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, October 1, 1999
Recipe for stardom
You can't forget he's only 20. He's still a kid
Marian Hossa, just a teenager, faced the athlete's greatest fear, a career-threatening knee injury before his pro career had even really started.
He stared the threat in the face and pedalled it into the ground. One of the first things Senators strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee did when he heard about Hossa's injury in May of last year was drive a stationary bike over to Hossa's place.
"There was a lot of soccer on television. The World Cup was on," he remembered yesterday as he walked up the hill in this picturesque village with a group of his teammates in search of a spot for lunch. "I think I saw every game."
At this time last year, Hossa was just getting back onto the ice, almost learning to skate again, building up confidence in his knee, surgically repaired after the ACL had been ripped apart in the Memorial Cup final the previous May.
The normal recovery period is six months, said Kevin Wagner, the Senators' athletic trainer, but Hossa was ready to skate at 41/2 months. They decided not to put all the work Hossa had done in peril, so they didn't rush him back.
"He just had such a great attitude the whole time," said Wagner. "Even during the most negative parts, he still didn't get that low. He still came in with a smile. Even those days when we would be stretching the knee and it would hurt, he'd still smile and say, 'see you tomorrow.' "
Behind the scenes, Hossa attacked his rehab with an almost fanatical zeal and the dedication paid off. He missed only 10 days of rehab between his surgery in early June and when he returned to play in early December.
He scored 15 goals and had 15 assists last year, playing in a defensive role. His strength along the boards and his ability to beat people 1-on-1 had some comparing him to a young Jaromir Jagr.
"He came in with no training camp and no pre-season and had to step in when everybody else was in mid-season form," said Lee, who spent long hours, along with Wagner, helping Hossa recover. "In my opinion, I really think he would have won rookie of the year if he had played the whole year."
HONOURS ROLLED IN
Hossa, despite that late start, finished second to Colorado's Chris Drury in rookie-of-the-year balloting and was named to the NHL's all-rookie team. Now the kid who once sold some hockey cards at a flea market in Slovakia and used the money to buy a Wayne Gretzky video is beginning to compile his own highlight reel.
"I saw the Gretzky tape and bought it even though it was pretty expensive," said Hossa, who was 10 or 11 at the time. "He was everybody's favourite player. Everybody was coming over to my house and watching this tape and we were getting pumped up for the next practice. Then we would try all the things he did."
Hossa is his own style of player, of course. He's big and getting bigger. In an exhibition game against the Canadiens in Montreal last weekend, he held off Habs defenceman Francis Bouillon with a straight arm that would have made Terrell Davis proud.
Hossa has a great ability to protect the puck, sticking out a leg and using an arm to shield out the defender. A play you'll see him make more and more: Circle the net with a defender in tow, spin out the other side and let go a shot for the roof of the net.
GREAT COMBO
Hossa, centre Radek Bonk and winger Magnus Arvedson gave the Senators their best-balanced line last year -- a combined +64.
Senators coach Jacques Martin is careful not to put too much pressure on Hossa. He broke him in last year in a defensive role, so the pressure wouldn't be there for him to put up big numbers.
"I want to become a better two-way player," said Hossa. "And if I deserve it, I'd like to be on the power play and score some more points."
"I expect him to keep progressing, to be better, but you can't forget he's only 20," said Martin. "He's still a kid. You can't expect him to carry the load or be a star. It'll take awhile for him to reach his potential. Look at (Alexei) Yashin. He's 25 and last year was his best year."
Hossa certainly has potential.
There's a lot to come from a young player who's already been through so much.
 Bert's back on blades Blue Jays boot game Bombers drop Peterson Felicien rebuilds race | Visit our Polls Archive |