What's with all the goons?

Sporting News, The, Sept 30, 2002 by Tim Wharnsby

Plenty of peculiar sightings dotted the NHL landscape when training camps opened across North America, but most striking was a proliferation of pugilists.

In Calgary, the Flames had a former Ultimate Fighter battling for a spot. Mike Sgroi is a 6-5, 210-pound forward whose pro experience, except for four games with the AHL's Chicago Wolves, has been limited to the East Coast and United leagues.

At the Canucks' camp in Burnaby British Columbia, 6-1,200-pound John Craighead, who was used sparingly in five games by the Maple Leafs fix seasons ago, was trying to crack the lineup after playing the last five seasons in Germany.

Aaron Downey, who trains every summer with a former Navy Golden Gloves champion, was in Breckenridge, Colo., at the Stars' camp. Krzysztof Oliwa, 6-5, 235, was attending the Rangers, camp in Burlington, Vt., and 6-3,205-pound Brantt Myhres, who didn't play anywhere last season, was receiving a look at the Bruins' camp in Boston. The Thrashers had high hopes for 6-2, 220-pound Francis Lessard, who had a whopping 416 penalty minutes with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL in 1999-2000.

Did the teams that invited these guys not receive the league memo about the interference and obstruction crackdown? The enforcement of those rules is supposed to return the game to skilled players. Scoring will go up. Skating is a must. Goons need not apply.

"For the last few years I thought it has become harder and harder to employ players of this type because you now need everybody contributing," says Flyers G.M. Bob Clarke, who should know all about enforcers after playing his entire career with the Broad Street Bullies. Clarke employs muscle in Donald Brashear, but at least Brashear has 57 career goals.

"A smart coach notices when (an enforcer) is out there and immediately puts out his best player," Clarke says of creating a favorable skills matchup. "You want toughness because you don't want your best players to get abused. But it's a fine line in finding an enforcer-type player who can contribute."

Oliwa has that experience and will be an asset in protecting such players as Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure. But Craighead, Myhres, Lessard and Sgroi have yet to prove themselves at the NHL level.

The 6-1, 210-pound Downey, on the other hand, has been welcomed into the Stars' fold. The Stars have been without a true enforcer since 1998-99, when Brent Severyn played 30 games for the team that won the Stanley Cup.

Former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock, now the Flyers' coach, had difficulty finding ice time for enforcers, so he went without them the last three seasons. Mike Modano believes he and the top players on the Stars were knocked around because other teams didn't have to answer to a player such as Downey. Modano expressed that concern to G.M. Doug Armstrong during the summer, so Armstrong brought in Downey.

"It was time to stop turning the other cheek," Armstrong says. "We needed a player who knows that role. I believe that when you have a tough guy like Aaron, the toughness filters down the lineup."

Modano believes the abuse he and his teammates took last season wore down the Stars physically, and as a result they had nothing left for a run at the playoffs.

The Stars made the right move in bringing in Downey, even though he has scored just once in 40 NHL games. Having a similar-style player sure didn't hurt the last free-flowing, offensive-minded team that dominated the league. The Oilers won five Stanley Cups from 1984 through 1990 with such players as Marry McSorley and Dave Semenko. And those two were transformed into decent players practicing every day against Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Co.

The Stars--and the other teams bringing in the heavyweights---hope for the same results.

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SPEED READ

* Smart move by Bruins G.M. Mike O'Connell to have NHL referees and linesmen officiate a training camp scrimmage. The Bruins were the only team to do so. The move gave the players a chance to become accustomed to the obstruction crackdown that has been promised by the league.

INSIDE DISH

The NHL sent a video to each training camp so players could see what will not be allowed in the crackdown on interference and obstruction. "From what I saw, what they win call is not black and white," says one player, who added the players will complain about the calls at first. "They will be judgment calls, and when you have different individuals making judgments, the system is open to criticism." ... All the talk about the Stars putting Jason Arnott on the wing with RW Big Guerin and C Mike Modano is just that. Word out of Dallas is that Ulf Dahlen will be the winger with Modano and Guerin. Modano has been a fan of Dahlen's since the two played together when the Stars were based in Minnesota.... The Canadian Hockey Association asked Wayne Gretzky to run its entry for the 2004 World Cup. Gretzky, who as executive director guided Canada to Olympic gold at Salt Lake City, doesn't want to commit just yet because of the amount of time required to properly run the team.... Now that D Gary Suter has retired, expect Sharks G Evgeni Nabokov, a restricted free agent, to wear No. 20 when he signs. Nabokov's idol while growing up was Russian G Vladislav Tretiak, who wore that number.... Several NHL clubs held part of their training camps at resort towns so incumbent players could get to know newcomers. When camps are held in a franchise's city, veterans live at home, and as a result teammates raise an opportunity to build early-season cohesion .... Flames RW Jarome Iginla used part of his $500,000 signing bonus to buy each teammate an expensive watch to say thank you for helping him become the league scoring champion last season.