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Friday, November 5, 1999
Hnat desperate for big-league success
Last month they tried to give him away.
Last game he was on the ice in overtime.
Such is the fickle hockey life of Hnat Domenichelli.
If you looked up the word 'tweener' in the NHL dictionary you'd find a picture of Domenichelli.
The Calgary Flames prospect has defined the unrealized potential commonly referred to in the hockey world as reflective of 'tweeners'.
Those are the guys too good for the minors, but not good enough for the NHL -- stuck between two hockey worlds.
Welcome to the world of Hnat Domenichelli.
Entering his fourth NHL season, Domenichelli has yet to live up to the 59-goal, 148-point final season with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers that had him pegged as a future star.
That's only at the NHL level though.
In the American Hockey League, Domenichelli is already a proven star.
In the minors, he has 86 goals in 139 games.
Those prodigious numbers have created expectations.
Yet whenever Domenichelli has received the call, he's fallen flat.
It hit rock bottom last month when he was put on waivers by the Flames to enable his demotion to Saint John.
"This was a good opportunity for me to play, particularly in overtime," said Domenichelli, who was effective in producing offence in the extra period with his speed.
His forechecking helped set up Tommy Albelin's game winner.
"I'm playing with desperation now -- I have to be ready every night to play because that was a wake-up call getting put on waivers," he said.
"For me, life in the NHL is day to day. There are no guarantees for me. But I can use what I've learned in being sent down and hopefully put all that behind me now."
"Sure it's fair to say that I've struggled to make the jump from the minors to the NHL," says Domenichelli.
"If you look at my numbers in the NHL, they are OK, but I've done them in spurts. I've played parts of a game here and there and I don't know myself where I fit in at the NHL level because I still haven't played a full season.
"I think I'll know best if I get that full season in and show how I can do at this level."
Ahh, the old hockey dilemma. We've heard it often.
Player says he can't perform without more ice time.
Management says player isn't performing well enough to deserve more ice time ...
Welcome to the mantra of the tweener.
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