THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 1, 1995 TAG: 9512010390
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
When Trevor Halverson saw The Hockey News take his name in vain, his approach was the same as a lyric by Travis Tritt, one of his favorite country singers: ``Here's a quarter, find someone who cares.''
The article in question, published over the summer, dissected the Washington Capitals' 1991 draft, in which Halverson was the 21st pick overall and one of the Caps' top five picks in the draft's first three rounds.
Pat Peake, Steve Konowalchuk and Jeff Nelson, three of the other four picks, are all playing for the Caps this season. Eric Lavigne played briefly with the Los Angeles Kings last season and is now with the Ottawa Senators' AHL affiliate in Prince Edward Island.
And then there's Halverson, who paraphrased the article by calling himself a first-round draft pick ``who didn't pan out.
``But I don't care what those guys at The Hockey News say. I just come out and play hard every night and hope for the best.''
The best would be a scout taking notice and giving his career a second chance.
It's been nearly five years since Halverson came out of the Ontario Hockey League ready to tackle pro hockey. But while his journeys have taken him to all corners of the continent, Halverson has yet to wear an NHL jersey.
The 24-year-old left wing spent parts of two seasons with the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks. His career appeared to get a timely boost when the Anaheim Mighty Ducks selected him in the NHL's 1993 expansion draft.
The Ducks sent him to San Diego, a highly competitive and experienced independent team in the International Hockey League. There, Halverson found a logjam at left wing, where there were three others with NHL experience.
``There was no way in hell I was going to get any ice time there,'' Halverson said.
Meanwhile, his original contract with the Caps, which Anaheim had picked up, expired.
The following season, he injured a hand in training camp with the Las Vegas Thunder and found his way back to Hampton Roads, where he'd played for a little less than a month in the 1992-93 season.
``I went home after I was released by Las Vegas and the first guy I called was John Brophy,'' Halverson recalled. ``He's an honest guy who respects a hard-working player, he's a lot like my juniors coach, Bert Templeton (North Bay Centennials).''
Once the hand healed, things were going well until an ankle injury limited Halverson's mobility for two months, often leaving him on the sidelines.
Is this the first time Admirals fans have seen the real Trevor Halverson? If so, they like what they see.
Prior to tonight's home game with the Charlotte Checkers, the Admirals will introduce Halverson as the team's player of the month for November. And to borrow from Alan Jackson, another of Halverson's country favorites, he is ``hotter than hoochie koochie.''
In 20 games, Halverson is second in the East Coast Hockey League in goals with 18 and seventh in scoring with 32 points.
In 13 games in November, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound Halverson scored 12 goals and had 10 assists.
``Trevor Halverson is having a helluva season,'' Brophy said. ``He plays hard every game, every practice.
``If there's a difference between last year and this year, it's concentration. He plays every game, every shift.''
Sometimes Halverson looks wonderful. And on the nights when he isn't as dominating, he still has a way of coming away with a goal or an assist.
In Richmond on Tuesday night, Halverson was credited with two goals, although the most he did on either was redirect a teammate's shot.
``There's no such thing as an ugly goal,'' Halverson said. ``People don't ask how, they just ask how many. Two days from now, people won't remember how it happened, whether you deked someone out or were Johnny-on-the-spot with a tip.''
Makes one wonder why some AHL or IHL team hasn't already picked up Halverson, who turned down a two-way contract offer between the AHL Portland Pirates and the Admirals at the beginning of the season.
The offer was appreciated, Halverson said. But he wanted to keep his options open and possibly latch on with another franchise rather than the one for whom he's already been labeled a bust.
Besides, Portland already has Admirals Rick Kowalsky, Ron Pascucci, Dominic Maltais and David St. Pierre under contract.
``I was hoping to sign a one-way contract with Portland,'' Halverson said. ``I didn't want to sign a two-way and be stuck without the option of being called up by somebody else.''
If a team from a higher league signs him, Halverson will leave with his six-string in tow. He's an avid country and western fan, with some of his other favorite artists including Ricky Skaggs and Tracy Lawrence.
Halverson is talented enough that he takes his guitar on the occasional road trip to entertain teammates. And he remembers a night during his years in junior hockey when he jumped up on a stage at a bar in Sault St. Marie in Ontario, grabbed a guitar and started playing between the house band's regular sets.
Still, Halverson's first bona fide ``performance'' will come Sunday on ``Offsides with Brendan Curley,'' Cox Cable's Admirals highlight report that airs on Channel 11 at 3 p.m. On the show, Halverson performs ``Jingle Bells'' and covers Lawrence's ``If the world had a front porch.''
Makes one wonder how someone from White River, Ontario, became such a country and western fan.
``A lot of Canadians like country music,'' Halverson said. ``Back home, people complain that there aren't enough country music stations. Down here, you go up and down the dial and you can find them all over the place. It's just one of the reasons I like it down here.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Motoya Nakamura, The Virginian-Pilot
Trevor Halverson has entertained his teammates and will sing on
local TV Sunday.
by CNB