UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE
by Ihor Stelmach
Daneyko benefits from NHL'S new policy
The home phone, disconnected two weeks before Kenny Daneyko disappeared, left no forwarding message to hell. Things had to be worse than bad for a guy who played 388 straight games only to submit to substance-abuse treatment in mid-season.
Only a break, a tear, a crane or tear gas has gotten Daneyko out of the New Jersey Devils' line-up over 13 completely dependable years. One of the very best guys in the NHL is also one of the toughest. Daneyko would rather cut off his left arm and keep playing with the right one than make excuses. He must have hit a bottom most of us can't even fathom.
Take it from Paul Holmgren, someone who has been there. It took as much courage as it took honesty and pain for Daneyko to voluntarily join a rehab program.
"The embarrassment has something to do with not wanting to (come forward)," said Holmgren, the Philadelphia Flyers' director of player personnel, who has been dry for three years. "You feel so hopeless, alone, like there's no way out. At that point you need to be able to reach out to someone away from what's going on."
The National Hockey League provides that now. Daneyko knew, no matter what shame or pain he would have to confront in coming forward, there would be no cutoff from his livelihood.
The most important group helped by the 1995 collective bargaining agreement was those previously too frightened to seek treatment. Imagine the pressure on a millionaire knowing how much money he might sacrifice in 28 days at a treatment center. Worse, imagine the dilemma of the minimum-salary player drowning in booze, wondering how he could pay his bills in the short term or even keep his job in the long run if he came forward.
That excuse is gone now. There is no penalty in step 1, the one that Daneyko took, and there are measures of compassion all the way up to and through step 4, which calls for suspension without pay for at least one year while still holding out the possibility of reinstatement.
Holmgren, who was coaching the Hartford Whalers when he got sick and tired of being sick and tired, had to depend on the kindnesses of his bosses, with absolutely no guarantees.
"I didn't know what was going to happen, but Brian Burke and Gary Bettman were beneficial," Holmgren said. "They put me where I needed to be. (Owner) Richard Gordon was tremendous. Now, a player will know for sure that the league and team will do that if they need help."
We don't know how many others still do. Dr. Brian Shaw and Dr. David Lewis, who direct and oversee the NHL-NHLPA joint program, will not, according to the league, speak even generically on substance abuse, let alone comment on the extent of the problem. There is a belief throughout the sport, shared by Holmgren, that alcoholism is on the decline, but they don't take polls in the closet.
"Awareness of players is much better now," Holmgren says. "Players drink less today because players are in better shape, but the odd guy is going to get taken in and swallowed up, just like the odd CEO of a major corporation."
Holmgren has had several persons he played or worked with come to him.
"Basically, I tell them that they're not alone, that there are lots of people in the same boat, and there are ways to get help and get better," he said. "To the best of my knowledge, a good share of them are doing well."
"Something like job stress might speed up the process, but there comes a point where the most important thing in your life is drinking, and it doesn't have anything to do with anything else. So, if Kenny did this in the summer or in mid-season, it doesn't matter.
"When he comes back, he has to find new friends, new things to do with his free time. The easiest thing will be going to practice and playing the games."
The hardest part, Daneyko has probably already accomplished. He has admitted the problem. The NHL has, too, after a long painful, denial that, in its own way, was almost as sick as Doug Harvey, Derek Sanderson and Howie Young became. Now, as long as Kenny Daneyko is on the road to recovery, so is the entire National Hockey League.
A Daneyko update: Devils' owner John McMullen said he was informed that the defenseman was doing well in substance abuse rehab and would be back this season.
Tverdovsky finds temporary home
Oleg Tverdovsky finally found a team this season, but he's still far from ending his contract impasse with the Phoenix Coyotes. In a highly unusual arrangement, Tverdovsky joined the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs, the development team for Phoenix's Western Conference rival Edmonton Oilers.
Tverdovsky, 21, is a Group II free agent and has been unable to reach agreement on a new contract with the Coyotes. But the fourth-year defenseman said he wants to get back on the ice and, since he lives in Toronto, decided Hamilton would be a perfect fit.
"It has been a long time since I played my last game so it's time to play some hockey," said Tverdovsky, the second overall pick in the 1994 entry draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
While it is not unusual for NHL free agents to play for independent teams in the International Hockey League, every AHL team has an NHL affiliation and therefore are considered pseudo partners. But Edmonton GM Glen Sather and Tverdovsky's agent, Don Meehan, worked out details on a 25-game pro tryout contract, and Tverdovsky joined the Bulldogs on November 25.
The Coyotes were then told of the deal by Sather and did actually give their blessing.
"Glen (Sather) was courteous enough to give me a call and say he was doing it, but he didn't ask my permission," said Phoenix GM Bobby Smith. "It's great he's playing. It would be a bad thing for a 21-year old to not play the whole year."
That's what it appeared to be coming to with Phoenix also. Neither side said a deal was even close.
"There's still a difference on what we're willing to pay and what they're willing to accept," Smith said.
There was speculation Sather's signing of Tverdovsky to a minor-league tryout contract was the first step in initiating a trade.
"I've heard they've shown some interest, but I heard Phoenix doesn't want to talk trade," said Tverdovsky, who played in all 82 games the past two seasons. He scored 10 goals and 55 points last year.
Tverdovsky had an assist and an empty-net goal in his AHL debut in a 5-1 Hamilton win over the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. In his first six games (through late December 1997), Tverdovsky has tallied five goals and added three helpers for a total of eight points.
Berehowsky gets chance
The Edmonton Oilers didn't spend much on defenseman Drake Berehowsky. It just cost them a plane ticket to Edmonton and some training camp per diem - but their interest quickly paid off in his mind. And he jumped at the chance to justify their investment, no matter how small.
"I feel great," he said back in training camp. "I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I've worked hard all summer with (Olympic bronze medal) cyclist Curt Harnett, and I think I'm stronger than ever. I think I'm ready to go."
The Toronto Maple Leafs thought so years ago. They drafted him 10th overall in 1990, but the smooth-skating, mobile blueliner could never put it all together. He played just 129 NHL games prior to this season. Injuries and inconsistency have dogged his career, and he has spent his past two seasons in the minors waiting for what very well could be one last shot at the big time.
Coming into training camp he was on the comeback trail. He agreed to come to Oilers' camp as a free agent - along with 75 other players on the list - and the 6-foot-2, 217-pounder brought a most positive attitude. He had no fear that past knee injuries would hinder his chances of passing the Oiler physical or competing in the camp. (He both passed the physical and won the competition by earning a regular berth on the blueline opening night.) But years ago torn anterior cruciate ligaments - the left one first and then the right - helped rip apart his NHL aspirations. In 1995 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but played just five games before being demoted to the minors.
"I've been through some things that not every player goes through," he said. "Hopefully I'm a stronger and better person now. I know what I want. I had it and lost it, and I want to get it back."
After starting the current campaign with the parent Oilers, Berehowsky was reassigned to Hamilton (AHL) to re-focus along with several teammates. Re-focus he did, being recalled by Edmonton after an eight game stint with the Bulldogs. Through 22 games played with Edmonton in 1997-1998, Berehowsky has a goal, three assists and 40 minutes in penalties. He just may have made it back!
Quotes courtesy of Jay Greenberg, Kevin Oklobzija and Dan Barnes; The Hockey News and writers covering the AHL and Edmonton Oilers.
| Wayne Gretzky | N.Y. Rangers | 6,500,000 |
| Keith Tkachuk | Phoenix | 2,800,000 |
| Dave Andreychuk | New Jersey | 2,600,000 |
| Peter Bondra | Washington | 2,125,000 |
| Alexei Zhitnik | Buffalo | 1,500,000 |
| Ken Daneyko | New Jersey | 1,275,865 |
| Ed Olczyk | Pittsburgh | 1,100,000 |
| Kelly Hrudey | San Jose | 1,100,000 |
| Dimitri Khristich | Boston | 1,000,000 |
| Curtis Leschyshyn | Carolina | 900,000 |
| Dave Babych | Vancouver | 900,000 |
| Richard Matvichuk | Dallas | 871,300 |
| Steve Konowalchuk | Washington | 850,000 |
| Joey Kocur | Detroit | 460,000 |
| Dave Nemirovsky | Florida | 385,000 |
| Steve Halko | Carolina | 350,000 |
| Drake Berehowsky | Edmonton | 318,750 |
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 18, 1998, No. 3, Vol. LXVI
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