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Friday, December 31, 1999
Love of the game
Hulse finds a new passion for playing pro hockey
Hockey has made Cale Hulse wealthy.
And famous.
But in the midst of his NHL career, he lost the things that made it all possible.
Love of the game.
Fun.
On the surface, you could understand the frustrations he felt with the Flames.
A lifelong defenceman, he had spent much of the season in and out of the lineup before the drastic move to forward.
He felt out of place. He looked lost.
Hulse questioned himself. His future.
In his fifth NHL season, Hulse was being told he wasn't good enough -- a bitter pill for anyone to swallow in any job.
So he accepted the move to forward. But he didn't like it.
"When they moved me to forward, I was in and out of the lineup, so that was frustrating, and then to be put in a position I've never really played, it made it tough," says the 26-year-old.
"The first couple of games, I didn't play very well up there and then I missed one more game, but they put me back up front.
"I'm just trying to hit their defencemen and keep it simple in our end by getting the puck out. I'm getting more comfortable but I still consider myself a defenceman.
"At first, I wasn't happy -- it's not something I was really excited about because I had been a defenceman all my life.
"But if you look at it that way, it can affect you. Obviously, they want to keep me here. If they had enough of me on defence, I don't think I'd still be part of the Flames today. I look at that as a positive.
"We just have too many good defencemen here."
But the negative thoughts affected the way Hulse approached the game -- as it would anyone in his situation.
Until a night a couple of weeks ago awakened Hulse to the very reason he had succeeded in forging an NHL career.
It was an outdoor rink at Mackenzie Lake. Much like the ones Hulse grew up on in Calgary playing shinny.
It was places like that where he dreamed of one day playing in the NHL. He didn't worry back then about ice time, or even what position he would play.
He played for the love of the game.
And that's what Hulse rediscovered that night on the shinny rink.
"Being from Calgary, to go back and get out on the rinks where I started in my neighbourhood was something I wanted to do," said Hulse of the shinny game.
"I told a bunch of my buddies to come out and it was great to be out there with them and the kids.
"I hadn't skated with those guys for at least 10 years since we played hockey together.
"As good as it was for the kids, I even got more out of it. It's the grassroots of hockey -- playing for fun. And that is what it is all about.
"Did it add fun to my game here? Big time!
"I would encourage anyone on our team to go out and do that. If you are frustrated, you can put it all behind you and remind yourself of why you are playing hockey. Play some shinny, mix it up and you understand that you are playing for the love of the game again.
"It has helped me. I know my role now, so I'll just do all I can and just enjoy it.
"And have some fun."
Hockey did not begin as a business for any player.
No one dreamed of millions when they tore up and down the shinny rinks as kids. They dreamed of playing.
It's instructive for anyone in hockey, the minor leaguer, the Mac's midget player, the hockey parent, that an NHLer such as Hulse can learn from that reminder.
Hockey can make you wealthy and famous.
But adulation or paycheques can never supplant the simple love of the game.
Just ask Cale Hulse.
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