Wasn't he the one who chirped Pronger by saying he was going to beat him up the next season, only to have Pronger respond with "I don't play in the minors"?
Because he has not played in the NHL in almost a decade. Never become the player he was pegged to when taken after the 2 Russians during the 2004 draft.Thought he retired a decade ago honestly.
He's been in Europe the last 7 or 8 yearsWow, had no idea he was still playing. Wild
Pretty solid powerplay guy for that one season. Just became so bad defensively that they had to boot him off the eventual Cup winning team, for good measure. He would not have been playable in the playoffs.Looking at his stats I forgot he had a 40pt season with the Hawks.
Congrats to him on a career.
Big bodied, good puck skills but not a good skater (had ankle injuries so maybe those contributed, maybe he was a good skater when he got drafted) and dumb as a bag of hammers so had very little positional or situational awareness. If he didn't like playing I'm not so sure why he would have kept going all these years after flaming out of the NHL. The last two years he was playing in the French League so I can't imagine he was making very much money, especially for a guy who should have some NHL money banked. He's also becoming an Assistant Coach for a Junior A team now that his playing days are over. I don't think he hates hockey, the nonchalant demeanor is likely just his personality.I'm not sure what luck had to do with not living up to his draft selection. I remember his interviews around the draft and he seemed like the most disengaged person there. I don't know if it was a case of all the tools and no tool box, or being a person who was dreading playing in the NHL because he was good at a game he actually didn't like to play. I waited for him to prove me wrong, but I was never surprised that he didn't live up to things.
Big bodied, good puck skills but not a good skater (had ankle injuries so maybe those contributed, maybe he was a good skater when he got drafted) and dumb as a bag of hammers so had very little positional or situational awareness. If he didn't like playing I'm not so sure why he would have kept going all these years after flaming out of the NHL. The last two years he was playing in the French League so I can't imagine he was making very much money, especially for a guy who should have some NHL money banked. He's also becoming an Assistant Coach for a Junior A team now that his playing days are over. I don't think he hates hockey, the nonchalant demeanor is likely just his personality.
It's possible he hates Hockey, just not necessarily the vibe I got, but who knows.Some people are suckers for punishment. They do what they dislike out of fear of the unknown. Regardless, wish him the best in coaching.