rsquo;s interference crackdown.NOTEBOOK With team captain Michael Peca coming off knee and shoulder surgeries and sidelined until December, workhorse defenseman Adrian Aucoin was named an alternate captain, joining Alexei Yashin and rotating alternates Dave Scatchard and Claude Lapointe. &ldquo;I think that it was pretty evident to me and it was pretty evident to the players as well&hellip;that he has emerged as one of the leaders in the dressing room,&rdquo; said coach Peter Laviolette. &#9632;

f0019-01

Skillful winger Hunter expected to hit mark on Isles’ second line

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03730/8097862-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="216" height="223"></div>Bryan Trottier waited, it seemed, his whole post-player life for one night. The winner of six Stanley Cups as a player and a seventh as an assistant coach, the Hall of Famer finally fulfilled a dream when he won his first game as an NHL head coach.Trottier&rsquo;s heart was still pumping after a 4-1 road victory over Carolina Oct. 9, a win in which his contemporary, 41-year-old Mark Messier, scored the first two goals. Vladimir Malakhov retrieved the game puck for Trottier&rsquo;s trophy case.&ldquo;This, to me, was very, very special for a lot of reasons,&rdquo; Trottier said.&ldquo;The first one is the opportunity. When someone takes a chance on you, an organization, a guy like Glen Sather takes a chance on you, you want to make sure you&rsquo;ve got your team prepared.&ldquo;Secondly, the guys, the way they played, I thanked them. They really played hard. You appreciate that kind of effort from everybody&rdquo;He called the experience &ldquo;frantic at times,&rdquo; said he might have been &ldquo;whacked out&rdquo; at others and talked about the butterflies he had.But Trottier did some things that lead you to believe he just might succeed where his predecessors failed.The single goal allowed was a rarity for a team that has ranked 30th and 29th in the NHL in goals against the past two years. The 9-for-9 penalty killing was remarkable for a team that had given up a league-worst 166 power play goals over the past two seasons - and 17 in nine pre-season games.Even with a 4-0 lead in the third period, Trottier&rsquo;s nervousness never wore off. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have to launder another shirt,&rdquo; the rookie coach said, sounding as if he didn&rsquo;t mind it one bit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04558/8097855-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="235" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bryan Trottier</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Very quickly, Trottier&rsquo;s main traits have become obvious with the Rangers. He is ultra-prepared for every practice and every possible game situation. He coaches with an excitement he wants each player to match.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s certainly prepared,&rdquo; said Brian Leetch, who has seen 10 coaches in his Rangers tenure. &ldquo;Each practice, the excitement is there.&rdquo;Leetch added that Trottier&rsquo;s Hall of Fame status carries some weight, too. &ldquo;If he believes you&rsquo;re doing something incorrectly or detrimental to the team, more than likely you are.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Right winger Pavel Bure missed opening night, but it wasn&rsquo;t due to arthroscopic knee surgery 13 days earlier. He had strep throat. &#9632;

f0019-03

Long-awaited debut triumphant success for coach Trottier

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011310/8097893-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="220" height="225"></div>Center Jason Spezza saw it coming, but it didn&rsquo;t help ease the pain for the Ottawa Senators top prospect.While the club&rsquo;s No. 1 pick in 2001 had a standout performance at the Senators training camp, he learned the hard way it wasn&rsquo;t good enough after being assigned to the team&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Binghamton.GM John Muckier and coach Jacques Martin talked a lot about the positives in Spezza&rsquo;s game, but it was still a tough pill for Spezza to swallow as he was sent down Oct. 8 along with winger Brad Smyth and defenseman Brian Pothier.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not stupid,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;I could tell with this team they were not going to be making many changes. Guys weren&rsquo;t being moved to the wing. I could see it coming. I had to prepare myself for it as much as I tried to deny it.&rdquo;Deep at center with Radek Bonk, Todd White, Mike Fisher and Shaun Van Allen it was tough to fit Spezza in at the NHL level and the Senators believe a couple of months in the AHL will benefit him.&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s hard for him when he says he was asked to improve his skating and his work habits and he did both of those of things,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;I know he finds that tough. We&rsquo;re pleased with what he did at camp. No question.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough because he&rsquo;s probably a better player than Rick Nash in Columbus or Jay Bouwmeester in Florida and it&rsquo;s hard for him because they&rsquo;re both going to be in the NHL. The difference is they&rsquo;re with young teams and we&rsquo;re a team that is trying to be a Stanley Cup contender.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Enter ing his eighth year behind the bench, coach Jacques Martin is still accused of coaching a boring, defensive style. Martin disagrees. &ldquo;I like my offensive players to be like artists&hellip;to express themselves,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;I believe that you take care of your own end first and you have to be responsible defensively.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Rookie defenseman Anton Volchenkov, 20, who was signed in the off-season after spending two years playing against men in Russia, made his NHL debut Oct. 10 in the club&rsquo;s home opener against New Jersey. Volchenkov was a standout in camp, but part of the reason he was given an opportunity was the absence of veteran Karel Rachunek, who has yet to sign. &#9632;

f0020-01

Spezza improves, but still sent down

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02940/8097931-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="218" height="225"></div>Of all the Philadelphia Flyers veterans with something to prove this year, none feels under more pressure to produce than John LeClair.Twenty-five goals, LeClair&rsquo;s production last year, might be a satisfying season for some NHL forwards, but not a former 50-goal scorer with a five-year, $45-million contract.After a second back operation in July, LeClair pronounced himself fit. Then he gave what he hoped will be a preview of things to come with a two-goal performance in a season-opening 2-2 tie at Edmonton Oct. 10.Coach Ken Hitchcock said, health issues aside, LeClair can actually do more with less.&ldquo;Sometimes last year he was trying to do too much,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;We want them (LeClair and center Michal Handzus) to spread out more, so two guys can&rsquo;t be covered by one.&ldquo;If we can get John to think that way, then he&rsquo;s going to end up in shooting position a lot more than he did last year.&rdquo;This year, LeClair wants to stay relaxed and find his rhythm.&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s one thing I have to do, slow down a little bit,&rdquo; LeClair said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s better to stop, not get sucked in too close and get in shooting position.&rdquo; &lsquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03673/8097924-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="236" height="291"><figcaption class="caption-body">John LeClair</figcaption></div>COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES After speaking to people inside and outside the Dallas organization following his firing last season, Hitchcock says he picked up two important concepts: Know when (and how) to deliver a message and try not to stay too predictable.Those are things he&rsquo;s keeping in mind as he embarks on a new position with the Flyers. He doesn&rsquo;t want his players timing him out and he&rsquo;s also changing the pace of practices, line combinations, etc., so things stay fresh.NOTEBOOK With 25-year-old rookie right winger Radovan Somik sidelined by a groin injury, rookie Patrick Sharp was chosen over another rookie, Pavel Brendl, to start in the season opener at Edmonton Oct. 10. &ldquo;He (Sharp) earned it,&rdquo; said coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;Patrick was better than Pavel in the last week of camp.&rdquo; Hitchcock said Brendl would play at least one of three games in the opening road trip. &#9632;

f0020-02

LeClair healthy, gunning for goals

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04460/8097962-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="219" height="229"></div>I&rsquo;ll be back.&rdquo;I The Terminator promised it, and so does the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; version of mayhem, agitating left winger Brad May.The veteran grinder suffered muscle tears in and around the labrum in his left shoulder during a fight in a pre-season game, and will be lost up to three months after undergoing surgery Oct. 7 in Los Angeles.&ldquo;I had the same thing happen to my right shoulder years ago and I came back from that one just fine,&rdquo; May said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll come back from this one, too. I&rsquo;m hoping to be back sooner, closer to two months, but I&rsquo;ll be back.&rdquo;May&rsquo;s injury, accompanied with the revelation second-year center Krys Kolanos is suffering from post-concussive syndrome, forced Coyotes coach Bobby Francis to remix his third and fourth lines for the first several weeks of the regular season.It opened playing time for rookies Branko Radivojevic and Jason Jaspers, and resulted in veteran right winger Claude Lemieux moving to one of the center positions, at least temporarily.&ldquo;Losing Brad is a big loss for us,&rdquo; said right winger Landon Wilson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a character guy, a team leader, and players look up to him because of the way he performs every night.&rdquo;May has missed 20 or more games five times in the past seven years because of injuries, and two seasons ago he was suspended for 20 games for a high-sticking incident.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Bobby Francis loves over-achievers who get their noses dirty and believe with hard work, anything is possible. Maybe it&rsquo;s no wonder, then, the Coyotes have taken on the personality of their feisty, diminutive coach, who often jokes his rugged play as a half-pint center in the minors left him with &ldquo;a face that looks like a half-chewed caramel.&rdquo;Francis demands accountability from everyone, and although he has yet to publicly berate any of his players by name in the media, his doghouse can get pretty crowded.NOTEBOOK After hiring five former teammates to various coaching and scouting positions, including Paul Coffey, Marty McSorley and Pat Conacher, owner Wayne Gretzky has brought in Eddie Mio, the best man at his 1988 wedding to actress Janet Jones, to oversee the organization&rsquo;s minor league player development. &#9632;

f0020-04

May injures shoulder in pre-season bout

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011189/8097993-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="220" height="233"></div>All the questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins are enveloped by one big one: where have all the fans gone?Incredibly, the Penguins failed to sell out their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, falling 1,649 short of capacity despite Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s first appearance since Feb. 27. It didn&rsquo;t help that the team&rsquo;s 6-0 loss that night was the worst season-opening defeat in franchise history.It appeared the Penguins would also fail to fill Mellon Arena two nights later against the arch-rival New York Rangers, who are usually an automatic sellout.Season-ticket sales are down the equivalent of 1,600 full packages from this time last year, dropping from 9,700 to 8,100. The team&rsquo;s season-ticket base by the end of last season was approximately 10,200.Lemieux, fully aware that a fast start is imperative, figures the Penguins are in the same predicament as many businesses. &ldquo;The economy&rsquo;s down and that&rsquo;s playing a big part in everybody&rsquo;s lives,&rdquo; he said.It seems fans want to see whether Lemieux can recapture his form after missing most of last season with a hip injury and whether the team can compete for a playoff spot. The issues are closely related. Lemieux skated well in the opener, logging 23 minutes of ice time.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Rick Kehoe isn&rsquo;t going to be called Captain Video any time soon. The Great Communicator won&rsquo;t stick, either. His approach is old-time hockey. Work hard, produce, and you&rsquo;ll play (although some wondered why hard-working Dan LaCouture was benched for the opener). Otherwise, you&rsquo;ll sit - and you should not expect an elaborate explanation as to why.Strategy-wise, Kehoe came into this season planning to capitalize on his team&rsquo;s speed and offensive skill.NOTEBOOK Star-crossed left winger Martin Straka, recovering from a back injury, was cleared for contact drills and could return by early November&hellip;Defenseman Andrew Ference had abdominal surgery to treat a small hernia and is expected back by early November&hellip;More than 60 fans registered complaints about the safety netting during the preseason. The Penguins offered all 60 a chance to move seats. Most chose not to move. &#9632;

f0022-01

No opener sellout sorry sight to see

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Derrick Goold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02866/8098031-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="217" height="228"></div>Blues captain Chris Pronger, who&rsquo;s on the sidelines recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, is exploring medical options to fix his wrist and could be out far longer than originally thought.Pronger has had lingering wrist pain and limited range of motion since fracturing his left forearm in February, 2001. Rehabilitation has not gone as planned, pushing the Blues to weigh alternate treatments and possibly another surgery.A January return is optimistic for the 2000 NHL MVP. A March or later return is possible. &ldquo;Rehab hasn&rsquo;t progressed as we had hoped, but until we know more the timetable for (a January return) is still the same,&rdquo; said Blues GM Larry Pleau.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to sit here and speculate. (But) when rehab isn&rsquo;t going as well as it needs to, that throws up a red flag in your face, a flag that says maybe there&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;re missing.&rdquo;Pronger injured his right knee in Game 4 of the Blues&rsquo; second round playoff series versus Detroit last spring. He said an official update of his knee and wrist and his decision concerning a third surgery on the wrist, would be released during the middle of October.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Joel Quenneville demands a defensively sound game, but allows his offense room to improvise. He&rsquo;d like to have scoring on each line, but a reliance on veterans and a fondness for checkers makes it difficult.Quenneville is better at developing youth than he is given credit for, but he is quick to remove a young defensemen while riding a vet - a trait that has to change this season because of Pronger&rsquo;s injury. Quenneville sends clear messages with changes in ice time during games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03648/8098024-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="237" height="288"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Pronger</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK Defenseman Al MacInnis was named the team&rsquo;s captain in the absence of defenseman Chris Pronger. The alternates are center Doug Weight and right winger Scott Mellanby&hellip;Center Petr Cajanek, 27, and defenseman Tom Koivisto, 28, the Blues&rsquo; international additions, each had a point in their NHL debut in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim Oct. 10&hellip;The Blues are winless in their past five season openers. &#9632;

f0022-02

Slow-healing wrist setback for Pronger

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04463/8098062-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="213" height="222"></div>Something the Sharks didn&rsquo;t battle much on their way to a division title last year - key injuries - struck the team right off the bat this season.Powerful left winger Scott Thornton underwent arthroscopic surgery for the second time in four months on his injured left shoulder and is expected to be out until at least early November.&ldquo;Injuries are part of the game,&rdquo; said linemate Mike Ricci, who welcomed Adam Graves on the popular third line checking unit that also includes Niklas Sundstrom. &ldquo;Obviously (Thornton) is a big part of the team and we&rsquo;re going to miss him. But we&rsquo;ve got to take care of business until he gets back.&rdquo;Thornton underwent a procedure in July, suffered a setback during informal workouts a month later, but improved enough to appear in three preseason games. He didn&rsquo;t finish the last one though, when pain in a new area of the same shoulder flared up.A second procedure was performed the next day - three nights before the team&rsquo;s opener - and Thornton is in the process of rehabbing again.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES The retirement of veteran defenseman Gary Suter will likely effect coach Darryl Sutter&rsquo;s distribution of ice time among his blueliners.Sutter last year distributed ice time fairly equally among the team&rsquo;s top six defensemen. This season he appears ready to rely more heavily on a top four. Mike Rathje, Marcus Ragnarsson, Brad Stuart and Scott Hannan have improved to the point where Sutter has confidence in giving them more ice time and responsibility.Entering the first weekend of the season, though, Stuart remained unsigned, so Sutter was using the new senior member of the defense, Bryan March-ment, to pick up the slack.NOTEBOOK With goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and defenseman Brad Stuart still away from the team as restricted free agents, and fellow unsigned left winger Alexander Korolyuk apparently serious about remaining in Russia for the season, rookie forwards Jonathan Cheechoo, Lynn Loyns and Ryan Kraft and goalie Vesa Toskala were among the 23 players to start the season&hellip;ExShark left winger Murray Craven will spend some time with San Jose&rsquo;s AHL affiliate in Cleveland to help with the power play. &#9632;

f0022-04

Rare injury trouble strikes Sharks early

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Damian Cristodero</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011072/8098093-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="216" height="222"></div>Shane Willis, a key part of the trade last season that cost Tampa Bay goalie Kevin Weekes, cleared waivers and was sent to the American League. It&rsquo;s quite a comedown for the right winger who scored 20 goals as a rookie with Carolina two years ago.But Willis has been a disappointment since he was acquired in March from Carolina, along with left winger Chris Dingman for Weekes. Willis had four goals and seven points in 21 games last season and had one goal in five pre-season games.&ldquo;We feel very strongly that we did not see the desperation and passion and willingness to pay the price for him to be here as part of the 23-man roster,&rdquo; said GM Jay Feaster.Willis didn&rsquo;t necessarily see things that way. &ldquo;I feel I can make a contribution to this hockey club,&rdquo; he said.Tampa Bay hopes he gets that chance.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t want to lose him,&rdquo; said coach John Tortorella. &ldquo;He has to go down there and improve and we&rsquo;ll see where our lineup sets up.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Tortortella&rsquo;s greatest strength is his ability to keep things simple. He is well-prepared and disciplined and demands the same of his players. He has developed a puck-pursuit system the players enjoy and which plays to the strengths of his personnel.Tortorella does not mind changing lines, but does not have a hair trigger. He also doesn&rsquo;t play favorites. If a Tampa player is not doing his job, he will quickly see his minutes drop. It is one of the things, players say, that has helped restore player-to-player and player-to-coach accountability.NOTEBOOK Rookie center Alexander Svitov earned a roster spot after a successful pre-season in which he had three goals and four points in seven games and won 49.4 per cent of his faceoffs&hellip;Goalie Kevin Hodson, who has not played a regular season game since February 2000, won the back-up job behind Nikolai Khabibulin. &#9632;

f0023-01

Lack of passion lands Willis in AHL

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02740/8098124-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="559" height="870"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS Toronto&rsquo;s Tomas Kaberle had a career-high 10 goals last year, but his 39-point total was the defenseman&rsquo;s lowest in three seasons.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03541/8098131-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="219" height="224"></div>When Mats Sundin came to Toronto in exchange for local legend Wendel Clark in 1994, he likely didn&rsquo;t think at the time he would surpass Clark in Maple Leaf lore.Sundin hasn&rsquo;t only established himself as one of the great all-time Leafs, he also entered this season primed to put himself into some rarified company among NHL greats.Should Sundin lead the Leafs in scoring this season, it will be the ninth consecutive season he has done so. That will break the Leafs mark set by Darryl Sittier from 1972-73 through &lsquo;79-80, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sundin will join Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Dale Hawerchuk as the only players in NHL history to lead one team in scoring nine straight times.Sundin, who finished fourth in scoring with 41 goals and 80 points last season, got off to a fast start in his first game. In a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Oct. 10, Sundin had two goals and two assists.&ldquo;My goal from year to year is to improve as a player and I thought last year I did that,&rdquo; Sundin said. &ldquo;Hopefully I can take another step and keep making progress.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Coach-GM Pat Quinn spoke volumes about his sense of loyalty to veterans when he sat Ric Jackman and Carlo Colaiacovo in the season opener and put Jyrki Lumme, who struggled mightily at times in camp, on a tandem with Bryan McCabe. That loyalty often is rewarded, as in the playoffs last season when a patchwork lineup willed itself into the Eastern Conference final, but sometimes backfires.Quinn has always been a proponent of the flow game and places importance on his players moving their feet, getting good position and moving the puck up ice with some sense of creativity. If the NHL&rsquo;s crackdown on obstruction sticks this time, the Leafs should benefit.NOTEBOOK The Leafs signed rookie defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo to a three-year contract that could be worth $10 million (U.S.) if he hits all of his performance bonus requirements. &#9632;

f0023-02

Top-flight company awaits Leafs’ Sundin

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04388/8098162-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="218" height="224"></div>Fedor Fedorov came to the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; training camp as an afterthought and emerged as the team&rsquo;s second-line right winger.The 21-year-old younger brother of Red Wings superstar Sergei won a spot on the Canucks&rsquo; opening-night roster with an outstanding preseason, literally forcing the team to keep him around.&ldquo;Fedor Fedorov is a guy we had no plans for on our team this year,&rdquo; said GM Brian Burke. &ldquo;Him making the team, that&rsquo;s great.&rdquo;Fedorov&rsquo;s appearance on opening night was made all the more remarkable when his 2001-02 season is taken into account. Fedorov sustained a serious eye injury in the East Coast League just 10 games into his pro career. One doctor told him his career was over.He then went to a specialist in Detroit who gave him a three per cent chance of playing again. Fedorov had laser surgery and had to remain sedentary for six months.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised at all that I&rsquo;m still here,&rdquo; said Fedorov, picked 66th overall by the Canucks in 2001. &ldquo;I just think if you work hard and keep your mouth shut, good things will happen.&rdquo;In his first NHL game Oct. 10, Fedorov was held pointless., but finished plus-1.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Marc Crawford has a thoroughbred in right winger Todd Bertuzzi and he likes to ride him as much as he can. When Crawford sees Bertuzzi has good jump early in a game, he&rsquo;ll often double-shift him.If he sees a team with smaller defensemen, he might dress seven blueliners himself, or leave his 12th forward at the end of the bench with the specific intention of playing the 245-pound Bertuzzi on two lines.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Bryan Allen scored his first NHL goal in Vancouver&rsquo;s season-opening 3-0 victory over Calgary. It was the 18th career game for Allen, the fourth overall pick in 1998&hellip;The Canucks snapped an eight-year winless streak in road openers (0-6-2) when they won in Calgary to open the season&hellip;Because they had a waiver problem up front., the Canucks opted to begin the&rdquo; season with 15 forwards and only six defensemen on their 23-man roster. GM Brian Burke was trying to trade a forward. &#9632;

f0023-04

Severe injury healed, Fedorov. earns spot

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05284/8098193-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="212" height="223"></div>Washington Capitals coach Bruce Cassidy came to work and found he had inherited &ldquo;a 1212 foot hockey player weighing nearly 500 pounds.&rdquo;More precisely, center Dainius Zubrus ended his month-long holdout and the Capitals obtained right wing Mike Grier from Edmonton. Not a bad day&rsquo;s work.&ldquo;All of a sudden we&rsquo;re adding three top end forwards to our mix,&rdquo; said Cassidy, who included center Jeff Halpern in that company. Halpern is almost recovered from a groin problem.Zubrus and Halpern give the team better balance and size up the middle, but caused a minor roster shuffle on the eve of the season opener.&ldquo;We were short down the middle,&rdquo; Cassidy said. &ldquo;Obviously we&rsquo;re adding a big guy in Zubrus and Halpern is one of our better faceoff guys so we&rsquo;ll use him more in that role.&rdquo;Grier is expected to play on the checking line but will move up to the second unit on occasions when muscle is needed.COACH&rsquo;S TENDENCIES Cassidy&rsquo;s tendencies are yet to be fully mapped but this much is certain: He believes in speed and keeping the puck out of his end of the ice as much as possible. Forechecking is his game.&ldquo;The best defense is a good forecheck, playing in their end, controlling the puck on the cycle and getting out of your end in a hurry,&rdquo; Cassidy said.And the trap? &ldquo;It (stinks), but it can be effective,&rdquo; he said. Expect Cassidy&rsquo;s offense to be more offensive than Capital offenses of recent seasons.NOTEBOOK Center Glen Metropolit had a &ldquo;very, very good camp,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee, and beat out highly touted prospect Brian Sutherby for a job&hellip;Goaltender Sebastien Charpentier, defenseman Steve Eminger and right winger Mike Farrell also made the roster as rookies. Eminger comes to the team from Kitchener of the Ontario League&hellip;Veteran goaltender Craig Billington ended up in Portland of the American League, his first stop in the minors in 13 years&hellip;The Capitals kept eight defensemen on their NHL roster, including veteran Sylvain Cote and Rick Berry, who was picked up during the waiver draft from Pittsburgh. &#9632;

f0023-05

Trio adds depth, balance to Capitals

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>Considering his dad spent nearly two decades in coaching, David Cunniff has bloodlines that say he should pursue the same path.But David took it an extra step. He began preparing for a job in coaching before he had barely stepped on the ice.&ldquo;I remember when I was a little kid, maybe eight or nine, and we&rsquo;d be on an airplane (he and his late father, John) and he&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;OK, let&rsquo;s make up drills,&rsquo; and I&rsquo;d start drawing,&rdquo; Cunniff said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been studying the game and learning the game for a long time.&rdquo;Now he&rsquo;ll have a chance to teach it. Cunniff was hired by the San Jose Sharks to be assistant coach with the American League&rsquo;s Cleveland Barons.John Cunniff, Dave&rsquo;s father, died at age 58 May 10 after succumbing to lung cancer. He had been scout and coach in the New Jersey organization.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011102/8098255-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="279" height="353"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Cunniff</figcaption></div>Cunniff, 32, didn&rsquo;t make much of an impact as a player in five pro seasons. He bounced around the East Coast League and was a third- and fourth-line left winger for his father with the AHL&rsquo;s Albany River Rats for two seasons in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.After a one-and-a-half-year retirement, and then a final vear in the ECHL last season, he hung up his skates for good. This summer, Cunniff sent resumes to GMs at the NHL draft and, three months later, was hired by the Sharks, his first coaching job. It helped that so many people in hockey knew and respected his father.&ldquo;Maybe that helps you get in the door and now it&rsquo;s up to me to show I know the game,&rdquo; Cunniff said.Cunniff scored 38 goals and 82 points and had 555 penalty minutes in 268 AHL and ECHL games during his pro career. &#9632;

f0027-01

Coach follows in father’s footsteps

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>Jason Bonsignore&rsquo;s bid to earn a job with his hometown Rochester Americans failed, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean his comeback is over.Bonsignore, 26, played very well in the Amerks&rsquo; training camp and in two pre-season games, but was released because no roster spots were available. Rochester GM Jody Gage encouraged the center to stay in the game, either with another American League team or in the East Coast League.Drafted fourth overall in 1994 by Edmonton, Bonsignore retired in January 2000 because of injuries and personal issues. He played just 79 NHL games, scoring three goals and 16 points for Edmonton and Tampa Bay.&ldquo;I thought he proved he should make a comeback,&rdquo; Gage said. &ldquo;Hopefully, he proved to himself that he should stick with it.&rdquo;The Buffalo Sabres stock Rochester and already had 14 forwards there. They liked what they saw from Bonsignore.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a newness in seeing him again,&rdquo; said Larry Carriere, assistant to Sabres GM Darcy Regier. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s proving to himself now that he can compete at this level.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02736/8098307-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="251" height="253"></div><h2>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</h2>BOLSTERING THE The Grand Rapids Griffins finished last season with the AHL&rsquo;s best team defense, allowing only 176 goals thanks to great goaltending and defense.While several defensemen moved on after the Griffins switched affiliation from Ottawa to Detroit, the defense received a boost when Patrick Bolieau was the last blueliner cut by the Red Wings.Bolieau, 27, played his first seven pro seasons with Portland, Washington&rsquo;s AHL affiliate. He signed over the summer with the Red Wings and will quarterback the power play in Grand Rapids.EARLY RETIREMENT The Houston Aeros had the AHL&rsquo;s most mobile defense a year ago, and while the back line remains strong, they lost a key component when veteran defenseman Mike Crowley retired.Crowley, 27, suffered a lacerated achilles tendon last season, forcing him to miss all but 11 regular season games. He then played 11 more in the Calder Cup playoffs.He called it quits after the Minnesota Wild assigned him to Houston, deciding it was time to start his post-hockey life. He&rsquo;ll be a bond trader for his uncle&rsquo;s securities firm in Chicago.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03516/8098300-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1333" height="1903"><figcaption class="caption-body">After five pro seasons in his native Sweden, winger Jonathan Hedstrom has crossed the ocean and will play on Anaheim&rsquo;s farm team in Cincinnati.</figcaption></div><h2>AHL</h2><h3>SCOUTING REPORT</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04357/8098293-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="345" height="468"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rene Vydareny</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICS Hometown: Bratislava, Slo.Age: 21 Size: 6-1,198LAST AMATEUR CLUB Rimouski (QM JHL)POSITION Defenseman2001-02 SEASON Manitoba Moose<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05239/8098286-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="401" height="117"></div>NHL AFFILIATION Vancouver CanucksNOTEWORTHYDrafted 69th overall by Vancouver in 1998&hellip;Missed most of 2000-01 in dispute over playing rights between Vancouver and Bratislava He played just 39 games in IHL&hellip;Played 10 games last year in ECHL.BOTTOM LINEOnce an excellent prospect, Vydareny&rsquo;s progress has been slowed by weak defensive play and limited playing time. His skating and puck skills are top notch, but poor decision making will keep him down. &#9632;

f0027-02

Bonsignore caught in numbers game

<div class="byline">BY ROB MUELLER</div>The Professional Hockey Players&rsquo; Association is at odds again with East Coast League owners over a shortage of health insurance coverage for the players.The tensions were exacerbated by a Trenton, N.J., newspaper report that said ECHL teams had cut benefits in a &ldquo;stunning and completely thoughtless move.&rdquo; Owners and GMs were quick to point out the story lacked some key facts.When the current collective bargaining agreement was signed three years ago, teams agreed to contribute a fixed amount of $11,140 per season to help fund players&rsquo; insurance. But the PHPA says it can no longer maintain previous coverage levels because of rising premiums in the wake of Sept. 11.In a letter dated Sept. 20, 2002, faxed by the union to NHL and AHL GMs, PHPA executive director Larry Landon contends ECHL teams have &ldquo;chosen not to provide further funding to the PHPA/ECHL Health and Welfare Trust.&rdquo; Landon&rsquo;s memo, obtained by The Hockey News, adds the ECHL has the &ldquo;worst insurance program in professional hockey.&rdquo;But while the union continues to seek more funding from the owners, the ECHL says its teams are in compliance with the CBA.<h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06168/8098338-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="199" height="208"></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really a non-issue right now,&rdquo; said Augusta Lynx GM Derek Bundy &ldquo;When the (CBA) expires in May, then they can renegotiate it.&rdquo;When the issue first surfaced last season, the players staged a one-day walkout, but the move backfired. Former ECHL president Rick Adams ordered teams to dock all striking players one day&rsquo;s pay and rent allowance. The current CBA contains a &ldquo;no-strike/no-lockout&rdquo; clause.NOTEBOOK The Louisiana IceGators postponed their Oct. 13 opener against the Arkansas RiverBlades as a result of Hurricane Lili. &ldquo;I feel right now we need to try to help the community&rdquo; said GM Tracey Girouard&hellip;The Cincinnati Cyclones finished their pre-season trip to Europe with a 2-2-0 record in a tournament against teams from Austria and Italy. &#9632;

f0027-06

Union accuses ECHL of shortchanging players

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Jay Henderson isn&rsquo;t taking the cautious road when it comes to expectations for the 2002-03 season.The 24-year-old left winger has his sights set on being an impact player for the Providence Bruins and also to return &ldquo;for some games&rdquo; to Boston, for whom he played 13 in 2000-01, the last time he played at all.Henderson was listed as &ldquo;inactive&rdquo; for the 2001-02 season, while he was battling a left-knee injury that had been hard to diagnose.What began as a slight tweak during the latter part of 2000-01 led to an arthroscopic procedure before last season began, which still didn&rsquo;t alleviate the pain. That led to patella tendon realignment surgery before Christmas, thereby scuttling the season.&ldquo;I originally thought I was going to be out two or three weeks,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a frustrating year with that kneecap and it took a lot longer (to heal) than expected.&rdquo;Henderson made his presence felt for Providence in 2000-01 with nine goals, 16 points and 127 penalty minutes in 41 games.The Edmonton native is certain his knee is now 100 per cent, though he admits timing and strength will be issues at the start of this campaign.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011143/8098369-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="276" height="352"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Henderson</figcaption></div>Sent back to Providence from Boston&rsquo;s training camp just before the season opener, Henderson wasn&rsquo;t to be counted among those pouting over their American League assignments.&ldquo;First, I&rsquo;m trying to make it through the entire year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But the (Boston) Bruins were really positive with me at the end of camp. They told me I need to play, to get a bit stronger and it&rsquo;s my goal to start off fast and to play some games for them this season.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0028-01

Healthy Bruin set to make his mark

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Claude Julien experienced his first crisis as coach of the dual-affiliation Hamilton Bulldogs - a lack of veteran players.The Montreal Canadiens, who share the Hamilton roster with the Edmonton Oilers this season, sent 26-year-old center Eric Landry to Utah, the Habs&rsquo; other American League affiliate. That left Julien with Montreal&rsquo;s younger prospects.Julien had been hoping Landry&rsquo;s leadership, not to mention his skill - he scored 32 goals and 75 points for the Quebec Citadelles last season - would be a key part of the equation in Hamilton this season.The Habs also sent center Eric Chouinard, 22, defenseman Matthieu Descoteaux, 25, and right winger Marc-Andre Thinel, 21, to Utah.DEADLINE LOOMS Portland left winger Graham Mink, who skated in 56 games as a rookie last year, faces a Dec. 6 deadline for an out-of-court resolution or his year-old arrest on charges of attempted aggravated assault will proceed to trial in Vermont.While still at the University of Vermont in late summer 2001, Mink was charged after a brawl in Burlington, Vt. in which another student was kicked and beaten unconscious. Mink, 23, has pleaded innocent.A conviction could bring penalties of 15 years in prison or a $10,000 fine.After the charge, Vermont suspended Mink. A few days later, Mink abandoned his senior year and signed a contract with the Washington Capitals. He was assigned to the Pirates, where he had 17 goals and 34 points in 56 games.<h2>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02789/8098407-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="249" height="251"></div>INJURY SETBACK Center Daniel Tkaczuk, Calgary&rsquo;s first round pick, sixth overall, in 1997, did not start the AHL season with the Worcester Ice Cats.After breaking his thumb on the third day of St. Louis&rsquo;s training camp, Tkaczuk saw no ice time and has been sent to Peoria of the East Coast League to play himself back into shape. Tkaczuk scored 10 goals and 37 points in 75 games for Worcester last year after the Blues acquired him via trade in June, 2001.NOTEBOOK Right winger Billy Tibbetts, who played 24 games with Wilkes-Barre last season, was training in Hartford with the Wolf Pack this fall. Tibbetts, an unrestricted free agent, is rehabilitating after surgery for a torn left hamstring. He may be ready to play in mid-October if a contract can be reached.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03578/8098400-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1322" height="1910"><figcaption class="caption-body">After a year&rsquo;s apprenticeship with the Quebec Citadelles, Bolton, Conn., native Ron Hainsey cracked the blueline of the Montreal Canadiens.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-02

Bulldogs start year with dearth of vets

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Pavel Barta</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04398/8098438-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="486" height="335"></div>Future and former NHLers are among the top performers in Europe. Here are five such players with position, age and NHL rights.&#9633; Kari Lehtonen G, 18 (Atlanta) The second overall draft pick in 2002 began as the starting goalie with Finnish champions Jokerit Helsinki. He led all goalies with 1.97 GAA in six games.&#9633; Jamie Heward D, 31 (free agent) After 239 games in six NHL seasons, the blueliner joined Servette Geneva of the Swiss league. He has one goal and 11 points in nine games.&#9633; Andrei Razin C, 28 (Philadelphia) The Flyers&rsquo; seventh choice in 2001 led Russian Superleague scoring with two goals and nine points in seven games with Dynamo Moscow.&#9633; Ricard Persson D, 33 (free agent) Persson recorded 10 goals during seven NHL seasons. In eight games with Berlin of German DEL league, he notched four and had 11 points.&#9633; Radek Duda RW, 23 (Calgary) Hard-nosed forward was Flames&rsquo; seventh pick in 1998. Duda has three goals and nine points in seven games with Pilsen of the Czech elite league. &#9632;

f0028-04

WORLD watch

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Brendan Savage</div>On the eve of training camp, the Muskegon Fury traded three players who helped the team win the 2002 Colonial Cup. Defenseman Mark Vilneff and forwards Mike Bayrack and Fred Mattersdorfer were sent to the Flint Generals for forward Scott Hollis. Although Hollis duly reported to Muskegon&rsquo;s camp, none of the three going to Flint did the same. Vilneff and Mattersdorfer retired and Bayrack, who was the key to the deal for Flint, instead reported to camp with Toledo of the East Coast League. &#9632;

UNITED LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Chadd Cripe</div>The Long Beach Ice Dogs&rsquo; new coach is clear about his expectations for this season, if his nickname, &lsquo;Killer&rsquo;, didn&rsquo;t already give you the first clue. Kevin Kaminski, 33, will bring a hard-nosed style to a franchise that hasn&rsquo;t had much post-season success. &ldquo;I expect my team to be disciplined, committed and relentless,&rdquo; he told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Kaminski, who racked up 528 penalty minutes in a 139-game NHL career takes over a team that went 41-27-4 last year, but lost to Fresno in the first round of the playoffs. &#9632;

WEST COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;David Henry</div>Oklahoma City Blazers right winger Joe Burton got the next best thing to a million-dollar signing bonus when he inked his contract for an historic 11th-consecutive season with the Blazers. The only player to play exclusively in the CHL since its rebirth in 1992, and the league&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer, Burton cashed in an opportunity, given to him by the Blazers and the Phoenix Coyotes, to play in an NHL game. Burton played for Phoenix Oct. 3 in a 21 loss against the Los Angeles Kings in a pre-season game in Oklahoma City. &#9632;

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Nick Gates</div>If a team typifies its management, the St. Petersburg Parrots will be one of the ACHL&rsquo;s toughest teams. Mike Ramsay, a player-assistant coach with the Muskegon Fury last season and the United League&rsquo;s all-time penalty minutes leader, was hired by the Parrots to be coach-GM. Ramsay, 33, signed two Fury defensemen, Jeff Lukasak and Colin Young, and brought in four players from Wichita of the Central League. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want my players to be intimidated,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want my goal scorers to be watching their backs.&rdquo; &#9632;

ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011013/8098565-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="352" height="376"></div>TOP PLAYER1. HUGO BELANGER, LWAdirondack2. JASON FIRTH. CPort Huron3. TODD ROBINSON. CMuskegonTOP GOALTENDER1. JOE OIMALINEQuad City2. SYLVAIN DAIGLEMuskegon3. MARTIN VILLENEUVEFlintTOP DEFENSEMAN1. FREDERICK JOBINQuad City2. JEREMY REBEKRockford3. MARTIN WOODSFlintDon&rsquo;t expect to hear United League commissioner Richard Brosal claiming bigger is better. Brosal feels just the opposite.Despite losing four teams from last season, Brosal thinks the 10-team UHL is stronger than ever. None of the existing teams are suffering from the financial problems that forced Asheville and Knoxville to fold; several former UHL stars are back in the league; and the geographic layout makes more sense.In addition to Asheville and Knoxville, the UHL lost three other teams. The B.C. Icemen, when the Ottawa Senators moved their American League farm team to Binghamton; the New Haven Knights suspended operations when the mayor closed their building; and the Port Huron Border Cats suspended operations after years of poor attendance and seven-figure losses.Port Huron wasn&rsquo;t without a team for long, however, as the UHL put an expansion team in the U.S. -Canada border city.&ldquo;Being a strong league doesn&rsquo;t necessarily equate to how many teams you have,&rdquo; Brosal said. &ldquo;It equates to how many strong teams you have. Unlike past seasons, when we had 14,15 or 16 teams, there were always question marks.&ldquo;I feel more confident with 10 teams within our geographic region. We have good ownership groups and good fan bases. When we add teams, it will be within our geography. At 10 teams, we&rsquo;re still very strong and viable.&rdquo;Brosal admits the UHL made a mistake when it expanded south, letting the Madison Monsters move to Knoxville, Tenn., and the Brantford Smoke to Asheville, N.C. Although eight of the 10 remaining teams are in the midwest, Brosal remains committed to adding teams in the east to give Adirondack and Elmira geographic rivals.&ldquo;The south is no longer in our plans,&rdquo; Brosal said, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;re committed to the northeast. We&rsquo;re trying to get three to five teams in that area, but at the same time the area where we&rsquo;re strongest is the midwest.&rdquo;Especially Michigan, where the UHL has Flint, Kalamazoo, defending champion Muskegon and Port Huron. Rounding out the UHL lineup are Rockford, Fort Wayne. Quad City and Missouri.Brosal said potential expansion cities include Williamsport, Pa.; Omaha, Neb.; Des Moines, Iowa; Bloomington, Ill.; and Prospect Heights, Ill. He would also like to see Indianapolis in the UHL instead of the CHL, a move that has been rumored since Fort Wayne joined the UHL in 1999.Several former UHL stars have returned this season, including Elmira right winger Kevin Kerr, the UHL&rsquo;s all-time leader in goals with 407; Port Huron center Jason Firth, a two-time UHL MVP; and Flint goalie Martin Villeneuve, who helped Quad City reach the Colonial Cup final in 2000 and 2001.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we have to worry about the gong (goon) shows that took place years ago,&rdquo; Brosal said. &ldquo;Mitch Lamoureux (vice-president of operations) has done an excellent job of following my mandate that we won&rsquo;t tolerate nonsense.&rdquo;SALARY CAP The UHL is entering its 12th season. The salary cap for each team is $250,000 (U-S.) per season, an average of $10,000 per week. Teams going over the cap are taxed $1 for every $1 they&rsquo;re over.Each club must dress at least three rookies per game and no more than six veterans (players with more than 250 games of pro experience at the beginning of the season).ATTENDANCE Average attendance was down for the second straight year, but only slightly. Last year&rsquo;s average crowd was 3,333 compared to 3,349 in 2000-01, when attendance dipped after increasing steadily over the previous five seasons.WORKING AGREEMENTS Only four UHL teams have affiliates. Elmira is affiliated with Columbus (NHL) and Syracuse (AHL); Missouri with Rochester (AHL); Muskegon with Grand Rapids (AHL); and Quad City with Washington (NHL), Hershey (AHL), Portland (AHL) and Chicago (AHL).NOTABLE GRADUATES UHL graduates currently in higher leagues include New York Islanders right winger Steve Webb (Muskegon); Columbus Blue Jackets goalie J-F Labbe (Thunder Bay); and. Portland Pirates left winger Mel Angelstad (Thunder Bay).STEPPING BACK Notable UHLers who once played in the NHL include Fort Wayne goaltender Pokey Reddick (Winnipeg); Kalamazoo right winger Mark Lawrence (Islanders); and Port Huron center Brent Gretzky (Tampa Bay).<h2>UNITED LEAGUE</h2>Predicted order of finish in the UHL, according to THN correspondent Brendan Savage of the Flint Journal.<h3>Eastern Conference</h3>1. Flint Generals2. Fort Wayne Komets3. Adirondack IceHawks4. Port Huron Border Cats5. Elmira Jackals<h3>Western Conference</h3>1. Quad City Mallards2. Muskegon Fury3. Rockford IceHogs4. Missouri River Otters5. Kalamazoo Wings &#9632;

f0029-01

Informal contraction makes UHL stronger

<div class="byline">BY DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02674/8098596-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="345" height="373"></div>TOP PLAYER1. DON PARSONS, LWMemphis2. BLAIR MANNING, COklahoma City3. DAN WILDFONG, RWBossier-ShreveportTOP GOALTENDER1. MIKE GORMANOdessa2. MIKE MINARDMemphis3. KEN CARROLLBossier-ShreveportTOP DEFENSEMAN1. DEREK HOLLANDLubbock2. DEREK LANDMESSERMemphis3. BRETT COLBORNECorpus ChristiNow that the honeymoon is officially over and the Central League&rsquo;s marriage with the former Western Pro League is a year old, the CHL is hoping to give birth to its sought-after status as a breeding ground for pro talent.The two former rival leagues kissed and made up May 30,2001, combining 16 of the top franchises from each league under the CHL banner. The Memphis RiverKings captured the President&rsquo;s Cup title, defeating the Austin Ice Bats.All but one team, the San Antonio Iguanas, managed to survive past the first year. However, the CHL will again consist of 16 teams in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Indiana and Tennessee.The Laredo Bucks will replace San Antonio, which gave way to an American League expansion franchise.The CHL will have 18 member teams, with Rio Grande Valley (Texas) and Fort Collins (Colorado) scheduled to begin play for 2003-04.Two teams - Amarillo and San Angelo - changed nicknames, from Rattlers to Gorillas and Outlaws to Saints.Now that the first season of the revamped CHL is in the books, the league is focusing on bringing in younger, talented players who can move up the pro hockey food chain.&ldquo;We want to stress our priority on being a developmental league,&rdquo; said CHL president Brad Treliving. &ldquo;Our affiliation structure and developmental structure is something we want to take off. I think we&rsquo;ve validated that a little bit with the number of affiliations we have.&rdquo;With this goal in mind, the CHL is sticking with league rules regarding veteran players and rookies, a mandate borrowed from the former WPHL.The rules limit teams to five players designated as veterans players with more than 260 games of pro experience, an increase from the 230-game limit.Teams must have at least three players considered rookies players with fewer than 25 games at the pro level.SALARY CAP The weekly maximum is the same as last season - $8,500 (U.S.) per team for a maximum of 18 players.ATTENDANCE The CHL averaged 4,264 fans per game last season, a 16 percent increase. The league led North American minor pro circuits with a per-game postseason average attendance of 4,356.The WPHL averaged 3,600 fans over six seasons, while the CHL averaged 4,169 fans per game before the merger.WORKING AGREEMENTS The CHL has working agreements for half of its 16 teams, including AHL and NHL affiliations. They are the Memphis RiverKings (Toronto Maple Leafs, St. John&rsquo;s-AHL); Tulsa Oilers (New York Rangers); Odessa Jackalopes (Edmonton Oilers, Hamilton-AHL); Laredo Bucks (Florida Panthers, San Antonio-AHL); Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (Rochester-AHL); Fort Worth Brahmas (Dallas Stars); New Mexico Scorpions (Phoenix Coyotes); Austin Ice Bats (Houston-AHL).<h2>NOTABLE GRADUATES</h2>Former Memphis RiverKings goalie Sebastien Centomo was a CHL rookie of the year and made his NHL debut Feb. 27 with Toronto following a hand injury to Curtis Joseph. He&rsquo;ll spend this season in St. John&rsquo;s (AHL).Left winger Ryan Tobler, a former Lake Charles Ice Pirate in the WPHL, played last season for Springfield of the AHL and four games with Tampa Bay of the NHL.Former Oklahoma City Blazer defenseman Wade Brookbank played last season as a winger for the AHL&rsquo;s Grand Rapids Giffins.STEPPING BACK Former El Paso Buzzards left winger Jamie Thompson, the first player from the former WPHL to sign with an NHL team, returns to the San Angelo Saints after a stint with Worcester of the AHL.Memphis RiverKings goalie Mike Minard, a 1995 third round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, is a former team MVP of the AHL&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs.Left winger Jeff Greenlaw, who has 57 games NHL experience with Washington and Florida, returns to Austin.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>Predicted order of finish in the CHL, according to THN correspondent David Henry of the Amarillo Globe-News.<h2>NORTHERN CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Northwest Division</h3>1. Oklahoma City Blazers2. Tulsa Oilers.3. Amarillo Gorillas4. Wichita Thunder<h3>Northeast Division</h3>1. Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs2. Memphis RiverKings3. Fort Worth Brahmas4. Indianapolis Ice<h2>SOUTHERN CONFERENCE</h2><h3>Southwest Division</h3>1. New Mexico Scorpions2. Odessa Jackalopes3. Lubbock Cotton Kings4. El Paso Buzzards<h3>Southeast Division</h3>1. Austin Ice Bats2. Corpus Christi IceRays3. Laredo Bucks4. San Angelo Saints &#9632;

f0029-02

‘Development’ status now a league priority

<div class="byline">BY CHADD CRIPE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011144/8098627-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="348" height="378"></div>TOP PLAYER1. R.J. ENGA, RWSan Diego2. JEFF SHEVALIER, LWIdaho3. JASON WEAVER, LWFresnoTOP GOALTENDER1. TREVOR KOENIGSan Diego2. BLAIR ALLISONIdaho3. MIKE BUZAKLong BeachTOP DEFENSEMAN1. SAMY NASREDDINESan Diego2. CORY MURPHYFresno3. JEREMY MYLYMOKIdahoThe West Coast League enters a lameduck season after an off-season packed with intrigue, excitement and disappointment.The league lost two teams - it&rsquo;s down to just six - but all of its franchises gained entry into the more powerful East Coast League for 2003-04.The quest for the final Taylor Cup began Oct. 11 with Idaho and Anchorage squaring off in Boise.&ldquo;As soon as the Taylor Cup is raised, the next day it&rsquo;s a collector&rsquo;s item,&rdquo; said Fresno coach Blaine Moore, whose team is the defending champion. &ldquo;Then we&rsquo;re moving on to bigger and better things. It&rsquo;s like the anticipation of going on a holiday or graduating from high school.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s another similarity to school: with just six teams, they&rsquo;ll feel like they&rsquo;re seeing each other every day.The WCHL has just one division, with the top four teams advancing to two rounds of best-of-seven playoff series. Teams play four opponents 14 times each and their geographic rival 16 times.Players likely will get tired of the monotony, but they also know they have to earn their playoff spots. Last year, all eight teams reached the post-season.&ldquo;Every game is going to mean so much more,&rdquo; said Idaho defenseman Scott Swanson. &ldquo;We played some teams last year that we don&rsquo;t have a natural rivalry with and the games weren&rsquo;t as intense as they probably will be this year.&rdquo;Teams had to consider next season in their recruiting efforts.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to be able to just pluck guys out of the East Coast League as we have in the past,&rdquo; Moore said.Moore was encouraged by Idaho&rsquo;s sweep of the ECHL&rsquo;s Arkansas RiverBlades in two pre-season games.&ldquo;A lot of these guys (in the WCHL) can be top guys in the East Coast League and they have been,&rdquo; Moore said.The WCHL was formed in 1995. Its membership has changed greatly over the years and the loss of Tacoma (Wash.) and Colorado (Colorado Springs, Colo.) during the off-season leaves six teams located in California (four), Idaho and Alaska.The league cemented its partnership with the ECHL over the summer, moved its league office from Boise, Idaho, to Ontario, Calif., and nailed down a 2003-04 expansion team in Las Vegas.SALARY CAP The WCHL allows its teams to spend $12,000 (U.S.) per week on player salaries, with no exceptions. The league limits its teams to five veteran skaters and one veteran goalie.ATTENDANCE WCHL attendance jumped last season after the first decline in league history the previous year. The league averaged 2,963 in its inaugural season of 1995-96 and that number climbed to 4,688 by 1999-2000. The average dipped to 4,491 in 2000-01, but shot back up to 4,682 last season.Central California hockey fans gave the league a big boost - Fresno (5,957) and Bakersfield (5,304) ranked second and third in league attendance despite a combined record of 65-66-13.WORKING AGREEMENTS The WCHL does not have any affiliations in place for the second straight year. However, some teams have worked out limited deals regarding certain players. The WCHL&rsquo;s teams probably will sign affiliations next year when they join the ECHL.NOTABLE GRADUATES The WCHL hasn&rsquo;t produced NHL players, but two coaches recently landed jobs in the big leagues.Former Long Beach coach and vicepresident of operations John Van Boxmeer is now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings. Van Boxmeer took over as the Ice Dogs coach midway through last season, in which he started as an executive only.Former Idaho coach Clint Malarchuk (1998-2000), an ex-NHL goalie who served as the Steelheads&rsquo; radio color commentator last season, has taken a job as the Florida Panthers&rsquo; goaltending instructor.Former Idaho defenseman Adam Borzecki racked up 111 penalty minutes in 70 games with Syracuse of the AHL last season. Former Fresno and Tacoma defenseman Jeff Helperl has played 101 games the past two seasons with Norfolk of the AHL.STEPPING BACK The Idaho Steelheads boast two players with NHL experience.Center Jeff Shevalier scored 13 points in 26 games with the Los Angeles Kings in 1996-97. Defenseman Matt Martin, who is coming out of retirement this season, played 76 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs during a four-year span in the mid-1990s.Center Iain Fraser of Fresno spent parts of five seasons with six NHL teams, including 60 games with Quebec in 199394, when he scored 17 goals.<h2>WEST COAST</h2>Predicted order of finish in the WCHL, according to THN correspondent Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman.<h3>West Coast League</h3>1. Idaho Steelheads2. San Diego Gulls3. Fresno Falcons4. Bakersfield Condors5. Long Beach Ice Dogs6. Anchorage Aces &#9632;

f0030-01

Playing out the string, then it’s off to ECHL

<div class="byline">BY NICK GATES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02767/8098658-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="349" height="382"></div>TOP PLAYER1. ZAC BOYER, RWOrlando2. COREY SMITH, LWMacon3. JOHN GURSKIS, CSt. PetersburgTOP GOALTENDER1. JEFF SAJALKOJacksonville2. FRED BEAUBIENKnoxville3. DAVID GOVERDEOrlandoTOP DEFENSEMAN1. CHRIS LIPUMAOrlando2. CORY PETERSONCape Fear3. JACOUE RODRIGUEKnoxvilleTo the champion of the new Atlantic Coast League goes&hellip;the Coffey Cup?The league has been so busy planning for its inaugural season, commissioner Jim Riggs said the grand prize has yet to be named.No reason to panic. Riggs, who served as vice-president/GM of the Central League&rsquo;s Memphis RiverKings the past 10 years, has until April to name the award.Founder Bill Coffey, who helped start up the East Coast League in 1988 and owns the ACHL&rsquo;s St. Petersburg Parrots, is the logical choice, if a corporate sponsor isn&rsquo;t found. Coffey devised the blueprint for putting together a league that should become profitable at a time when other leagues are either downsizing or treading water.His goal from Day 1: that every franchise - Orlando, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), Macon, Ga., and Knoxville Tenn. - operate in the black. That should be a test because each of the markets has lost a hockey team at least once over the years for various reasons.Therefore, it&rsquo;s imperative teams show financial restraint.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a lot of deep pockets,&rdquo; Riggs said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re asking everyone to be aware of how they spend their dollars.&rdquo;Riggs and staff have kept close tabs on the ACHL&rsquo;s Original Six from their offices headquartered in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.Annual budgets range from $800,000 to $1.2 million (U.S.), depending on cost of living tad terms of the arena lease. Steps to hold the line on operating costs include:&#9633; Players will be paid about $425 per week on average.&#9633; A 60-game season - at least 10 fewer games than other leagues - is packed into 22 weeks. That provides each team with more attractive weekend dates. Condensed travel means saving bucks on meal money, motels, bus rental, etc.&#9633; Rosters were limited to 16 players, including two goalies.&ldquo;That allows you to have three forward lines and five defensemen,&rdquo; Riggs said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve encouraged teams to recruit a fifth defenseman who can play forward.&rdquo;The limited roster saves money, but could provide residual benefits.&ldquo;It will keep the goofballs (enforcers) out of the league,&rdquo; Riggs said. &ldquo;Everybody has to be able to play and contribute. You can&rsquo;t have a guy on the end of the bench waiting to get his shoulder tapped to go out and belt someone once a period.&rdquo;ACHL vice-president of operations Ron Hansis, who will be in charge of policing players and coaches, expects the games to be physical, &ldquo;but there will be a zero tolerance&rdquo; for unsportsmanlike conduct.&ldquo;Physical? Yes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Stupid? No.&rdquo; Generally, the players will be younger than in established minor pro leagues. The caliber of play is expected to be a cut below the other three low minors (United League, Central League and West Coast League). Many ACHL players will be East Coast League training camp castoffs.Based on training camp rosters, Orlando is the oldest team, averaging 25.5 years of age. while St. Petersburg was the youngest at 23.0.There is room for veterans, but they can&rsquo;t be dead weight. &ldquo;This league is no resting place for older players trying to hang around and avoid 9-to-5 jobs,&rdquo; Hansis said.Nevertheless, at least a half-dozen players who have turned 30 chose the ACHL as a means to extend their careers.Jacksonville coach Kurt Wickenheiser said a short bench has advantages. Players are guaranteed plenty of ice time and that proved to be a terrific recruiting tool in luring young talent from colleges and juniors.The league adopted NHL rules, except for ties. The ACHL will play a three-minute overtime (3-on-3, plus goalies) before going to a shootout, if necessary. OT penalties will result in a penalty shot.SALARY CAP The term &ldquo;salary cap&rdquo; is taboo. ACHL terminology is &ldquo;compensation guidelines.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s about $425 per player, plus partial living compensation. Translation: teams are allowed to spend about $6,400 (U.S.) per week.ATTENDANCE Knoxville, whose UHL team went bankrupt and folded last season, has sold a league-high 1,150 season tickets - about 200 more than a year ago. Orlando (922) is next followed by Cape Fear (656). Teams have to average between 2,000 and 2,500 fans per game (depending on their lease agreement) to break even.WORKING AGREEMENTS None. Coaches have contacts with other leagues to help provide players.STEPPING BACK Orlando defenseman Chris LiPuma played 72 NHL games with Tampa Bay and San Jose in the mid-1990s. Knoxville defenseman Jacque Rodrigue and forward Jim Bermingham and Macon goalie Stan Reddick are among a halfdozen players at least 30 years old.<h2>ATLANTIC COAST</h2>Predicted order of finish in the ACHL. according to THN correspondent Nick Gates of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.<h3>Atlantic Coast League</h3>1. Orlando Seals2. Macon Trax3. Knoxville Ice Bears4. Cape Fear FireAntz5. Jacksonville Barracudas6. St. Petersburg Parrots &#9632;

f0030-02

New upstart league has Wal-Mart design

<div class="byline">BY WILLY PALOV</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02697/8098720-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="397" height="285"></div>Thatcher Bell wants to make as much as he can of his final season of major junior.At one time touted as a potential first round NHL pick, Bell has had his struggles the previous two years. Various injuries limited him to 46 games in 200001 and then a bad back forced him to miss all but 29 games last season.It was enough to scare off the Vancouver Canucks, who declined to sign the center after picking him in the third round (71st overall) of the 2000 draft.Craving a change of scenery after four years with the Rimouski Oceanic, Bell requested a trade in the off-season and got it. The Halifax Mooseheads gave up conditional draft picks (based on the number of games he plays) to get him and Bell is happy to have one last chance to salvage a future as a pro.&ldquo;The last two seasons I was unhappy because of a few different things,&rdquo; Bell said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to get into the details of it, but I had been trying to get out of there for a while. I had asked for a trade last Christmas and I didn&rsquo;t really expect it would happen because I was hurt at the time and Rimouski knew I&rsquo;d be back for playoffs so they kept me around. It was great playing there and I enjoyed my time there, but it was time for a change.&rdquo;So far the move is paying off. Bell scored 14 points in seven games for Halifax after an unsuccessful free-agent tryout with the Detroit Red Wings in September. At 20, Bell is old enough to seek a pro job in the lower minors, but thinks a blow-out overage season would be better for his long-term outlook.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel like I&rsquo;ve ever really showed the fans and the people in the league what I can do out there,&rdquo; Bell said. &ldquo;My back&rsquo;s in shape and I&rsquo;m not here just to mess around and burn out my career. I really came here to jump-start my career.&rdquo;DESPERATE FOR A WIN There was no team in the league that had a more painful wait for its first win than Quebec.As 2003 Memorial Cup hosts, the Remparts were already feeling the pressure to ice a strong team. The pressure only increased when the Remparts stumbled to an 0-5 start. Quebec managed its first win Oct. 1 defeating Halifax 2-1 in overtime.Ordinarily a modest losing streak wouldn&rsquo;t be a cause for panic, but people around the league began to question whether the Remparts are strong enough to properly represent the QMJHL as host team at the Cup.It even got to the point where league commissioner Gilles Courteau had to defend the site publicly&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t recall which year, but the Memorial Cup was once awarded to Hamilton (1990). The team didn&rsquo;t, perform well. They weren&rsquo;t part of the playoffs,&rdquo; Courteau said. &ldquo;So the OHL made a decision to bring the two (league playoff) finalists to the Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup was still held in Hamilton.&rdquo;&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t expect that,&rdquo; he quickly added.NOTEBOOK Three teams lost key players until at least Dec. 1.The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will be without Czech center Jan Velich (shoulder surgery), the Remparts lost defenseman Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu (dislocated shoulder) and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens lost center Bruno Champagne (broken ankle). &#9632;

f0031-02

Bell sets his sights on strong final year

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Paul Shaheen</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03516/8098751-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="444" height="131"></div>The Green Bay Gamblers started the season 0-2, but veteran coach Mark Osiecki isn&rsquo;t terribly concerned.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re young and we haven&rsquo;t been on the ice that long,&rdquo; said the former NHL defenseman. Osiecki intentionally starts his training camps later than most. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season, and we&rsquo;ve always felt starting as late as possible is good for us and keeps our guys fresh throughout the year.&rdquo;One player Osiecki has high hopes for is 6-foot-4,200-pound defenseman Wes O&rsquo;Neill, who opted for Tier I despite being drafted second overall by the Kingston Frontenacs in this year&rsquo;s Ontario League draft. The 16-year-old Essex, Ont. native has verbally committed to Notre Dame for 2003-04.Green Bay lost its home opener to the Chicago Steel in front of 5,788 fans at the 8,000-seat Resch Center, the arena&rsquo;s inaugural sporting event. The team set a new single-game attendance record. &#9632;

f0031-03

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div>After being traded, Greg Watson didn&rsquo;t have to pack any bags.On the morning of Oct. 1, the Prince Albert Raiders center discovered the Florida Panthers had dealt his NHL rights to the Ottawa Senators.That evening, Watson scored two goals - including a shorthanded tally which proved to be the winner - as Prince Albert edged the visiting Red Deer Rebels 3-2 in Western League play.But Watson didn&rsquo;t find playing in the game easy.&ldquo;It was really hard to keep my mind focused on the Red Deer Rebels that night,&rdquo; said Watson, 19, who Florida selected in the second round (34th overall) of the 2001 draft.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t sleep much. Usually I &bull; have a two-hour nap before the game, but my mind was racing. Once I got to the rink and got back to my pregame routine, things kind of fell into place a bit.&rdquo;Watson became property of the Senators when Ottawa shipped goalie Jani Hurme to Florida. The Panthers surrendered Watson and a fellow WHLer - Prince George Cougars netminder Billy Thompson, 20, for the Finnish-born netminder.After being sent back to Prince Albert from Florida&rsquo;s training camp, Watson boasted five goals over six games to help the Raiders enjoy a 5-0-01 start.&ldquo;I was shocked by the trade,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Some people think that just because I hadn&rsquo;t played for Florida yet, the trade wouldn&rsquo;t affect me.&ldquo;But I had been with them for one-and-a-half years and had been to four or five different camps - such as conditioning camps, and tryout camps in the fall - and I had made some good friends. This totally sculpts my future differently.&ldquo;It was tough - especially the day it happened - but I&rsquo;m really happy to be with the team in Prince Albert, where my focus is now.&rdquo;Last season, his third with the Raiders, Watson scored 22 goals and 52 points in 51 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04386/8098782-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="394" height="274"></div>OH, BROTHER The WHL&rsquo;s first brother-versus-brother coaching matchup since the late 1970s took place in Kennewick, Wash.The Kootenay Ice - coached by Cory Clouston - defeated Shaun Clouston and the Tri-City Americans 6-1 Oct. 6.&ldquo;In a perfect world, it would end in a tie,&rdquo; Shaun told the Tri-City Herald.The league had not featured such a family feud since the 1978-79 season, when the Doug Sauter of the Calgary Wranglers and Mike Sauter of the Lethbridge Broncos matched wits, and lines.The Wranglers won all eight of those games. The Ice and Americans are to meet five times this season.WELCOME BACK Medicine Hat Tigers&rsquo; right winger Joffrey Lupul had three goals - two while shorthanded - and five points in an 8-6 victory over the Kelowna. Rockets.That Oct. 6 game was Lupul&rsquo;s first WHL game returning to the team from Anaheim&rsquo;s training camp. The Mighty Ducks selected him seventh overall in the 2002 NHL draft.Lupul, 19, had a league-high 56 goals last season. &#9632;

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October 26, 2002

Veteran leader Conroy named Flames captain

Respected Zhamnov awarded Hawk ‘C

Knights suffering from Nash’s departure

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