Thursday, September 6, 2001
The Last Word
The NHLPA failed in its attempt to limit Olympic training camps. When an NHL player has a chance to win an Olympic medal, forget union solidarity
By MIKE ULMER -- Toronto Sun
CALGARY -- He was mastering colouring books in kindergarten about the same time Al MacInnis was breaking into the NHL, the baby on a defensive corps dotted with oldtimers.
Eric Brewer of the Edmonton Oilers isn't only the youngest player trying to earn a place on defence with Team Canada for the 2002 Olympics, he's become the poster boy for Canadian hopes on the blueline for the next decade or so, part of a fuzzy-cheeked contingent that includes Derek Morris and Wade Redden.
Whether Brewer, who blew out 22 candles on his birthday cake last April 17, Morris, 23, and Redden, 24, earn spots on Canada's 23-man roster in Salt Lake won't be known until December, but one thing is apparent to everybody watching them now.
Baby, these kids can play.
"I want to play well," said Brewer, who was paired with MacInnis for Team White in yesterday's scrimmage.
"The biggest thing here is probably just to get the respect of the older players who don't play against you very much and kind of give them the feel of what you're capable of doing."
Brewer, a six-foot-three, 220-pound native of Vernon, B.C., has absolutely blossomed since being extracted from the New York Islanders like a fat wallet on a crowded sidewalk in a trade at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft here in Cowtown - Kevin Lowe picked Mike Milbury's pocket in a deal that also landed him Josh Green and Brad Winchester for Roman Hamrlik.
After seeing limited ice time on coach Craig MacTavish's third defensive pairing at the start of last season, Brewer was likely the Oilers' most reliable rearguard when it ended.
"I don't think he was given an opportunity to develop in those first couple of years in New York," offered Chris Pronger, who broke into the league with Hartford as an 18-year-old.
"He got into a situation in Edmonton where he could kind of sit back and be the fifth or sixth guy for the first 20 or 30 games and learn. Having time to do that definitely helps."
Brewer, selected fifth overall by the Islanders in 1997, finished last season with a career-high 21 points and was a team-leading plus-15, then contributed six points in six playoff games against Dallas in the first round. He provided only a glimpse, many believe, of what's still to come.
"It's kind of weird. I would never have expected it to be like that," Brewer said about going from being given up on by Milbury to a Team Canada invitation in 14 months.
"The situation in Edmonton was a no-lose for me. Just with how stable the team is and the players who are there, there's a bit more experience than there was on the island ... it's one of those things that's just worked out really well."
When Brewer glances around Team Canada's dressing room, he sees MacInnis, 37, who broke into the NHL with Calgary in 1982. Brewer was three then. And there's Scott Stevens, 37, who made his debut with Washington in 1982.
"This is an awesome experience," Brewer said. "The guys in the room, the lines they've put together, it's incredible how good the players are, especially some of the guys we don't see very often in Edmonton.
"In terms of being here, I'm ecstatic. The players out here, the things I can gain from this, playing with a guy like Al MacInnis or whoever I may be paired with, are invaluable for me."
Rob Blake, 31, won a silver medal with Canada at the 1991 world championship when he was 21, so he knows all about being wide-eyed and wowed by this kind of company.
"It's an experience you keep forever," Blake said. "You see the pressure of the media and that kind of thing, and it just helps you down the road.
"Eric goes up and down the ice as good as any other defenceman in the league. You're going to see him get better and better. He's stepping into an unbelievable spot right now."
Pronger, 26, first played internationally as a pro at the 1997 world championship when he was 22. Like Blake, he has since had his name engraved on the Norris Trophy.
"When you're 22 years old and coming to a camp like this, it's a great learning experience," Pronger said. "He's going to get a lot out of it. For a defenceman, it takes five or six years to know the players, the league, the situations and how to handle them."
With just 166 NHL games on his resume, Brewer competed in his first world championship this May, but he is well on his way to many more - and well on his way, period.
"I'm definitely moving along," Brewer said, when asked about his meteoric rise. "Any time that you can go to a camp like this, or get more and more ice time as a year goes on, those are things that are going to be key in your progression.
"I'm just kind of playing and seeing where I can take my game. I think everyone is kind of doing that. There's nothing bad that can come out of this."
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
