| | TORONTO -- Quebec Nordiques scouts never could have foreseen what
was in store when they advised general manager Pierre Lacroix to take
a flyer on an obscure right wing from the Czech Republic named Milan
Hejduk in the 1994 NHL entry draft.
How could they? Hejduk, a skinny 18-year-old at the time, was
coming off a season with Pardubice in the Czech Elite League in which
he recorded a grand total of six goals and three assists in 22 games.
|  | | Milan Hejduk has emerged as a major talent in Colorado. |
That's why 86 players were selected in front of Hejduk.
Hardly the stuff of legends.
Now, six years later, Hejduk got the chance to represent the
Colorado Avalanche in the 50th NHL All-Star Game on Sunday at the Air
Canada Centre as a member of the World team with the likes of
Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr, Tampa Bay's Petr Svoboda and Montreal's
Martin Rucinsky.
Hejduk and the other three were members of the Czech Republic's
gold-medal-winning team in the 1998 Olympics at Nagano, Japan. A fifth
member, Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek, had to bow out of Sunday's game
because of a recurring groin injury.
Dallas' Roman Turek, another Czech, was chosen to replace Hasek on
the roster, and New Jersey left wing Patrik Elias is taking injured
Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg's spot on the team.
Add Ottawa center Radek Bonk and Atlanta defenseman Petr Buzek to
the mix, and it's easy to see why the Czechs have been so dominant in
recent years. They also won gold at last year's World Hockey
Championships.
Avalanche defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who is from Latvia, was voted
a starter in fan balloting.
"I know these guys pretty well, so I don't think I'm going to be
nervous," Hejduk said.
Why should he be? The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward eventually blossomed
at Pardubice, totaling 52 goals in his final two years there, and
gained invaluable experience playing under pressure in important
international tournaments.
Hejduk might look frail and speak softly, but since joining the
Avalanche a year ago, he has proved to be a hardened warrior when it
comes to making a big play with a game on the line.
A Calder Trophy finalist after recording 14 goals and 34 assists in
82 regular-season games as a rookie last season, Hejduk was even
better in the playoffs.
He twice scored overtime goals when the Avalanche eliminated San
Jose in the first round and collected another game-winner in the
second round against archrival Detroit. Hejduk's season ended in Game
4 of the Western Conference finals when he broke his collarbone on a
hit by Dallas' Richard Matvichuk.
Not that the injury has caused him to be as shy in the corners as
he is away from the ice. Just the opposite. Hejduk, an integral member
of the Avalanche's "Kid Line" with Alex Tanguay and Chris Drury, is
fearless when it comes to skating in traffic, along the boards and
around the net.
He and Avalanche captain Joe Sakic are tied for the team lead in
scoring with 44 points each. Sakic has played in 22 fewer games
because of injuries, but Hejduk is having a remarkable season just the
same.
Hejduk's 24 goals -- he is tied with Florida's Pavel Bure for 11th
in the NHL -- are 10 more than he collected as a rookie, and there are
still 28 regular-season games remaining. Of those goals, seven have
been game-winners, tying him for third in the league with Elias and
Detroit's Brendan Shanahan.
Hejduk shares the lead for score-tying goals with 10 players.
That said, Hejduk hardly expected he would be flying to Toronto on
Friday with the rest of the world's best players to get ready for
Sunday's game.
"Oh, no," he said. "It was really a surprise for me when they
selected me ..."
Think Hejduk cares if the game is little more than an exhibition?
Just being a part of it shows how far he has come in a relatively
short time.
"It's a dream for every hockey player to play in the NHL and to
play in the All-Star Game," Hejduk said. "It's special."
Rick Sadowski writes for the Rocky Mountain News. | |
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