The Ablino Rhino 06-07
It was a total shock to the team when Pat Quinn was fired. We all liked him. He was the kind of guy that let the players run the show, on the ice at least. We never had a real rough practice after a bad game. He trusted that we would do what was needed to improve. Some probably abused that trust and were just lazy.
Paul Maurice took the head coaching position, and he had to bring a system in. Somehow, I knew my ice time would go down. He didn't seem like the sort of guy that would give out ice time fairly, and sure enough I was right. My ice time took a hit, down to around 5 minutes a game. Still, I played in 65 games, more games than I had ever played in an NHL regular season. With such little ice time, improving my game was difficult. It was pretty clear that my defined role on the team was a fighter and nothing more. Of course, I loved the fighting, but it was nice to know you could contribute to the team in other ways, and compete for ice time. That was not the case under Maurice. Everyone got the same amount of ice time night after night, unless he benched someone. My focus that year was on fighting, but I wanted more that year. I was seeking the title Bob Probert got so many times during his playing days, the title of heavyweight champion.
We had a home and home series against the Senators and I fought Brian McGrattan the second game. It wasn't much of a fight, in part because I did such a good job holding him back and throwing rights, but most of my punches missed the mark.
I didn't fight again until we faced the Senators again a few weeks later, and it was against Brian. We had a real rivalry going. I went into the fight with the same approach as last time, hold him back with the left and throw rights. That worked initially, but as we were spinning around, I lost my balance and went down to one knee. Brian took advantage and landed rights to the side of my face. I got back on my feet and was able to hold Brian back, but he kept coming with rights. Somehow, he ended up behind me and knocks me down to the ice, with his crotch right up against my ass. A sign of things to come I guess.
My only other loss that year was to Cam Janssen. I had pasted David Hale's face into the glass, which Cam didn't like and he challenged me. He tied up my right hand and landed right punches right on the button. As I was getting pummeled, the crowd began chanting “Belak, Belak, Belak...” I love Leaf fans. I was able to get my left arm loose and land a haymaker. Cam got his right arm out from his jersey, at which point we were far apart and primed to unload a heavy punch. We were also both tired and we traded a few punches, but they did not amount to much. Cam gradually lost his jersey and then his pads. He pulled a Rob Ray. I was fighting a half naked guy with nothing to hold on to.
My quest to become heavyweight champ was easier said than done, but it wasn't because I was losing all of my fights. The problem was quantity, not quality. The “new NHL” was taking a toll on us tough guys in a big way that year. All the teams were after speed, and were either going without a heavyweight fighter or rarely dressing one. After that fight against Cam, I went nearly a month before dropping the gloves again. A week before Christmas in a game against the Rangers, I fought Colton Orr. The bloody nose he gave me the year before was fresh in my mind. Surprisingly, he wasn't as aggressive in this fight as he was then. He went along with the hold your opponent back and trade blows style. Toward the end, Colton lost his grip on my jersey, leaving his face exposed to the power of my right fist. I took advantage and hit him on the button. We went on for a bit longer, but the fight was pretty much over. I stunned Colton and he never recovered.
I was a healthy scratch for the game against the Devils on March 2nd. That was the game where Cam Janssen hit Tomas Kabarle very late and Tomas went into the boards head first. It was tough to watch from home knowing I couldn't do anything about it. Tomas suffered a concussion and was out for a month.
Maurice made sure I was in the lineup for the rematch in Toronto on the 20th. My number one priority was making Cam pay for his hit on Kabarle. Cam knew I was coming after him. The minute we ran into each other on the ice, he was ready to go.
We spun around at center ice and I hit him with a steady dose of right punches. He was trying to shake something off, maybe an elbow pad. When he finally threw his first punch he missed and I responded with a punch right on the nose. We traded punches the rest of the fight, and it was a long one, minute and a half. Cam made a bit of a comeback, landing a few to my face, but that wasn't enough to take the win away from me.
Paul Maurice took the head coaching position, and he had to bring a system in. Somehow, I knew my ice time would go down. He didn't seem like the sort of guy that would give out ice time fairly, and sure enough I was right. My ice time took a hit, down to around 5 minutes a game. Still, I played in 65 games, more games than I had ever played in an NHL regular season. With such little ice time, improving my game was difficult. It was pretty clear that my defined role on the team was a fighter and nothing more. Of course, I loved the fighting, but it was nice to know you could contribute to the team in other ways, and compete for ice time. That was not the case under Maurice. Everyone got the same amount of ice time night after night, unless he benched someone. My focus that year was on fighting, but I wanted more that year. I was seeking the title Bob Probert got so many times during his playing days, the title of heavyweight champion.
We had a home and home series against the Senators and I fought Brian McGrattan the second game. It wasn't much of a fight, in part because I did such a good job holding him back and throwing rights, but most of my punches missed the mark.
I didn't fight again until we faced the Senators again a few weeks later, and it was against Brian. We had a real rivalry going. I went into the fight with the same approach as last time, hold him back with the left and throw rights. That worked initially, but as we were spinning around, I lost my balance and went down to one knee. Brian took advantage and landed rights to the side of my face. I got back on my feet and was able to hold Brian back, but he kept coming with rights. Somehow, he ended up behind me and knocks me down to the ice, with his crotch right up against my ass. A sign of things to come I guess.
My only other loss that year was to Cam Janssen. I had pasted David Hale's face into the glass, which Cam didn't like and he challenged me. He tied up my right hand and landed right punches right on the button. As I was getting pummeled, the crowd began chanting “Belak, Belak, Belak...” I love Leaf fans. I was able to get my left arm loose and land a haymaker. Cam got his right arm out from his jersey, at which point we were far apart and primed to unload a heavy punch. We were also both tired and we traded a few punches, but they did not amount to much. Cam gradually lost his jersey and then his pads. He pulled a Rob Ray. I was fighting a half naked guy with nothing to hold on to.
My quest to become heavyweight champ was easier said than done, but it wasn't because I was losing all of my fights. The problem was quantity, not quality. The “new NHL” was taking a toll on us tough guys in a big way that year. All the teams were after speed, and were either going without a heavyweight fighter or rarely dressing one. After that fight against Cam, I went nearly a month before dropping the gloves again. A week before Christmas in a game against the Rangers, I fought Colton Orr. The bloody nose he gave me the year before was fresh in my mind. Surprisingly, he wasn't as aggressive in this fight as he was then. He went along with the hold your opponent back and trade blows style. Toward the end, Colton lost his grip on my jersey, leaving his face exposed to the power of my right fist. I took advantage and hit him on the button. We went on for a bit longer, but the fight was pretty much over. I stunned Colton and he never recovered.
I was a healthy scratch for the game against the Devils on March 2nd. That was the game where Cam Janssen hit Tomas Kabarle very late and Tomas went into the boards head first. It was tough to watch from home knowing I couldn't do anything about it. Tomas suffered a concussion and was out for a month.
Maurice made sure I was in the lineup for the rematch in Toronto on the 20th. My number one priority was making Cam pay for his hit on Kabarle. Cam knew I was coming after him. The minute we ran into each other on the ice, he was ready to go.
We spun around at center ice and I hit him with a steady dose of right punches. He was trying to shake something off, maybe an elbow pad. When he finally threw his first punch he missed and I responded with a punch right on the nose. We traded punches the rest of the fight, and it was a long one, minute and a half. Cam made a bit of a comeback, landing a few to my face, but that wasn't enough to take the win away from me.