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April 6, 2004
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.
Ornery Picard fan-favorite Blue
Noel Picard was a stay-at-home blueliner who’d knock ’em down in front of the net and stand ’em up at the blueline. Occasionally he’d also drop the gloves if an opponent’s behavior called for a bare-knuckled response. “(Fighting) happened.” Picard said. “I didn’t go looking for trouble, but when it was there I didn’t run away.” Picard began playing hockey as a kid on parish teams in his native Montreal. He was invited to the Canadiens training camp in 1963, but figured he was there only to be an k extra body for a few workouts. Except no one told him to stop showing up. “1 started training camp I and it went well,” he said. I “After the last game (coach) Scotty Bowman told me I had to see (GM) Sam…
Pock scores in first game after starting day at school
Student by day. NHL goal-scorer by night. It’s the stuff of Broadway. It’s the stuff of the 2003-04 Rangers. That’s exactly the scenario that unfolded March 23 for 22-year-old Thomas Pock. He was hanging out with classmates at his UMass off-campus apartment in Amherst, N.Y., only to’tie informed by his agent Paul Theofanous he’d not only been signed as a free agent by the Blueshirts, but had to get to Madison Square Garden as quickly as possible because he’d be playing that night against Pittsburgh. In the third period of the game against the Penguins, Pock snapped a 50-foot wrist shot past goalie J-S Aubin in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss. “When I was driving down with my roommate,” Pock said, “I was joking and I told him I was going to score in the…
Chouinard finds Wild home great spot for development
Forgive Marc Chouinard for wondering how much better his first year in Minnesota would have been had he not missed 36 games mending a sprained thumb, a broken jaw and recovering from a viral infection that stripped 20 pounds off his bones. Chouinard was on pace to finish with 17 goals and 30 points and has proved to be more than just a checking center with face-off skills. The versatile free-agent acquisition has shown a timeh touch around the net while playing almost 16 minutes per game, almost double what he received during the past two seasons spent languishing on Anaheim’s fourth line. He appreciates the opportunity. “It’s great that they’ve given me a certain amount of responsibility and a chance to contribute,” said Chouinard, whose $600,000 option the Wild likely will pick…
Smith’s winner touch of poetry for Crimson
In Walt Whitman’s poem, ’O Captain, My Captain,’ the captain can’t hear the bugles trill because he’s dead. In the ECAC version of O Captain, My Captain,’ Harvard captain Kenny Smith heard the cheers loud and clear. Smith, the anchor of the Crimson’s defense, scored the winner with 38 seconds left to give Harvard a 4-2 win over Clarkson in the ECAC championship game. How ironic that Smith, selected 84th overall by Edmonton in 2001, would score his first collegiate game-winner with so much on the line. The goal, just the fourth of Smith’s career, gave Harvard its second ECAC title in three years and an automatic NCAA tournament bid. “Kenny getting that goal was very fitting,” said Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni. Both Harvard as a whole and Smith individually battled with inconsistency during the…
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