Tanabe feeling a bit left out

Four days ago, despite his wishes to the contrary, David Tanabe received the news he expected: The Bruins defenseman would not be going to the Olympics.

''It didn't surprise me," Tanabe said before last night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Garden. ''Obviously, it would have been great to be part of that, but I'm realistic. I realize that it wasn't going to happen this time."

Tanabe, a Minnesota native who competed in USA Hockey's September preseason camp for Olympic hopefuls, knew that Turin, Italy, wasn't on his itinerary after a sluggish start to the season with the Phoenix Coyotes. Tanabe recorded four assists in 21 games for the Coyotes. Before last night, the 25-year-old had matched his Phoenix point production in 13 games (one goal, three assists) with the Bruins, who acquired him for center Dave Scatchard.

While Tanabe's underwhelming start led USA Hockey to look elsewhere for blue line representation, he has long been one of the organization's poster boys. In 1997-98, Tanabe joined the first National Team Development Program's Under-18 team, a collection of top American teenage talent. That year, USA Hockey kicked off the program with the aim of developing a national junior team that could compete at international tournaments, and someday send players to the Olympics.

Earlier this week, Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles, Calgary defenseman Jordan Leopold, and New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro, who played with Tanabe on the inaugural Under-18 club, were named to the US Olympic team. While Tanabe didn't make it an Olympic foursome, he was the program's first graduate to play in the NHL when he debuted for the Carolina Hurricanes during the 1999-2000 season.

Tanabe still remembers the controversy surrounding the team. He would have been a senior at Hill-Murray in St. Paul, and been in contention for a state championship. Instead, Tanabe moved to the NTDP's home in Ann Arbor, Mich., and prepared for the program's pro-style schedule.

''Growing up in Minnesota, high school hockey is huge," Tanabe said. ''I know that in the state of Minnesota, people were very upset. They realized that every year they would lose their top 5-10 hockey players to go to the national team."

Greg Cronin, currently in his first season as coach at Northeastern, was an assistant at the time for NTDP head man Jeff Jackson and remembers Tanabe well. Cronin spotted the natural skills that would make Tanabe the smooth-skating, NHL puck rusher he is today, but he also saw a gambling defenseman who relied too heavily on his talent. Cronin, who worked with the defensemen, drilled Tanabe and his teammates to stay within the faceoff circles and focus on positioning to make simple plays instead of chasing down the puck, as they could against high school competition.

''He taught me how to use my stick properly and how to position myself properly," Tanabe said. ''He taught me pretty much everything I needed to know. Obviously, you learn from experience playing in the NHL, but he laid the foundation and laid the base for everything I needed to develop."

But the wide-eyed Yanks needed to learn more than hockey's technical aspects. That year, for the first and last time in the program's history, the team faced off against Ontario Hockey League clubs. The Under-18 club played against the older, stronger, and faster Canadian junior teams -- squads that aimed to clobber the Americans and send them back to Ann Arbor battered.

Cronin recalled that before the 1997-98 season, he asked his defensemen and goalies if they had ever been in a fight. Only one player raised his hand. That season, the players took boxing lessons to stand up to the Canadians, who were all too willing to drop the gloves.

''Those kids had fear at its worst," Cronin said. ''They were fragile and vulnerable kids going into a league with a rich history and a mentality to carve your ears off to get pucks. They were literally fighting their way through adversity. I'm not surprised at all that Tanabe is there [in the NHL] now."

Tanabe said without the NTDP experience, he wouldn't have made it to the NHL as quickly as he did. He played one season of college hockey at the University of Wisconsin and made the Hurricanes in 1999, scoring a power-play goal in his NHL debut. He's with his third team now, one he hopes to remain with for the near future.

''I feel like I've found a home here," Tanabe said. ''The guys here are great. The organization's been great. It's a dream come true to be playing in this town and for this team."