Here is the piece that ran on ESPN's sight yesterday.  It mentions Shawn's
name as a possible candidate for pro jobs, first time I've heard that in a
few years.  This board sure is quiet today, evryone must be in California.
Wishing I was there as well, but ready to cheer from afar........
 
Getting Short-Changed
Al Morganti
 
All of the wheeling and dealing at the NHL trade deadline is over, but
there could
still be some interesting roster additions as teams can still pluck a
free-agent plum or
two from the roster of NCAA teams.
 
The most likely candidates include a guy with a
familiar last name: Kariya. As in forward Steve
Kariya from the University of Maine. Another
free agent on the Black Bears roster is senior
defenseman David Cullen, who is the cousin of
former NHL star and current Tampa Bay
assistant coach John Cullen, and could be
ticketed for the Lightning.
 
The other free agent who could be signed quickly
is University of New Hampshire senior forward
Jason Krog.
 
The teams most likely interested in Krog or Steve
Kariya are the Carolina Hurricanes, New York
Islanders, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and of course the
Mighty Ducks.
 
Paul Kariya and those Mighty Ducks will be evicted from their pond in
Anaheim this
weekend, but there will still be a guy named Kariya lurking around the ice,
looking to
score big goals.
 
The player will be younger brother Steve, who will be attempting to finish
his Black
Bears career the same way Paul finished his 1992-93 season at Maine -- with a
national championship.
 
Maine will be competing in the NCAA's Frozen Four starting Thursday when it
plays
Boston College. Maine's presence is due in large part to Steve Kariya's
performance
in the playoffs, including his three goals and three assists in last
weekend's regional
final victory over Clarkson.
 
So, why has no NHL team drafted the younger Kariya? He certainly has great
bloodlines, and his career stats are impressive: 78 goals and 187 points in
148 games
over four years. He's a Hobey Baker finalist for the second consecutive
season, and
he has even won the Len Ceglarski Award for sportsmanship the past three
seasons.
 
The problem is very small, as in too small.
 
Many NHL scouts think he's just too little. He is listed at 5-foot-9, but
some coaches
think that is a reach. One NHL chief scout showed up at a Maine game, took
a look
at Kariya, then muttered, "Is that him?" Then he snarled there was no way
he could
play in the NHL.
 
Hello?
 
Anybody notice that Theo Fleury is a 5-6 pipsqueak who will be headed
toward the
Hall of Fame? Notice that Pavel Bure isn't exactly a horse at 5-10? Notice
that the
Detroit Red Wings won two consecutive Cups with six forwards under 6-feet tall?
Notice that two of the biggest additions just before the trade deadline
were Fleury and
5-10 Mark Recchi? Or how about the fact Colorado's Chris Drury is 5-10 and a
leading candidate for the Calder Trophy?
 
Wouldn't it be worth the chance that Steve Kariya can work on a line in
Florida with
Bure or with Ziggy Palffy on Long Island? Remember, Tony Amonte signed just a
few hours after Boston University's final game of the 1991 tourney as a
free agent
with the New York Rangers.
 
"If an NHL scout or GM called me, I'd tell him that Kariya was worth the
chance,"
said Northeastern University coach Bruce Crowder. In addition to having coached
against Kariya the past four seasons, Crowder also knows something about
the NHL,
where he played four seasons with Boston and Pittsburgh.
 
"I think it's pretty clear that the NHL is trying to make more room for the
players,
getting rid of all the interference, or at least cleaning it up. If the
trend continues that
way, I would think a team would be smart to take a chance on a kid who can
play like
Kariya.
 
"There are some downsides. There is no getting around the fact that he will
be at a
disadvantage in situations where he has to push through something, but he's
one of
those guys who just seems to know where to go on the ice."
 
The other barometer is what players do in big games, and with Maine now back in
the NCAA's good graces and back in the tourney, Kariya used the biggest
games to
show that he can certainly skate away from his checks and get clear for
shots on goal.
 
The other Maine player likely to sign as a free agent is Cullen, the Black
Bears'
defensive leader, who has also been with the program four years.
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning have already been scouting him heavily, and they should
have an inside track as general manager Jacques Demers notes that John Cullen
would be a viable salesman if Bolts scouts are impressed this week.
 
The Bolts think they have a viable nucleus of young forwards led by Vincent
Lecavalier, and now they have to shore up a shaky defense.
 
"One of the areas we want to improve is our scouting in the colleges,"
Demers said.
 
And John Cullen said he has been talking up his cousin all year.
 
"He's not like a Cullen, he's a great skater," he said. "He's just a
terrific kid, I really
hope we get a chance at him."
 
Then there is Krog, a huge reason why New Hampshire is one of the Frozen Four.
Krog, who has averaged 1.74 points per game during his career at UNH, also
was a
Hobey Baker finalist the past two seasons.
 
None of these players are what you would term a can't-miss prospect. The
fact they
have lasted their college careers and didn't get drafted earlier shows
there are some
worries about their respective games. However, the NHL game is changing,
and any
of them would appear to be a risk worth taking.
 
Let's see, who might be another college forward who was never drafted and later
signed as a free agent? Oh yeah, some guy named Adam Oates, who played three
seasons at RPI before Detroit took a chance and signed him to a contract.
 
Short shifts
  Staying in the great state of Maine, at some point an NHL team is going
to have to
take another look at coach Shawn Walsh. There is certainly some baggage which
comes along with Walsh, some of which led to Maine's NCAA violations and
Walsh's sabbatical, but the bottom line is that Walsh is one solid hockey
coach.
 
He will also make it very clear that he would at least listen to offers to
coach in the
NHL.
 
Walsh, in his 15th year at Maine, has turned the Black Bears into one of
the most
respected teams in college hockey. With more and more players coming out of
college hockey, it only makes sense that the NHL will look to the NCAA for some
coaches.
 
 
 
Nice to see Maine getting positive press again!
 
Here's to a National Championship in '99.
 
Bob Fitta    '83
 
Bob Fitta
Advertising Account Manager
Harvard Magazine
http://www.harvard-magazine.com
ph (617) 496-6631  fax (617) 495-0324