Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312260054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-8 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Welcome to the world of the hockey defenseman, one of the most thankless positions in all of sports.
"There's not a lot of glory at this position," said Mike Smith, a Roanoke Express defenseman. "It's pretty much like that at any level of hockey. We defensemen know that and we pretty much accept it."
When defensemen do make the news, more times than not it's when they are burned for a goal. And that can happen often in the run-and-gun East Coast Hockey League, where waves of onrushing forwards often spin weary defensemen like turnstiles.
"It's definitely hard to find defensemen, especially in this league, because it's a very thankless job," Smith said.
"You get a lot of forwards who can really skate fast or have good moves. They're not in the American or International leagues because there are so many forwards. So the defensemen down here are facing guys every night like a Victor Gervais [Hampton Roads' star center] or whatever.
"It's tough, because if I make a mistake in our end, they're going to score and I'm going to be everybody's boob."
Smith doesn't have to wear the dunce cap often. The 23-year-old Winnipeg native has been one of the ECHL top defenders in his rookie season out of Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
"Michael Smith was the first guy I called when I got this job," said Frank Anzalone, Roanoke's coach. "I had him for a year when I was coaching at Lake Superior, and I knew what he could do. He's a good defenseman; it's that simple.
"Finding good defensemen in this league is very difficult. Most of the ones who have size and skills are playing at a higher level."
Anzalone said Smith, at 6-foot, 185 pounds, isn't big enough to play the body-pounding game of some defensemen, but he makes up for it with guile, positioning and adept stick work.
"Michael Smith is not overly physical, but he knows how to use his body . . . he knows how to angle guys off. He very rarely gets beat. He knows how to take guys off the puck.
"His greatest strength is his mind for the game and his stick, a tremendous stick. He knows how to use his stick - I'm going to say right now - as well as any player playing hockey. Defensively, I've never seen a guy who uses his stick and body so effectively."
While his primary duties lie in the Express' end, Smith is not offensive on offense. His 29 assists entering Thursday ranked second among ECHL defensemen.
Smith knows he's no Paul Coffey, though. He was the last Express regular to score a goal. It came Monday, on his 71st shot of the season, in Greensboro, N.C.
"It's nice to get the big zero off the board," Smith said, grinning. "A few guys kept razzing me about when I'm finally going to score."
Smith had been credited with a goal twice earlier in the season, only to have each erased later by scoring changes. What he thought was his first pro goal, in South Carolina on Oct. 29, was changed two weeks later and credited to teammate Gerry Daley, since traded by Roanoke.
"Two weeks later, [Express public relations director] Tim Woodburn and Gerry had me signing all these papers saying he scored and I didn't," Smith said. "All that for a goal I didn't really care about. Gerry said he tipped it, so I suppose he did. Personal stats don't mean much to me.
"Hey, I've never been a big goal-scorer. I've never scored more than four or five in a season. If I end up with two goals and 40 assists, that's fine with me."
Smith, who started playing the game at age 4 on the frozen ponds of Manitoba, said playing professionally always has been his goal.
"I was pretty good at it at a young age and I seemed to get better every year," said Smith, a second-team Division I All-American at Lake Superior last season.
"I'm pretty happy with my play here so far. I've had some rough nights, some good nights. As far as the NHL goes, I've got to take it a step at time. I need to get to the `A' [AHL] or `I' [IHL] from here first."
Anzalone said he thinks Smith will get his ticket to a higher level soon, possibly next season.
"I think he can play at the next level," Anzalone said. "He's going to be get better from a year in this league.
"One thing about him is that he can play through a bad night. A lot of guys in this league can't do that. Michael Smith on a bad night can be good."
While the guys on offense continue to soak up most of the ink, Smith will sit back and continue to take pride in protecting his goalie and net.
"It's fun playing offense, but it takes hard work to play defense," Smith said.
"Sure, the scorers always are going to be the most popular players to the press and the fans. But if the coach is happy and my teammates are happy, I don't worry about the press and the fans.
"Besides, I don't think anybody wants to hear about how Mike Smith did a good job of dumping a puck in the corner."
by CNB