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Saturday, November 6, 1999
Blues' Nash sticks to opposition like gum
Tyson Nash has found his knack for staying in the NHL on a full-time basis and it's one opponents of the St. Louis Blues don't particularly care for.
Just ask several members of the Edmonton Oilers after last night's loss at Skyreach Centre.
SHERWOOD PARK PRODUCT
Nash, the Sherwood Park product who won three Memorial Cup rings with the Kamloops Blazers, was like a bull in china shop, bashing and crashing with every turn.
He'd look right at home next week at the CFR with those kind of antics. And it didn't matter who it was trying to lose him.
Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Tom Poti and even Georges Laraque took pokes at him, but the 24-year-old left winger survived it all then beamed with pride after it was all over.
"It was pretty fun until (Kevin) Lowe threw his wad of gum at me and it almost hit me in the hair," laughed the long-banged Nash in the Blues dressing room. "You don't know what that does to the hair.
"It was after the whole Laraque thing and he was a little sour there and just yelling and I saw a big piece of Juicy Fruit come whipping across my face. You can't get that in the hair - the locks just wouldn't be the same.
'`You can't have a big wad of gum in your hair when you see mom and dad."
Originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, Nash signed a free-agent contract with the Blues before the 1997-98 season and spent the better part of that year toiling with the farm team.
Now as a full-fledged member of the big club, he knows his role and relishes the chance to rub elbows, not to mention gloves, sticks and other aggravating forces, with the NHL's elite.
"It's just part of my game and I have to keep doing it or the next morning I'll be getting a ticket back to the minors," he said.
"That's his game and he's been very consistent in that area," said St. Louis head coach Joel Quenneville.
INTENSITY AND MOMENTUM
"He's an annoying guy for the opposition, but he plays hard and brings us some intensity and brings us some momentum. He knows his job and he fulfills that role perfectly."
Being the team's pest is quite a way to make the big-time pay.
However, it might now warrant hazard bonuses for Nash after taking a shot to the back of the head from Laraque and a pop in the mush from Guerin.
"I kind of played it up a little more than was there and unfortunately the ref wasn't looking, but it worked. I think I got him rattled a little bit," Nash added. "And I was lucky to get in Doug Weight's kitchen a bit."
Big Georges knew he goofed when he konked the kid.
"He was smarter than me and us and he got under my skin," said the Oiler enforcer.
"I took a stupid penalty on him when we needed a goal and that was unfortunate."
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