Bill Guerin And The Journeyman
by Jonathan Willis on Mar 10, 2009 1:50 PM MDT
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Brian Coe, who writes for the official AHL website, had a nice piece today on Bill Guerin. He talked to Todd Reirden, the new head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, about the Penguins acquisition of Bill Guerin.Reirden has quite a few connections to the Oilers - in fact, he and Guerin were teammates in Edmonton. Reirden also hired Chris Cichocki, the former coach of the Stockton Thunder, as his assistant when he took over from Dan Bylsma in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
In any case, the story he shared with Coe was about his first game as an Oiler, a debut he made at 27 years of age after being long since written off as a minor-league journeyman. Bill Guerin grabbed the puck for him at the end of the game:
"[Guerin] grabbed the puck," he recalled. "Most times when someone plays his first game it’s ‘Congratulations on your first game,’ and he throws you the puck. But I’ll never forget the comments that he made.
"He took his time, said ‘Everyone stop getting undressed. I want to point something out that occurred today. There’s this guy that battled for the last four or five years to prove people wrong to get his chance to play in the National Hockey League. I just want to make sure that everyone understands that this guy has earned every bit of the chance he got tonight. I want to present him with this NHL game puck.’"
I don't usually highlight this sort of story, but I feel much the same way that Guerin did about the guys who play a long time in the minors. I always pull for the Toby Peterson's, Bryan Helmer's, and Allan Rourke's of the world. It's a long road, and it's nice to see the journey bear results, however briefly.
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Todd Reirden was drafted 242 overall (10 spots from last place) in the 1990 entry draft by the Devils. He played in 183 NHL games. Edmonton's draft choices that year played a grand total of zero NHL games.
by Bob Arctor on Mar 10, 2009 2:47 PM MDT reply actions
Oh, how I miss Barry Fraser.
by Jonathan Willis on Mar 10, 2009 3:39 PM MDT reply actions
I think it give some perspective when Phoenix has 0 gp for their 2003 draft choices and we have over 300.
by Bob Arctor on Mar 10, 2009 5:49 PM MDT reply actions
Classy move by Guerin as described by Reirden. Story may be embellished somewhat, with Exhibit A being the description of Guerin making a perfect backhand saucer pass :), but no doubt the gist of it is accurate. Guerin is a class act.
I have recollections of Reirden being a low-talent-but-get-the-absolute-most-out-of-it player, a Scott Ferguson or Allan Rourke. A good comparable at a different position is the current wearer of Todd's old #46.
Not too many guys make it to the bigs after >100 regular and playoff GP in the ECHL, not to mention >200 in the IHL and >250 in the AHL. Yet he had much more than than a cup of coffee, playing 188 NHL games over parts of 5 seasons with 4 different clubs. After his stint in Edmonton as an overaged rookie he posted an extremely creditable season in St. Louis (56 GP, 4-21-25, +18) that gave him the appearance of a pre-Jan Hejda if you will. That was his peak, but he had enough of a career, finishing with a stint in Europe, that he'd be an interesting guy to have a beer with.
by Bruce on Mar 11, 2009 12:30 PM MDT reply actions
He's not quite as well travelled as your example, but this is the reason I'll always support Alex Burrows. Never drafted, two full ECHL seasons and 1 and 1/2 AHL seasons until he got the call. He hasn't looked back, and is now one of Vancouver's best grinders.
by doritogrande on Mar 11, 2009 9:49 PM MDT reply actions
by Bruce on Mar 12, 2009 10:57 AM MDT reply actions
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