LCS Hockey - The Year of the Young Guns

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The Year of the Young Guns
by Jim Iovino, Ace Reporter

Any time a team bases its marketing campaign on a crop of rookies, such as the Calgary Flames "Year of the Young Guns", there is a certain risk involved.

Like if those young guns shoot nothing but blanks.

There’s a very good possibility that the squad of rookies in the offensively-impaired Flames lineup will do just that. But Calgary decided to rebuild last year, and in order to eventually get better, the Flames are going to have to endure some growing pains.

Last season the Flames worked as many as 14 rookies into the lineup -- including offensive prospects Jarome Iginla and Jonas Hoglund and five first-year defensemen. The result: a 32-41-9 record and out of the playoffs.

This season the Flames are hoping to integrate another crop of freshmen into the mix, but with a better result. Calgary had four rookies in the lineup during an opening night loss to the Detroit Red Wings. But these were not well known names like Joe Thornton or Chris Phillips. These rookies, playing for a small market organization, were lucky people knew who they were, let alone what their contracts were worth.

The four rookies were Marty Murray, Chris Dingman, Derek Morris and Steve Bégin. Who? Wha? Break out the media guides, folks, because these aren’t your household names.

Murray, 22, has actually experienced a little NHL action during the past two years, but has failed to produce much and is still considered a rookie. In 17 games, Murray scored six points. That's a far cry from his junior years in Brandon, however, where he was "the bomb", scoring 392 points in 264 games. Yes, I said he was "the bomb"... Murray’s height, 5-foot-9, puts him at a disadvantage, so he’s probably not going to be seeing much playing time.

Dingman is another prospect whose name might ring a bell, but not much more than that. Dingman was highly touted by the Flames a few years ago. A first-round draft pick by Calgary in the infamous Hartford draft of 1994, Dingman cruised through the WHL like Murray. But, also like Murray, he hit a roadblock once outside of Brandon. Last season Dingman missed his chance of making the Flames roster and was sent to Saint John (AHL), where he only registered five goals and 11 points in 71 games.

The one advantage Dingman, 21, has over Murray is size. He’s a powerful 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger that likes to play a physical game. He’s already showed signs that he can score. In the Flames’ 4-1 loss to Colorado, Dingman fooled Patrick Roy with an odd shot that found the back of the net just 14 seconds into the second period.

The next two rookies are both 19 years old. They have no NHL experience, except for what they picked up in training camp. And most of the league has no clue as to what they’re about. Morris was the Flames’ first-round draft pick in 1996, but has had a meteoric rise through the organization. Considered nothing more than a long shot to make the team this year, Morris surprised many with his impressive play in training camp. Our own Calgary correspondent, Tony Wong, had this to say about Morris’s preseason.

"Morris played pretty well in camp and was probably Calgary's best defenseman overall in the preseason. While he didn't show off the "Paul Coffey"-type wheels that he's supposed to have, he was solid defensively and showed a nice shot."

Like the two rookies above, Morris played extremely well in juniors. Last season with Regina (WHL), Morris scored 18 goals and 75 points from the blue line in 67 games. He also tallied 180 penalty minutes and was a +10.

However, the NHL is a far cry from the Western Hockey League. Morris found this out in the first game of the season against the defending Cup champs, the Detroit Red Wings. The freshman defenseman coughed the puck up twice in the third period, leading to two Detroit breakaways. He also failed to keep the puck in the Wings' zone in the final minute of play, costing his team an empty-net goal.

Of course, one has to wonder what a 19-year-old rookie defenseman is doing out on the ice with your team down by a goal and your goalie pulled in the last minute of the first game of the season against the defending Cup champs... But I’m not the coach, so I really don’t have a say in the matter, do I?

Bégin was even more of a mystery than Morris at the beginning of camp, but if he keeps playing the way he did in training camp and in the first two games, his name will become commonplace before too long. The Flames’ second pick in the ’96 draft, Bégin spent the past two seasons in the QMJHL, scoring 82 points. But it’s not his point total that led to his sudden NHL career. He’s known for his aggressiveness and his willingness to annoy any and all opponents, no matter how big they are. You see, Bégin isn’t a gigantic player (6-foot, 175 pounds in the books, 5-10, 180 in the papers), but he’ll stick his nose in places he really shouldn’t. Along with those 82 points in 122 games with Val-d’Or, Bégin racked up 425 penalty minutes.

Head coach Brian Sutter has placed Bégin on a "Crash Line" in Calgary with Mike Peluso on his left side and Sandy McCarthy on his right. Together, the line creates havoc for opponents by going all out every shift and destroying everything in their path.

Bégin is already starting to build a legend in Calgary. Another rookie who should make the lineup after recovering from an injury, defenseman Denis Gauthier, spins a tale about Bégin when he was still in juniors. Apparently, Bégin took on a 6-foot-7, 250-pound opponent in a playoff game. The result of the altercation, Gauthier eloquently said, was that Bégin "kicked the crap out of him".

It’s too early to tell if any of these rookies will make an impact for the Flames this season like the crop that came up from the farm last year. But in any case, the youth movement continues in Calgary. The average age on the team is just 24.8. The payroll is tied for lowest in the league (with Edmonton) at $18 million US.

It might not be the most exciting of times for the Calgary Flames, but fans know that if the small market franchise is to survive in the NHL, the youth movement has to occur. The Young Guns have arrived, and they’re hoping to stick around for a long time.