Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102080118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Now he's in Vinton - of all places - playing lifesaver for the Roanoke Valley Rebels of the East Coast Hockey League.
Steve Gatzos tugs at his bushy moustache and snickers when asked if he's sure he didn't make a wrong turn somewhere.
"Hey, this place is good for me right now," said Gatzos. "I'm having a great time here. Sure, this is somewhat of a character builder after playing in the National Hockey League.
"God knows, I didn't come here for the money [$250 per week]."
At 29 - he will be 30 in June - and with a bum right knee that cut short his NHL career, Gatzos doesn't hide the fact that his playing days are almost over.
"I'm on the way out. I've got one leg over the board and one leg on the ice," he said.
Soon, Gatzos hopes to have both legs behind the bench. The primary reason he accepted the plea from Rebels coach Claude Noel to come south was a possible chance at landing a coaching job in the ECHL.
"The No. 1 reason I'm here is that I would like to try coaching," Gatzos said. "I know a lot of the coaches in this league and most of them are getting their start [in the ECHL].
"So I'm trying to stick my nose in it and see if coaching is for me, if I have a chance, if I could do it, am I any good, or whatever. I figured this is the opportunity to give it a shot. I heard there are new teams coming in next year, so this was a chance to get a look."
Speaking of looks, the Rebels have had a new one since Gatzos' arrival on Jan. 24. The heady 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward has given a talent-starved Roanoke Valley team new hope heading down the stretch of the ECHL's regular season.
In only six games with the Rebels, Gatzos has scored seven goals, including a hat trick, three short-handed goals and two game-winners.
"Gatzos has been exactly what we needed," Noel said. "The most important thing is that he knows what he's doing out there. He's experienced, he thinks the game."
Gatzos, the Penguins' No. 1 and 28th overall pick in the 1981 NHL entry draft, said he loves the role of teacher.
"[Rebels forward] Greg Simeone came up to me in practice today and asked me some stuff," Gatzos said. "So I showed him a few things and tried to help him out.
"At first, I wondered how it would be coming in here. I didn't want to be perceived as a big wheel coming in here and being some kind of a big shot. I'll gladly help anybody I can.
"I look around this league and see a lot of talented players. They're big, they're strong and they can shoot the puck. The only reason a lot of them are here is for the knowledge of the game. It's not their skills, it's the actual thinking part of the game."
Gatzos, who played the last four seasons in Europe, said his knee problem forced him to learn to play the game between the ears.
"By getting older, having a bad leg and not being able to skate as well, I have to think more," he said. "Hockey is a game of anticipation. You play like 85 or 87 percent of the game without the puck. So what you do and where you go without the puck is the biggest part of the game, obviously."
Besides playing tips, the rest of the Rebels, all between the ages 20 and 24, can go to the "Old Man" and ask about life in hockey's Utopia - the NHL.
"I realize the NHL is these guys' big dream," Gatzos said. "Everybody says all they ever want to do is play one game. That's great. That's all I ever wanted to do, too.
"Gretzky, Lemieux, those guys are great. It's one thing to watch them - and they are great to watch - but to actually be there and be embarrassed by them on the ice is another feeling.
"Then, of course, there's the money. I was making $25 a week in junior hockey. Then, in my first year as a pro I was like a kid in a candy store. Anything you want, you can buy it, whatever. I bought a new car first thing.
"Sure, it's the good life. You can have what you want, but it comes real fast and it goes real fast."
But Gatzos, forever the thinker, didn't blow all his loot. He is part-owner of a night club and a catering business in Toronto.
"I have partners who run the businesses," he said. "I go to the meetings and hopefully pick up a quarterly dividend."
Meanwhile, the Rebels won't have to wait. They collected their dividend when Steve Gatzos found Vinton.
\ ICE CHIPS: After a five-day break, the Rebels return to the ice tonight when they take on Knoxville at 7:30 at the LancerLot. It's the Rebels' final regular-season game against Knoxville (38-10-4). Roanoke is 2-0 against Knoxville at home this season. . . . Knoxville's Stan Drulia and Dan Gauthier, who rank 1-2 in the ECHL scoring racing with 113 and 111 points, respectively, have a shot at breaking Bill McDougall's league scoring record. McDougall had 148 points in 57 games last season at Erie, including a league-record 80 goals. With still 14 regular-season games left, Drulia and Gauthier already have the third- and fourth-highest points totals in ECHL history. . . . Hampton Roads' Brian Martin, the ECHL's third-leading scorer with 100 points, was selected the league's player of the week for Jan. 28-Feb. 3. Martin had four goals and six assists in four games. . . . An ECHL-record 30 shooters were required before Louisville nipped Nashville 8-7 in a shootout last week. . . . League attendance surpassed the million mark last weekend.
by CNB