“Right now, they’re all messed up, my thoughts,” Giroux said. “A lot of things are coming into my head. It’s kind of hard to come back every year to NHL camp and have some goals to accomplish; my goal is to always prove that I can play good in the AHL to come back in the NHL. Last year, with the team we had, the season I had, personally, I don’t think I can do more than that to prove that I can.

“They focused on four games in preseason instead of 106 games last year. So that’s why it’s hard for me to refocus on new goals. But it’s a team sport. We’ve got a great team, great guys in the room.”

Giroux vowed to gain that focus in time for Saturday’s regular-season opener.

“A lot of guys was smiling to see me back here today,” he said. “I was probably the only one who was not smiling. As soon as I step on the ice, this is life, this is my job. So I cannot be disappointed the rest of my life. I get on the ice. I do what I like. I play hockey and I like it. In a couple days I’ll be fine. At the beginning of the season, I’ll be ready to go.”

Bears head coach Mark French applauded Giroux’s practice effort.

“I think he is a professional,” French said. “All I asked is he came out and worked hard in practice, and he did.”

Alexandre Giroux couldn’t have picked a better time to be on the verge of becoming an unrestricted free agent.

While his point totals for the current American Hockey League season are simply staggering, the Hershey Bears forward added to his personal collective of hardware and also came up with the most important piece of jewelry, at least at this level: a Calder Cup ring.

The Hershey Bears capped a Calder Cup championship last night with a 4-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose before a crowd of 15,003 at the MTS Centre.

Just as he was during the regular season when he produced 60 goals and 97 points to lead the AHL in both categories, Giroux followed up a regular season with 15 goals and 28 points in 22 post-season games.

During the championship final, Giroux also came up huge, scoring a hat trick in Game 1 that included the overtime winner.

He also set up the game-winner in Game 4 and finished with six goals and eight points in the championship final.

Giroux finished the post-season on a 13-game point streak and established a new AHL record for most goals in a campaign, including regular season and playoffs, with 75.

“I’m sure somebody is going to do it again,” said Giroux, who turns 29 in August. “When I go on the ice, I don’t think about that. I just try to help the team win. I don’t want to be the guy who just gets goals and can’t play defensively or can’t play physical, especially in playoff-time. I like to get involved in the game.”

The parent Washington Capitals are expected to try to get a deal done before Giroux becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but if they don’t there should be several teams interested in his services.

“I hope so,” said Giroux, originally a seventh round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. “I hope the guys in Washington or another team in the league will see that what I did was a good job and hopefully, I get some calls this summer from teams that are interested in me. Hopefully, that leads me to the NHL.”

Bears head coach Bob Woods expects Giroux will get plenty of calls, if it comes to that.

“We’ve seen a lot of amazing things out of him and he’s scored some pretty goals,” said Woods. “We’ve witnessed first-hand and he’s just a special player. He knows what to do when he’s in a scoring position and he’s stepped up his game.

“In this day and age, where everybody is looking for somebody that can score goals, somebody is going to give him a serious look.”

Before the period was out, AHL MVP Alexandre Giroux intercepted a cross-ice pass by Guillaume Desbiens, went in on a breakaway and made a nifty move to the backhand before sliding the puck past Cory Schneider.

With the goal, Giroux extended his points streak to 13 consecutive games and now has a league-best 15 goals and 28 points in 22 post-season contests.

Alex Giroux has got one heck of a shot, and he showed it off in the second period when he rifled a power-play one-timer (from Keith Aucoin) off of goalie Cory Schneider and into the net to put the Bears ahead, 2-0.

Giroux now has 74 goals in the regular season and playoffs combined, which is an AHL record. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent, but with those numbers, seems to me he’s going to earn a one-way contract from someone next season.

sports.webshots.com

December, 2000

Top Prospects Camp 07/13/2002

Alexandre Giroux- If not for Jason Spezza, Alexandre could have stuck out as the most impressive stickhandler at camp. I have seen him perform quite a bit, and Giroux always looks good enough to deserve high marks. I wish I could have seen just a bit more spunk and aggressiveness from him, but Giroux didn’t look out of place playing along the likes of Vermette, Klepis and Spezza. Something tells me that Giroux will have to be more than simply ‘good’ at training camp. His ability to play the body is a strength, and he’ll have to employ it to the fullest this fall.

2003

Alexandre Giroux

Giroux has been a surprise in camp and preseason thus far, scoring goals and getting in a scrap with the veteran Jamie Pushor. The 22-year-old left wing plays a solid two-way game. Giroux is a former Hull Olympique and had a solid season in Bingo last year with 19 goals, 35 points and more than 100 PIMs. Probability for NHL action: 40%.

spring, 2005

15. (NR) Alexandre Giroux, LW – 23 – Hartford, AHL
Drafted: 7th Round (213th overall) in 1998 (Ottawa), Grade: 6C, Projection: Depth forward

Acquired from Ottawa in the Greg de Vries trade, Giroux has been a bright spot in his first full season as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack. He led the team in goals with 32 and points with 54 and also posted 128 penalty minutes. A speedy skilled player, Giroux has worked hard to improve his play since he was drafted. This season marked another step forward in terms of consistency and defensive play as well.

Although Giroux still requires further development, he could see an NHL call-up when play resumes if he continues to produce the way he has. He has the potential to become a regular forward in the NHL if he can put all the pieces together.

autumn 2005

Alexandre Giroux, who scored 54 points in 78 games with Hartford last season, was the highest scorer among the forwards that are returning to the team. Giroux, a 6’3, 195 lb center, who was acquired in 2004 from Ottawa, will begin his fifth season in the AHL. His scoring production has increased each year he has remained with the club, and the Wolf Pack are expecting him to continue to be an offensive force this year.

may, 2007

Alexandre Giroux, C
6′3, 201 lbs
Jun 16, 1981
Signed as UFA in 2006

Giroux was expected to be a depth forward who could contribute when called upon to do so.  While having a remarkable season in the AHL, the Capitals called on him to fill in, and add some potential offense to their roster.  In his limited time playing reserve forward for Washington, he played very well, leaving the door open for more opportunities at the NHL level in the future.

When the injury bug hit the Capitals in December, Giroux was called up as a replacement.  He made his Capitals debut on Dec.19, and stayed up for two games, in which he did not record a point.  He was reassigned to Hershey on Dec. 26, once Capitals regulars began returning from injury.  He stayed in the AHL until March 2, and after seven games was reassigned to Hershey again despite having 2 goals and 2 assists in those seven games.

Giroux averaged 10:11 minutes of ice time per game, and scored 2 goals and 2 assists in nine games played.  His AHL numbers were much better, finishing second in the AHL in goals, and also second in plus/minus with +29.  In the AHL playoffs, Giroux has 10 points in 12 games.

With the lack of depth in the Capitals lineup, Giroux could be a utility player that the Capitals continue to count on.

October, 2007

Another candidate for the top line is Alexandre Giroux, though as a center, he may be better suited to pivot on the second line.  He had a career-high 42 goals and 70 points in 67 games for the Hershey Bears last year.  Along with a trip to the Calder Cup finals with the Bears, he also played nine games for theWashington Capitals.

He’ll be joined up front by Alexandre Giroux, a retread in the Washington Capitals organization, who is picking up where he left off the last time he was in Hershey.

If Giroux, who also has an AHL-best 18 goals, gets into the lineup tonight in Carolina, it will be his 11th NHL game and first since the 2006-07 season

Touch returns — The very last thing that Hershey forward Alexandre Giroux could afford to forget when he went off to Washington was his scoring touch. But unfortunately for him, it was hardly anywhere to be seen when he was up there last month.
He certainly knows where to find it when he’s in “Chocolatetown” though.

In his six games back with the Bears, the veteran has 10 goals and 4 assists. That follows an 11-game stint with the Caps in which he tallied 1 goal and, by his own count, failed on six breakaways.

“It’s mental. Here (in the AHL), it’s more natural,” Giroux said. “Over there, you are thinking too much. (It’s) better goalies, for sure. I get too excited. You see yourself scoring before you actually do. But Washington knows I can score.”

Pretty much everyone who watches him play can write that on their scouting report. Giroux leads the league with 28 goals and his 11-game goal-scoring streak entering this week was AHL’s longest in almost three years.

“I want to come back, prove them wrong, show I should’ve stayed up there,” Giroux said. “I was not upset (when he was demoted). I was disappointed. You work hard to get the call. Maybe in different circumstances, I would still be there.”

The American Hockey League announced today that left wing Alexandre Giroux of the Hershey Bears has been named the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player for the 2008-09 season, as voted by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 29 cities.

Named a 2008-09 First Team AHL All-Star last week, Giroux has played 66 games this season and scored 57 goals, the sixth-highest total ever in the AHL and the most by a Hershey Bear in the 71-year history of the franchise. In addition to his historic goal output, Giroux has set career highs in assists (37) and points (94), tying him with teammate Keith Aucoin for the overall AHL scoring lead heading into the final weekend of the regular season. He is also tied for the league lead with 21 power-play goals and sits one off the league lead with eight game-winning goals, and he ranks fifth among AHL forwards with his plus-24 rating.

Giroux broke one of the AHL’s most impressive records by scoring a goal in 15 consecutive games, bettering the league mark of 14 previously held by future Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull. Giroux scored 22 goals in those 15 games, a streak that was interrupted by five separate NHL recalls by the parent Washington Capitals. It was also part of a run in which Giroux tallied a point in 23 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the AHL this season. Giroux, who was voted to the starting lineup for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, has had 12 multiple-goal games this year, including a four-goal effort on Jan. 4 at Worcester.

A native of Quebec City, Giroux has recorded 255 goals and 211 assists for 466 points in 564 career AHL games entering the weekend. His one goal and one assist in 12 games with Washington this season give him six points (3g, 3a) in 22 career NHL contests.

Giroux needed less than 24 hours to record nine points after being reassigned to Hershey by the Capitals on Saturday afternoon. That night in Hartford, the former Wolf Pack forward burned his former club for a goal and three assists to help the Bears to a 6-2 victory. Then on Sunday afternoon, Giroux tied an AHL season high with four goals and added an assist as Hershey wrapped up its weekend road swing with a 7-2 win at Worcester.

Alexandre Giroux made an important decision late last season that, in the short term, cost him a championship ring.

The high-scoring winger from Quebec City was on one of the best teams in the American Hockey League and averaging nearly a point per game, but things weren’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped.

The Chicago Wolves had too many veterans and Giroux was occasionally a healthy scratch, so he asked for a trade back to the Hershey Bears, where he had 42 goals and 70 points in 67 games and also had a chance to play nine NHL games with the Washington Capitals.

Giroux missed out on a Calder Cup, but got his career back on track and put the fun back in his game. After scoring three goals in Game 1 against the Manitoba Moose, Giroux is three wins away from capturing a championship.

“It was a good team in Chicago and it was a big decision for me to ask for a trade to come back to Hershey,” said Giroux, a seventh round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. “When you got back to an organization that believes in you, then you play a little bit better. So far, so good.”

Winning a title would be the perfect way to end the season for Giroux, who was named AHL MVP in April after a 60-goal, 97-point campaign.

“He’s a dangerous player,” said Moose head coach Scott Arniel. “He doesn’t need much space. He has a great shot and he’s got great accuracy. He gets it off quick. If you give him a couple of opportunities, he’s going to bury them. You have to know where he is all the time.”

With his game-winner Saturday, Giroux now has the most overtime goals in AHL history with four.

The other three OT winners came against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, including two in 2007 and another last spring.

“He’s a big-game guy and that’s why he’s in the situation that he’s in,” said Bears head coach Bob Woods. “You look for those type of things, for your big players to step up and score big goals and that was definitely the case.

“We’ve seen a lot of amazing things from him all year. He had a 15-game goal streak (to break Brett Hull’s 22-year-old AHL record of 14), he scored 60 goals and this was just another step for him.”

Alexandre Giroux set many records as a member of the Hershey Bears during the 2008-09 season. The biggest one for him was breaking Brett Hull’s 22-year old record for goals in consecutive game. He also set a BEARS franchise record by score 60 goals during the season, break Tony Cassolato’s record of 53 set during the 1982-83 season.

Giroux enjoyed a career year in the chocolate and white. He set career highs for goals (60), assist (37) and points (97). In addition to his record breaking season in HERSHEY, Giroux also scored his first NHL goal in two years with the Washington Capitals.

Chris Rahn: When did you realize you could break Brett Hull’s record?
Alexandre Giroux: When I came back (from Washington). Guys started mentioning it around game 9, 10 and 11. I scored in game 12 and Woody said ‘good job keeping this thing going’ and I was like oh yeah that’s right. After that I was just looking to tie the record, and when I got close I thought it would be cool to break it.

Chris Rahn: During the game when you set the record, did you begin to wonder as the game went on if you were going to break the record?
Alexandre Giroux: Not in the first. I didn’t try to think about it. I remember that game; I had quite a few shots, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t. I was hoping it wasn’t one of these games. Between the second and third, I looked at the clock and was alright I got 20 minutes to do it.

Chris Rahn: What was your feeling after you set the record?
Alexandre Giroux: I didn’t know what was going on. I came back to the bench and all the guys, and I saw Doug come and I realized it was something special. We had champagne in the room afterwards.

Chris Rahn: Statistically you had your best season. How would you rate your season?
Alexandre Giroux: I think its all team. The team’s been in first position all year, so that helps. If we were a last place team in the league, I don’t think I could do as good as I did. Playing with Keith Aucoin and Graham Mink obviously helps. I mean, I think we have lots of good players here, but Keith is good with the puck, and Graham and I are more like pinchers, so the combination of our two helped a lot.

Chris Rahn: You’ve played for several different AHL teams, where does Hershey rank among your favorites?
Alexandre Giroux: It’s got to be here for sure. I like everywhere I played to be honest, but two years ago when we went to the finals, that was something special and we always always talk about it. You can tell now, they’re all in Washington and do well. I came back here last year and that was a fun group; even though we went out in the first round of the playoffs.

Chris Rahn: What’s in been like playing on a line with Aucoin and Mink, arguably the best line in the AHL?
Alexandre Giroux: I think we are when we play our best. There are so many good players in this league and every team always has their number one line and their always just as good. With Keith, he’s played about 40 games in the NHL, and with Graham Mink, he’s been around a while. The combinations of the three of us do a good job of covering all the activity on the ice.

Chris Rahn: How much did it play on your mind as you closed in on HERSHEY’S single season goal record?
Alexandre Giroux: I’m not going to lie, I thought about it for sure. I got 50 and I think that was amazing, I was really proud of that.

Chris Rahn: Which record means more? Consecutive games with a goal or HERSHEY’S single season goals record.
Alexandre Giroux: To be honest, I think the 15 in a row. I think that’s a hard thing to do. I think that was something special to do, score one goal a game, but I think that record’s pretty special.

Chris Rahn: How do you normally spend the offseason?
Alexandre Giroux: Usually I take a trip somewhere and try to relax. I have a friend in Switzerland, and I’ve been there six times over the past couple of years. After that, I want to go back home and take two weeks off. I train every day with a couple of guys back home, we actually skate 2-3 days each week. I love fishing; going fishing with my family and friends. I have a tennis membership and I go there during the week. Summer goes by just like that.

Take Al Iafrate: The Capitals had him pose on a motorbike; he has that booming slapshot that won the skills competion; and then his comment about open net goals.

A tough hardass who takes no prisoners.

JEFF JACKSON: Al Iafrate was nuts about music.  From the second he showed up, you could tell

that he was a different dude.  Russ Courtnall, Al and I lived together in the Westbury Hotel.

Before going to the game, we’d meet in one of our rooms and Al would play this tape really loud

on his ghetto blaster – Morris Day and the Time – and we’d walk over to the Gardens.  Al was

always quite paranoid about losing his hair.  He’d come into the dressing room, sit down, take off

his ball cap and immediately throw on his helmet.  Then he’d get dressed with his helmet on.

Other days, he’d actually wear his helmet in the shower.  No one even paid attention cause it was

just Al.

http://www.rheostatics.ca/pdf/hoser’s_promenade.pdf

JOHN BROPHY: Al was so self-conscious about his baldness that when he took off his helmet

for the anthem, he bent down and hid behind Alan Bester, who was a few feet shorter than him.

Another time, he jumped up along the boards in a sitting position after getting checked and ran

into the spot where the boards met the glass.  He fell to the ice hard and his helmet flew off.  He

was hurt, but he had enough energy left to reach out and put the helmet back on his head before

he died.

“I’d walk into the Leafs dressing room to get ready for the day and Harold (Ballard, the owner) would be there in his boxer shorts shaving. King Clancy would drop by a little later, play the fool, and then head off to the racetrack.”

“If you’re asking me how I played the game, I liked hitting people,” he said. “I liked hurting people. No question about that. And anybody I was near on the ice, I tried to hurt. Of course, I ended up getting hurt myself, but I tried to hurt everybody I was near.”

When the Leafs would fall behind or take a period off, a fuming Brophy might enter the dressing room between periods and fling his expensive wristwatch to the floor. Then he would take off his custom suit jacket.

“He would tear the jacket in half and have it down on the ground with his foot,” said Jeff Jackson, who played in St. Catherines and followed Brophy to Toronto. Today Jackson is the Leafs’ director of hockey administration. “It was deadly quiet, and no one dared crack a smile.

Al Iafrate would come off the ice and if a water bottle was the first thing he would grab, a cigarette was often the second.

Fairly or not, some thought it a symptom of the somewhat confused state of mind attached to the very talented body of a defenseman who became a Washington Capital in January. Yesterday there were more questions about his state of mind after the team announced Iafrate was “emotionally exhausted” and would not play in tonight’s first game of the Patrick Division semifinal series against the New York Rangers.

General Manager David Poile said, “To answer the obvious question, it has nothing to do with alcohol or drugs.”

When Gary Leeman, (who was a Leaf at the time) started going out with the former Mrs. Melissa Iafrate (who’s ex-husband Al Iafrate was a Leaf and a friend of John’s) it caused sparks to fly between Kordic and Leeman.

Gil Perrault would make the opposition look like pylons.Al Iafrate used to call himself “The Human Highlite Reel” I wonder if he’s seen this video?

Leafs defenseman Al Iafrate is not with the club. He has returned home to Livonia, Mich., to sort out personal problems.

Jan 30, 1989

After a narrow victory in 1994, Boston Bruins defenseman Al Iafrate was asked why, in the closing moments of the game, he had fired the puck around the boards rather than into the empty net. His reply? “Empty-net goals are for faggots.”

Chara will conduct a shootout with five impressive challengers,
including Edmonton defenseman Sheldon Souray, who earlier this month staked
his unofficial claim to the title of NHL’s hardest shooter by firing a slap
shot that was clocked at 106.7 mph at the Oilers’ SuperSkills competition.
Chara, Souray, Montreal’s Mike Komisarek, Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier,
Nashville’s Shea Weber and the New York Islanders’ Mark Streit will be
gunning for Al Iafrate’s official NHL All-Star SuperSkills record 105.2 mph
shot set during the 1993 All-Star Weekend in Montreal.

between 1984 and 1999. He is perhaps most famous for his rocket slap shot that set the NHL Skills Competition record at 105.2 miles per hour (169.3 km/h). He was given the nickname “the Planet” by Boston Globe sportswriter Kevin Dupont for his “all world” talent.

Iafrate was selected 4th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft after a standout career with the Detroit Compuware Spitfires and a short but distinguished stay with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. During his time with the Spitfires, Iafrate was a teammate of fellow Detroit-area natives and future NHLers Kevin Hatcher and Shawn Chambers. Hatcher and Iafrate would later team to quarterback theWashington Capitals power play in the early 1990s.

He played 799 career NHL games, scoring 152 goals and 311 assists for 463 points. He also compiled 1301 penalty minutes. His best season statistically was the 1992–93 season, when he scored 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points with the Washington Capitals. That year the Capitals set a record for most goals by defensemen on a team in one season.

Iafrate dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, sciatic nerve damage in his back, and a ruptured appendix. These injuries ultimately led to his retirement at age 32. Iafrate attempted comebacks during the 1998-99 and 2001-02 seasons, although these comebacks ended during training camp.

Iafrate played for Team USA in the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

During his career, Iafrate also played for the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks.

AL IAFRATE

courtesy of capitals.nhl.com

Q: But, didn’t they promote this image in Washington with you riding a Harley?

A: They had me on a poster.  It didn’t bother me.  I think in hockey if you speak your mind and you like things that are considered wild or whatever, then they assume you must be a wacko and a party animal or whatever.

Q: What advice would you give a rookie today?

A: My advice would be because of what I’ve gone through, never get too worked up by things when they’re going bad and never get too high on your horse when things are going good.  Mentally try and stay neutral.  Physically you try and stay on the top all the time, but when things are going really bad or good you can’t really get too caught up in it. Be strong and try and counteract the mental part of it by physically being on your game.

Q:  How about a hardnose like John Brophy?  Was he really hard on you because you were an individual?

A: A lot of the things I achieved are because of the coaches I had.  Dan Maloney, Doug Carpenter, Terry Murray, Al Sims.  These guys gave me a chance when I hadn’t played in a year and a half…you know to make the team and show what I can still do. Which has helped my career in a certain way…You know everything you go through in your life, that’s the character that you get formed into in the end.  I think the power of your mind to rationalize is unbelievable.  You can turn something bad into something good if you want.

Q: Are you a guy who likes to walk the line?

A: Unfortunately, because my whole game has been my skating and my speed, I’ve had devestating knee injuries. I’ve had six knee operations and four of them have been majors.  When things like that happen you realize you only get 10 or 15 years and 10 is past the norm. And I’m coming up on 15 and I feel that I’m the luckiest guy in the world.  In that you’re only going to get this one chance.  And if I’m going to be a little bit sore for the rest of my life for coming back it’s no big deal because people who’ve never played a sport all their lives end up having knee replacements and stuff like that.  Some people get the BF Goodrich and other people get the Parelli tires (Laughs). When you try to go 100 with the BF Goodriches they’re going to wear out when you go a little faster.

http://sharkspage.com/2007_08_01_archive_history.html

“It was a nightmare, and he never relented the whole time I was there, but in retrospect it was the best thing for me. When I left, I knew no matter what any coach ever did or said to me, it would be child’s play in comparison. It made me much tougher.”

David M. Singer from The Ice Block wrote: March, 2005

While Gaetz has been suspended quite a few times throughout his career I thought this time was certainly special: Last Sunday Thetford Mines had a game against the Verdun Dragons.  Gaetz didn’t have a shift all game and in between the second and third periods he was seen, without his jersey and without skates on, at a concession stand where he ordered a cheeseburger and promptly ate it.  He returned to the bench for the third period.

Thetford Mines said they suspended Gaetz out of respect to the other players on the team, the organization and the league, and that they’ve put too much energy into giving good credibility to the organization and the league to let this incident go without disciplinary action.

Gaetz had 0 goals, 2 assists and 117 PIM in 22 games with Thetford Mines this season.

Chuqui at Two for Elbowing wrote

Gaetz (mentioned the other day) was well on his way past his ability to play hockey at a high level, he only suited up for three games. His fight with alcohol in his life is well-known, unfortunately, alcohol kept winning. When he was with the Sharks, he as almost a prototype of the kind of player you now see in the league with Brashear or Laraque — big, bruising, tough and could actually play some pretty decent hockey. When the knuckles weren’t swollen and bleeding, he had pretty decent hands, and could have had a pretty good career. Unfortunately, off-ice he was pretty much a basket case, and when he had the car accident, that pretty much defined his life and ended any serious NHL career change; it happened around 10AM when the car he was in exited the freeway at way too high a speed and lost control. Gaetz was ejected (no seatbelt) and tried to pulp his brain on the asphalt — and almost succeeded. The accident was alcohol-related (yes, that early in the morning), but the alcohol may also have helped Gaetz survive by keeping him limp during the ejection and landing. He was passenger, not driver, by the way. There were questions at the time, given the severity of the brain damage, whether he’d walk again. He did, but his skating was never the same; by the time he was with the Spiders, he simply didn’t have the mobility any more, he was basically a “stand up and swing” type of guy like Dave Brown.

I normally don’t link to fight videos but this one *is* the Linkster; a classic bout between him and Probert at the Cow Palace

The stories about Link in San Jose are legion — no other player was such a fan favorite in the early days, or so legendary, and while much of what you hear through the fan grapevine on most players is bullshit, with the Linkster, you could see it happening. It’s not unusual for some players to get a rep for howling at the moon a bit, but Link had the reputation for climbing trees to try to beat the moon up because it was staring at him… The only other player with the Sharks that had that kind of “did you hear what he did this time?” rep among the fan rumor mill was Brent Myhres…

Linkster only played 3 games for the Spiders — and had 38 PIM. That pretty much sums it up

http://www.geocities.com/linkgaetz23/intro.htm

As of September 2008, Gaetz was working as a labourer in Alberta’s booming construction industry,

Forward Dirk Graham spent parts of a dozen NHL seasons with the Minnesota North Stars and Chicago Black Hawks in the 80s and 90s.

Graham played the finest hockey of his career in Chicago. He scored at least 20 goals four times, helped the team reach the Stanley Cup final in 1992 and served as the team’s captain from 1989 to 1995. In 1991 Graham’s stellar work without the puck earned him the Frank J. Selke trophy. Graham retired after the Lockout-shortened season in 1995.

NHL AWARDS AND HONORS

Selke Trophy: 1990-91 (Chicago)
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 1992 (Chicago)
Chicago Captain: Jan. 21, 1989, until Aug. 7, 1995
NHL Records: Most goals in one period of a Stanley Cup Finals game (3 in first period vs. Pittsburgh on June 1, 1992, shares record), fastest three goals in one period of a Stanley Cup Finals game (3 in 9:57 in first period vs. Pittsburgh on June 1, 1992)
Chicago Records: Most shorthanded goals in one season (10 in 1988-89)

Scored hat trick for Chicago in Game 4 of 1992 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Pittsburgh on June 1, 1992. Chicago, however, lost the game and the series. …

Named by coach Mike Keenan as Chicago interim captain, and later full-time captain, while Denis Savard was out with an injury in January 1989.

“Dirk Graham was one of the best captains [of any team] I was ever a part of…” said Mike Peluso, “one of the greatest captains of all time in my opinion and the people who really knew Dirk and played for him would probably same thing, one of things Dirk said was that logo – the Blackhawk crest you had on your jersey – was all about going to war and we all bought into it. Every day I looked at that crest, that was something I wanted to do. When you put on a Blackhawk jersey, you’re going to battle. That was the type of team we had. We would be up by a lot of goals and we still wanted to run the other team out of our building.”

That Blackhawk team was one of the toughest, in terms of overall toughness, ever assembled, in my opinion, and we were like brothers. We did a lot of meetings together and we hung out together all of the time, and it was all under the direction of Mike Keenan and Dirk Graham. I’ll never forget those days we played in the old Chicago Stadium.”

He spent four years in the minors and was a dominant scorer with the IHL’s Toledo Goaldiggers. In 1981 he scored 40 goals and was named to the league’s second all-star team then notched 70 goals in 1983 and was placed on the first team.

WHL All-Star Second Team:

Dallas (CHL); Fort Wayne, Toledo (IHL); Salt Lake (CHL); Springfield (AHL)
IHL Turner Cup: 1982, 1983 (Toledo)
CHL All-Star First Team: 1983-84 (Salt Lake)
IHL All-Star First Team: 1982-83 (Toledo)
IHL All-Star Second Team: 1980-81 (Fort Wayne-Toledo)
IHL Playoffs Points Leader: 1982 (Tol.) (21), 1983 (Tol.) (20, tie)
1981-82, 1982-83: Played on IHL regular-season champion (Toledo)

Graham played out his contract with Vancouver after the 1980-81 season and remained in the IHL, opting not to re-sign with the Canucks. After two years, he became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Minnesota on August 17, 1983.

The North Stars gradually worked him into the line up and oversaw his development in the CHL and AHL for two years before he won a job in 1985-86.

Along the way he was named to the CHL first all-star team after scoring 94 points for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in 1983-84. Graham recorded consecutive 20-goal seasons in Minny. Early in the 1987-88 season the hard working forward was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks for hard-nosed forward Curt Fraser.

Miscellaneous: Set Minnesota/Dallas record (since broken) for shots in one playoff game with 10 during Minnesota’s 1986 first-round playoff series vs. St. Louis. …

Missed part of 1986-87 season with bruised ribs. … Missed part of 1987-88 season with sprained wrist, an injury suffered in November 1987. …

Lost a bid for unrestricted free agency in 1988 when he claimed that Chicago had failed to give him a written offer for a new contract by the Aug. 10, 1988, deadline. However, the NHL ruled on Aug. 22, 1988, that Chicago had made a verbal offer, which was sufficient to prevent Graham from unrestricted free agency. … Was represented by Boston-based agent Bob Murray during his playing days. …

Fined $500 by NHL for role in fight during pre-game skate before Chicago’s Dec. 28, 1989, game vs. Minnesota. The fine was announced on Jan. 6, 1990. …

Missed remainder of 1989-90 regular season and start of 1990 playoffs with cracked left kneecap, an injury suffered during Chicago’s March 17, 1990, game at Montreal. The injury required postseason surgery in May 1990. …

Chicago’s nominee for 1990-91 Masterton Trophy. …

Missed part of 1993-94 season with separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Chicago’s Feb. 18, 1994, game at Winnipeg. … Missed part of 1995 season with sprained left knee, an injury suffered during Chicago’s Feb. 19, 1995, game vs. Edmonton. … Ws Chicago captain for seven seasons, the second-longest stint of any player behind Pierre Pilote.

Bob McGill said: “most underrated fighter: without hesitation, dirk graham. tough as nails and a great fighter when he had to.

http://www.hockey-fights.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/169671/

courtesy of eliteprospects.com

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=7084&lang=en

http://stats.swehockey.se/

http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=2

courtesy of robdumoart.com

The player that I remember the most – besides Gretz – was Teppo Numminen who played against Vancouver first as a Jet and later as a Coyote.

He finished his career as a Buffalo Sabre, but thank goodness for the Canucks he was playing in the Eastern conference.

“Teppo Numminen did more than go into a “zone” before games to gain focus. He entered a “zombie zone.” Others joked; he remained stone-faced.

Numminen, who recently retired from the Buffalo Sabres, played 15 of his 20 seasons with the Jets-Coyotes franchise, setting records for seasons played and games played (1,098).

On game nights, he did whatever it took to focus. An insider at many of those pre-game rituals said the Finn went into a “zombie-like state.” Numminen said he had to approach things that way.

“I was kind of a dreamer,” he said. “I think a lot, so I had to really work on my concentration to be focused for 60 minutes and just clear my mind of all the other thoughts and things.

“From the start, it was really difficult for me to get there. As I got older and played more, I’d find ways to get to that zone. It’s tough for me to concentrate, so I had to work extra hard to get to that zone. If I didn’t get there, I was terrible. That was a big part of my game.”

He played only the final game of the 2007-08 season with the Sabres after open-heart surgery, but the defenseman bounced back last year to play in 57 games, averaging 17:30 of ice time.

Numminen, 41, said he felt it was the right time to retire.

“With the stuff (surgery) I had, I was able to come back and play regular in the NHL again, so it was another dream come true.”

He brought a lot to the table, and it was due to his preparation.

“I think my plan was a year at a game from the beginning,” he said. “Don’t look ahead, don’t look back. I took a month off then trained again in the summer time.

“I really worked hard, didn’t want to risk my season. I guess it starts from there, and when you come to camp you start putting the pieces together. It was a challenge.”

The biggest contribution he made?

“I think it was my style of play,” he said. “I could play defense. I could create some offense, and I think I was kind of an all-around player. I could be put in any kind of situation, whatever the team needed.”

Numminen said he loved his tenure with the Jets-Coyotes franchise.

“It (Winnipeg) was a great place to start a career, and then moved to Phoenix, where I enjoyed myself in the Valley,” he said. “I felt very comfortable with both squads.”

*****

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Dave Lewis has played with – and coached – some of the best players in NHL history.
Dave played with the Islanders from 1973-74 until 1979-80, when he was traded to the Kings. He played in L.A. from 1979-80 until 1982-83, then to New Jersey for three years, and finally a season and a bit in Detroit, before retiring during the 1987-88 season.
Dave was an assistant coach in Detroit for 15 seasons, under three coaches, and had his name engraved on the Cup twice as an assistant. He succeeded Scotty Bowman in 2002, a month after Bowman had won a record-ninth Stanley Cup. Lewis had 48-victory seasons in 2002-03 and 2003-04, but his contract wasn’t renewed when his teams didn’t advance beyond the second round. Lewis coached the Bruins during the 2006-07 season, and was fired when Boston didn’t reach the post-season. And last season, he was named an assistant by Marc Crawford, but when Crawford left, so did Dave.

Dave Lewis has thus been in the NHL for well over three and a half decades, and has coached and played with some of the best players in the game’s history.
A few years back I talked to him about some of these stars.

The following is an excerpt from an article which I wrote, and was published by Vancouver’s Sports Vue magazine:

MARCEL DIONNE

On bottom-feeding teams, Marcel Dionne still accumulated a remarkable 1771 points in 1348 games. He played in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York from 1971 to 1989. He won the Art Ross Trophy once and was the runner up three times.

“The first thing,” Lewis says, “Marcel was very exciting. He was quick, skilled, and very dangerous in the offensive zone. Marcel wasn’t a big guy but he had very outstanding lateral movement. He could beat a defenseman or two just going laterally. And I think Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor really complimented Marcel in his offensive production. Charlie Simmer was just a natural goal scorer from 10 or 12 feet in. It seemed any time he had the puck close to the goalie he could find a way to get it in. Dave Taylor on the other hand was the ultimate worker. He was the guy to go in and forecheck, hit players, digging pucks out for Marcel. But, Marcel had great vision. All these players have a tremendous vision of the ice.”

MIKE BOSSY

Mike Bossy entered the league a half a decade after Dionne. He played from 1977-78 to 1986-87. His career was hampered by a back injury, but he tallied 1126 points in 752 games. Bossy won four Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Islanders.

”My analogy of him,” Lewis explains, “is a shark just waiting to feed on other teams’ goaltenders. Very dangerous. Outstanding shot. He always knew where the goal was from the marks on the ice. He knew if the goalie was a standup goalie or a flopping goalie and would shoot accordingly. He never missed the net. He didn’t have the lateral movement like Marcel. He’d put the puck through you and slip by you. He was a very slippery-type player. Marcel used the ice more, but Mike would patrol down the right side and rarely get on the other side of the rink.”

BRYAN TROTTIER

Bryan Trottier was Bossy’s linemate. He played from 1975-76 to 1993-94 and accumulated 1410 points in 1238 games. He won the Art Ross Trophy once and was the runnerup a second year. Like Bossy, Trottier won both the Calder and Conn Smythe Trophies. Because of his aggressive play, Trottier never won the Lady Byng like Dionne and Bossy. But, he was the runnerup for the Frank J. Selke Trophy. And as Dionne had been nominated for the Hart Trophy (for the value to his team), Trottier won the award once and was a runner-up twice.

”Bryan was more of a bulldog type,” Lewis continues, “where he’d go right through you. He’d challenge you physically. He would go to the net and defy you to move him. He would get into traffic and make plays. He’d draw two players to him and feed Bossy. That was more his style. He was more a strong, bull-headed player who would challenge the other team to stop him.

“Try ‘n stop me!” was his attitude.

As Trottier and Bossy were Calder winners, Stevie Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov were runners-up. Yzerman entered the NHL in 1983-84 and accumulated 1755 points in 1514 games before retiring after the 2005-06 campaign. Fedorov joined Detroit in 1990-91, has played on three other teams to date, and had 1146 points in 1196 games by  last April.

STEVE YZERMAN

According to Lewis, Yzerman is ”kind of a cross between Marcel and Brian. Stevie is highly-skilled. Has tremendous vision of the ice. And he also has that determination. But, he has that ability to beat you one-on-one. He doesn’t go through you as much as around you like a Bossy. But, he also challenges you.

He says, ‘Try and stop me!’

That’s been his strength. His skating is something when he’s going. He’s just dancing on the ice. He has Marcel’s lateral movement. He can beat you one-on-one. The puck finds a way to go in for him.”

SERGEI FEDOROV

Like Trottier, Fedorov has been rewarded for both his defense and offense. He has been a runner-up for the Art Ross Trophy and has won, and been the runner-up for, the Frank J. Selke Trophy. And like Dionne, he has won the Lester B. Pearson Award.

“Federov is a tremendously skilled skater, a power skater,” Lewis concludes. “And tremendous hands. He can go through you. He can go around you. He can beat you one-on-one. He can take the puck from behind your net to the other end. He’s one of the few guys who can do it now, in today’s game with such great skaters as there are. He’s one of the best skaters is the league.”

THE BEST?

So, who’s the best of these legends? Lewis won’t say.

He just smiles that, “They’re all great players and all of them will be in the Hall of Fame.”

But, he’ll admit who was the best he played against.

“I remember playing against Bobby Orr,” he grins, “and I was on the left side and he went around me like I was standing still.”

]]> http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/12/11/dave-lewis-remembers/feed/ 0 http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/11/25/mario-bliznak-the-next-ryan-johnson/ http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/11/25/mario-bliznak-the-next-ryan-johnson/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:23:02 +0000 Ron http://crashingthegoalie.com/?p=13658 Mike Gillis has his Jordan Schroeders and Michael Grabners in the system, but he also has some future 3rd and 4th liners.

One of them is former Giant Mario Bliznak.

“Bliz is Bliz and that’s a compliment — he gives you the same thing all the time,” said Scott Arniel. “We saw what he could do last year and he’s continued on. He’s taken on more of a role, he’s up there in ice time for forwards and he’s gotten a lot better with face-offs.”

cont.

*****

photo courtesy of cdn.nhl.com

Third on Vancouver’s depth chart, he stopped 45 of 47 Stars’ shots.

Hoping to follow in Schneider’s footsteps is Merrimack College’s Joe Cannata, drafted by Mike Gillis last June, in the 6th round – 173rd overall.

courtesy of merrimackathletics.com

Merrimack had been a collegiate doormat, but with their improved goaltending, they’re doing well this season.

Alternating Goaltenders Successful
Through the first six games, goaltenders Joe Cannata and Andrew Braithwaite have alternated games, with each goaltender posting a 2-1 record and both recording save percentage over a .915. Merrimack ranks fourth in Hockey East in goals allowed.

Goaltending Solid in Opening Weekend
Arguably the best 1-2 combination in college hockey, Joe Cannata and Andrew Braithwaite both had solid starts to the season in North Dakota. On Friday, Cannata stopped 35 shots, keeping the Warriors in the game in the third, stopping 15 shots, including an incredible, sprawling save, getting a piece of the puck with the blade of his stick off a Brett Hextall shot midway through the third. Braithwaite recorded 32 saves, including 28 in the final two periods, in the second game in North Dakota.

Cannata in the Record Books
Joe Cannata saw his shutout streak end at 101:09 to start last season when he gave up a third-period goal at Canisius on October 26, 2008. Cannata stopped the first 55 shots he faced, setting a Merrimack record, and turned aside 66 of his first 67 shots. He was the first goaltender in school history to register a shutout in his first start. His 2.35 goals-against-average as a freshman is the second-best in school history for a single season.

link

courtesy of thehockeywriters.com

Schroeder was picked by the WCHA coaches and media to be the conference’s Player of the Year or, in one poll, the co-Player of the Year with St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch.

“I am not worried about that [goals] as long as he is picking up points,” Lucia said. ”The [Alaska Anchorage] goalie made a great save on the one. That line is starting to get some chances and scored two goals. That’s the important thing for me.:

Mike Hoeffel and Jay Barriball, Schroeder’s linemates, each had one goal. Schroeder had two assists Sunday for the second day in a row as the Gophers won 4-1 over the Seawolves.

“Jordan is a great assist guy, too, and those guys have to finish those plays when he sets them up,” Lucia said.

Schroeder had only 13 goals last season but 32 assists for 45 points. This past weekend he had six shots on goal against the Seawolves in the two games and was a plus-four.”

Roman Augustoviz previously wrote  on  October 29th.

“Gophers coach Don Lucia said this week that sophomore center Jordan Schroeder played much better against Denver University than he did the first weekend of the season at North Dakota. Lucia said he is not concerned Schroeder has no points in four games.

“You can’t do it by yourself,” Lucia said. “You have to do it as a linemate. …. In one of [the DU] games he had six scoring chances. He is starting to get the scoring chances and he is too good of a player not to have some of those start to go in.”

“You can’t focus on individual scorig, getting points yourself,” Schroeder said. “It’s about the team and right now we have been shut out three of the four games. So no one is scoring points which is unusual.

“We just got to bear down when we get our chances and hit the net.

“Our line, maybe me in particular, might be a target out there because of the success that I’ve had. You just got to battle through it. You got to keep moving your feet and playing hard and hopefully it will turn around.”