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Tony Amonte is fast.

When he's on the ice, it's best if you don't blink, because you could miss something amazing.

Tony Amonte is really fast.

If there's a breakaway to be had, Tony Amonte will get it.

Tony Amonte is really, really fast.

That's why he leads the NHL with 22 goals.

Tony Amonte by Meredith Martini

Amonte has used his speed and skill to his advantage this season, getting solid scoring chance after scoring chance on a Chicago Blackhawk team that hasn't seen a legitimate scoring sensation since the old-school days of Jeremy Roenick.

Sure, the 28-year-old winger has several high-profile centermen to aid him in his quest for 50 goals, but the numbers show that Amonte has had to do most of the work himself. Alexei Zhamnov and Doug Gilmour are the main two centers on the Hawks roster, but both are having sub-par seasons. And without those two guys, Amonte is the lone gun in Chicago. He his scoring around 30 percent of his team's goals, which is an impressive stat in itself.

Amonte's speed is his biggest asset. He shows an ability to chase down loose pucks and clearing attempts and turn them into great scoring chances.

And once he gets in tight on a goalie, he's pure money. Amonte's favorite move is when he skates in on a goaltender and fakes to his backhand. But instead of going that direction, he practically stops dead in his tracks in the crease and tucks the puck around the sprawling goaltender on his forehand. The move almost never fails. Amonte's quick skating and even quicker hands make the move impossible to defend against. Unless, you know, a goaltender gets all wild and crazy and flings every appendage he has in Amonte's general direction...

Although Amonte is leading the league in the race for the new Maurice Richard Trophy, given to the league's top goal scorer, he said the thought of being the first recipient of the award hasn't crossed his mind. He didn't even realize the trophy existed until recently.

"It would definitely be a great honor and something you always dream about of scoring goals in the NHL," Amonte said. "And to have the opportunity right now to be in the League lead, it's a great feeling. But for me, I try not to think about scoring goals because when I do, they never happen. So you always try to think about playing good defense and try and let the game come to me. But, it would be a great honor to be considered for an award like that."

Amonte is among an odd list of goal-scoring leaders this season. Most of the league leaders are Americans. Amonte, John LeClair, Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk are all near the top of the leaderboard. There's a good chance that this will be the year that an American-born player will finally lead the NHL in goal scoring - a feat that has never been done before.

"They are all top scorers in the NHL, and I actually didn't even know that there wasn't an U.S. born National Hockey League goal-scoring point champ yet," he said. "But I think that will be coming in the near future, and if it is, I would put my money on probably Keith or John LeClair to be the one to do it."

If Mike Keenan had his way, Tony Amonte probably wouldn't be among the list of favorites to take the crown. Keenan, you see, never saw eye to eye with Amonte when he was coach of the New York Rangers and Amonte was an up-and-coming star for the Blueshirts. Amonte scored 35 goals in his rookie season in New York in 1991-92, then 33 more the next season.

But then Keenan took over the helm in the Big Apple and Amonte's numbers were reduced to 16 goals in 72 games during the 1993-94 season. Keenan dealt Amonte near the trade deadline to Chicago in exchange for Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan. Keenan and the Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup that year, while to this day Amonte continues to fight for his chance to meet Lord Stanley.

"(Keenan) definitely didn't like me, and I didn't like him and I don't think I still do," Amonte said of his former coach. "But it was business at the time, and that's what I felt. He didn't feel that I was going to be any help to the (team), and the way I felt at the time, he had me believing that I wasn't going to be any help to the club. So I think it was a good career change for me, and I was thrilled just to get a chance just to come to Chicago.

"You know, coming out of New York, you don't know where you're going to go. But getting a chance to come to Chicago, I'm as happy as could be. But I was a little disappointed not staying for the Stanley Cup run, but that's life. And that's what Mike Keenan says: `Life is not fair.' "

Life might not be fair, but, like a lot of other players around the NHL, Amonte's doing his damnedest to prove Keenan wrong. Amonte has a lot of talent - enough to push for the league lead in goals. And Amonte also has the guts to overachieve when need be.

His overachieving ways will be counted upon heavily in Chicago if the Hawks are to have any chance of hoisting the Stanley Cup in the near future.

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