SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Hockey
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
COLUMNS
NHL
The Teams
Full Schedule
Monthly Schedule
Standings
Statistics
Rosters
Injury list
Movement
Trades
Hits Gallery
INTERACTIVE
JUNIOR
MORE HOCKEY
ALSO ON SLAM!
Friday, December 24, 1999
Generation gap
CALGARY -- When he first walked into the Calgary Flames dressing room, Bobby Dollas must have felt like a senior citizen sitting down at a Metallica concert.
The former Edmonton Oilers defenceman signed a free-agent deal with the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 10, only to end up being claimed off waivers by the Flames one day later. At 34 he's hardly over the hill, but with the youth-oriented Flames, Dollas is certainly a father figure amongst a group that more closely resembles a bunch of hip-hop skateboarders, not suit-and-tie NHLers.
"It's been really different for me," smiled Dollas, who played 52 games for the Oil during the 1997-98 season.
"The age difference for me, Tommy (Albelin) and Phil (Housley) on a lot of guys is at least 10 years, but they bring a lot of enthusiasm and I think that trickles over into our game."
Still, upon arriving at the Saddledome, Dollas had an uneasy feeling as he saw a number of teammates sporting long hair, baggy pants and baseball caps on backwards.
"When I first got here I told my agent that it was real difficult," he recalled. "My family's all in California and the guys I could hang out with, we don't really have the same taste in music and we don't have a lot of similarities.
"But you know, you find yourself growing up a bit more. I think this is really helping myself as an individual."
IN THE HUNT: After suffering eight losses in their first 13 games of the season, it appeared the Flames would be among the first teams written out of contending for the playoffs.
But behind Fred Brathwaite's goaltending, Calgary is back in contention in the Western Conference.
"Because of our record in October we're still on the outside looking in, but we're a confident team and if we play the way we can, we'll be there in the end," said Flames left-winger and Edmonton native Hnat Domenichelli. "It's not the prettiest to watch, but it's effective for us. If you look at our record in the last six weeks, we're probably third or fourth in the conference.''
WORLD WATCHING: Oilers centre Boyd Devereaux plans on keeping a close eye on how Team Canada performs at the 2000 World Junior hockey championships beginning tomorrow in Sweden.
Devereaux was a clutch contributor at the 1997 tournament, scoring the game winner in the semifinal against Russia and then notching the only goal the Canadians would need in a 2-0 decision over the U.S. in the gold-medal contest. It was Canada's fifth consecutive title, this one under the guidance of Spokane Chiefs coach Mike Babcock.
Giving up Christmas with the family isn't great, but the opportunity to play in the most significant international junior event and then win it all easily takes the place of anything waiting at home under the tree.
"It'll be tough on them on Christmas Day, but they're having the time of their lives. It's a pretty easy sacrifice. It was a great tournament to play in," said Devereaux, who tied for the team lead in goal-scoring with four.
"My whole family, we always watch the games over the holidays and when I'm back in Edmonton I'll be watching too. It's kind of fun with all the different nationalties on our team, the guys keep track of the games and kind of rib each other in the dressing room about it."
 Bert's back on blades Blue Jays boot game Bombers drop Peterson Felicien rebuilds race | Visit our Polls Archive |