UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (05/25/03)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

Hawerchuk recalls first All-Star selection

Dale Hawerchuk arrived with the Winnipeg Jets in September of 1981 after being the first overall choice in the previous spring's entry draft. The Jets were coming off a difficult 32-point season, in which they won just nine of 80 regular season games.

Hawerchuk was one of the most highly regarded rookies to come along in some time and he helped the Jets make a tremendous aboutface in the standings. Instead of nine games, they won 33 in Hawerchuk's rookie season. Instead of 32 points, they registered 80 and managed to qualify for the playoffs. Hawerchuk's amazing season - his 103 points is still the third-highest rookie point total in NHL history - earned him an invitation to the 1982 All-Star Game, held in Landover, Md.

"I knew I was having a good year, but as a rookie, you don't know if you're going to get picked or not," recalled Hawerchuk. "I think back then, they used to pick one guy from each team after the first line was picked. I knew I had a shot, but Dave Babych [a fellow Ukrainian to boot] was also there and he was having a great year on defense.

"I'll tell you, it's a great feeling when they pick you, especially when you're only 18 years old."

Hawerchuk was only a year removed from Cornwall, Ontario (where he played his junior hockey) so the opportunity to play in the U.S. capital excited him. Hawerchuk's memories revolve as much around the off-ice events as the game itself.

"We had lunch at the White House and we all got our pictures taken with Ronald Reagan. They actually have that picture up in my old rink in Oshawa, my hometown. We only had a brief second to talk to him, but he was cordial to us all. There were so many Secret Service guys around, it was something to see.

"On the night before the game, they had a gala and the entertainment featured Rich Little and Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring. I got to meet them and sat with them a bit. Gus Badali was my agent and he was still (Wayne) Gretzky's agent at the time, so the two of us hooked up and I got to chat with him."

Over time, the All-Star Game has become more wide-open and high scoring, but this one finished with the Wales Conference holding on for a modest 4-2 win over their Campbell Conference rivals. Hawerchuk remembered it as a serious game, part of the evolving rivalry between the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders and the emerging Edmonton Oilers team, featuring Gretzky.

"Edmonton was just starting to make their run at the Islanders then," said Hawerchuk. "I vividly remember that there were a lot of Islanders on the one team and a lot of Oilers on our team.

"The game itself was unbelievable. On my first shift of the first period, Paul Coffey had the puck in our end and I was coming back into the play, one of the last guys. I thought, 'I'm going to cut across the middle here, in behind the defense and see if he sees me.' So, I just cut behind the guy and went to yell for him and the next thing you know, the puck hits my stick. I thought, 'This must be the All-Star Game...because that was pretty good.' "

No Roenick-Zhitnik rematch in 2003

Jeremy Roenick, part finesse, part force and part hot dog, did not find anyone to lay out at this year's mid-season classic.

Of course it was that Roenick character, remember, who did the unthinkable at the 2002 All-Star Game in Los Angeles when he - gasp - lowered a shoulder into Buffalo Sabres' defenseman and World representative Alexei Zhitnik, dropping the Ukrainian star to the ice. Roenick apologized to Zhitnik after the game; bodychecking has been an unspoken no-no for at least a couple of decades in the star-studded contest.

"I'm from Philadelphia and the Broad Street Bullies," Roenick joked afterwards. "I had to show him the Philly mentality early."

Roenick was back at this year's All-Star Game, held on February 2 in Sunrise, Fla. Zhitnik, however, was not there.

Regardless, Roenick would have to find another unsuspecting opponent, as the game's format has reverted to East versus West from North America vs. the World. Roenick and Zhitnik, of course, both play out of the Eastern Conference.

Zhitnik, for the record, didn't have a problem with being on the receiving end of the hard hit. "Nothing really serious happened," said Zhitnik at the time. "As long as it's on the highlights, I'm fine."

Matvichuk bounces back from sub-star play

The sculptor Rodin probably never envisioned someone like Richard Matvichuk when he was working on his most famous statue, the "Thinker."

A fertile mind has been Matvichuk's worst enemy with the Dallas Stars.

"I was thinking every time I stepped on the ice," Matvichuk said. "When I start thinking, there's something wrong."

For whatever reason, Matvichuk lost his confidence at age 30 and after eight seasons as a top-four defenseman. He was minus-11 over a 16 game span earlier this year.

A meeting with the Stars coaching staff and GM Doug Armstrong seemed to get Matvichuk back on track. He was plus 4 in a stretch of late regular season games and finally scored his first goal.

Matvichuk's performance was deemed important because he has been a physical force in past playoffs, especially against some of the more elite forwards, like Colorado's Peter Forsberg. His A-game was needed more than usual because fellow defender Philippe Boucher suffered a chest injury just before the playoffs.

Boss Gretzky tired of slumping ways

Coach Bobby Francis is safe. Wayne Gretzky couldn't say the same for most of the players on the Coyotes' roster.

Upset with Phoenix's non-playoff-qualifying season, Gretzky, the team's part-owner and managing partner, said somebody was going to pay the price and put the onus squarely on the players' shoulders.

"Our players need to pick themselves up off the floor and get going," he said. "It's time for them to stop feeling nervous and feeling sorry for themselves, and time to go out and play."

While he and the front office wait for that to happen, Gretzky reiterated that numerous trade offers were being considered. There's just one tiny catch: "The players teams want are players we don't want to move," Gretzky said. "The players we'd like to move, nobody wants because we're losing. So, it's not that easy."

Timeout with Wade Belak

Toronto Maple Leafs Position: Defenseman/Winger
Age: 27
Birthplace: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Favorite sport, other than hockey: "I love fishing. All I do in the summer is pretty much fish."

What kind of car he drives: "A Chevrolet extended cab, short-box, black truck. I can't fit into many other kinds of cars and it's practical because I've got a boat to pull in the summer."

Pet peeves: "People who say they don't want to try my food (then) eat off my plate anyway. I ask them 'hey do you want some?' and they say 'no' and then they just eat it off anyway. My fiancee does that all the time."

Favorite cartoon character: "Yosemite Sam. He's bad and tough and crazy."

Coolest thing in his room growing up: "All my pennants and posters of NHL teams. I think I had every NHL team. My room was just like a hockey shrine."

UKRAINIAN UTTERINGS: Tampa Bay right-winger Ruslan Fedotenko really enjoys playing on a line centered by Vincent Lecavalier ... Don't be too shocked if the Buffalo Sabres new ownership tries hard to deal Alexei Zhitnik and his $3.75 million/year salary this offseason ... In 2002-2003 Richard Matvichuk dealt with a new defense partner, a new coach with a new system, a new role and a cracked fibula ... Neurologist Dr. Karen Johnston did diagnose Oleg Tverdovsky as suffering from post-concussion syndrome ... The Los Angeles Kings retired Wayne Gretzky's number 99 in their regular season opener against the Phoenix Coyotes. During the pre-game skate, all of the Kings came out in home jerseys with the number 99 ... Devils defenseman Kenny Daneyko suffered a crack in the bone behind his upper gums when hit with a deflected puck in a game this season, but did not miss any time.

(Quotes in above features thanks to beat writers Chuck Carlton, Bob McManaman and Adam Proteau of The Hockey News.)

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