Prospects like Phillips are well worth the wait

Sporting News, The, Jan 29, 2001 by Larry Wigge

Some people simply exude all the intangibles you are looking for in an athlete--unselfishness, an ability to accept responsibility, strength and confidence in the way they carry themselves. Self-motivation is a part of their everyday lives.

On draft day 1996 in St. Louis, it was obvious that No. 1 overall pick Chris Phillips was special on the ice and off of it.

"He definitely doesn't melt when things get hot," Oilers G.M. Glen Sather said. "He's big and strong, but the key things with him are the intangibles--he's a real character player. And his leadership is evident every time he's on the ice."

Leadership isn't something you can teach. You can talk a lot about it, but few have it. On that June day in 1996 it was obvious Phillips had it.

Draft day is normally about how this player or that has the talent to someday play like some star already in the NHL Perceptions and projections are the story lines. But it became clear from the first glimpse that Phillips was more than the typical top draft choice.

He had a compelling story to tell about how he gained an inner strength at home, where he had to grow up quickly and learn the meaning of responsibility. Phillips didn't have time to be a kid. His mom was partially paralyzed by a virus that affected her spinal cord. His dad was 90 percent blind. Yet Chris and his sister, Jennifer, acted like it was no big deal to give of themselves when their parents needed them.

Responsibilities on the ice are a breeze when your parents am counting on you so much off of it Mom needs help with the housework, so Chris cooks and deans. Dad has to quit his job as a truck driver.

At 16, Phillips could have helped his status by leaving home and going to play in a bigger city, but he elected to stay in Fort McMurray, Alberta, a city 275 miles north of Edmonton with about 35,000 residents. One year before the draft, he moved to nearby Prince Albert to finish his junior hockey training.

After doing countless interviews, Phillips quietly left the Kiel Center, pushing his mother's wheelchair. His father, holding on to one of Chris' belt loops, followed.

You often can paint pictures of how an athlete gives and gives in competition, but you never can get more inside an individual than I did at that moment.

"You never know what can happen," Phillips says today. "It makes you think a little bit about what's really important in life. What happened to my parents isn't something I'd wish on anyone, but I think it helped make me a better person."

In the jaded and tough world of sports, good people don't always succeed. Instead, fans begin asking questions: When is Phillips finally going to perform like the No. 1 overall pick? How come Phillips doesn't use his size to help the Senators? Isn't this Phillips' fourth NHL season? Where's the production?

What you have to remember is that drafting 18-year-old players is far from an exact science, and many of those prized prospects take more patience and develop slowly.

It took four seasons and one Wade before defenseman Chris Pronger, the second overall pick in the 1993 draft, began to look like the best defenseman in the NHL. It took five seasons for Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher, the eighth pick in the 1990 draft, to begin flexing his muscles. And after a pretty good rookie season, it took six seasons and one trade for Jason Arnott, the seventh overall pick (by Edmonton) in '93, to attain star status for the Devils in their run to the Stanley Cup last spring.

In his first three NHL seasons, Phillips seemed clumsy and no longer showed the confidence that made him the No. 1 overall pick. But the wait turned out to be well worth it, considering the way Phillips is playing this season.

His size intimidates opposing forwards, and his character gives teammates the kind of emotional lift the Senators have never had from a defenseman.

"He's dearly been their best defenseman," Flyers winger Mark Recchi says. "He's become a physical presence for them like Scott Stevens is for the Devils."

Clearly, Chris Phillips is something special once again.

TSN's Power Poll

Rk. Team               W-L-T-OL

 1. Colorado           31-8-8-1
 2. St. Louis          31-9-4-1
 3. New Jersey         24-12-9-0
 4. Ottawa             26-13-6-1
 5. San Jose           26-13-7-0
 6. Dallas             27-14-4-1
 7. Detroit            27-14-4-4
 8. Philadelphia       22-15-9-1
 9. Buffalo            24-16-5-1
10. Phoenix            21-13-11-1
11. Vancouver          24-16-4-4
12. Toronto            22-16-7-4
13. Los Angeles        22-17-7-1
14. Pittsburgh         21-18-6-2
15. Carolina           20-17-6-2
16. Edmonton           22-20-6-1
17. Washington         20-18-8-1
18. Boston             18-18-6-5
19. Chicago            20-26-4-2
20. Nashville          18-22-7-2
21. Calgary            15-18-9-4
22. Minnesota          16-21-8-2
23. N.Y. Rangers       19-24-3-1
24. Atlanta            15-22-8-1
25. Montreal           15-25-5-3
26. Anaheim            15-24-6-4
27. Columbus           14-26-4-3
28. Tampa Bay          13-26-5-2
20. N.Y. Islanders     12-28-4-2
30. Florida            9-25-8-6