THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610060170
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 80 lines
John Brophy usually spends his summer vacation caddying for his wife, professional golfer Nancy Brophy-White.
But in part because of a commitment he'd made to the new owners of the Hampton Roads Admirals, and in part because his wife left the tour to manage a golf course near Lynchburg, Brophy spent nearly every day this summer behind the desk in his office at Scope.
The Admirals' head coach worked the phones, stroking players, cajoling agents and conferring with coaches.
``He got a helluva lot done,'' assistant coach and general manager Al MacIsaac said.
Indeed he did. The Admirals open training camp today at the Ice Palace in York County with a roster of 30 players that appears laden with talent.
Included are 17 who played at least part of 1994-95 or '95-96 for the Admirals. Because there are only 18 positions on the roster, competition for jobs will be keen.
``I'd say we're starting off with more talent this time of the year than we ever have,'' Brophy said. ``I'm not saying this is the best team we've had, but it's the best talent we've started with. There are some very good players who aren't going to play here.''
Seven roster spots appear locked up. Player-assistant coach Rod Taylor will claim a spot. He reported Saturday after being released by the IHL's Phoenix Roadrunners. Taylor scored two goals in two exhibitions for the Roadrunners but was released to make room for contracted players from the team's parent club, the Los Angeles Kings.
Goalie Darryl Paquette, left wing Joel Poirier, right wing Rick Kowalsky, center Dominic Maltais and defensemen Joel Theriault and Chris Phelps were all assigned to Norfolk by the Washington Capitals or the AHL's Portland Pirates, and thus will make the team.
A position-by-position look at the 1996-97 Admirals:
Goaltending should be strong, as usual. Paquette set the Admirals' single-game save record with 49 last season and also spent much of the season with Portland. The second goalie spot will go to either Todd Reynolds, a rookie from Northeastern University, or Shamus Gregga, who played in Huntington last season and with the Admirals in 1994-95.
The defense is loaded. Theriault is big (6-foot-3, 201 pounds) and physical (573 penalty minutes in junior hockey last season). The Admirals are also high on Christian Gosselin, a 6-4 rookie from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Phelps was All-ECHL the last two seasons, and Rob MacInnis, who comes from Utica of the Colonial Hockey League, is a veteran of the AHL and ECHL. He played for the Admirals two years ago. Claude Fillion starred for the Admirals before being injured last season. Rich Bronilla and Mike Larkin also played part of last season with the Admirals.
At forward, three of the team's top four scorers don't return, but Maltais (63 points in 53 games before being injured), Kowalsky (50 points in 52 games before being injured) and Taylor (40 goals last season) give Brophy a powerful first line. Taylor and Kowalsky are former All-ECHL picks. Poirier and Danny Bousquet played only briefly last season but showed great potential. Steve Richards, Fran Bussey, Aaron Downey, Jeff Kostuch and Ron Majic all played for the Admirals, with the 5-9 Richards turning in a surprisingly strong season.
Some of those returnees will be challenged by rookies. The Admirals are high on Andy Weidenbach, a 5-9 center and a Yale graduate who played professionally in Sweden last season, tallying 24 goals and 25 assists in 35 games. Brophy persuaded him to come to Hampton Roads after he was released by Cleveland of the IHL, whose camp Brophy attended.
Center Dominic Rheaume had 58 goals and 56 assists in 71 games at Moncton University and was a league All-Star the last two seasons.
The team will have distinctive French flavor, in that players hail from Quebec.
Training camp is being held on the Peninsula for the first time. The Admirals have trained at Scope in six of their seven seasons, but city officials booked Scope with other events. Officials considered moving camp to Winston-Salem, N.C.; Portland, Maine; and even Toronto before signing with the Ice Palace.
Iceland in Virginia Beach will remain the team's regular-season workout facility when Scope isn't available.
``The facility (the Ice Palace) ``is great,'' Brophy said. ``It's a brand-new rink. It's a little far away, but we can live with that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``There are some very good players who aren't going to play here,''
said Admirals coach John Brophy. by CNB