{"id":1000,"date":"2007-10-08T23:10:14","date_gmt":"2007-10-09T03:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/08\/steve-in-the-hometown-paper\/"},"modified":"2008-04-01T16:38:18","modified_gmt":"2008-04-01T20:38:18","slug":"steve-in-the-hometown-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/08\/steve-in-the-hometown-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve In The Hometown Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just had a Thanksgiving conversation with my littleMy “little” brother. Heh. That always makes me smile–sure I’ve got some size on him, but he’s not exactly what you imagine when you hear “little brother”.<\/footnote> brother, who is five days into his new career today. That reminds me that I need to post something about the big story that ran in our hometown paper about the end of his last career.<\/p>\n

Normally I’m used to seeing my brother in papers in a little photo sting like this:<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/a><\/p>\n

And that’s usually in some American paper. It’s been a long time since he was regularly in the hometown paper–probably since back in the day that he was the only local boy playing for our OHL team<\/a> during the years they were champs.<\/p>\n

Anyway, here’s what ran on the top of the paper:<\/p>\n

\"Headline\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve scanned the article, which ran on the first page of the sport section. You can see the scans below, or just read the text, which follows:<\/p>\n

\"Article<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Article<\/a><\/p>\n

Rolling with the punches<\/h3>\n

North Bay\u2019s McLaren reflects on career as hockey enforcer <\/strong>
\nBY KEN PAGAN
\nThe Nugget<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Page<\/a>When Steve McLaren was an up-and-comer with the North Bay Centennials, coach Bert Templeton helped instill the team-first, respect-the-game attitude McLaren carried through 11 seasons of pro hockey. <\/p>\n

Templeton, McLaren\u2019s coach with the 1993-94 OHL champion Centennials, also told McLaren he\u2019d have a shot at playing in the NHL some day. <\/p>\n

With Templeton serving as his agent, McLaren was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round, 85th overall, in 1994. <\/p>\n

Templeton\u2019s influence remained as McLaren fought his way through the minor leagues \u2014 three seasons with the IHL\u2019s Indianapolis Ice, three each with the AHL\u2019s Philadelphia Phantoms and Worcester IceCats. <\/p>\n

Finally, Dec. 13, 2003, McLaren was called up by the St. Louis Blues, who needed some protection for Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk and Pavol Demitra with enforcer Reed Low injured.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old North Bay product made his NHI. debut Dec. 16 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, dropping the gloves on his second shift with Columbus tough guy Jody Shelley.<\/p>\n

No sweat \u2014 McLaren had fought Shelley several times in the AHL.<\/p>\n

But this was different.<\/p>\n

After nine seasons earning a reputation as one of the top scrappers in the minors, McLaren finally got to spend five minutes in an NHL penalty box.<\/p>\n

However, Templeton didn\u2019t get to see it. The OHL coaching legend died 11 days earlier, Dec. 5, 2003.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was with the Cents, Bert told me, \u2018Stevie, if you can do one thing and be the best at it, you\u2019ll make it to the NHL\u2014you\u2019re tough, keep at it,\u2019\u201d said McLaren, now a year out of pro hockey and back in North Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cBert was a guy who had respect. My first year with the Centennials. there were 14 rookies. He had our respect and everybody wanted to do what he said. That\u2019s what made us the team we were.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I took from him\u2014everybody work for the same goal. When the coach has a plan, and everyone follows it, it\u2019s going to work. Bert instilled the \u2018we can DO this\u2019 attitude in us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before his official NHl call-up came, MCLaren had to endure an eight-hour bus ride from Norfolk. Va., to Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and he couldn\u2019t sleep, thinking he might be getting the call. The next morning, Worcester IceCats coach Don Granato delivered the good news.<\/p>\n

McLaren was off to The Show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have anything \u2014 we were on the road with the AHL team, so I had a leather jacket, a golf shirt and a pair of slacks,\u201d McLaren said. \u201cNow I was in the NHL, so I had to go buy a new suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A headline in The Hockey News highlighted the debut of \u2018Stone Cold\u2019 McLaren. Blues coach Joel Quenneville said McLaren was \u201cwound tighter than a drum.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret what McLaren brought to a team \u2014 fists, fury, and willingness to stand up for teammates.<\/p>\n

The six-foot, 225-pounder. who played all his minor hockey in North Bay and jumped to the OHL from the midget \u2018AAA\u2019 Trappers, made a name for himself throwing fists for the Centennials<\/p>\n

When someone fought for Templeton, the coach played him\u2014McLaren assumed a Centennials\u2019 role held previously by Dennis Bonvie, Shawn Antoski and Mark Major, all of whom made the NHL.<\/p>\n

Perhaps fighting for Templeton had something to do with longevity as a tough guy in the pro game \u2014 not many enforcers last 11 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cBonvie\u2019s one of the only guys still playing from when I started,\u201d said McLaren. \u201cMost of the guys I started with didn\u2019t last longer than two or three years. And a lot more came and went.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good that I played that long as one of the top heavyweights, but it\u2019s not so good I played that long as one of the top heavyweights and didn\u2019t play in the NHL that much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got there, but \u2026 <\/p>\n

The enforcer\u2019s role during McLaren\u2019s day wasn\u2019t easy. In the pre-lockout era, players like McLaren were an essential part of a team.<\/p>\n

And they were expected to fight, with no days off. In 508 pro games, he scored 17 goals. 40 points and racked up 1,884 penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

Including pre-season games during 11 NHL training camps, McLaren said he fought 250 times.<\/p>\n

A tough way to make a living, perhaps, but he thrived in the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou try not to think about it,\u201d McLaren said of his approach. \u201cA lot of guys have said they\u2019d think about the tight the next day and wouldn\u2019t sleep. Sometimes, you know you\u2019re going to fight a guy a week ahead of time \u2014 it\u2019s almost like boxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just tried not to think about it, and remind yourself that if you\u2019re in a position when something bad happens, the linesmen jump in anyway. You can take that hit and break something, but if it\u2019s bad, the linesmen will jump in \u2014 it\u2019s not like a street fight where the guy is going to jump on you and try and kill you.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I always taught myself that, if it\u2019s not going well, I\u2019m strong enough to grab the guy to at least take him down.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren fought some of the toughest of his era, many on several occasions\u2014Bonvie, Shelley, Aaron Downey. Every enforcer in the AHL had to get through him.<\/p>\n

He even dropped the mitts on Eric Lindros when the Philadelphia Flyers franchise player coss-checked him in training camp.<\/p>\n

(The toughest guy he faced? Hard to pick \u2014 they\u2019re all tough, but he mentions Bonvie.)<\/p>\n

Fighting is part of the game, and McLaren took pride in his role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI scored 17 goals, and I don\u2019t even know how I scored them but I can tell you every punch and every fight,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my case, and I think in a lot of cases, I could feel the team was behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times, after I\u2019d fight, I\u2019d come off and it would swing the tide of the game. The guys would say, \u2018All right, Stevie just pumped that guy. Let\u2019s go, boys!\u2019 It would get the guys pumped and that\u2019s the swing in the game right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

An enforcer doesn\u2019t last 11 seasons with four NHL organizations by being dirty. McLaren took pride in being an honest, straight-up enforcer, and preferred doing his business with the same. He had no use for supposed enforcers who chose to pick their spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of respect between tough guys and they all know, if they do something, they have to face the other tough guys,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is, the guys who aren\u2019t tough guys who are running around and sticking people \u2014 the tough guy can\u2019t go to him and do anything. If there was no instigator rule, and the team\u2019s tough guy could take care of it, nobody would be getting a stick in the head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the tough guys take some of the chippiness out, because it settles things down. Everybody knows, \u2018they have that guy and if we do something stupid, he\u2019s coming.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\"Page<\/a>Looking back, McLaren obviously wishes he would have got the NHL call earlier. But in many cases, for enforcers at least, the NHL call-up depends on the organization\u2019s needs and being in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n

In Chicago, the Blackhawks had Cam Russell, Bob Probert, and Jim Cumrnins. Philadelphia had Todd Fedoruk and Sandy McCarthy, as well as Bonvie, who was McLaren\u2019s AHL teammate.<\/p>\n

While with Philadelphia, McLaren recalls nearly being called up from the Phantoms, when Fedoruk was hurt.<\/p>\n

Phantoms coach Bill Barber pushed for the call-up, as did Flyers assistant GM Paul Holmgren, but GM Rob Clarke didn\u2019t approve, labeling McLaren their \u201cslugger in the minors,\u201d according to McLaren.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until McLaren realized the Flyers didn\u2019t have a spot for him on the NHL team he decided to find a new organization. <\/p>\n

Barber, a Hall of Famer from Callander, confirmed the theory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pushed for it \u2014 I would have loved to have seen him up with the NHL team,\u201d said Barber, now a Tampa Bay Lightning executive. \u201cHe deserved that chance just for what he brought to the AHL team. If it was up to me, he would have been up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barber coached McLaren for two seasons with the Phantoms, and was also instrumental in bringing McLaren into the Lightning organization with the AHL\u2019s Springfield Falcons in 2004-05.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve\u2019s a good team man,\u201d Barber said. \u201cHe always came in and played hard and it was never about playing for himself or his own situation. He was a quality guy you could count on game in and game out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a really good fighter. He fought all the heavyweights and always held his own against the top guys. I\u2019m glad he got a taste of the NHL. He should be proud of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaren, who also credits former Trappers coaches Larry Keenan and Randy Sandvik for his development, lasted six games in the NHL, before suffering a concussion in a second fight with Shelley, Dec. 29, 2003.<\/p>\n

Sticking around for more than just one NHL game was an important goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing was, I wanted to stay and play \u2014 I didn\u2019t want to be that guy who only played one game and the team figured it was a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cHad I not got hurt, I might have stayed the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, during the Christmas break, he said Mellanby approached him and asked of his salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him what I was getting paid, but I was wondering, \u2018why did he ask\u2014did I forget to give the trainers a tip or something?\u2019 But he said he went to the team and he, Doug Weight, Chris Pronger and Keith Tkachuk were going to pay my salary to keep me there if the team wanted to send me down.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the NHL, he fought five times \u2014 twice against Shelley and once each against Chicago\u2019s Ryan Vandenbussche and Johnathan Aitken, and Colorado\u2019s Peter Worrell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d ask Tkachuk before every game \u2014\u2018Walt (Tkachuk\u2019s nickname), is there anybody you want me to look after?\u2019 And he\u2019d tell me, but I already knew who it was and I knew I was fighting them anyway. That talk helped him, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the concussion, he never got another NHL shot.<\/p>\n

McLaren returned to Worcester while recuperating and collecting his NHL salary for six weeks, before deciding to get back in the lineup \u2014 Worcester was facing three teams with tough heavyweights, and his teammates needed someone to fight.<\/p>\n

The following year, the NHL was locked out.<\/p>\n

McLaren played 26 games with Springfield, but came down with a case of mononucleosis, which drained him.<\/p>\n

He was unable to train at full strength in the off-season prior to 2005-06, and Springfield coach Dirk Graham was reluctant to put him at risk until he was ready.<\/p>\n

By that time, pro hockey had changed \u2014 more emphasis on speed, skill and special teams and less room for enforcers. With AHL rosters limited to four veterans with 260 games of experience, AHL teams were opting for up-and-coming enforcers, if any.<\/p>\n

McLaren noticed the change in the game in his final few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith teams now, it doesn\u2019t seem there\u2019s that support for the tough guy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much a team feeling, it\u2019s more like players are being put together to form a team. You can\u2019t do that. The guys have to play together for awhile to become a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, they\u2019re mixing players up so much, you\u2019re not getting that team feeling. At least I didn\u2019t feel it as much as when I started. I\u2019m a big team guy.\u201d <\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/a>At 32, McLaren is starting a new chapter. He and his wife, Jennifer, were married in 1998 and have a home on Trout Lake. This past winter, he got the most out of his snowmobile and is now anticipating the spring melt so he can get the boat and dock in.<\/p>\n

Last weekend marked a full year out of pro hockey, although he did dabble with friends in men\u2019s league this season. (He\u2019s got the hands back, too \u2014 a three-game goal-scoring streak in the Big Brothers tournament last weekend).<\/p>\n

In his first year away, there was a tendency to miss the hockey lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked standing up for my buddies,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m that type of guy. And I miss having 30 buddies to go hang out with every morning for the rest of the day.\u201d <\/p>\n

In his next chapter, he hopes to go from fighting tough guys to fighting fires. Through the Professional Hockey Players\u2019 Association\u2019s career enhancement program, McLaren enrolled in an on-line firefighter\u2019s course.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s just finishing up the theoretical studies, and is looking forward to hands-on training with members of the North Bay fire department.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to spend the rest of my life here,\u201d he said. \u201cI love the community and I love the area, and I have some history here. So, if it doesn\u2019t work out with firefighting, I\u2019ll be out putting some applications in somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through all the battles over 13 years, McLaren escaped relatively unscathed.<\/p>\n

There were three documented concussions, a broken nose, a broken jaw, some separated shoulders, but he has a clean bill of health.<\/p>\n

Aside from blood from the broken nose, he said he was never cut in any of the 250 fights. And most surprisingly, this hockey tough guy still has all his teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing they say about hockey players \u2014 banged-up noses and no teeth,\u201d he said. \u201cI still have all my teeth, but I have the banged-up nose to go with them, though.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just had a Thanksgiving conversation with my littleMy “little” brother. Heh. That always makes me smile–sure I’ve got some size on him, but he’s not exactly what you imagine when you hear “little brother”. brother, who is five days into his new career today. That reminds me that I need to post something about the big story that ran… Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[461],"class_list":["post-1000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storytime","tag-family","xfolkentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5UQvw-g8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chrismclaren.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}